Pope Francis in stable condition, spends start of Lent in hospital

International

POPE Francis marked the beginning of the Lenten season from his hospital suite on Wednesday (local time), March 5.

The Pope is in stable condition but still under medication for double pneumonia, the Vatican reported.

In its evening update on Wednesday, the Vatican said the Pope spent the day in an armchair, and there were no recurrences of the respiratory failure episodes that he encountered on Monday.

The Pope missed the traditional Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome, which marked the opening of the 40-day period of prayer and sacrifice leading up to Easter, the most sacred time in the Christian calendar.

However, he participated in a private blessing from his suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli Hospital, a space reserved for popes, a report by Agence France-Press stated.

The homily, which would have been delivered by Pope, was read by Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis in the presence of approximately 20 cardinals dressed in red vestments at the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome.

“We feel deeply united with him at this moment and we thank him for the offering of his prayers and his sufferings for the good of the entire Church, and the whole world,” Cardinal De Donatis said in the report.

The 88-year-old pontiff has not made any public appearances since his hospitalization, and the Vatican has not released any official photographs of him.

Across the globe, with nearly 1.4 billion Catholics observing Ash Wednesday, prayers were offered for the Pope’s swift recovery, with particular devotion expressed in his home country, Argentina.(MyTVCebu)