Pope Francis: X-ray confirms improvements, Russian pilgrims pray outside hospital

Russian pilgrims pray outside Gemelli Hospital

Source: Vatican Media

This evening, 12 March, the Holy See Press Office provided the following medical update on Pope Francis who has been receiving care at Rome's Gemelli Hospital since 14 February:

"The clinical condition of the Holy Father has remained stable, in the context of a complex overall medical picture.

The chest X-ray performed yesterday has radiologically confirmed the improvements observed in the previous days.

The Holy Father continues to undergo high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and non-invasive mechanical ventilation during nighttime rest.

This morning, after following the Spiritual Exercises in a link-up with the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, he received the Eucharist, dedicated time to prayer, and then continued with physical therapy.

In the afternoon, after joining the Spiritual Exercises of the Curia, he continued with prayer, rest, and respiratory physiotherapy."

Prayers are being said for Pope Francis around. Every evening the Rosary is prayed with pilgrims in St Peter's Square.

Today a group of 85 Russian Catholics in Rome for the Jubilee made a walking pilgrimage to Gemelli Hospital to pray for Pope Francis. The pilgrims - most from Moscow, but also from parishes in St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Vladimir, and other cities in northern Russia were led by their Archbishop, Paolo Pezzi, head of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow, with Bishop Nikolaj Dubinin, a conventual Franciscan, a dozen priests, two nuns and 69 lay faithful. Despite various difficulties, they arrived in the Eternal City, on 12 March when they had been scheduled to be received by Pope Francis.

Sadly that meeting was not possible because of the Pope's illness, but the Russian pilgrims still wanted to be present with the Pope, and so they walked from Rome's Cornelia Metro station to the Gemelli Hospital, a journey of more than four kilometres. There, they gathered around the statue of St John Paul II to pray for the recovery of the Holy Father.

Bishop Dubinin said: "It is a diverse group, mostly Russians but also Poles, Belarusians, Germans, Armenians....It is not easy to organise a pilgrimage for Russian citizens at this time, so we are very grateful because various people and organisations have helped us to experience the Jubilee."

Their pilgrimage which is taking place from 10 to 15 March, includes passing through the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica, praying the Stations of the Cross in the Vatican Gardens, and visiting the other Papal Basilicas.

Wednesday was dedicated entirely to Pope Francis. For about an hour, before the large statue of Pope John Paul II the group recited the Rosary in Russian and the Litany to Our Lady in Latin, in which they were joined by others gathered outside the hospital.

"We had planned the meeting with the Holy Father, we know that the Pope also cared a lot," Bishop Dubinin said. "We understood that we could not see him physically, but we tried to meet him spiritually, to intensify our spiritual bonds with him. Each pilgrim experienced this moment intensely. The meeting with the Pope had been highly anticipated, but we felt very strongly the closeness with him."

Bishop Dubinin told Vatican Media that Pope Francis is much loved by the Russian faithful: "There is a strong bond, we know that he prays for our Church. We are grateful to him and try to live unity. We also remember the online meeting with our young people and various moments in which he expressed suffering, all evangelical, for a peace that is not there."

Along with prayers for Pope Francis' recovery, "peace" is the main theme of this trip to Rome by the faithful from Russia: "We keep peace in our hearts, because peace is what the Lord wants, and the lack of peace is a great suffering for everyone," the Bishop said, adding, "We are suffering from divisions, from hatred, from these situations of conflict."

Bishop Dubinin appealed for prayers, saying, "Let us pray to the Lord to give us that peace that we are not able to build on our own."

"It is not right to say that the world wants war... It is a part of the world that wants it and that claims to be 'the whole' world. Peace is a gift from God and those who believe want nothing but peace."