WelCom February/March 2025
Messages of support and prayers for Pope Francis’ health have poured in, as he continues to be hospitalised at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
Since Pope Francis’ hospitalisation on 14 February for bilateral pneumonia, messages have swarmed in from religious leaders, political figures, friends, faithful around the world, and the children hospitalised in the same hospital, struggling with their own illnesses and saddened by the Pope’s health issues but happy to have him close.
In a handwritten letter addressed to his ‘beloved brother’ by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Costantinople, Bartholomew I, the Orthodox Patriarch wishes the Pope a ‘swift and complete recovery’ and a speedy return, ‘with God’s help’, ‘to his sacred and important duties’.
Another letter from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has called on the faithful to come together ‘as one family in faith, united in an urgent appeal’ for Pope Francis’ health and wellbeing. ‘As a spiritual family, we are called to stand together, united in prayer and supplication.’
In Lebanon, Cardinal Béchara Boutros Pierre Raï, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, has said he has prayed for Pope Francis both publicly and privately. ‘May the Lord help him and grant him healing,’ he said.
The Symposium of Bishops’ Conferences of Africa and Madagascar has assured ‘the solidarity and spiritual closeness’ of all the faithful in the continent.
In Pope Francis’ homeland, Argentina, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, has issued a call for prayers. ‘In this way,’ he wrote in a letter, ‘we express our love for Pope Francis and ask God to grant him strength, restore his health, and sustain him in the mission entrusted to him.
Messages and prayers have arrived from bishops and dioceses across Latin America including Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, and Peru, Nicaragua and Brazil.
The Presidency of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (Celam), led by Cardinal Jaime Spengler, Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil), expressed affection and closeness to Pope Francis in a letter. ‘We pray for you, so that you may feel the strength and consolation of the Lord and that He may grant you much patience’.
In Canada, prayers are being offered for ‘the Holy Father’s full recovery as he continues to lead the Church with courage and generosity of spirit’ and the bishops of the United States have published a special prayer for Pope Francis on their website.
Similar sentiments are shared by Catholic communities throughout Asia. In the Philippines, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, the President of the Episcopal Conference, wrote to the faithful asking for ‘prayers for his healing and recovery at this difficult time’.
Chinese Catholics are also rallying in prayer and fasting for Pope Francis’ full recovery. The website xinde.org a point of reference for the mainland Chinese community, is publishing updates from the Holy See on the Pope’s health and has invited the faithful say a special prayer.
World leaders have joined the chorus of good wishes and support. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the Pope in hospital on 19 February.
On 21 February, UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, to express wishes of a speedy recovery, remarking ‘how important the Pope is, not only for the Church, but also for the whole world.’
Speaking at an event in Bologna Italy, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, expressed optimism about the Pope’s condition, saying the latest updates suggest ‘we are heading in the right direction’ towards ‘a full recovery’, which, he added, ‘we hope will come soon’.
On Friday evening Pope Francis’ medical team said his condition is not life-threatening, and that he sitting upright in a chair, working, and joking as usual, but warned he is not out of danger and will have to remain in hospital for at least another week. In its latest note the Holy See Press Office said the Pope had a restful night.
Source: Vatican News
NZ Catholic Bishops’ prayer message
On behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Paul Martin sm issued this statement to media on Sunday evening 23 February.
‘We are deeply concerned as Catholic people about the condition of the Pope’s health at this time as he struggles with this sickness. Each time Catholics gather for Mass we pray for the Holy Father but we’re also asking our people to pray for Pope Francis even more in their prayers at this time. We hope that Pope Francis senses how much he is loved and supported at this time from all over the world and from our part of the world here in New Zealand. We pray that he also feels the closeness of God at this time of sickness and that he may be restored to full health.’