Pope Francis acknowledged being fragile and “face a period of judgment,” since he thanked the supporters on Sunday for their prayers in a message from the hospital, where he has been slowly recovering from pneumonia.
The 88 -year -old Pope, who has resisted setbacks along with periods of health improvement since he was hospitalized on February 14, sent a particularly personal message to the faithful who made reference to both his faith and his fragility.
“I am sharing these thoughts with you while I face a period of judgment, and I will join so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me,” the Pope wrote in the message published by the Vatican.
“Our bodies are weak but, even so, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being one for the other, in faith, the brilliant signs of hope,” added the Argentine pontiff in the message that marks the second Sunday of Lent, a period of prayer and reflection of 40 days that lead to Easter.
Sunday was the fifth consecutive time that Pope’s disease had prevented him from personally giving Angelus’s prayer, generally delivered to a crowd gathered in the Plaza de San Pedro after the Mass.
Although Francis has not yet appeared in the window of his papal suite on the tenth floor of the Gemelli Hospital, this has not deteriorate a constant flow of supporters of the meeting, including tango dancers and dozens of children on Sunday.
Under gray skies, a dozen couples with street clothes danced tango in front of a multitude of cameras while the Argentine pontiff recovered inside.
“With this tango, it must be discharged,” the enthusiastic dancer Daiana Guspero, 38, who, like the Pope, came from Buenos Aires. “I want our energy to feel, our love for tango and an Argentine Pope,” she said AFP.
Previously, a group of young explorers from a Catholic group was at the foot of a statue of former Pope John Paul II at the hospital entrance, holding yellow and white balloons and fighting in vain for taking a look at the Pope.
“You see the Pope there!” He shouted one of them anxiously, before being attentive to the group leader, Valerio Santobonio, 23: “I don’t think it’s him.”
Santobonio said AFP That children aged five to seven still do not understand who the Pope is, or his health situation. However, his visit was “a bit how to give a window to a broader stage of the Christian life,” Santobonio said.
Other children had arrived early in the morning from an impoverished city near Naples to deliver a letter to Francis, said Andrea Lacomini of UNICEF, who organized the excursion.
“He loves children, he is the Pope of children, so we are waiting for him. We are sure what will improve, ”Lacomini told AFP. “We need an important leader like him, because at this time there are not many heroes in the world,” he added. “He is the only one who talks about peace.”
Despite not appearing in the window, Francis went to his younger supporters in his message.
“I know that many children pray for me; Some of them came here today ‘Gemelli’ as a proximity sign, “Francis wrote.” Thank you, dear children! The Pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you. “
‘Love care’
Last week, the Vatican said that Francis was out of immediate danger after a series of respiratory crisis before in his hospitalization had caused fears for the life of the pontiff.
On Saturday, the Vatican said that his condition continued to be stable and showing progress, but warned that he still needed administered therapies within the hospital.
“The Holy Father still requires hospital medical therapy, motor and respiratory physiotherapy; These therapies, today, show more gradual improvements, ”he said.
That message seemed to cancel the speculation that the Pope’s progress could indicate an imminent release of the hospital.
Although the Vatican has said that he continues to work from the suite of his hospital when he can, Francis’s absence feels particularly as Easter approaches, the most sacred period in the Christian calendar just five weeks away.
The head of the almost 1.4 billion Catholics of the world traditionally presides over an occupied program during the period, including a procession of Good Friday night and a Easter Mass in the Plaza de San Pedro before tens of thousands of faithful.
In his message written on Sunday, which also requested peace in countries devastated by war, including Ukraine, Myanmar and Sudan, Francis once again thanked his caregivers and those who have been praying for him.
“How much light shines, in this sense, in hospitals and places of attention! How much love illuminates the rooms, the runners, the clinics, the places where the most humble services are performed! He wrote.
