Jamaine Punzalan

Pope Francis looks at a girl in a wheelchair during the audience to Pilgrims of Maestre Pie Filippini and Viterbo Civitavecchia-Tarquinia Dioceses in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on May 14, 2022. Alberto Pizzoli, AFP

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174133447765120220514-pope-francis-wheelchair-AFP.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pope Francis looks at a girl in a wheelchair during the audience to Pilgrims of Maestre Pie Filippini and Viterbo Civitavecchia-Tarquinia Dioceses in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican on May 14, 2022. Alberto Pizzoli, AFP</span></span></span></div><p>Pope Francis spent a &quot;calm night&quot; as he marked three weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said Friday, the day after the 88-year-old issued his first audio message.</p><p>The Holy See had on Thursday evening reported the pontiff&#x27;s condition was &quot;stable&quot; for the third day in a row, with no repeat of the respiratory crises that have punctuated his time at Rome&#x27;s Gemelli hospital.</p><p>It then released an audio recording made earlier in the day in which Francis, breathless, thanked those who have been praying for his recovery.</p><p>&quot;I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here,&quot; the Argentine said in a message broadcast in St Peter&#x27;s Square.</p><p>&quot;May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,&quot; he said, taking laboured breaths as he spoke in his native Spanish.</p><div><iframe width="1080" height="608" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9KAQqFNgRCg" title="Pope Francis sends first audio message from hospital to faithful at St Peter&#x27;s Square | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>It was the first time the world has heard Francis&#x27;s voice since he was admitted to the Gemelli hospital, which has a special suite for popes on the 10th floor, on February 14.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;GOOD SIGN&#x27;</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>Pilgrims have been gathering in St Peter&#x27;s Square at the Vatican every evening to pray for the pope&#x27;s recovery, and hundreds of people there on Thursday applauded when they heard his message.</p><p>&quot;We were very happy that he could speak,&quot; said John Maloney, a 76-year-old English pilgrim.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a good sign that he&#x27;s actually able to speak,&quot; he told AFP, adding: “He&#x27;s got a long way to go so he&#x27;s in the hands of God.&quot;</p><p>But for Claudia Bianchi, a 50-year-old Italian from Rome, &quot;It struck me to hear him so tired&quot;.</p><p>&quot;It was a positive sign, so it gives us hope that he still has the strength to speak. And he always seems to want to be with us,&quot; added another Rome local, Alessandra Dalboni, 53.</p><p>The Vatican said earlier Thursday that Francis, head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, is in a &quot;stable&quot; condition with no repeat of Monday&#x27;s respiratory failure..</p><p>Francis continued with his breathing exercises and physiotherapy, did not have a fever, and managed to do a bit of work in both the morning and afternoon, it said.</p><p>The Vatican has been providing twice daily updates on the pope&#x27;s health, a morning one on how the night went, and an evening medical bulletin.</p><p>But on Thursday it said that &quot;in view of the stability of the clinical picture, the next medical bulletin will be released on Saturday&quot;.</p><p>Nonetheless, &quot;the doctors are still maintaining a reserved prognosis&quot;, it said, meaning they will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Pope Francis spent a "calm night" as he marked three weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said Friday, the day after the 88-year-old issued his first audio message.</p>

Pope Francis spent a "calm night" as he marked three weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said Friday, the day after the 88-year-old issued his first audio message.

Pope has 'calm night' as he marks 3 weeks in hospital

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Pope has 'calm night' as he marks 3 weeks in hospital

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 07, 2025 04:07 PM PHT

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Updated Mar 07, 2025 09:16 PM PHT

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