
Pope Francis' final emotional words were dedicated to Massimiliano Strappetti; Who is she?
The Vatican said on Tuesday that Pope Francis' final remarks included a sincere thank you to his personal health care helper.
While getting emotional, the 88-year-old pope, who passed on Monday due to a stroke and subsequent heart failure, thanked Massimiliano Strappetti, a nurse and caregiver, for persuading him to take one last ride in the popemobile on Easter.
Following his release from Rome's Gemelli Hospital this year, the sick pope questioned Strappetti, 'Do you think I can manage it?'

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First Post
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Trump's prediction finally comes true, US egg prices fall but still remain record high
Bird flu has killed more than 169 million birds since early 2022. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. Once a flock is slaughtered, it can take as long as a year to clean a farm and raise new birds to egg-laying age. read more US retail egg prices fell in April from the record-high prices they hit earlier this year, according to government data released Tuesday. The average price for a dozen Grade A eggs declined to $5.12 last month after reaching a record $6.23 in March, according to the Consumer Price Index. It was the first month-to-month drop in egg prices since October 2024. Overall, the average price of eggs of all sizes fell 12.7%, the steepest monthly decline since March 1984. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While wholesale egg prices have been coming down for a while, it was unclear how much store prices would decrease in April because consumer demand is usually high around Easter and Passover. Still, retail egg prices remain near historic highs as a persistent outbreak of bird flu wipes out flocks of egg-laying hens. The April average price for a dozen large eggs was 79% higher than the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported for the same month a year ago, when the price averaged $2.86 per dozen. Bird flu has killed more than 169 million birds since early 2022. Any time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading. Once a flock is slaughtered, it can take as long as a year to clean a farm and raise new birds to egg-laying age. That can have an effect on the egg supply because massive egg farms may have millions of birds. Outbreaks on two farms in Ohio and South Dakota last month affected more than 927,000 egg-laying hens. Lowering egg prices has been a particular focus of President Donald Trump. In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would invest $1 billion to help farmers improve their biosecurity measures to fight bird flu. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The U.S. has also increased imports of eggs from South Korea, Turkey, Brazil and other countries. According to Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute Sector Manager Kevin Bergquist, the volume of egg and egg product imports increased 77.5% during the first three months of the year compared to the same period a year ago. The antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating Cal-Maine Foods, the largest U.S. egg producer, which supplies around 20% of America's eggs. Cal-Maine confirmed the investigation in early April.. Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine said its net income more than tripled to $508.5 million in its most recent quarter, which ended March 1.
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Business Standard
06-05-2025
- Business Standard
Pope Francis's last gift: Popemobile to become health clinic for Gaza
A popemobile, formerly used by Pope Francis, is being converted into a mobile healthcare unit for children in Gaza, the Vatican's official media outlet said. As one of his last wishes before death, Pope Francis designated the popemobile from his 2014 pilgrimage of the Holy Lands to the Catholic aid organisation Caritas Jerusalem to address the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Caritas is transforming the vehicle into a mobile health station by equipping it with medical devices for examination and treatment of children. According to Caritas, once safe access to Gaza becomes possible, the wheeled clinic, staffed with physicians and medical personnel, will be deployed to communities without functioning healthcare facilities. The Pope specifically requested that the vehicle serve injured and malnourished children in the conflict-ravaged Palestinian territory. The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has killed over 15,000 children and displaced nearly one million people since the beginning in October 2023, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). The UN children's agency reports that Israel has prevented humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza for more than two months, as essential supplies, including food, clean water, and medicine, reach dangerously low levels. During his papacy, Pope Francis frequently made passionate statements on the Gaza war, describing the humanitarian conditions in the territory as 'shameful'. In his last Easter Sunday address, he called for all parties to implement a ceasefire and highlighted the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis. During 18 months of war, Pope Francis had been making nightly calls to the Holy Family Church – Gaza's only Catholic church – to check on their well-being. Pope Francis dies after long illness Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit pope, died Easter Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke while recovering at home from pneumonia. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, held the position of the 266th pontiff of the Catholic Church. During his leadership, Pope Francis publicly supported LGBTQIA+ individuals' rights, stressed the importance of tackling climate change, addressed the worldwide refugee situation, and urged the Church to ask for forgiveness for its involvement in the 'scourge' of child sexual abuse. Conclave to elect new pope to begin May 7


New Indian Express
05-05-2025
- New Indian Express
In final wish, Pope Francis requested his popemobile to be turned into mobile health unit for children of Gaza
In a lasting expression of solidarity with the people of Palestine, Pope Francis, who passed away recently, had in his final wish asked for his popemobile to be transformed into a mobile health unit for the children of Gaza. "It was his final wish for the people to whom he had shown such solidarity throughout his pontificate, especially in the last years. And in his final months, the Pope entrusted the initiative to Caritas Jerusalem, seeking to respond to the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where nearly one million children have been displaced," Vatican News reported. In a press release, Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, wrote that 'with the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to health care – children who are injured and malnourished.' 'This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed', he added. The repurposed popemobile is being outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment, including rapid tests for infections, diagnostic instruments, vaccines, suture kits, and other life-saving supplies. The mobile health unit will be staffed by doctors and medics, reaching children in the most isolated corners of Gaza once humanitarian access to the strip is restored. According to Vatican News, the Pope had in his final months entrusted the initiative to Caritas Jerusalem, an organisation which has long served Gaza's communities under difficult conditions. "Pope Francis often stated that 'Children are not numbers. They are faces. Names. Stories. And each one is sacred', and with this final gift, his words have become action," the report noted. "With over one hundred staff members committed to healthcare delivery, the organisation is now building on the Pope's legacy of compassion and strength whilst bringing his final blessing to the people of Gaza," the report said. But "it's not just a vehicle," said Peter Brune, adding that "It's a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza." The announcement comes amid reports suggesting nearly 2,90,000 children in Gaza are on the brink of death amid Israel's two-month-long blockade of humanitarian aid into the territory. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, more than 3,500 children below the age of five years "face imminent death by starvation" while some 70,000 children have been hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel has blocked the entry of crucial aid, including food, water, medicines and fuel, into the war ravaged territory. 'Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,' the GMO said in a statement on Sunday. 'At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the 'Israeli' occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,' it added.