Latest news with #2025Jubilee
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
World looks on as Pope Francis makes final journey through Rome
Throngs of Catholic faithful, world leaders and onlookers will pay their last respects to Pope Francis on Saturday as the pontiff makes his final journey from the Vatican to his chosen resting place – a simple tomb in his favourite church in Rome. The authorities are expecting as many as 200,000 people for the funeral service around St Peter's Square in the Vatican, which is due to start at 10 am (0800 GMT). The Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will preside over a Requiem Mass in the forecourt of St Peter's Basilica. The Vatican said that 162 delegations had confirmed attendance, including dozens of heads of state and government and several reigning monarchs. After the Mass, the pope's coffin will be brought back into St Peter's Basilica, from where a procession will set off for the burial. Tens of thousands more people will line the 6-kilometre route through central Rome - passing sights such as Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum - to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major where Francis will be laid to rest after having visited it frequently throughout his 12-year papacy. Francis will be the first pope not to be interred in St Peter's Basilica in more than a century. The burial itself will take place on a relatively modest scale: with cardinals, but also with Francis' close associates and his personal nurse. At the pope's request, some of the poor and homeless will also be present. Francis died of a stroke, followed by a coma and heart failure on Easter Monday, having in recent weeks battled acute respiratory failure, arterial hypertension and other ailments. He was 88. With Rome already hosting hordes of visitors due to the Easter celebrations and the 2025 Jubilee, the pope's death plunged the city into feverish preparations for the funeral and also the election of a new head of the Catholic Church. More than 220 cardinals will attend the funeral, including those eligible to vote in the upcoming conclave to elect the next pope. The date of the conclave is expected to be announced the following week. However, it is the arrival of state delegations from more than 130 countries that has caused the greatest organizational challenge for the authorities. The influx of world leaders - including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and heir to throne Prince William, Argentinian President Javier Milei and UN chief António Guterres - has entailed an unprecedented deployment of police, military and other security entities. Security precautions around the Vatican have been boosted for days and a no-fly zone is in place, with the Italian special forces also securing St Peter's Square with drone defence equipment. Some 250,000 mourners were estimated to have paid their respects to the pontiff during the three days he lay in state in a simple wood coffin, which was sealed on Friday night. The security measures were to be stepped up again for the funeral service on Saturday. Snipers, dog squads, bomb disposal teams, special forces on the Tiber River and other units will be deployed to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pope makes surprise appearance in wheelchair at Mass for sick
Pope Francis, who is recovering from a lengthy stay in hospital where he was treated for double pneumonia, provided a surprise to 20,000 worshippers on St Peter's Square in Rome on Sunday by turning up in a wheelchair at the end of a Mass for the sick. "A beautiful Sunday to all. Thank you," Francis said in Italian in an audibly stressed voice. Images showed that his breathing was being assisted by a tube leading to his nose. The Mass for the sick is part of the 2025 Jubilee year. It was led by Archbishop Rino Fisichella. A sermon from the pope was read out during the service. "I have much in common with you at this time of my life, dear brothers and sisters who are sick: the experience of illness, of weakness, of having to depend on others in so many things, and of needing their support," the sermon read. "This is not always easy, but it is a school in which we learn each day to love and to let ourselves be loved," it continued. Francis, 88, was discharged from the Gemelli Hospital two weeks ago after a stay of 38 days, during which there were fears for his life. The Vatican reported on Friday that his health was improving. A comment from a Vatican spokesman at the time led to speculation that the pope could make a public appearance at the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer. The 2025 Jubilee began with the opening of the Holy Doors at St Peter's Basilica on December 24, Christmas Eve. Jubilees are celebrated every 25 years, although special years are also marked in the intervening periods.
Daily Tribune
09-03-2025
- General
- Daily Tribune
Italian Scholar Applauds Bahrain's Role in Promoting Global Peace and Unity
Professor Alessandro Saggioro, a distinguished scholar of religious history at Sapienza University in Rome, has commended Bahrain and the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence for their efforts in fostering peace and mutual respect. Professor Saggioro highlighted the significance of the United Nations' adoption of Bahrain's initiative to declare the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence, describing it as a milestone in promoting harmony and collaboration among diverse communities. He emphasized that the initiative, founded on principles of peace, human dignity, and knowledge, represents a tangible step toward building more cohesive and cooperative societies. He further noted that Bahrain's initiative aligns with the core principles of the United Nations and offers a positive vision for the future, particularly in the face of current global challenges. Additionally, he pointed out that it resonates with the theme of the 2025 Jubilee, which carries the message of "hope," serving as a renewed call for global unity. Professor Saggioro underscored the importance of transforming the values embodied in the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence into everyday social practices worldwide. He also praised Bahrain's growing international reputation and the pivotal role of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence in promoting peace and sustainable development. He noted that Bahrain's initiatives have received widespread recognition from the United Nations and its member states, further solidifying the kingdom's leadership in advancing global peaceful coexistence.
Local Italy
23-02-2025
- Health
- Local Italy
Pope Francis has 'peaceful' night after respiratory crisis: Vatican
The Vatican had warned on Saturday evening that the pope's condition was "critical" after he suffered a prolonged respiratory crisis and required blood transfusions for a low platelet count. The Vatican's morning update was brief, saying: "The night passed peacefully, the pope rested." In a message published in lieu of his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer, which he normally delivers from a window overlooking St Peter's Square, Francis thanked the medical staff at the Gemelli Hospital. "I am confidently continuing my hospitalisation at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment – and rest is also part of the therapy!" he said in the message. "I ask you to pray for me," he concluded. Suffering more Francis, who has been the head of the Catholic Church since 2013, was initially admitted to Gemelli on February 14th with bronchitis. In its evening update on Saturday, the Vatican warned that the pope had faced a difficult day and his "condition continues to be critical". It said Francis had a "prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis, which also required the application of high-flow oxygen". Daily blood tests also "showed thrombocytopenia, associated with anaemia, which required the administration of blood transfusions," it added. Thrombocytopenia is a condition that occurs when the platelet count in the blood is too low, which can cause trouble stopping bleeding and can be life-threatening. Blood or platelet transfusions are given to people who are either bleeding heavily or at very high risk of bleeding, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). "The pope gets worse," headlined Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday, while La Repubblica described it as the "darkest day" at the Vatican. Prayers for the pope Besides missing the Angelus prayer, Francis asked a senior prelate to take his place leading a morning mass on Sunday as part of celebrations for the 2025 Jubilee – a Catholic Holy Year. "Even though he is in a hospital bed we feel him close to us," Rino Fisichella said before reading out the homily at St Peter's Basilica, offering prayers for Francis in this "moment of trial". Nuns and priests from around the world had prayed for the pope in front of Gemelli on Saturday. People have also been leaving candles bearing his picture at the foot of the statue of pope John Paul II located just outside the hospital. "I am praying for him, for his health, because he is a special person for all of us," Italian teacher Ilde Zito told AFP on Sunday. Francis has said the papacy is a job for life but has also left the door open to resigning like his predecessor. Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013, citing his ailing physical and mental health. The pope has suffered several health issues in recent years. He underwent colon surgery in 2021 and a hernia operation two years later. He has constant hip and knee pain, which forces him to use a wheelchair.
New York Times
17-02-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Pope to Stay in Hospital to Address ‘Complex' Clinical Issue, Vatican Says
Pope Francis will remain in a Rome hospital after being admitted late last week following a series of tests that indicated a 'complex clinical picture,' the Vatican said on Monday, raising fresh concerns about the 88-year-old pontiff's health. Diagnostic tests carried out after Francis was taken to Policlinico A. Gemelli on Friday presented 'a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection,' and his doctors had changed treatment accordingly, the Vatican said in a statement. The complex clinical picture 'would require an appropriate medical stay,' it said, without elaborating. Francis was hospitalized in 2023 with a respiratory infection, but was able to leave the hospital after three days. Francis has had a busy schedule since New Year's Eve, when he presided over the opening of the 2025 Jubilee, held every 25 years in the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican announced in early February that Francis had bronchitis, but he continued his activities, holding smaller audiences at the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where he lives, but presiding over larger gatherings and Masses with thousands of pilgrims, including an outdoor Mass in St. Peter's Square earlier this month. The Vatican said that a general audience on Wednesday was canceled. After he entered the hospital, doctors prescribed complete rest. Subsequent medical updates said he was in 'stable' condition. The pope, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, has a recent history of medical challenges. He has knee problems and sciatica that have caused a severe limp and, in recent years, often required him to use a wheelchair, walker or cane. In 2021, he had colon surgery. After his bout with bronchitis in 2023, he was hospitalized again a few months later to undergo abdominal surgery for a hernia. Last year, he underwent diagnostic tests at the Gemelli hospital after a slight flu. On Monday morning, Francis ate breakfast and read some newspapers after a restful night, said Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, adding that the pontiff was 'in good spirits.' Mr. Bruni said a medical update would be issued later Monday.
