Latest news with #GeneralAudience
GMA Network
26-05-2025
- General
- GMA Network
CFC marks 25 years of Vatican recognition; present at Pope Leo's 1st public General Audience
The Couples for Christ (CFC) celebrated the 25th anniversary of being recognized by the Vatican, with members witnessing Pope Leo XIV's first public General Audience. On May 21, Pope Leo XIV appeared in the Popemobile at St. Peter's Square. In a statement, CFC said thousands of pilgrims welcomed the pope with smiles, cheers, and flag-waving. 'The General Audience marked a significant milestone in the early days of Pope Leo's papacy. With a message centered on hope, faith, and spiritual renewal, the Holy Father signaled a commitment to build upon the pastoral foundation laid by Pope Francis, offering both continuity and new energy to the universal Church,' CFC said. CFC described the event as an 'historic occasion,' as it was also the group's first-ever global conference outside the Philippines. As it also celebrates its 40th anniversary as a Catholic renewal community, the CFC held a conference from May 16 to 18 and May 23 to 25 at the Centro Mariapoli in Castel Gandolfo. 'The location is steeped in Church history and nestled in the tranquil hills outside Rome, offering the perfect backdrop for prayer and reflection,' CFC said. It added that the conference invited CFC members from around the world to 'rekindle their missionary zeal.' CFC also noted that this year marks its 25th anniversary of Vatican's recognition as a private international association of the lay faithful with pontifical rights and the 30th anniversary of its mission presence in Europe. During the conference, CFC said it engaged in dialogues and reflections led by cardinals and bishops from various Vatican dicasteries and archdioceses. 'Indeed, for CFC and the thousands gathered in Rome, the message is clear: hope is alive, and the mission continues,' the group said. According to the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the CFC began in 1981 with 16 Filipino couples who joined a seminar organized by the Ligaya ng Panginoon, a Catholic charismatic community. CFC is now present in at least 122 countries and territories.
The Star
21-04-2025
- General
- The Star
Kuching Archbishop mourns the passing of Pope Francis
Poh (left) meeting Pope Francis in Rome in October 2016 after being appointed a bishop by him in 2015. KUCHING: The Catholic Church in Malaysia is deeply saddened by the passing of Pope Francis, says Kuching Archbishop Datuk Simon Poh. He described Pope Francis as a spiritual leader who strengthened human fraternity, inter-religious dialogue, and collaboration, while highlighting the need to care for the earth and address climate issues, as well as the plight of migrants, war refugees, and those on the margins of society. "Pope Francis inspired a church that is welcoming and with a human heart that shows the merciful face of God," Poh said in a statement on Monday (April 21). Poh noted that pilgrims from the Kuching Archdiocese were preparing to visit Rome, hoping to see the pope at the Wednesday General Audience in Vatican City. He also mentioned that the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of Singapore and Malaysia were grateful to have met Pope Francis during his pastoral visit to Singapore last September. On a personal note, Poh shared that Pope Francis appointed him as a bishop in 2015 and later as the Archbishop of Kuching. "On both occasions, I was blessed to have met him personally in Rome. Pope Francis inspired me with the choice of my motto 'Pastor Cordis Christi', which means 'shepherd after the heart of Jesus'. "From Pope Francis, I learned to be a bishop who is near to the people and reaches out to engage with spiritual leaders from respective faiths," Poh said. He added that the Kuching Archdiocese will prepare a book of condolences and a place for Catholics and friends to pray and offer their last respects, with more information to be provided later. Pope Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America, died on Monday (April 21) aged 88.
Newsweek
21-04-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Who Was Pope Before Francis? Full Timeline of Catholic Church's Popes
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After Pope Francis' death, Catholics worldwide are considering his legacy within the church. The Context Francis entered his position after several rounds of more traditional popes. He has advocated for the poor and fostered an unorthodox but overall more accepting viewpoint toward the LGBTQ+ community. While early popes endured the split of the Roman Empire, the Crusades and the Italian Renaissance, more recent popes have had to deal with how to integrate the religion's historically strict teachings with more nuanced perspectives on sexuality, birth control and divorce in the modern world. Pope Benedict XVI Before Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI was the leader of the Catholic Church. Benedict, a German-born academic, was one of the oldest popes to take charge of the church from 2005 until his retirement in 2013. "Unlike Francis, who embraced and sought to dialogue with secular realities, his immediate predecessors—Popes Benedict, John Paul II, and Paul VI—were much more defensive in their engagement with secular society and more likely to denounce and resist secular changes, including the secularization of Catholic life and of Catholics' everyday lived circumstances," Michele Dillon, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire, told Newsweek. Benedict harshly criticized relativism in the Catholic faith, an emerging trend where nothing was considered a definitive source of religious truth. While he did face accusations of covering up certain instances of sexual abuse within the church, Benedict also removed several clergy members who abused children. "I'm simply a pilgrim who is starting the last stage of his pilgrimage on Earth," Benedict said as some of his final words before retirement. "Let's go ahead together with the Lord for the good of the Church and of the world." Benedict died on December 31, 2022, at age 95. Pope Francis holds his homily during the weekly General Audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on February 12, 2025. Pope Francis holds his homily during the weekly General Audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on February 12, 2025. Vatican Media viaEvery Pope Listed in Order There have been 266 popes in the history of the Catholic Church, with the first one, Peter, leader of the apostles, heading the church starting in 32 A.D. The complete list of popes known to the church is as follows: 1. St. Peter (32-67) 2. St. Linus (67-76) 3. St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88) 4. St. Clement I (88-97) 5. St. Evaristus (97-105) 6. St. Alexander I (105-115) 7. St. Sixtus I (115-125) 8. St. Telesphorus (125-136) 9. St. Hyginus (136-140) 10. St. Pius I (140-155) 11. St. Anicetus (155-166) 12. St. Soter (166-175) 13. St. Eleutherius (175-189) 14. St. Victor I (189-199) 15. St. Zephyrinus (199-217) 16. St. Callistus I (217-22) 17. St. Urban I (222-30) 18. St. Pontain (230-35) 19. St. Anterus (235-36) 20. St. Fabian (236-50) 21. St. Cornelius (251-53) 22. St. Lucius I (253-54) 23. St. Stephen I (254-257) 24. St. Sixtus II (257-258) 25. St. Dionysius (260-268) 26. St. Felix I (269-274) 27. St. Eutychian (275-283) 28. St. Caius (283-296) 29. St. Marcellinus (296-304) 30. St. Marcellus I (308-309) 31. St. Eusebius (309 or 310) 32. St. Miltiades (311-14) 33. St. Sylvester I (314-35) 34. St. Marcus (336) 35. St. Julius I (337-52) 36. Liberius (352-66) 37. St. Damasus I (366-83) 38. St. Siricius (384-99) 39. St. Anastasius I (399-401) 40. St. Innocent I (401-17) 41. St. Zosimus (417-18) 42. St. Boniface I (418-22) 43. St. Celestine I (422-32) 44. St. Sixtus III (432-40) 45. St. Leo I (the Great) (440-61) 46. St. Hilarius (461-68) 47. St. Simplicius (468-83) 48. St. Felix III (II) (483-92) 49. St. Gelasius I (492-96) 50. Anastasius II (496-98) 51. St. Symmachus (498-514) 52. St. Hormisdas (514-23) 53. St. John I (523-26) 54. St. Felix IV (III) (526-30) 55. Boniface II (530-32) 56. John II (533-35) 57. St. Agapetus I (535-36) 58. St. Silverius (536-37) 59. Vigilius (537-55) 60. Pelagius I (556-61) 61. John III (561-74) 62. Benedict I (575-79) 63. Pelagius II (579-90) 64. St. Gregory I (the Great) (590-604) 65. Sabinian (604-606) 66. Boniface III (607) 67. St. Boniface IV (608-15) 68. St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) (615-18) 69. Boniface V (619-25) 70. Honorius I (625-38) 71. Severinus (640) 72. John IV (640-42) 73. Theodore I (642-49) 74. St. Martin I (649-55) 75. St. Eugene I (655-57) 76. St. Vitalian (657-72) 77. Adeodatus (II) (672-76) 78. Donus (676-78) 79. St. Agatho (678-81) 80. St. Leo II (682-83) 81. St. Benedict II (684-85) 82. John V (685-86) 83. Conon (686-87) 84. St. Sergius I (687-701) 85. John VI (701-05) 86. John VII (705-07) 87. Sisinnius (708) 88. Constantine (708-15) 89. St. Gregory II (715-31) 90. St. Gregory III (731-41) 91. St. Zachary (741-52) 92. Stephen III (752-57) 93. St. Paul I (757-67) 94. Stephen IV (767-72) 95. Adrian I (772-95) 96. St. Leo III (795-816) 97. Stephen V (816-17) 98. St. Paschal I (817-24) 99. Eugene II (824-27) 100. Valentine (827) 101. Gregory IV (827-44) 102. Sergius II (844-47) 103. St. Leo IV (847-55) 104. Benedict III (855-58) 105. St. Nicholas I (the Great) (858-67) 106. Adrian II (867-72) 107. John VIII (872-82) 108. Marinus I (882-84) 109. St. Adrian III (884-85) 110. Stephen VI (885-91) 111. Formosus (891-96) 112. Boniface VI (896) 113. Stephen VII (896-97) 114. Romanus (897) 115. Theodore II (897) 116. John IX (898-900) 117. Benedict IV (900-03) 118. Leo V (903) 119. Sergius III (904-11) 120. Anastasius III (911-13) 121. Lando (913-14) 122. John X (914-28) 123. Leo VI (928) 124. Stephen VIII (929-31) 125. John XI (931-35) 126. Leo VII (936-39) 127. Stephen IX (939-42) 128. Marinus II (942-46) 129. Agapetus II (946-55) 130. John XII (955-63) 131. Leo VIII (963-64) 132. Benedict V (964) 133. John XIII (965-72) 134. Benedict VI (973-74) 135. Benedict VII (974-83) 136. John XIV (983-84) 137. John XV (985-96) 138. Gregory V (996-99) 139. Sylvester II (999-1003) 140. John XVII (1003) 141. John XVIII (1003-09) 142. Sergius IV (1009-12) 143. Benedict VIII (1012-24) 144. John XIX (1024-32) 145. Benedict IX (1032-45) 146. Sylvester III (1045) 147. Benedict IX (1045) 148. Gregory VI (1045-46) 149. Clement II (1046-47) 150. Benedict IX (1047-48) 151. Damasus II (1048) 152. St. Leo IX (1049-54) 153. Victor II (1055-57) 154. Stephen X (1057-58) 155. Nicholas II (1058-61) 156. Alexander II (1061-73) 157. St. Gregory VII (1073-85) 158. Blessed Victor III (1086-87) 159. Blessed Urban II (1088-99) 160. Paschal II (1099-1118) 161. Gelasius II (1118-19) 162. Callistus II (1119-24) 163. Honorius II (1124-30) 164. Innocent II (1130-43) 165. Celestine II (1143-44) 166. Lucius II (1144-45) 167. Blessed Eugene III (1145-53) 168. Anastasius IV (1153-54) 169. Adrian IV (1154-59) 170. Alexander III (1159-81) 171. Lucius III (1181-85) 172. Urban III (1185-87) 173. Gregory VIII (1187) 174. Clement III (1187-91) 175. Celestine III (1191-98) 176. Innocent III (1198-1216) 177. Honorius III (1216-27) 178. Gregory IX (1227-41) 179. Celestine IV (1241) 180. Innocent IV (1243-54) 181. Alexander IV (1254-61) 182. Urban IV (1261-64) 183. Clement IV (1265-68) 184. Blessed Gregory X (1271-76) 185. Blessed Innocent V (1276) 186. Adrian V (1276) 187. John XXI (1276-77) 188. Nicholas III (1277-80) 189. Martin IV (1281-85) 190. Honorius IV (1285-87) 191. Nicholas IV (1288-92) 192. St. Celestine V (1294) 193. Boniface VIII (1294-1303) 194. Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04) 195. Clement V (1305-14) 196. John XXII (1316-34) 197. Benedict XII (1334-42) 198. Clement VI (1342-52) 199. Innocent VI (1352-62) 200. Blessed Urban V (1362-70) 201. Gregory XI (1370-78) 202. Urban VI (1378-89) 203. Boniface IX (1389-1404) 204. Innocent VII (1404-06) 205. Gregory XII (1406-15) 206. Martin V (1417-31) 207. Eugene IV (1431-47) 208. Nicholas V (1447-55) 209. Callistus III (1455-58) 210. Pius II (1458-64) 211. Paul II (1464-71) 212. Sixtus IV (1471-84) 213. Innocent VIII (1484-92) 214. Alexander VI (1492-1503) 215. Pius III (1503) 216. Julius II (1503-13) 217. Leo X (1513-21) 218. Adrian VI (1522-23) 219. Clement VII (1523-34) 220. Paul III (1534-49) 221. Julius III (1550-55) 222. Marcellus II (1555) 223. Paul IV (1555-59) 224. Pius IV (1559-65) 225. St. Pius V (1566-72) 226. Gregory XIII (1572-85) 227. Sixtus V (1585-90) 228. Urban VII (1590) 229. Gregory XIV (1590-91) 230. Innocent IX (1591) 231. Clement VIII (1592-1605) 232. Leo XI (1605) 233. Paul V (1605-21) 234. Gregory XV (1621-23) 235. Urban VIII (1623-44) 236. Innocent X (1644-55) 237. Alexander VII (1655-67) 238. Clement IX (1667-69) 239. Clement X (1670-76) 240. Blessed Innocent XI (1676-89) 241. Alexander VIII (1689-91) 242. Innocent XII (1691-1700) 243. Clement XI (1700-21) 244. Innocent XIII (1721-24) 245. Benedict XIII (1724-30) 246. Clement XII (1730-40) 247. Benedict XIV (1740-58) 248. Clement XIII (1758-69) 249. Clement XIV (1769-74) 250. Pius VI (1775-99) 251. Pius VII (1800-23) 252. Leo XII (1823-29) 253. Pius VIII (1829-30) 254. Gregory XVI (1831-46) 255. Blessed Pius IX (1846-78) 256. Leo XIII (1878-1903) 257. St. Pius X (1903-14) 258. Benedict XV (1914-22) 259. Pius XI (1922-39) 260. Pius XII (1939-58) 261. St. John XXIII (1958-63) 262. Blessed Paul VI (1963-78) 263. John Paul I (1978) 264. St. John Paul II (1978-2005) 265. Benedict XVI (2005-2013) 266. Francis (2013-2025) Pope Francis Before his death, Francis, 88, was reported to be in critical condition for bronchitis and pneumonia. Before becoming pope, Francis was known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires. Many of Francis' moves as pope were seen as more liberal in nature. He was the first to appoint a woman to lead an administrative Vatican office, although he continued to say that all priests should be men. Women could also join the body that selects bishops for the first time under his leadership. In 2023, he told The Associated Press that homosexuality is a sin, but not a crime. And he also formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, sparking a backlash from conservatives. What People Are Saying Pope Francis, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on February 23: "I have recently received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children. Thank you for your closeness, and for the consoling prayers I have received from all over the world!" University of New Hampshire sociology professor Michele Dillon told Newsweek: "[Pope Francis'] openness to everyday realities and doctrinal change while also reinforcing the church's core mission of spiritual nourishment and service to the common good. His active commitment to meet people where they are and to create a more pastorally attentive church, one that seeks to understand the aspirations, joys and sorrows of all kinds of Catholics and, beyond the church, the experiences of a broad swath of geographically and socioeconomically diverse communities." What Happens Next A papal conclave typically begins between 15 and 20 days after a pope's death. That time allows for the funeral rites, a nine-day mourning period known as the novemdiales, and provides time for cardinals worldwide to travel to Vatican City. The outcome will remain uncertain until a pope is chosen behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel, as ideological factions within the church will weigh their options between continuity and a more conservative shift.
Wales Online
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Francis the humble pope who won the hearts of millions
Francis the humble pope who won the hearts of millions He spoke out passionately on the plight of migrants fleeing war and poverty, the pressing need to protect the environment and tackle climate change, and what he saw as the iniquities of unfettered capitalism Pope Francis greets faithful during the weekly General Audience Two weeks after his surprise election as pontiff, Pope Francis carried out the Maundy Thursday ritual of washing and kissing the feet of 12 people, replicating Christ's gesture of humility to his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion. But in a notable break with tradition, the ceremony took place not in one of Rome's basilicas but a youth detention centre on the outskirts of the city. Not only that, two of the detainees were not Catholics but Muslims and – even more shockingly for some traditionalists – two (including one of the Muslims) were young women: females were previously excluded as the disciples had all been men. It was a deliberate act which was to set the tone for a papacy in which he urged the church to look outwards rather than engage in endless soul-searching. He spoke out passionately on the plight of migrants fleeing war and poverty, the pressing need to protect the environment and tackle climate change, and what he saw as the iniquities of unfettered capitalism. Article continues below There were apologies to the survivors of clerical child abuse while he was unafraid to address the vexed issues of sex and sexuality which had dogged the church for decades. With his obvious humility and compassion for the poor and disadvantaged, he captured the imagination of millions around the globe – both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. But his calls for greater acceptance for divorcees and gay people brought him into sharp conflict with some on the more conservative wing of the church. In one of his first public pronouncements as pontiff, he declared: 'Who am I to judge?' in response to a question about homosexuality. But after he suggested divorced and remarried Catholics could, under certain circumstances, receive holy communion the backlash was such that he was described in the Guardian as 'one of the most hated men in the world today'. One unnamed English priest was even reported to have likened him to the Roman emperor Caligula, fulminating: 'If he had a horse, he'd make him cardinal.' But for all the sound and fury, critics on the liberal wing of the church complained that in practice little changed when it came to issues such as the ordination women and married men, or same-sex marriage. Through it all Pope Francis carried on seemingly undeterred, despite the growing health issues in his final years, such controversies simply underlining the difficulties of holding together a church with 1.3 billion adherents. As the first pope from the Americas, and the first non-European for more than 1,200 years, his election in 2013 was a hugely symbolic moment. Already 76 years old when he ascended the throne of St Peter, he had been preparing for retirement having missed out following the death of Pope John Paul II eight years earlier. Following his election, friends said he was a man rejuvenated as he sought to breathe new life into the church he had served for more than half a century. It was a remarkable rise for a man who had once worked as a nightclub bouncer and a janitor before feeling a calling to the priesthood. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17 1936 in the Flores district of Buenos Aires, the eldest of five children in a middle class family of Italian immigrants. After leaving school, he qualified as a chemical technician going on to take a job in the food processing industry. At the age of 21 he underwent surgery to have part of one of his lungs removed thanks to a severe bout of pleurisy which was to leave him vulnerable to the winter weather. It was around that time that he felt his vocation, which hit him when he stopped off at church on his way to join friends to celebrate a holiday. 'It surprised me, caught me with my guard down,' he later recalled. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1958 and, after studying humanities, philosophy and theology in Chile and Argentina, was ordained a priest in 1969. In 1973, he was made Superior of the Jesuit province of Argentina, a post he held for six years. It was a period which included one of the most controversial episodes of his entire career. Following a military coup in 1976, two Jesuit priests who had been preaching left-wing liberation theology in the slums, were abducted and tortured by regime loyalists. They were found five months later semi-naked and drugged. One of the priests, Orlando Yorio, accused Bergoglio of effectively handing them over to the death squads by refusing to endorse their work, although his colleague, Francisco Jalics, later accepted that he had had no part in their kidnapping. It was only decades later when he was pope, that he finally told his biographer that his behind-the-scenes intervention with the dictatorship had secured their release, probably saving their lives. He said that he had regularly helped those fleeing the authorities during the years of the so-called 'dirty war' when thousands were 'disappeared', never to be seen again. For a time his career in the church seemed to have stalled, but in 1992 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of his native Buenos Aires, rising to become archbishop six years later. In 2001 he was consecrated a cardinal. He endeared himself to the city's inhabitants with his humility and his advocacy for the poor, regularly visiting the most rundown, crime-ridden barrios earning him a reputation as the 'slum bishop'. Rather than moving into the archbishop's official residence, he chose to remain in his modest flat where he cooked his own meals, travelling around by public transport. He clashed with the government of president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner who – ironically given his later reputation as a liberal – branded him a right-wing extremist after he criticised her social reforms, including the introduction of same-sex marriage. His down-to-earth style also made him a popular figure among his fellow Latin American bishops and when John Paul II died he reportedly secured the second highest tally of votes in a conclave of cardinals to elect a successor before bowing out in favour of the arch-conservative Joseph Ratzinger. With that his moment appeared to have past, but when Ratzinger – who took the papal name Benedict XVI – unexpectedly resigned in 2013, it was Bergoglio who came out top in the conclave securing election in the fifth round of voting. In a clear statement of intent, he took the papal name Francis – the first pope to do so – after St Francis of Assisi who devoted his life to the poor. On the night of his election, he took a bus back to his hotel with the cardinals rather than being driven in the papal car. Next morning, he insisted on paying the hotel bill himself. As in Buenos Aires, he again chose to forgo the sumptuous state apartments in the Apostolic Palace used by previous incumbents, instead moving in to a guest house in the Vatican grounds. For his first visit outside Rome, he travelled to the tiny island of Lampedusa to pray for the thousands of migrants who had washed up there after crossing the Mediterranean from Africa. In one early interview, he vividly set out his vision of the church as 'a field hospital after battle' ministering to the poor, the spiritually broken and the lonely. 'I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,' he declared. Not for the last time, he caused anger among some church conservatives when he made his first papal address in a simple white cassock rather than the customary papal robes. In response, Esquire magazine named him their 'best-dressed man' of the year. The new pope also moved swiftly to clean up the scandal-ridden Vatican Bank – which had become a byword for corruption and money laundering – and overhaul the curia, the Vatican bureaucracy. In one early intervention, he surprised both traditionalists and liberals by criticising the church for having become 'obsessed' with issues such as homosexuality, abortion and birth control. But in what to some was to become a recurring pattern, the following year he spoke out against same-sex marriage, defended the 'traditional' family and reaffirmed the church's opposition to abortion. In 2015 he issued an encyclical warning that environmental degradation was a 'moral issue', driven by unchecked capitalism, linking sinful actions against the natural world with economic exploitation of the poor. But it was his exhortation, Amoris laetitia (the joy of love), a wide-ranging pronouncement on family issues the following year, which was to set off a firestorm within the church. In a call for more welcoming and less judgmental attitudes, it said divorcees who had remarried but not obtained an annulment, might be permitted to receive holy communion through the guidance of a priest. To supporters it amounted to no more than bureaucratic recognition to a system that already existed, but to some conservatives it was overturning centuries of church teaching. An open letter signed by 62 disaffected Catholics, including one retired bishop, accused the pope of heretical teaching, while, in what was seen as a direct challenge to his authority, four cardinals formally asked for a series of clarifications. Meanwhile, the pope was also having to deal with the legacy of decades of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests covering countries round the world. During a visit to Ireland in 2018, he acknowledged the 'grave scandal' of the church's failure to confront the issue but disappointed many by failing to address demands by survivors for action. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic posed further challenges. In March 2020 he performed an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing – normally reserved for festivals such as Christmas and Easter – in a dark and deserted St Peter's Square as he prayed for the outbreak to end. He sought to tackle scepticism about the vaccines, urging people to get inoculated saying that healthcare was a 'moral obligation'. In the period that followed there were growing health issues as he was forced to cancel or postpone engagements as a bout of sciatica was followed by colon surgery, while he began using a wheelchair because of knee problems. The man who once said 'Who am I to judge?' when it came to homosexuality, found himself having to apologise after complaining there was too much 'frociaggine' – which roughly translates as 'faggotry' – among young seminarians. Article continues below There was a sense that his time was drawing to a close when he consecrated 21 new cardinals, seen by some as an attempt to secure his legacy, increasing the likelihood that the next conclave would elect a successor who would continue his reforms. He also disclosed plans to be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore – a sign of his devotion to the Virgin Mary – rather than the Vatican, in yet another break with papal tradition. Even has his health failed he continued to engage on those issues that defined his papacy, denouncing US President Donald Trump's plans for the mass deportation of migrants from the US, with a warning it was bound to 'end badly'.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Though pope's kidney issues subside, his prognosis 'remains guarded'
Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for 12 days, "continues to show signs of improvement, with his kidney issues subsiding," the Vatican said Wednesday. The 88-year-old pontiff remains in critical condition and "despite the slight improvements, his prognosis remains guarded," the press office said in an update Wednesday night. He is being treated for double pneumonia reported on Feb. 18 and on Sunday he was showing signs of mild renal insufficiency, which appears to be under control. "The Holy Father's condition has shown a slight further improvement over the past 24 hours," the Vatican said. He had a restful night again from the 10th floor in a special suite of rooms, including a chapel. In the morning, the pope received the Eucharist, and in the afternoon he resumed his work. He is assisted by his two personal secretaries. A chest CT scan Tuesday night "showed a normal progression of the lung inflammation." In addition, blood tests conducted Wednesday confirmed the improvement observed Tuesday. The pope remains on high-flow oxygen though he hasn't experienced any asthma-like respiratory episodes Wednesday. Also, physiotherapy is continuing, the Vatican said. He is susceptible to pneumonia because he contracted pleurisy in his 20s and had part of his lung removed. This is Francis' longest hospital stay and fourth since he became pope in 2013. Despite the cancellation of the General Audience on Wednesday, Francis continues to teach from his hospital room. The Vatican released his catechesis. This was his second catechesis since being admitted into Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 where he was first treated for bronchitis. He reflected on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple 40 days after his birth, and the Lord's encounter with two elderly "pilgrims of hope," Simeon and Anna. Francis invited the faithful to imitate Simeon and Anna, "who know how to welcome God's visit with joy and rekindle hope in the hearts of brothers and sisters." In St. Peter's Square, cardinals, bishops, nuns and faithful have been gathering since Monday night to say the rosary for the pontiff. The hospital is about 4 miles from the Vatican. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said Sunday in a homily from St. Patrick's Cathedral that the pope is "probably close to death." Alfonso La Femmina, outside the hospital, told CNN he prays and hopes "that God may help." "When I see the news every morning and every evening that he has slept well, I feel pleased," he said. "When I hear that he is getting better, even if his condition is stable and the progress is still uncertain, I pray, hoping that he can recover as soon as possible." Francis wrote a letter in 2013 that made provisions should he become incapacitated. Benedict XVI resigned that year and in 2022 died at 95.
