As Pope Francis remained hospitalised in a critical condition, the Vatican has led calls for prayers, with faithful from around the world gathered outside to offer their support on Sunday.
The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing for several days and subsequently had pneumonia diagnosed in both lungs.
The Vatican described his condition as critical for the first time on Saturday, reporting that the 88-year-old Francis had needed supplemental oxygen and blood transfusions that day after a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis”.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a senior Vatican official, told participants at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday morning they should make their prayers for Francis “stronger and more intense”.
Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health in the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
