Pope Francis was aware but still received high supplementary oxygen flows on Sunday, since he remained critical of pneumonia and a complex lung infection, said the Vatican. The prayers for him left from everyone, from his native Argentina to the headquarters of Islam Sunita in Cairo and the schoolchildren in Rome.
In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said what church leaders in Rome did not say publicly: that the Catholic faithful were united “next to a dying father.”
“As our Holy Father, Pope Francis has a very, very fragile health, and probably close to death,” Dollan said in the Cathedral of St. Patrick, without saying if he had independent information about the Pope's condition.
In Rome, the Vatican just said that Francis, 88, who has pneumonia in both lungs and had part of a lung removed when he was young, was still receiving high supplemental oxygen flows after a respiratory crisis on Saturday. More clinical tests were being performed.
“The night spent silent, the Pope rested,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in an early statement. A more detailed medical update was expected later on Sunday.
On Saturday, Francis suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high oxygen flows to help him breathe through a nasal tube. He also received blood transfusions after the tests showed low platelet counts, which are necessary for coagulation, said the Vatican.
The doctors said on Saturday that their forecast was “reserved.”
Doctors have said that Francis's condition is tactile, given his age, fragility and pre -existing pulmonary disease. His condition has revived speculation about what could happen if he becomes unconscious or incapacitated in another way, and if he could give up.
Prayers for the Pope in the Vatican
Francis was supposed to have celebrated Mass on Sunday morning in the Basilica of San Pedro and the deacons ordered as part of the commemoration of the Holy Year of the Vatican.
The organizer of the Holy Year, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated the Mass in his place and offered a special prayer for Francisco del Altar before delivering the homily that the Pope had prepared.
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“Although he is in a hospital bed, we feel Pope Francis near us, we feel it present among us,” Fisichella told the hundreds of white tunic deacons.
A pre -written message that had been prepared for Francis to read on Sunday but did not deliver that “I continued with confidence my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, continuing with the necessary treatment; and the rest is also part of the therapy! The message Le message He asked for prayers for him, as he always asks, and pointed out the next anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, “a painful and shameful occasion for the entire humanity “.
Meanwhile, in the native of Francis, Argentina, the Catholics prayed for the Pope in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires and the iconic obelisk of the city illuminated “Francisco, the city says for you”.
In Cairo, the great imam of Al-Azhar, the headquarters of Sunni learning that forged a close link with Francis, wished him well.
“I pray to Allah to give my dear brother, Pope Francis, a quick recovery and bless him with good health and well-being so that he can continue his trip to serve humanity,” wrote the sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in A Facebook post.
The schoolchildren from around Rome invested the Gemelli hospital with Get Well cards, while the Italian bishops directed prayers of Rosario and celebrated special masses in Italy.
The main threat facing the Pope is sepsis
Doctors have warned that the main threat that Francis faces is sepsis, a serious blood infection that can occur as a pneumonia complication. Until Friday, there was no evidence of sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, said the Pope's medical team in his first in -depth update about the Pope's condition.
Francis developed a low platelet count, a condition called platelopenia or thrombocytopenia. Platelets are fragments similar to the cells that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds to heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a series of things, including the side effects of medications or infections.
Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter, was admitted to the Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a bronchitis attack worse.
The first doctors diagnosed the complex infection of the viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract and then the appearance of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, together with supplementary oxygen when you need it.
Francis's recent reforms suggest that he knew he was getting old and more fragile
Francis has made several recent decisions that suggest that he was very aware that he was aging and fragile.
Last year, he reviewed the funeral rites that will be used after he dies, simplifying the rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing the burial outside the Vatican according to his wishes. But the central elements of the rites remain, including the three key moments that must be observed between the death of a Pope and his funeral: at his home, in the Basilica of San Pedro and in the place of the burial.
In December, Francis created 21 new cardinals. Everyone but one were under 80 years old and, therefore, are eligible to vote in a conclave to choose their successor. His additions brought the total number of cardinals of voting age to 140, well above the limit of 120 established by St. John Pablo II. But several of the current voters turn 80 this year, reducing the number.
Earlier this month, once he was already sick, Francis decided to extend the five -year period of the current dean of the Cardinals College, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, instead of giving way to someone new. As shown in the film “Conclave”, the dean of the Cardinals College plays an important role in the life of the Catholic hierarchy, and is a crucial figure during the transition between a papacy and the next.
Francis also decided to extend the term of the vice president, the Argentine cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81.