For the third consecutive week, Pope Francis was unable to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer in person, the Vatican publishing his written comments instead.
The Vatican said that the text, sent from his hospital room to Rome, had been written “in recent days”. In this document, the Pope thanked people for their prayers and thanked his medical team for their care.
“I feel in my heart the” blessings “which is hidden in fragility, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust the Lord,” he wrote.
“At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in the body and the spirit of the condition of so many sick and suffering.”
The pope told Catholics around the world that he felt their “affection and proximity”.
“I have the impression of being” worn “and supported by all the people of God. Thank you all!” The text reads.
The Vatican said that the pontiff’s clinical conditions remained stable on Sunday.
He did not need “non-invasive mechanical ventilation, only oxygen therapy with broadband,” he said.
The pope had no fever and had participated in mass on Sunday morning with those who took care of him at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, added, and spent the rest of the day alternating rest and prayer.
In a Sunday morning update, Pope Francis would rest after a “peaceful” night.
“The pope woke up, had breakfast with coffee, continued his therapy and read the newspapers as he usually does.”
The pontiff received two visitors to the hospital on Sunday – the first external visitors that the Vatican mentioned since last Monday.
Once again, it was the secretary of state of Cardinal Paroline and his assistant, Mgr Pena Parra, who saw Pope Francis in his hospital room on the 10th floor. There is no detail over the duration they have spent with him or what was discussed.
Friday, the Pope underwent a second breathable “crisis”, after which he received additional oxygen support – but was not intubated.
On Saturday evening, the Vatican described its condition as stable, without fever and without additional “crises” with its breathing. He would have been “alert” and ate normally.
In his Sunday Angelus, the pope also prayed for peace, especially in “Tourmented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel”, adding: “Since here, war seems even more absurd.”
On Sunday, visitors to the Vatican generally meet on St Peter square to see the Pope appear in a window at the top of the apostolic palace in the official papal apartment.
However, Francis does not live there, opting for the simpler setting of the guest house of Santa Marta of the Vatican.
