European correspondent in Rome
Catholics gathered to pray for the health of the Pope under the stairs of St. Peter’s Basilica for the third night, because his doctors said his condition showed further slight improvement.
Nuns hanging beads of rosary, tourists and student priests were among those who joined the gentle inkation of the Rosary in the Vatican.
They were led by the Cardinal in the purple capacity of a skull, praying that Pope Francis could continue his duties as soon as possible.
The night gatherings began on Monday after the health of the 88-year-old fell dramatically over the weekend. He struggled to breathe and needed blood transfusion.
But the latest statements suggest that the Pope is able to sit in her chair, eat normally and even do what the Vatican calls “light work”: reading and signing documents.
“It was a bit scary last weekend, but now a little better,” said Stacey, a medical student from Paris, for the BBC.
She attended the Pope for the second time.
“Francis is very popular with young people because it is really open, and in the world that has become a little scary, gives us a lot of hope.”
Xiomara of Panama said she felt attracted to this Pope as a “good man.”
“Prayers always help, they are no longer only in the air,” he believes.
He led the Rosary under the white canopy was Cardinal Battista Re.
He is a character in the Vatican to call the conclave – the closed gathering of the older clergy choosing the Pope – that Francis failed to continue in the role.
Despite the slight improvement, the pope’s medical team still does not give a forecast.
He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on February 14th with a double pneumonia, and according to the Vatican, CT scanning his lungs shows “normal evolution”, which suggests to respond to treatment.
We have been told that he still uses additional oxygen, but has not suffered further “respiratory crises”.
The tone of the Vatican officials certainly relaxed a little.
The Pope was described as “stable” on Tuesday, which was new. There was a “further improvement” by Wednesday night, and the update first missed “critical”.
Vatican officials warned that this does not mean that the pope is outside the forest.
But with so little that he continues, those who follow his condition closely ruined every word – or a missing word – for meaning.
The inevitably many also wondered about the future.
The pope was fragile even before this infection, so there was speculation about whether he could resign.
The Kvodiano Nazionale newspaper calls it “fluttering crows” through St. Peter, inevitable at the “sunset” of any papacy.
This time even louder since Benedict XVI set up a precedent and stepped down in 2013, the first pope to do so in six centuries.
Francis said before that he would consider the resignation if he could not perform his duties.
“His instinct will be as long as he can and is in a state,” believes Austen Ivereigh, who co -authored a book with Pope Francis.
“He showed that he did not mind being a weak and fragile pope; he can be a pope in a wheelchair or one who gets sick regularly and that’s fine.”
Anyway, if his health forecast was too bad, the author says, “Then [resignation] There could be a problem. “
Even is Francis closed to Gemelli Hospital, a well-glued Vatican Zupčanjani still turning. Bureaucracy functions and the Pope sign some documents.
On Monday, his state secretary and another senior official visited.
Officially, the Pope signed papers, moving the candidate list further along the path to holiness.
But one question is why they could not wait, given the fragility of the Pope, and wondered what other plans were discussed at that meeting.
While Francis enters his 14th day at the hospital, pilgrims already experience life without him. His weekly audience or meeting with believers was canceled the second week.
“We really want him to get better and continue the incredible job that started,” Mabi said.
She mentions the front plan of women in the Church in particular.
“He is the people of Pope and people want his work to continue.”
“We are sorry, because we hoped to meet the Pope in the audience today – we had tickets,” said Fr Cristiano.
Nearly 100 Catholics from Northern Italy gathered around him to start processing the street towards St. Peter behind a large wooden crucifixion.
“I’m not disappointed, I’m just worried about him,” the priest said. “Today, the news is not so bad, but it’s not that good either. So, we have to pray.”
