Pope Francis Observes Start of Lent from Hospital as Vatican Reports Stable Yet Complex Condition

VATICAN CITY, March 6 — Pope Francis marked the beginning of Lent from his hospital suite yesterday, with the Vatican confirming that while his condition remains stable, it is still complex as he continues treatment for double pneumonia.

The 88-year-old pontiff, leader of the global Catholic Church, has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since February 14, following multiple respiratory attacks that have raised worldwide concern.

In its latest update on Wednesday evening, the Vatican reported that his condition remained stable, and he spent the day sitting in an armchair, with no recurrence of the respiratory failure episodes he experienced on Monday.

Though he was unable to attend the traditional Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome, Francis participated in a blessing from his private suite on the hospital's 10th floor. He also carried out some work and resumed his daily call to the only Catholic priest in Gaza, the Vatican said.

However, it cautioned that “given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains reserved,” meaning doctors are withholding predictions about his recovery.

United in Prayer

Pope Francis, who leads nearly 1.4 billion Catholics, has not been seen in public since his hospitalization, and the Vatican has not released any photos, though he has continued to publish messages.

His absence was deeply felt at the Ash Wednesday procession and mass in Rome, which marks the start of Lent—a 40-day period of prayer and sacrifice leading up to Easter, the most sacred time in the Christian calendar.

At the Santa Sabina Basilica, where the mass was attended by around 20 red-clad cardinals, Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read out the pope’s homily.

“We feel deeply united with him at this moment and we thank him for the offering of his prayers and his sufferings for the good of the entire Church and the whole world,” De Donatis said.

Christians around the world also prayed for the pope’s recovery, including in his homeland of Argentina.

In the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where Francis grew up as Jorge Bergoglio, pilgrims gathered at the Basilica of San Jose de Flores to pray before portraits of him. It was in this very church, at the age of 17, that he first felt called to serve the Church.

“We are praying so that he can finish his work,” said Gabriela Lucero, 66, after attending mass, which focused on love for one’s neighbor, regardless of their origins.

“In a time when many voices reject immigrants, the pope reminds us to embrace them with love,” she added.

A Challenging Recovery

Francis, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, had shown signs of breathlessness and struggled to read aloud in the days leading up to his hospitalization.

On February 22, he suffered a “prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis,” followed by an “isolated crisis of bronchospasm” on February 28, a condition that causes airway constriction.

The Vatican revealed that on Monday, he experienced “two episodes of acute respiratory failure due to a significant buildup of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm.” However, his condition has since stabilized.

Acute respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening, occurs when the lungs fail to supply enough oxygen to the blood or when carbon dioxide builds up.