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Vatican Media
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “During my prolonged hospitalization here, I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart”. The text prepared by the Holy Father was released by the Vatican Press Office. The latest bulletin released on the evening of Saturday 8 March from the Hospital reassures us about the clinical conditions of the Pontiff, who has been hospitalized for almost a month for bilateral pneumonia but has been “slightly improving” in recent days.
And while in Rome, as scheduled, the celebrations of the Holy Year continue, in the text of the Angelus the thoughts of the Bishop of Rome go precisely to those who celebrated the Jubilee of volunteering this morning. The Pope praised the many organizations involved in serving others, noting that “In our societies, too enslaved to market logic, where everything risks being subject to the criterion of interest and the quest for profit, volunteering is prophecy and a sign of hope, because it bears witness to the primacy of gratuitousness, solidarity and service to those most in need. I express my gratitude to those who are engaged in this field: thank you for offering your time and abilities; thank you for the closeness and tenderness with which you care for others, reawakening hope in them!”.
“And while I am here, I think of the many people who in various ways are close to the sick, and who are for them a sign of the Lord’s presence. We need this, the “miracle of tenderness” which accompanies those who are in adversity, bringing a little light into the night of pain,” continued the Pope, who then again thanked “all those who are showing their closeness to me in prayer: heartfelt thanks to you all! I pray for you too.”
The Pope again asked for prayers for peace, "in particular in tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In particular, I have learned with concern of the resumption of violence in some areas of Syria: I hope that they cease definitively, with full respect for all ethnic and religious components of society, especially civilians".
Meanwhile, the Holy See Press Office announced that "this morning the Pope continued his therapy, as well as respiratory and motor physiotherapy and continues to alternate non-invasive mechanical ventilation at night and high-flow oxygenation with nasal cannulas during the day".
“In the morning, the Pope received a visit from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and the Substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, and among other things, they updated him on some situations in the Church and in the world”. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 9/3/2025)
