Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, leads Eucharistic adoration at the parish in December 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

Father Gabriel Romanelli, IVE, the pastor of Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, was able to speak with Pope Francis on Tuesday despite the fact that the pontiff remains hospitalized in critical condition with bilateral pneumonia.

After the phone call, the parish priest shared how the entire community rejoiced “to hear his voice.”

“As he did every day from the beginning of this terrible war, Pope Francis has called us once again to show his closeness, to pray for us, and to give us his blessing,” Romanelli said in a video message posted on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

“As the Parish of the Holy Family of Gaza, which belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, we rejoice to hear his voice,” he added. 

At the beginning of the war between Hamas and Israel, the parish complex was converted into an improvised shelter where 500 people now live.

The majority who live there are Christians, Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic, but they have also taken in more than 50 Muslim children with disabilities along with their families.

For Romanelli, Pope Francis’ daily call, which was only interrupted last Saturday when he suffered a prolonged respiratory crisis that forced him to wear an oxygen mask, “is always comforting.”

Especially “knowing that despite his delicate state of health, he continues to think and pray for everyone, for peace in Gaza,” he said in the video recorded in English. He also thanked the pontiff for his “constant prayers.”

“It gives us great joy even in the midst of so many trials,” Romanelli said, adding that “we follow all the information about the pope’s health, like all of you, from the official channels of the Holy See.”

Finally, he asked for prayers for the end of the war and for “peace for the entire Holy Land and the entire Middle East.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

People pray at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on Feb. 26, 2025. / Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ mild early-stage kidney insufficiency “subsided” on Wednesday, according to the Vatican.      

“The Holy Father’s clinical condition over the past 24 hours has shown further slight improvement,” the Holy See Press Office stated. “The mild renal insufficiency noted in recent days has receded.”

Despite the improvement, the latest medical report stated the pope’s “prognosis remains reserved.” 

The 88-year-old pontiff had a chest CT scan Tuesday evening that showed a “normal evolution” of lung inflammation caused by pneumonia.

Blood tests taken Wednesday confirmed the pope, though fragile, is showing signs of recovery. 

“Today’s hematochemical and hemacrocytometric examinations confirmed yesterday’s improvement,” the Vatican’s evening statement said.

The pope did not experience an “asthmatic respiratory crisis” on his 12th day of treatment in Gemelli Hospital but continues to undergo “high-flow oxygen therapy” and respiratory physiotherapy to treat his pneumonia.

“During the morning, the Holy Father received the Eucharist. The afternoon was devoted to work activities,” the Vatican report concluded.

Though the Holy Father met with Vatican officials at Gemelli Hospital earlier this week — including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State — the pontiff has not received any visitors today, the Vatican said.

In Rome, parishes and religious communities continue to offer Masses and prayers for Pope Francis, his health, and the leadership of the Church while the pontiff remains in the hospital for ongoing medical treatment. 

Since Monday, the Diocese of Rome and the Roman Curia have collaborated to organize nightly prayer events open to the public in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the pope’s recovery.  

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead Wednesday evening’s rosary.

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Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 13:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday asked Catholics to have the wisdom to look for the presence of God in our midst like the elderly Simeon and Anna in the New Testament.

In his second catechesis since being admitted into Rome’s Gemelli Hospital nearly two weeks ago, the Holy Father reflected on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Lord’s encounter with two elderly “pilgrims of hope.”

“The song of redemption of two elders thus emits the proclamation of the jubilee for all the people and for the world,” the pope shared in his written commentary on St. Luke’s Gospel. 

“Hope is rekindled in hearts in the Temple of Jerusalem because Christ our hope has entered it,” he continued.

The 88-year-old pontiff emphasized that both Simeon and Anna were people of prayer and worship, with “clear eyes” capable of recognizing God in the child Jesus and welcoming him into their lives. 

“Simeon embraces that child who, small and helpless, rests in his arms; but it is he, in fact, who finds consolation and the fullness of his existence by holding him to himself,” the pope said. 

“Filled with this spiritual consolation, the elderly Simeon sees death not as the end but as fulfillment, fullness; he awaits it like a ‘sister’ that does not annihilate but introduces to the true life that he has already foretasted and in which he believes,” he added.

Anna, a widow of more than 80 years of age who was devoted to prayer and service, could not contain her joy when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the Temple.

“Anna celebrates the God of Israel, who has redeemed his people in that very child and tells others about him, generously spreading the prophetic word,” the Holy Father said.

Besides helping Jesus make his “first act of worship” in the Temple, the pope noted how Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, express the tenderness of a family and “do not simply embed Jesus in a history of the family, the people, of the covenant with the Lord God.”

“They take care of his growth, and introduce him into the atmosphere of faith and worship. And they too gradually grow in their comprehension of a vocation that far surpasses them,” he said.

A view of St. Peter's Basilica during the Mass for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, with Bernini's baldachin and the papal altar decorated with white flowers, Dec. 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

The Vatican on Wednesday announced that Pope Francis has created a fundraising commission to solicit donations from Catholics and bishops’ conferences as the Vatican City State and the Roman Curia continue to face budgetary and funding challenges.

The “Commissio de Donationibus pro Sancta Sede,” Latin for “Commission on Donations for the Holy See,” has six members, “whose specific task will be to encourage donations” and find benefactors for special projects within the Vatican, according to a papal decree signed Feb. 11.

Pope Francis has been making cost-cutting decisions at the Vatican in recent years as he continues attempts to reverse the institution’s struggling financial situation, including a pension fund facing a “serious prospective imbalance.”

The donation commission’s statutes, signed by Pope Francis, say the team will report directly to the pope with twice-yearly updates on their work, to be carried out with the help of an initial endowment of 300,000 euros (about $315,000).

In its fundraising campaigns, the commission should, according to the norms, emphasize the importance of donations for “the Holy Father’s mission and charitable works” and ensure the will of the donor is respected when it comes to the destination of money for specific projects.

The first president of the commission is Father Roberto Campisi, assessor in the general affairs section of the Secretariat of State.

Members include Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; and Sister Silvana Piro, FMGB, undersecretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which oversees the Vatican’s real estate holdings and other sovereign assets.

The last appointee is Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, an Italian lawyer who on Tuesday was promoted from vice secretary to secretary of the Vatican City State Governorate.

The president and members of the commission are appointed for five-year terms.

Pilgrims gather in St. Peter's Square for a Mass and canonization of 14 new saints on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Staff, Feb 26, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).

Pope Francis entered the hospital for treatment of bronchitis on Feb. 14. Almost two weeks later, doctors say the pope — who contracted a case of double pneumonia while at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and experienced a “respiratory crisis” on Saturday — will remain in the facility while recovering due to his “complex” medical situation.

An extended hospital stay for one of the most important international figures in the world may raise the question: Who exactly runs the Vatican when a pope is hospitalized or unable to perform his normal duties?

Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News and the author of numerous books on Catholicism including “Encyclopedia of Catholic History,” told CNA that although Pope Francis has been in the hospital for almost two weeks, he has continued at least some oversight of Vatican affairs. 

Bunson pointed to coverage by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, which reported that the pope earlier this week met with his secretaries at Gemelli while recovering from his illness.

“So he’s clearly still in touch with the Vatican and is still making decisions,” Bunson said. 

In such cases, he said, “the machinery of state tends to keep functioning until such time as we enter into an interregnum” — the period in between popes. 

Andreas Widmer, an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business and former Swiss Guard at the Vatican, likewise said much of the Vatican’s administration continues even when the pope is sick. 

“Things keep going. He is kept apprised by [Vatican officials],” said Widmer, who served as a Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II in the 1980s and who regularly returns to the Vatican to work with the guard.

“From what I understand, the pope is still lucid and working,” Widmer said of Francis’ current hospitalization. “Maybe he doesn’t put in his 12-hour days, but he’s putting in work and meeting with people.”

In some cases, popes have addressed the possible need for resignations ahead of time. Pope Paul VI in 1965 wrote a letter to the dean of the College of Cardinals stating that, in the event of his incapacitation while in office, he should be considered resigned. (Pope Paul ultimately lived another 13 years and died while in office.)

In 2022, Pope Francis revealed that in the first year of his pontificate he signed his resignation and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to be invoked if he was medically incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties. (“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone gave it to, but I gave it to him when he was secretary of state,” the pope joked at the time.)

However, in his biography last year, the pope said he considers the Petrine ministry to be “for life” and saw no conditions for resignation, barring serious physical impairment.

Widmer argued that popes are not given to leaving such matters unresolved one way or the other. “A pope is not going to leave this to chance. They take their responsibility very seriously,” he said. 

Bunson noted the recent similar scenario in which St. John Paul II declined in health toward the end of his pontificate; during that period, he said, it was clear that preparations were being made for a possible interregnum.

“Clearly we’re not in that position yet, so the Roman Curia continues to function” as normal, he said. 

In the event of a pope’s death, Bunson said, much of the immediate administration of the Vatican falls to the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — one of the few officials of the Vatican who does not immediately lose his job upon a pope’s death. His roles include certifying the pope’s death and overseeing the functions of the interregnum.

“It’s his job to certify the death of the reigning pope and to make sure the wishes of the pope are respected,” Bunson explained. “Then the cardinals are summoned to Rome,” after which a new pope is eventually elected. 

Also retaining his title in the event of a pope’s death is the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the dicastery for which the chief role is the forgiveness of sins.

That official “always keeps his job,” Bunson said, “because there must always be the opportunity for God’s loving mercy.”

A second key official is the almoner of his holiness, the cardinal in charge of papal charity and care for the poor. It was Pope Francis who decreed that the almoner should keep his post, a reflection of the Holy Father’s concern for the forgotten and most vulnerable. 

Though Catholics may be curious as to how the Vatican is run during a pope’s hospitalization, Widmer signalled out one rumor that he said was “complete nonsense”: The claim that the Swiss Guards are “rehearsing” for the Holy Father’s funeral.

Reports of such rehearsals have circulated in international media in recent days, with the Swiss Guard itself denying the claims.

It’s “complete garbage,” Widmer said of the rumors, arguing that the Swiss Guard is already prepared for such occurrences as a normal part of their employment.

“Nobody has to practice anything. It’s what they do for a living,” he said.

A faithful holds a rosary while touching an image of Pope Francis during prayers for the pontiff's recovery at Gemelli hospital on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Feb 25, 2025 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis continues to be in a serious but stable condition as he concludes his 12th day in Rome's Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said.

In the latest communication on the 88-year-old pope’s health, issued on the evening of Feb. 25, doctors said his “clinical condition remains critical but stationary,” without any acute respiratory episodes.

It added that Francis’ hemodynamic parameters — that is, how his blood flows through the blood vessels — is also stable, and he underwent a follow-up CT scan on Tuesday to monitor his lungs following a pneumonia diagnosis last week.

After receiving the Eucharist in the morning, Pope Francis also “resumed work activities,” the message concluded.

The pontiff was admitted to Gemelli Hospital north of the Vatican in Rome on Feb. 14 after more than a week of illness. The Vatican and doctors have said Francis is suffering from respiratory infections, double pneumonia, and chronic illnesses. 

In a press conference on Feb. 21, Pope Francis’ medical team said he was “not out of danger” due to his age and fragile health, but that the pope “is not a quitter” and they were doing everything possible to have him be able to safely return to his Vatican residence.

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Vatican City, Feb 25, 2025 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has named two secretaries-general to serve under Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, in the Governorate of the Vatican City State, giving the Vatican’s first woman president “the power to dispose and confer... specific competencies or particular tasks” on the appointees.

The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Francis had appointed Archbishop Emilio Nappa and layman Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi to serve as joint secretaries-general of the governing body of the Vatican City State.

The nomination follows the pope’s appointment of Franciscan Sister Petrini as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Governorate of Vatican City State on Feb. 15, after she served as secretary-general of the governorate for just over three years.

Petrini, who will assume her new roles on March 1, is the first woman and non-cardinal to hold the positions — making her one of the highest-ranking women ever in the Vatican.

In Tuesday’s announcement, the Vatican said Pope Francis had also granted Petrini “the power to dispose and confer, appropriately, on the aforementioned secretaries-general, specific competencies or particular tasks,” appearing to give her a carte blanche to choose the responsibilities of her now two righthand men.

According to Vatican law, the secretary-general assists the president in her functions and acts as her substitute in the case of absence or impediment. It is a five-year term. During a sede vacante, the period following the death or resignation of a pope until the election of a successor, the secretary-general “shall take care of the ordinary government of the office, and, following the provisions in force for the sede vacante, shall take care of its current affairs.”

The Vatican has said Pope Francis continues to carry out some light work duties while under hospital treatment for multiple respiratory infections, including double pneumonia. Though visits are extremely limited, the Vatican said on Tuesday that the pontiff had received Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his No. 2, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, in his hospital room on Feb. 24, his 11th day of hospitalization.

The first of the two new secretaries-general, Nappa has been president of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 2022 as well as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches.

The 52-year-old from Naples, Italy, has a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and worked for a time in the general affairs section of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

The second appointment, Puglisi-Alibrandi, has over a decade of experience in the governorate, most recently serving as vice secretary-general since 2021. The 58-year-old lawyer was previously head of the juridical office of the governorate.

Father Emil Kapaun celebrates Mass using the hood of a Jeep as his altar on Oct. 7, 1950. / Credit: Public domain

Vatican City, Feb 25, 2025 / 12:15 pm (CNA).

Renowned Korean War military chaplain and Kansas native Emil Joseph Kapaun was declared “venerable” by Pope Francis on Tuesday.

The Holy Father on Monday met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State, at Gemelli Hospital where the pope is currently undergoing medical treatment to approve decrees from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for six men and one woman currently on the path to sainthood.

Kapaun is one of five servants of God who will be proclaimed venerable by the Catholic Church. The others are Italian layman Salvo D’Acquisto; Michele Maura Montaner, a 19th-century Spanish priest; Italian priest Didaco Bessi; and Kunegunda Siwiec, a Polish laywoman who died in 1955.

The Holy Father approved Kapaun and D’Acquisto based on their “offering of life.” In 2017, the pope introduced the “offering of life” category to the causes of the saints, which recognizes those who have persevered to closely follow the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and serve others “voluntarily and freely” until death.

Kapaun was born in Pilson, Kansas, on April 20, 1916, and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita on June 9, 1940, after completing theological studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis.

After serving as a pastor for his home parish and as an auxiliary chaplain at the Army airbase in Herington, Kansas, Kapaun discerned a call to minister to military personnel. In 1944, he was granted permission by Bishop Christian Winkelmann to become a U.S. Army chaplain.

Outside of the U.S., Kapaun was assigned to posts in Burma and India in the final years of World War II and in Korea following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. There he brought the sacraments to troops, tended to the injured, and prayed with soldiers in the foxholes. At times he celebrated Mass on the battlefield using the hood of a jeep as a makeshift altar.

During the Battle of Unsan, Kapaun was captured along with other soldiers and taken to a Chinese-run prison camp in Pyoktong, North Korea. While there, he regularly stole food for his fellow prisoners and tended to their spiritual needs despite a prohibition on prayer.

After being taken to what prisoners called the “death house,” Kapaun died on May 23, 1951, after months of malnutrition and pneumonia. Before his death, Kapaun was recognized for both his holiness and bravery while in active service.

In March 2021, after 70 years, the skeletal remains of Kapaun were identified among 866 other unknown Korean soldiers buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. These remains were handed to American forces in 1954 by North Korea. Kapaun’s funeral Mass was held on Sept. 29, 2021, at Wichita’s Hartman Arena, where more than 5,000 people came together to remember him.

Pope Francis on Tuesday also approved the canonizations of two laymen: Venezuela’s Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros and Italy’s Blessed Bartolo Longo. The Holy Father has called for a consistory to prepare for the upcoming canonizations.

Pope Francis presides over Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Feb 25, 2025 / 10:55 am (CNA).

In his message for Lent 2025, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of living one’s life as a constant journey of conversion, choosing to walk in peace and hope aside one’s fellow humans.

“May the hope that does not disappoint, the central message of the jubilee, be the focus of our Lenten journey toward the victory of Easter,” the pope said in the message, released Tuesday. 

He also quoted St. Paul’s exclamation in the first letter to the Corinthians: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 

Though Francis is in Gemelli Hospital to receive treatment for multiple respiratory infections, his Lenten message is dated Feb. 6, well ahead of his hospitalization on Feb. 14. 

The season of Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 5. The Vatican said the pope continues to carry out some work duties with the help of his secretaries while in the hospital.

In his message, the pontiff wrote that this Lent is an opportunity to consider three areas where one may be in greater need of conversion: journeying with others, being synodal, and having hope.

“A first call to conversion,” he said, “comes from the realization that all of us are pilgrims in this life; each of us is invited to stop and ask how our lives reflect this fact. Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, not moving, either immobilized by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone? Am I seeking ways to leave behind the occasions of sin and situations that degrade my dignity?”

On the virtue of hope, Pope Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which calls hope the “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” 

“Thanks to God’s love in Jesus Christ, we are sustained in the hope that does not disappoint,” the pope said, adding that hope “moves the Church to pray for ‘everyone to be saved’ (1 Tm 2:4) and to look forward to her being united with Christ, her bridegroom, in the glory of heaven.”

He recalled a prayer of St. Teresa of Ávila, to “hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one.”

Francis said a good Lenten exercise and examination of conscience would be to compare one’s life to a migrant or foreigner, “to learn how to sympathize with their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us so that we can better advance on our journey to the house of the Father.”

He also encouraged Catholics to be more synodal by journeying with others while avoiding self-absorption, exclusion, oppressing and excluding others, or being envious and hypocritical.

“Let us all walk in the same direction, tending toward the same goal, attentive to one another in love and patience,” he urged.

Pope Francis said the call to hope and trust in God and in eternal life is also an important aspect of Lenten conversion. Some questions to ponder include: “Am I convinced that the Lord forgives my sins? Or do I act as if I can save myself? Do I long for salvation and call upon God’s help to attain it? Do I concretely experience the hope that enables me to interpret the events of history and inspires in me a commitment to justice and fraternity, to care for our common home and in such a way that no one feels excluded?”

“This Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs,” he said.

Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas is apostoolic nuncio to Ukraine. / Credit: Courtesy of the nuncio

Vatican City, Feb 24, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).

Monday, Feb. 24, marked three years of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion. According to U.N. data, more than 12,600 civilians have died in the conflict, including more than 2,400 children. In addition, more than 10% of the country’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, causing more than 2 million families to be displaced.

In this context, the apostolic nuncio in Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, emphasized that, despite the pain and devastation, hope remains the only refuge for those suffering from the war.

“Pope Francis has proclaimed the Jubilee Year of Hope, and in such a horrible war, there is nothing left but hope. Military chaplains tell us that soldiers are grateful for any message of hope, because it is the only thing they have left,” Kulbokas said in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Speaking at the apostolic nunciature in Kyiv, the representative of the Holy See in Ukraine described a country marked by suffering. “This weekend, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the war, we have many visits and events. For us, however, it’s not a special date, because every day is a day of war,” he said.

The normalization of the conflict has led Ukrainians to adapt psychologically to the violence. “I remember the first weeks of 2022, when the bishops spoke dramatically, not knowing whether they would live to see the next day. Now we have more psychological peace to live with, although the war is more intense and dramatic than at the beginning,” he explained.

Archbishop Visvaldas Kubokas with local Catholics who put on a live Nativity scene at the nunciature. Credit: Courtesy of the apostolic nuncio

However, everyday life remains shocking. “I no longer remember the last night without a drone attack. Missile strikes are more sporadic, but drone attacks occur daily,” he lamented.

One of the aspects that most worries the apostolic nuncio is the situation of the prisoners of war and civilian detainees held by Russia. “Thousands of prisoners are suffering under inhumane conditions,” he decried.

The nuncio recalled, for example, the testimony of Ludmila, a 60-year-old woman who spent almost three years in a Russian prison. “For weeks she was tortured without being allowed to sleep, to the point of not being able to distinguish truth from lies. She ended up signing documents without knowing what she was doing,” he related.

The lack of mechanisms for releasing civilians held in prison further aggravates the crisis. “For the military there is a system of exchange, but for civilians there is not. Their situation is much more desperate,” he noted.

Vatican diplomacy has played a fundamental role in the humanitarian field. For example, in tandem with the international initiative “Bring Kids Back UA,” the Holy See has managed, in a discreet way, to bring back several dozen children deported by the Russian occupation forces.

In these three years of war, Kulbokas said, Pope Francis has managed to establish a kind of mechanism to negotiate the return to Ukraine of many children deported to Russia by the occupation forces.

The president of the Italian bishops’ conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis’ envoy working for peace in Ukraine, has played a fundamental role in this mission, the nuncio told ACI Prensa.

Zuppi “maintains contact with the Ukrainian and Russian authorities to address the issue of deported children and prisoners. The process is slow, since it sometimes takes months to obtain information about the minors,” Kulbokas explained.

However, with the detained civilians, efforts come up against a fundamental obstacle: “Russia considers many of them Russian citizens, which makes it difficult to apply international structures for their release. The only way is persuasion, dialogue with the Russian authorities to demonstrate that these people are civilians and must be released.”

The role of the international community and the future of the war

Kulbokas unequivocally criticized the ineffectiveness of the international community in finding a solution to the conflict. “There are no international structures capable of resolving the war. At the beginning, Europe may have thought that this conflict was not its problem, but when wars are not taken seriously, the conflict grows. If wars are not stopped at the outset, it’s too late later on.”

Despite the bitterness of the conflict, the apostolic nuncio maintains hope for a diplomatic solution. “In order for the conditions to be met that would put serious negotiations on the table, it’s necessary that there not be not just one or two global actors to decide. Peace in Ukraine must be a matter for the entire international community,” he indicated.

Meanwhile, Ukraine faces growing uncertainty about the support of the United States, the country that has supported it the most in recent years. The Trump administration recently ramped up its rhetoric against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

However, the Vatican diplomat avoided entering into polemics over statements by Trump. “The Catholic faithful in Ukraine feel that they cannot trust politicians, because they say one thing one day and another the next. What they expect from the Church is a clear moral position: That aggression is not justified and that life is defended,” he affirmed.

Kulbokas emphasized that the mission of the Church is another: “The important thing is to proclaim the Gospel, which is life, peace, respect, and justice.”

Despite the uncertainty and pain, the Vatican diplomat reiterated that international mediation is the only solution. “If we leave it to the great powers alone to decide, the solution will not be just. The only hope is for the international community to unite to put an end to this and other wars,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Feb 24, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

Feb. 24 marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a major escalation of a war that began in 2014, and it was marked with a day of prayer announced and organized by the Ukrainian embassy to the Holy See in Rome, according to Vatican News.

The Pan-Ukrainian Day of Prayer included a Mass for peace at St. John Lateran Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the pope’s vicar for the Diocese of Rome, and included Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and former nuncio to Ukraine.

During the Mass, the prayers of the faithful were read by the ambassadors of Chile, Poland, Lithuania, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Hungary, while the dean of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Ambassador George Poulides of Cyprus, read the first reading from the Book of Sirach.

Thanks to mediation by the Holy See, two Redemptorist priests of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — Father Bohdan Geleta and Father Ivan Levytsky, who were arrested on Nov. 16, 2022, by Russian forces — were released on June 28, 2024.

In a meeting organized with the participation of Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Ukraine, Geleta said he was able to endure the pain thanks to his faith in God and the offering of his suffering to “save his enemies” — although he admitted that this resolution was “very difficult in an environment of brutal contempt for the human person, where one has the constant feeling of being in a place of death.” 

Geleta said that God helped him to resist, adding that he was “very tormented by the fact that other prisoners who did not know God could not bear everything and there were cases of suicide and other painful things.”

“All this will remain in my memory and I will never forget those groans, those agonies, every type of mistreatment,” he said. “But I also dedicate it for the salvation of others, to testify that only God can sanctify us if we take a step from darkness to light.”

The two priests were the only civilians among 1,800 prisoners in the war prison. Geleta said he was able to hear confessions and even able to hold short prayers in the mornings and evenings. 

Kulbokas said these are signs of humanity in a terrible situation and that “this dialogue here between us is a dialogue of prayer.” 

A statue of St. John Paul II is seen in front of the entrance to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 22, 2025, where Pope Francis continues to receive treatment for respiratory issues. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Feb 24, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ condition remains serious but has shown “slight improvement” as he continues treatment on his 11th day in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said Monday evening.

The 88-year-old pontiff is still receiving oxygen therapy through his nose, though at a slightly reduced flow and concentration, according to the Holy See Press Office.

Doctors reported no further episodes of respiratory distress following a “respiratory crisis” on Saturday. Some of the pope’s laboratory tests have improved, and his “mild kidney insufficiency” remains under observation but is not a cause for concern, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis received the Eucharist on Monday morning and resumed some work in the afternoon. Later in the day, he called the parish priest in Gaza to express his solidarity.

Prayers for the pope’s recovery have continued worldwide since he was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 with bronchitis. Concerns over his health escalated over the weekend when the Vatican reported that he had suffered “an asthma-like respiratory crisis of prolonged intensity” while suffering from pneumonia in both of his lungs. The episode required high-flow oxygen therapy, and the pope received a blood transfusion for platelet deficiency.

At Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where Francis is being treated, the chaplain led prayers and Eucharistic adoration at the St. John Paul II Chapel on Monday, followed by a Mass.

On February 24, prayers for Pope Francis continued at Gemelli Hospital, where the Holy Father remains hospitalized. In the St. John Paul II Chapel, Adoration was led by the chaplain at noon, followed by Holy Mass.
Let's continue to pray for Pope Francis. pic.twitter.com/ZCZm5mskYg

— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) February 24, 2025

On Monday evening, Catholics will gather in St. Peter’s Square to pray the rosary for the pope, led by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. It marks the first of a series of nightly rosary prayers for the pope at 9 p.m. this week led by members of the College of Cardinals living in Rome.

“Pope Francis thanks all the faithful who have gathered to pray for his health in recent days,” the Vatican said in its statement.

A candlelight Stations of the Cross in St. Peter’s Square on Good Friday 2021. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Feb 24, 2025 / 07:32 am (CNA).

The Vatican announced Monday that cardinals will lead a nightly rosary in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ recovery, with the first prayer service scheduled for 9 p.m. Rome time on Monday evening.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will preside over the inaugural gathering, which will be broadcast live across EWTN’s television networks and digital platforms.

“Starting this evening, the cardinals residing in Rome, along with all collaborators of the Roman Curia and the Diocese of Rome, responding to the sentiments of the people of God, will gather in St. Peter’s Square at 9 p.m. to recite the holy rosary for the health of the Holy Father,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement.

The prayer initiative comes as the 88-year-old pontiff continues his recovery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he was admitted on Feb. 14 for what the Vatican then described as a mild flu condition.

During his Sunday Angelus message, which was read on his behalf, the pope expressed gratitude for the “closeness and prayers” he has received during his hospitalization.

The Vatican reported Monday that Pope Francis had a “peaceful night” at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he continues to receive medical treatment.

While Vatican sources said the pope was “in good spirits” and following his prescribed therapies, his condition remains critical, with the Holy Father receiving supplemental oxygen through nasal tubes and being monitored for mild early-stage kidney insufficiency.

The pope has been hospitalized since Feb. 14 and experienced a concerning respiratory episode on Saturday that required a blood transfusion due to anemia. The Vatican said both conditions are currently under control, with an additional medical update expected Monday evening.

The rosary will be available on EWTN’s television channels worldwide and through the network’s digital platforms, including its mobile app and YouTube channel.

The College of Cardinals celebrates Mass March 12, 2013, before entering the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Feb 24, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The retirement on Jan. 25 of Cardinal Oswald Gracias as archbishop of Bombay and the end of the 30-year “reign” of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn as archbishop of Vienna have triggered a vast generational turnover in the Roman Curia and around the world.

The sweeping changes involve the cardinal residential bishops, with seven of them reaching 75 years of age in 2025; in the Roman Curia, there will be eight cardinal heads of dicasteries who will exceed or have already exceeded the limit of 75 years of age during 2025. 

There is additionally a very special case in the Diocese of Rome. On Jan. 28, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Paolo Ricciardi, auxiliary bishop of Rome, to be bishop of the small Italian Diocese of Jesi. His departure marked the next step in what has been nearly a complete overhaul of the diocese. 

Diocese of Rome  

Pope Francis has changed the entire leadership of the Diocese of Rome. Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the pope’s vicar for the Diocese of Rome, is currently left with only three auxiliary bishops: Renato Tarantelli Baccari, whom the pope has also appointed vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome; Benoni Ambarus; and Michele Di Tolve.

Baccari is the only territorial auxiliary covering Rome’s southern sector. Ambarus is auxiliary with a delegation for Charity, Migrants, Roma, and Sinti (a nomadic people primarily living in Central Europe), while Di Tolve is an auxiliary with a special delegation for seminaries. 

Therefore, two of the four sectors into which the territory of the Diocese of Rome is divided remain vacant: the eastern sector — until now entrusted to Ricciardi — and the north, entrusted to Bishop Daniele Salera. Baccari leads the southern sector, and the western sector is led by Reina.  

In the last year, Rome has lost five auxiliaries, including Reina himself, who had been transferred to Italy or the Vatican to take on other roles. 

In addition to Ricciardi, the auxiliaries who have been reassigned are: Bishop Riccardo Lamba, appointed archbishop of Udine; Bishop Daniele Libanori, appointed pope’s assessor for consecrated life; Bishop Dario Gervasi, appointed adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life; and Salera, appointed bishop of Ivrea. 

The reorganization of the Diocese of Rome began in 2024 with the transfer of the cardinal vicar of Rome, Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, to the far less influential office of major penitentiary. The Office of the Penitentiary is the office of the most ancient tribunal of the Roman Curia. It is one of the three ordinary tribunals of the Holy See, and it is a tribunal of mercy. The penitentiary mostly deals with issues related to the forgiveness of sins. As important as it is for the Catholic Church, it is certainly a less influential post than the vicar of the Diocese of Rome, who administers the pope’s diocese in the most important Italian city.

The latest cardinal successions 

In 2025, there have already been three cardinal archiepiscopal sees that have seen successions: the Archdiocese of Washington, which will be entrusted to Cardinal Robert McElroy; the Archdiocese of Vienna, for now entrusted to an apostolic administrator sede vacante; and the Archdiocese of Mumbai (Bombay), which will be led by John Rodrigues, who was appointed just two months after he was nominated coadjutor and just two days after taking possession of his new post. 

Gracias, who turned 80 in December, would as a result typically lose his position on the Council of Cardinals. Nothing, however, has been said about this. Pope Francis may wait until spring when Cardinal Fernando Vérgez, president of the Vatican City State administration, will also turn 80. At that point, the pope could reshuffle the Council of Cardinals, replacing Vergez, Gracias, and Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston (who also turned 80 last year). Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, meanwhile, will turn 80 in November.

The residential cardinals 

Meanwhile, the new year brings a group of prominent cardinals turning 75, the age at which they are required to submit their letters of resignation to the Holy Father. The pope, of course, has the option of whether and when to accept their retirements. 

On Jan. 9, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, archbishop of Mexico City, was the first residential cardinal in 2025 to turn 75. Pope Francis has chosen to defer his retirement indefinitely. 

On Feb. 6, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, reached retirement age, and on Feb. 28, Cardinal Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio, made a cardinal only in the last consistory, will do the same. 

On June 23, Cardinal Orani Joao Tempesta, who leads the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, will have to present his resignation due to age limits, and on July 9 it will be the turn of Cardinal Ignatius Suharjo Hardjoatmodjo, archbishop of Jakarta. On Sept. 1, Cardinal Oscar Cantoni, bishop of Como, Italy, turns 75, and Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, archbishop of Manaus, reaches retirement age on Nov. 6. 

They are joined by two cardinals who are already retired and who will turn 75 in 2025: Kazimierz Nycz, archbishop emeritus of Warsaw, Poland, and Philippe Barbarin, archbishop emeritus of Lyon, France. 

There is also a large group of residential cardinals who turned 75 over the last few years. They include: Cardinal Alvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri, 77, of Huehuetenango, Guatemala; Cardinal Albert Ranjith Patabendige Don, 77; Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez, 76, of Havana, Cuba; Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM, 76, of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, 75; Cardinal James Michael Harvey, 75, archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica; Nichols, 79, archbishop of Westminster; and Cardinal Juan Josè Omella Omella, 78, archbishop of Barcelona.

The Roman Curia 

Aside from Cardinal Fernando Vergez, there are several heads of dicasteries in the Roman Curia who are approaching 80 or who have also passed the age of 75 and so could be replaced. They include Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, who will turn 80 in July and is expected to be succeeded by recently created Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, currently coadjutor archpriest; Cardinal Michael Czerny, the 78-year-old prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, who is expected to serve at least until he turns 80; Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, who is 77; and Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, who is also 77. 

There are three top positions in the Roman Curia whose holders will reach the age of 75 and could thus be replaced. On March 6, Cardinal Arthur Roche turns 75, having been prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since 2021.  

On March 15, Cardinal Kurt Koch will turn 75. Koch has led since 2010 the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — called the Pontifical Council until the reform of the Curia in 2022. On March 24, Archbishop Vincenzo Zani will also reach retirement age: He has been archivist and librarian of the Holy See since 2022. 

Finally, two cardinals who serve as nuncios, Cardinal Mario Zenari, nuncio to Syria, and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, nuncio to the United States, are both 79 but are expected to remain at their diplomatic posts until they turn 80.   

The College of Cardinals 

In 2025, 14 cardinals will leave the list of cardinal electors, while in 2024, there were 13. This is a substantial generational turnover, which could also change the composition of the conclave. 

It should not be forgotten that this January the five-year term of office of the dean and sub-dean of the College of Cardinals expires. These are Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 90, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81. There are no precedents because it is the first time that the heads of the College of Cardinals have been appointed to five-year terms. It is, therefore, impossible to predict how long it will take for the successions. 

Feb. 14 marked 10 years since the second consistory of Pope Francis. As known, cardinals are divided in three ranks: cardinals bishops, cardinals priests, and cardinals deacons. These three ranks mirror the ancient division of a cardinal’s duty. Cardinal bishops are entrusted with the ancient suburbicarian Diocese of Rome — though Pope Francis expanded the order in 2018, including some personal appointments. Cardinals priests were in Church of Rome churches, and cardinal deacons were in charge of the administration of the six offices of the Roman Palace and of the seven departments of the Diocese of Rome.

After 10 years, in fact, cardinal deacons can opt to pass to the order of cardinal presbyters, as established by the Code of Canon Law, in Canon 350, paragraphs 5 and 6.

This means that at the first consistory, the French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, should leave the office of cardinal protodeacon to Zenari, apostolic nuncio to Syria. The cardinal protodeacon is the one who announces the “habemus papam.”

Likewise, Zenari could opt for the order of cardinal presbyters in November 2026, the 10th anniversary of the pope’s third consistory. It will then eventually be Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life and cardinal camerlengo, who will have the title of cardinal protodeacon.

Get-well cards from schoolchildren to Pope Francis are seen at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 / Credit: ACI Stampa

CNA Staff, Feb 23, 2025 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday was flooded with get-well cards and hand-drawn greetings from schoolchildren in Rome as the Holy Father continues to battle a series of medical emergencies in the city’s Gemelli Hospital.

The pope was admitted to the hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said. After a full week in medical care, the Vatican announced Feb. 22 the Holy Father had suffered a respiratory crisis and required a blood transfusion.

The pontiff’s condition “remains critical,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement issued Sunday evening Rome time, though he experienced “no further respiratory crisis” since Saturday.

‘Get well soon so I can hug you’

Over the weekend, meanwhile, the pope received dozens of get-well cards from schoolchildren in Rome, urging the Holy Father to recover quickly and sending him wishes of love and healing.

A get-well card to Pope Francis is seen at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. Credit: ACI Stampa

“Dear Pope, I hope you get well soon so I can hug you. I love you so much,” read one letter featuring a drawing of the Holy Father reaching out to a young girl.

“I love you very much and we hope you get out of the hospital soon,” read another.

Get-well cards from schoolchildren to Pope Francis are seen at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. Credit: ACI Stampa

Other greetings included creative illustrations, including a drawing of Blessed Carlo Acutis as well as a 3D rendering of Pope Francis opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Francis on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, was flooded with get-well cards and hand-drawn greetings from schoolchildren in Rome. Credit: ACI Stampa

The Vatican on Sunday said the Holy Father “continues to be alert and well oriented” and continues to receive oxygen therapy “at high flows” through his nose.

Since his situation is “complex,” the statement said, the pope’s prognosis “remains reserved.”

Pope Francis on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, was flooded with get-well cards and hand-drawn greetings from schoolchildren in Rome. Credit: ACI Stampa

On Sunday morning the pope participated in Mass along with those who are caring for him at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

Some of the letters to Francis, meanwhile, looked forward to his release from the hospital.

“We pray that you get well soon,” one read. “It would be a great pleasure for us to have lunch [with you] in our school cafeteria.”

A makeshift shrine with devotional candles, flowers, and images of Pope Francis appears outside Rome's Gemelli hospital on Feb. 22, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Staff, Feb 23, 2025 / 14:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ condition “remains critical,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement issued Sunday evening Rome time. However, it said, he experienced “no further respiratory crisis” since Saturday.

The statement also said the Holy Father “continues to be alert and well oriented” and is still receiving oxygen therapy “at high flows” through his nose. Since his situation is “complex,” the statement said, the pope’s prognosis “remains reserved.”

His blood platelet count remained stable, the statement continued, but some blood tests showed “initial, mild, renal [kidney] failure” that was presently under control.

This morning the pope participated in Mass together with those caring for him at his 10th floor apartment set up at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, the statement said.

Also on Sunday, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the cardinal vicar of the Diocese of Rome, celebrated a Mass for Pope Francis at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. The faithful prayed that the Lord would sustain the pope with his grace and fill him with strength to face his health crisis.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the cardinal vicar of the Diocese of Rome, celebrates a Mass for Pope Francis on Feb. 23, 2025, at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Earlier in the day, Archbishop Rino Fisichella delivered Pope Francis’ prepared homily to over 4,000 permanent deacons gathered for a special jubilee Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. He also delivered from his hospital room his Sunday Angelus address, where he thanked hospital staff as well as called for peace in Ukraine.

An aerial view shows over 4,000 deacons gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for the special jubilee Mass, Feb. 23, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Feb 23, 2025 / 08:40 am (CNA).

Prayers filled St. Peter’s Basilica Sunday as Archbishop Rino Fisichella delivered Pope Francis’ prepared homily to over 4,000 permanent deacons gathered for a special jubilee Mass, while the pontiff remains hospitalized with pneumonia.

The message, centered on selfless service and forgiveness, emphasized three fundamental aspects of diaconal ministry that the pope described as “forgiveness, selfless service, and communion.”

“Indeed, forgiveness is an indispensable element of every ecclesial vocation and a requirement of every human relationship,” the pope’s homily stated, read by Fisichella, who serves as pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Deacon candidates lie prostrate during their ordination ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica, Feb. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

During the Feb. 23 historic ceremony, 23 men from eight countries were ordained as permanent deacons. The international gathering drew significant delegations from around the world, with Italy sending the largest group, followed by 1,300 deacons from the United States, 656 from France, and substantial numbers from other nations.

The pope’s message called deacons to see their ministry as transformative both for themselves and society. “Through your ministry, you devote yourselves to being ‘sculptors’ and ‘painters’ of the merciful face of the Father, and witnesses to the mystery of the Triune God,” the homily declared.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella performs the ordination rite during the Jubilee Mass for Deacons at St. Peter's Basilica, Feb. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Referencing St. Lawrence, patron saint of deacons, the pope recalled how when asked to hand over the Church’s treasures, the saint pointed to the poor and proclaimed: “These are our treasures!” This story served to illustrate the pope’s broader message about authentic service and communion.

Fisichella highlighted the pope’s spiritual presence in the celebration, noting that while physically absent due to his hospitalization at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, his message resonated deeply through the basilica where “communion takes on its fullest and most meaningful dimension.”

Deacons in white albs gather outside St. Peter’s Basilica before the Jubilee Mass celebration at the Vatican, Feb. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The Mass marked a pivotal moment in the ongoing jubilee year, with the pope emphasizing that ordination “is not an ascent but a descent,” calling for deacons to make themselves “small” in humble service to others.

“Your mission sets you apart from society only to be reimmersed in it in order to enable it to be an ever more open and welcoming place for everyone,” the homily stated, describing this as “one of the finest expressions of a synodal Church.”

The pope concluded by entrusting the deacons to the Virgin Mary and St. Lawrence, calling them to be “apostles of forgiveness, selfless servants of our brothers and sisters, and builders of communion.”

The celebration showcased the universal Church’s commitment to diaconal ministry, even as prayers continued for the pope’s recovery from bilateral pneumonia.

A statue of St. John Paul II is seen in front of the entrance to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 22, 2025, where Pope Francis continues to receive treatment for respiratory issues. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Feb 23, 2025 / 06:19 am (CNA).

As Pope Francis continued his treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital Sunday, he expressed gratitude to medical staff while marking the approaching third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a prepared Angelus message.

“On my part, I am confidently continuing my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy!” the pontiff said Feb. 23.

The Holy Father thanked “the doctors and health workers of this hospital for the attention they are showing me and the dedication with which they carry out their service among the sick.”

Vatican sources confirmed that following a prolonged respiratory crisis on Saturday, the pope continues to require supplemental oxygen through nasal cannulas. The latest medical bulletin noted that he also received a blood transfusion to address platelet deficiency associated with anemia.

Despite his health challenges, Pope Francis spoke about current pastoral matters: He acknowledged the ordination of new permanent deacons at St. Peter’s Basilica, where Archbishop Rino Fisichella presided over the ceremony for the Jubilee of Deacons in the pope’s absence.

The pope had special words for the newly ordained deacons: “Dear brother deacons, you dedicate yourselves to the Word and to the service of charity; you carry out your ministry in the Church with words and deeds, bringing God’s love and mercy to everyone.”

Turning to global concerns, Francis marked Monday’s “painful and shameful occasion” of the third anniversary of the “large-scale war against Ukraine.” He renewed his solidarity with “the suffering Ukrainian people” and called for prayers for victims of armed conflicts worldwide, specifically mentioning Palestine, Israel, the Middle East, Myanmar, Kivu, and Sudan.

The pope also expressed appreciation for the many messages of support he has received, particularly noting letters and drawings from children.

“Thank you for this closeness and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world!” he said, entrusting himself to the intercession of Mary.

Pope Francis attends the general audience at the Vatican on Feb. 12, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez / EWTN News

CNA Newsroom, Feb 22, 2025 / 14:11 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis remains in critical condition and “is not out of danger,” the Holy See Press Office announced Saturday evening in Rome.

The 88-year-old pontiff “experienced an asthma-like respiratory crisis of prolonged intensity” Saturday morning that required the administration of high-flow oxygen, according to the Vatican’s medical update.

Blood tests revealed a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia), associated with anemia, which required blood transfusions.

While the Holy Father remains alert and spent the day in an armchair, he is “more uncomfortable than yesterday,” the statement said, describing the prognosis as guarded.

Religious sisters pray the rosary for Pope Francis outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The Vatican confirmed earlier Saturday that the pope will not lead the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer on Feb. 23. During a press conference at Gemelli Hospital on Friday, the medical team caring for the pontiff had described his condition as serious, noting that Pope Francis was fully aware of his situation.

A makeshift shrine with devotional candles, flowers, and images of Pope Francis appears outside Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 22, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Prayerful presence marked the scene outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon as religious sisters and faithful gathered to petition for Pope Francis’ recovery through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Religious sisters and dozens of faithful gather around the statue of St. John Paul II at Gemelli Hospital to pray the rosary for Pope Francis on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 22, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, where Bernini's gorgeous bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massive bronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Feb 22, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Every year on Feb. 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a tradition that dates back more than 1,600 years.

The feast honors not just a physical chair but what it represents: the authority of St. Peter, the first pope, and the unbroken line of his successors.

References to the “Chair of Peter” date back to the early centuries of Christianity. St. Jerome, a biblical scholar of the fourth century, wrote in a letter: “I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with … the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built.”

The feast itself has been celebrated on Feb. 22 since at least A.D. 336, according to Monsignor Tiziano Ghirelli, a canon of St. Peter’s Basilica. By the fifth century, its importance had grown, with the imperial family participating in celebrations at the old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome in 450 and 467.

The word “cathedra” refers to the seat of the bishop, which is why the mother church of a diocese is known as a cathedral. The bishop of Rome, as Peter’s successor, holds a unique role in guiding the Church.

The Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, where Bernini's bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massive bronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Benedict XVI explained in a 2006 catechesis that the Chair of Peter “is the symbol of the bishop’s authority and in particular, of his ‘magisterium,’ that is, the evangelical teaching which, as a successor of the apostles, he is called to safeguard and to transmit to the Christian community.”

The phrase “ex cathedra” — Latin for “from the chair” — is still used to describe the pope’s most authoritative teachings.

“Celebrating the ‘chair’ of Peter means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation,” Benedict said.

Yes, there is actually a chair relic kept in St. Peter’s Basilica

In addition to the symbolic meaning, there is also a physical relic known as the Chair of St. Peter housed in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The wooden chair, dating back to the ninth century, was displayed for public veneration last fall amid the restoration efforts underway in the basilica.

Prior to that, the chair was last publicly exhibited in 1867, when Pope Pius IX allowed it to be seen for 12 days to mark the 1,800th anniversary of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul. Before that, the chair had not been seen since 1666 when it was first encased inside Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s monumental bronze sculpture under the stained-glass Dove of the Holy Spirit window at the basilica’s apse.

Historical records indicate that the wooden chair was likely a gift from Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in 875. It features ivory panels depicting scenes from Greek mythology, including the labors of Hercules.

Pope Francis venerates the chair of St. Peter at the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

During the Middle Ages, the popes were solemnly enthroned on the chair. Innocent III used the wooden chair for his consecration on Feb. 22, 1198. 

“Since the 11th century, the feast of Feb. 22 has been celebrated in Rome, and at the Vatican Basilica, with particular emphasis,” Ghirelli explained.

Bernini’s monument

In the 17th century, Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to create an elaborate reliquary to house the chair. Bernini’s design, completed in 1666, features a gilded bronze throne elevated above the ground crowned by a stained-glass window depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove.

The structure is supported by statues of four doctors of the Church — two from the West, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, and two from the East, St. John Chrysostom and St. Athanasius — symbolizing the unity of the Church through the ages, bringing together the teachings of both the Latin and Greek Church Fathers.

Above the throne, cherubs hold a papal tiara and keys, a reference to the authority given to Peter in the Gospel of Matthew: “You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church.”

A physical relic known as the Chair of St. Peter is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica. The wooden chair, dating back to the ninth century, was displayed for public veneration in the fall of 2024 amid the restoration efforts underway in the basilica. Credit: Matthew Bunson

Though the chair relic is once again enclosed within Bernini’s sculpture, visitors to St. Peter’s Basilica continue to pause before this symbol of the special mission of Peter and his successors to pray for the pope and his intentions.

“As we contemplate it with the wonder of faith,” Pope Francis said, “let us remember that this is the chair of love, unity, and mercy, according to Jesus’ command to the Apostle Peter not to lord it over others but to serve them in charity.”