Pope Francis is participating in the Vatican’s weeklong spiritual retreat from a Rome hospital as he continued his recovery on Monday from double pneumonia and looks ahead to the 12th anniversary of his election amid questions about what the future of his papacy might look like.
Francis followed the opening of the retreat by videoconference on Sunday: He could see and hear the Rev. Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, but the priests, bishops and cardinals in the Vatican auditorium couldn’t see or hear him.
Pasolini delivered a meditation on “The hope of eternal life,” a theme that was chosen well before Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 with a complex lung infection.
The retreat, which is an annual gathering that kicks off the Catholic Church’s solemn Lenten season leading to Easter, continues through the week. The Vatican has said Francis would participate “in spiritual communion” with the rest of the hierarchy, from afar.
In its early update Monday, the Vatican said Francis was resting after a quiet night.
At the time of his hospitalization last month, the 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had what was then just a bad case of bronchitis. The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future.
He has now remained in stable condition for over a week, with no fever, respiratory crises and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported.
The doctors said that such stability was in itself a positive thing and showed he was responding well to therapy. But they kept his prognosis as “guarded,” meaning that he’s not out of danger. Doctors were expected to provide a medical update later Monday.
On Thursday, the Vatican will mark the 12th anniversary of Francis’ election, the first with the pope out of sight but still very much in charge. Francis was elected the 266th pope, the first Jesuit pope and first from Latin America, on March 13, 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
On Sunday, Francis met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the chief of staff, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, for the third time at the hospital. Such meetings are the routine way the pope governs, and shows Francis is still keeping up with essential business.
While Francis has previously praised Benedict for his courage and humility in resigning, he has indicated more recently that he believes the job of pope is for life and said as recently as last year that he had no plans of stepping down.
Francis has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.
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