It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

Archbishop of Washington Robert McElroy issued a statement Friday confirming McCarrick’s death a day earlier but provided no details. His statement focused on those McCarrick abused.

“At this moment I am especially mindful of those who he harmed during the course of his priestly ministry,” McElroy said. “Through their enduring pain, may we remain steadfast in our prayers for them and for all victims of sexual abuse.”

In recent court proceedings, it was disclosed that McCarrick had been diagnosed with dementia. He had been living in Missouri, and Vatican News reported he died there.

The McCarrick scandal created a crisis of credibility for the church, primarily because there was evidence Vatican and U.S. church leaders knew he slept with seminarians but turned a blind eye as McCarrick rose to the top of the U.S. church as an adept fundraiser who advised three popes.

The Vatican’s report on its investigation put the lion’s share of blame on a dead saint: Pope John Paul II, who appointed McCarrick archbishop of Washington, D.C., in 2000, despite having commissioned an inquiry that confirmed he slept with seminarians.

The report found that John Paul believed McCarrick’s last-minute, handwritten denial in which he wrote: “I have made mistakes and may have sometimes lacked in prudence, but in the seventy years of my life I have never had sexual relations with any person, male or female, young or old, cleric or lay.”

Over several decades, bishops, cardinals and popes dismissed or downplayed reports of McCarrick’s misconduct with young men as he rose through the ranks to become a cardinal and archbishop, according to the investigation.

Catholic Church Nov 12, 2020

Vatican's McCarrick Report Forces Debate on Power and Abuse

The report contained heartbreaking testimony from people who tried to raise the alarm about McCarrick’s inappropriate behavior, including with children, in the mid-1980s.

While the findings provided new details about what the Vatican knew and when, it didn’t directly blame or admit that the church’s internal “old boys club” culture allowed McCarrick’s behavior to continue unchecked.

Cardinals and bishops have long been considered beyond reproach. Claims of homosexual behavior are used to discredit or blackmail prelates that they often are dismissed as rumor. There also has been a widespread but unspoken tolerance of sexually active men in what is supposed to be a celibate priesthood.

The report drew on documents from Vatican departments, U.S. dioceses and seminaries and the Vatican’s U.S. Embassy. Investigators interviewed 90 people, including McCarrick’s victims, former seminarians and priests, and officials from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, responded to McCarrick’s death expressing frustration that the ex-cardinal, although defrocked, never stood trial for “the vast harm he inflicted.”

“McCarrick may be dead, but his many victims are not,” said Peter Isely, a founding member of SNAP. “We are still here, still living with the harm he caused — and with the church’s failure to stop him. ”

McCarrick, who was the archbishop of Washington from 2000 to 2006, was one of the highest-ranking U.S. church officials accused in a sexual abuse scandal that has seen thousands of priests implicated. He traveled widely, was a gifted fundraiser and spoke multiple languages.

He was a priest in New York City from 1958, when he was ordained, until 1981, when he became bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey. He was archbishop of Newark from 1986 until 2000 and was elevated to cardinal in 2001.

McCarrick participated in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, presided over the graveside service for Sen. Ted Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009, and celebrated Mass with Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Washington.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that McCarrick died Thursday, instead of Friday.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

The motorcade carrying the 88-year-old pope entered the Perugino gate into Vatican City, and Francis was seen in the front passenger seat wearing nasal tubes to give him supplemental oxygen.

During the trip home from Gemelli hospital, Francis took a slight detour to bring him to the St. Mary Major basilica, where his favorite icon of the Madonna is located and where he always goes to pray after a foreign visit. Francis didn’t get out of the car, but handed a bouquet of flowers to the cardinal to place in front of the Salus populi Romani icon, a Byzantine-style painting on wood that is revered by Romans.

Before leaving the hospital, Francis gave a thumbs up and acknowledged the crowd after he was wheeled out onto the balcony overlooking the main entry. Hundreds of people had gathered on a brilliant Sunday morning to say goodbye.

“I see this woman with the yellow flowers. Brava!” a tired and bloated-looking Francis said. He gave a weak sign of the cross before being wheeled back inside.

Catholic Church Mar 22

A weak Pope Francis is wielding power and rewriting the narrative of how popes exercise authority

Catholic Church Mar 16

Vatican releases first photograph of Pope Francis in a month

Chants of “Viva il papa!” and “Papa Francesco” erupted from the crowd, which included patients who had been wheeled outside just to catch his brief appearance.

Doctors, who announced his planned release at a Saturday evening news conference, said he needs two months of rest and convalescence, during which he should refrain from meeting with big groups of people or exerting himself. But they said eventually he should be able to resume all his normal activities.

His return home, after the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy and the second-longest in recent papal history, brought tangible relief to the Vatican and Catholic faithful who have been anxiously following 38 days of medical ups and downs and wondering if Francis would make it.

“Today I feel a great joy,” said Dr. Rossella Russomando, a doctor from Salerno who didn’t treat Francis but was at Gemelli on Sunday. “It is the demonstration that all our prayers, all the rosary prayers from all over the world, brought this grace.”

Pope is happy to go home

At the Vatican Sunday, pilgrims flocked as they have all year to St. Peter’s Basilica to participate in the 2025 Holy Year. They swarmed St. Peter’s Square and progressed through the Holy Door in groups, while big TV screens in the square were turned on to broadcast Francis’ hospital greeting live.

No special arrangements have been made at the Domus Santa Marta, the Vatican hotel next to the basilica where Francis lives in a two-room suite on the second floor. Francis will have access to supplemental oxygen and 24-hour medical care as needed, though his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said he hoped Francis would progressively need less and less assistance breathing as his lungs recover.

While the pneumonia infection has been successfully treated, Francis will continue to take oral medication for quite some time to treat the fungal infection in his lungs and continue his respiratory and physical physiotherapy.

“For three or four days he’s been asking when he can go home, so he’s very happy,” Carbone said.

Two life-threatening crises

The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.

The most serious setbacks began on Feb. 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring the use of a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises a few days later, which required doctors to manually aspirate “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.

He was never intubated and at no point lost consciousness. Doctors reported he always remained alert and cooperative, though they say he has probably lost a bit of weight given a natural loss of appetite.

“Unfortunately yes, there was a moment when many were saying that he might not make it. And it was painful for us,” said Mario Balsamo, the owner of coffee shop in front of Gemelli. “Instead, today with the discharge, we are very happy that he is well and we hope he will recover soon and will recover his strength.”

‘I’m still alive!’

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the medical and surgical chief at Gemelli who coordinated Francis’ medical team, stressed that not all patients who develop such a severe case of double pneumonia survive, much less are released from the hospital. He said Francis’ life was at risk twice, during the two acute respiratory crises, and that the pope at the time understandably lost his typical good sense of humor.

“But one morning we went to listen to his lungs and we asked him how he was doing. When he replied, ‘I’m still alive,’ we knew he was OK and had gotten his good humor back,” he said.

Alfieri confirmed that Francis was still having trouble speaking due to the damage to his lungs and respiratory muscles. But he said such problems were normal, especially in older patients, and predicted his voice would eventually return to normal.

No confirmed appointments for now

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to confirm any upcoming events, including a scheduled audience on April 8 with King Charles III or Francis’ participation in Easter services at the end of the month. But Carbone said he hoped Francis might be well enough to travel to Turkey at the end of May to participate in an important ecumenical anniversary.

Francis is also returning to the Vatican in the throes of a Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration scheduled to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome this year. The pope has already missed several Jubilee audiences and will presumably miss several more, but Vatican officials say his absence hasn’t significantly impacted the numbers of expected pilgrims arriving.

Only St. John Paul II recorded a longer hospitalization in 1981, when he spent 55 days at Gemelli for minor surgery and treatment of an infection.

___

Associated Press writers Giada Zampano in Rome and Colleen Barry in Soave, Italy contributed to this report.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

Asked what was in the bag, Francis joked that it wasn’t the nuclear codes. But he seemed baffled that something as normal as an airplane passenger carrying a briefcase could create such a fuss.

“I have always taken a bag with me when traveling – it’s normal,” he told his first news conference as pope. “We must get used to being normal. The normality of life.”

Over 12 years, Francis has sought to impose a kind of normality on the papacy with his informal style and disdain for pomp, while ensuring that he still wields the awesome power held by Christ’s vicar on Earth and Europe’s last absolute monarch.

The way Francis has managed his five-week hospitalization for pneumonia has followed that same playbook: He has allowed the public to follow the very normal ups and downs of an 88-year-old man battling a complex lung infection through spare but regular medical bulletins, while also continuing to run the 1.3-billion strong Catholic Church remotely.

Catholic Church Mar 20

Vatican says Pope Francis no longer needs mechanical help to breathe as his health improves

Catholic Church Mar 16

Vatican releases first photograph of Pope Francis in a month

Francis has stayed in control, remotely

In between respiratory crises, prayer and physiotherapy, Francis has appointed over a dozen bishops, approved a handful of new saints, authorized a three-year extension of his signature reform process and sent off messages public and private. Vatican cardinals have stood in for him at events requiring his presence.

That’s not as easy a balancing act as it sounds, since there are few positions of power that are both as absolute as the papacy and, during times of illness, as seemingly fragile: According to the church’s canon law, the pope possesses “supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the church.” He answers to no one but God, and there is no appeal of his decisions.

And while popes aren’t subject to re-election campaigns or no-confidence votes, they essentially owe their jobs to the 120 men who elected them. While those same cardinals swear obedience to the pope, they will also eventually choose his successor from within their own ranks. It’s no surprise then that talk of conclaves, papal contenders and challenges facing a future pope has been a constant buzz in Rome ever since Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital Feb. 14.

Francis is well aware that anytime he gets sick, plotting intensifies for the election of the next pope, contributing to a certain lame duck status as he ages. “Some wanted me dead,” he said after his 2021 hospitalization, when he learned that secret meetings had already been held to plan the conclave. He knows as well that even before his current hospitalization, an anonymous cardinal had circulated a seven-point memo listing priorities for the next pope to correct the “confusion, division and conflict” sowed by Francis.

But he’s not shy about showing weakness

And yet Francis has never been shy about showing his weaknesses, age or infirmities in ways that seem unthinkable for public figures for whom any sign of fragility can threaten their authority and undermine their agenda. On Sunday, he’s expected to show that first-hand when he makes his first live appearance from his hospital suite to bless the faithful, the Vatican announced Saturday.

Additionally, within months of being elected, Francis reached out to an Argentine doctor and journalist, Dr. Nelson Castro, and suggested he write a book about the health of popes, himself included.

“My hypothesis is that he wanted first of all to show himself as a human being,” Castro said in an interview. “We tend to see popes like saints, but the way he talked about his diseases showed me, ‘I’m like you and me, being exposed to diseases.’”

Francis had read and appreciated Castro’s earlier book, “The Sickness of Power,” about the ailments that have afflicted Argentina’s leaders and how power itself had afflicted them. He invited Castro to research and write about past popes and his own case in a similar, not-terribly-flattering light.

“The Health of Popes” was published in 2021. Castro said what struck him most was that Francis disclosed not only his physical ailments, but his mental health challenges too: Francis revealed that he had gone to a psychiatrist when he was the Jesuit provincial during Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s to help him cope with fear and anxiety.

“Pope Francis is a man of power,” Castro said. “Only a man of power, feeling quite sure of himself, would dare to talk about his diseases so openly.”

The balance of strength in weakness is very Jesuit

For the Rev. John Cecero, Jesuit provincial for the northeast United States from 2014-2020, Francis’ willingness to show his weaknesses while exercising supreme authority is consistent with his Jesuit training and the biblical teaching of St. Paul that “when I am weak, then I am strong.”

“A chief virtue on the part of everyone in the practice of Jesuit authority is humility,” Cecero said in an interview. “On the part of the individual Jesuit (that means) thinking beyond my own self-interest to the common good.”

“I know it’s something that drives Francis: that you have that same humility,” he said.

And yet Francis’ critics often complain that he’s authoritarian, that he takes decisions in a vacuum and without regard to the law, and wields power like a “Dictator Pope,” the title of a book written by a traditionalist critic early in Francis’ papacy.

Many recite the joke about the way Jesuit superiors exercise power, which is supposed to be a process of joint discernment between the superior and the underling but, the joke goes, can be anything but: “I discern, you discern, we discern … I decide.”

Those same conservative critics, of course, have been keenly watching Francis’ hospitalization and wondering if the end of his papacy is near.

Even if he is absent, and even if he has to cut back his public activities going forward, Francis is very much still in power and leading the church, said Kurt Martens, a canon lawyer at Catholic University of America.

“We’re used to seeing a pope who is everywhere all the time,” he said. “But don’t forget that in the past, not that long ago, popes would show up only rarely.”

He may be absent, but he’s still in control

Francis’ disappearance from public view has led some to doubt the authenticity of the first, and so far only photograph of Francis released by the Vatican since his hospitalization. It was shot from behind and showed Francis at prayer in his private hospital chapel, his face hidden.

Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, said the photo was not only real but showed Francis controlling the image that he wants the faithful to have of the papacy and illness. Francis wants viewers to focus not on the spectacle of a sick pope, but on what should actually matter more to a Catholic anyway.

“If we cannot see his face … what we must look at is precisely what he himself is facing: the altar and the crucifix,” Avvenire wrote.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The 88-year-old pontiff is also reducing his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen during the day, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin. His pneumonia infection, while not completely eliminated, is under control, the Holy See press office said.

Francis concelebrated Mass on Wednesday, which is an important feast day for the Catholic Church and is the anniversary of his installation as pope 12 years ago.

Catholic Church Mar 16

Vatican releases first photograph of Pope Francis in a month

Catholic Church Mar 13

Pope Francis marks 12th anniversary of his papacy hospitalized but with improving condition

Francis has been at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection that turned into pneumonia in both lungs. He has been receiving respiratory and physical therapy to help strengthen his lungs.

For two nights in a row, he hasn’t needed to use the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask, which pumps oxygen into his lungs, and doctors said its use had been “suspended.” Francis was put on the ventilation mask after he suffered a spate of respiratory crises in late February and early March during which he was unable to expel the mucus and fluid that had accumulated in his lungs.

Suspending use of the mask means Francis’ lungs are working harder and better on their own.

The Vatican is also again reducing its medical updates as Francis slowly continues his recovery, with the next one not expected before Monday.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella commemorated the 12th anniversary of Francis’ installation as pope by sending him a letter praising his initiatives as pope. Mattarella offered best wishes for the continuation of his pontificate and “all the more heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The Vatican said he was participating in the celebration of the Mass with other priests. No one else is visible in the photo. It is the first photograph of the pope since he was hospitalized on Feb. 14 with a severe case of bronchitis, which developed into double pneumonia. It is also the first time the Vatican mentions that the pope has participated in celebrating a Mass in the period.

Children’s prayers for the pope

Earlier, dozens of children toting yellow and white balloons — many from war-torn countries — gathered outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francison his fifth Sunday hospitalized. While the pope did not appear from the 10th-floor suite of windows, he thanked them and acknowledged their presence in the traditional Sunday blessing.

“I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness,’’ the pontiff said in the Angelus text prepared for the traditional prayer but not delivered live again. “Thank you, dearest children! The pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you,’’ Francis said.

The Rev. Enzo Fortunato, president of the pontifical committee for World Children’s Day who organized the event, said that the gathering of children with their parents was a form of spiritual medicine for the 88-year-old pontiff. He called it ‘’the most beautiful caress.’’

“The children represent a symbolic medicine for Pope Francis,’’ Fortunato said. ‘’Letting him know that so many children are here for him cheers the heart.’’

A small group of children, whose balloons represented the colors of the Vatican flag, briefly entered the hospital to leave behind their drawings, messages and flowers for Francis. Many of the children came from poorer Italian districts or from countries impacted by war, some having arrived in Italy from Afghanistan and Syria via humanitarian corridors set up by the Sant’Egidio charity in agreement with the Italian government; others were from Ukraine, Gaza, South America and Africa.

One of them was 12-year-old Anastasia, who got up at 5 a.m. to make the trip from Naples with the hopes of delivering the message directly to the pope. “I wrote, ‘Pope Francis, get well and return home soon,’” she said. “We love you, all of the children are praying for you.’’

Catholic Church Mar 13

Pope Francis marks 12th anniversary of his papacy hospitalized but with improving condition

Catholic Church Mar 12

Chest X-ray confirms improvements in Pope Francis' condition, Vatican says

‘Pope of the children’

Andrea Iacomini, the spokesman for UNICEF in Italy, said besides demonstrating affection for the pope, the group also wanted to say “enough” to conflicts that are impacting 500 million children in 59 countries.

“This pope is not just a religious leader, he is a great global leader. A man of peace. This pope is pope of the children.” Iacomini said.

Francis typically delivers the Angelus from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to the gathered faithful, who have grown more numerous due to the Jubilee year that Francis inaugurated in December.

In the written text, Francis said he was thinking of others, who like him, are in a fragile state. “Our bodies are weak, but even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope,’’ the pope said.

Along with a stop at St. Peter’s to seek indulgences by walking through the basilica’s Holy Door, pilgrims are now also adding a stop at Gemelli, a 15-minute train ride from the Vatican.

Pope’s condition remains complex

Doctors this week said the pontiff was no longer in critical, life-threatening condition, but they have continued to emphasize that his condition remained complex due to his age, lack of mobility and the loss of part of a lung as a young man.

Still, they are issuing fewer medical bulletins as the pontiff has been on an upward trajectory. An X-ray this week confirmed that the infection was clearing.

Francis has not been seen publicly since he was admitted to the hospital Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis that made it difficult for him to speak. Doctors soon added a diagnosis of double pneumonia and a polymicrobial (bacterial, viral and fungal) infection.

The first three weeks of his hospitalization were marked by a rollercoaster of setbacks, including respiratory crises, mild kidney failure and a severe coughing fit.

Doctors in the most recent medical update on Saturday said they were working to reduce the pope’s nighttime reliance on the non-invasive ventilation mask, which will allow his lungs to work more.

Doctors underlined that while the pope’s condition is stable, he still requires hospitalization for treatment along with physical and respiratory therapy, which are “showing further gradual improvements,” the Vatican said Saturday in the first medical update in three days.

The next update won’t be issued until mid-week, the Vatican said.

——

Associated Press video journalist Francesca Primavilla contributed to this report.

The pope spent the morning in physiotherapy, followed Lenten spiritual exercises of the Roman curia and stopped to pray at the chapel in the Gemelli Hospital, where he has been under treatment for a complex lung infection since Feb. 14, Vatican sources said.

A chest X-ray confirmed improvements, the Vatican said on Wednesday, days after doctors declared he’s no longer in imminent danger of death. The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope’s condition remained stable, but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility.

The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope’s condition remained stable but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility, which includes his age, limited mobility often requiring a wheelchair and the removal of part of a lung as a young man.

Catholic Church Mar 12

Chest X-ray confirms improvements in Pope Francis' condition, Vatican says

Catholic Church Mar 10

Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger but remains hospitalized: Doctors

Francis was elected on March 13, 2013, as the 266th pope — and the Catholic Church’s first Latin American pope. The Holy See hasn’t said how the anniversary of Francis’ election might be commemorated.

It is a public holiday at the Vatican, and a Mass is planned in his honor later at the Argentine church in Rome. No medical bulletins will be issued.

Francis received hundreds of drawings and messages from children and young people from around the globe wishing him a full recovery, the Vatican said.

Gemelli Hospital, located about a 15-minute train ride from the Vatican, has become a stop for pilgrims visiting Rome as part of Jubilee Year celebrations.

The Rev. Enrico Bortolaso, who led a group of pilgrims from northern Veneto, offered prayers near a statue of Pope John Paul II outside of the hospital. He said they made Gemelli their first stop.

“We wanted to come here to pray for him and for his recovery,’’ said one of the Veneto faithful, Alberto Jerbonato. “We are aware that he is 88 years old, and we are fully aware of what he is facing.”

John Paul, who spent 55 days in Gemelli in the longest hospital stretch by a pope to date, used to quip that it was ’’Vatican 3,” following the Vatican itself and Castel Gandolfo, long used as a papal retreat by popes until Francis.

‘’It’s a sort of a seat of fragility, from where he continues his ministry,’’ Cardinal Marcello Semeraro was quoted as saying in L’Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, on Thursday.

The newspaper underlined that Francis is the first pope, at least in modern history, to spend the anniversary of his pontificate in the hospital.

Francis this week has been following a Lenten spiritual retreat that has been a mainstay of his papacy, with updates on his condition omitting reference to work as earlier in his hospital stay.

He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night. He also is undergoing physical therapy, key to avoiding further repercussions from his hospitalization.

The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave, which was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned.

While Francis has praised Benedict’s humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life.

Another milestone comes Friday, when Francis marks four weeks of hospitalization.

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AP video journalist Srdjan Nedeljkovic contributed.

Doctors have said Francis is making slow, gradual improvements and this week declared that he’s no longer in imminent danger of death.

During his recovery, the pope continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day. He has a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night.

The Vatican said the 88-year-old Francis again followed the Vatican’s spiritual retreat remotely, and resumed physical and respiratory therapy after a quiet night.

Francis on Thursday marks an important milestone: the 12th anniversary of his election as pope. The Holy See hasn’t said how the anniversary, which is a public holiday in the Vatican, might be commemorated this year.

Catholic Church Mar 10

Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger but remains hospitalized: Doctors

Catholic Church Mar 8

Pope Francis responding well to pneumonia therapy and showing ‘gradual, slight improvement'

The pope’s weekly Wednesday general audience was canceled since the Vatican hierarchy is on retreat this week as part of the Lenten spiritual exercises that have been a mainstay of the Jesuit pope’s pontificate.

Doctors have said Francis is making slow, gradual improvements. He was admitted on Feb. 14 with a complex respiratory infection. But doctors remain cautious, given the complexity of his condition and overall fragility, and say he needs to remain hospitalized for an unspecified number of days.

Thursday marks the 12th anniversary of Francis’ election as the 266th pope. The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave that was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned.

While Francis has praised Benedict’s humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life.

Another milestone comes Friday, when Francis marks four weeks or 28 days of hospitalization.

St. John Paul II has the record for a hospital stay, at 55 days in 1981 when he underwent a minor surgical operation and was then treated for a cytomegalovirus infection. Francis is on track to equal the second-longest stay, 28 days, which John Paul recorded in 1994 when he had surgery to repair his right hip joint after he fractured his right femur in a fall, according to Gemelli hospital.

The Vatican has released no photos or video of Francis since he was admitted. The pope recorded an audio message last week to thank people for their prayers, though the weakness and breathlessness of his voice made clear how frail he was.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

In the latest update, the doctors said the 88-year-old pope remains stable and has consolidated improvements in recent days, as determined by blood tests and positive responses to drug treatments.

“However, in view of the complexity of the clinical picture and the important infectious picture presented on admission, it will be necessary to continue medical drug therapy in a hospital setting for additional days,” according to the Vatican statement.

Catholic Church Mar 9

Pope thanks volunteers for ‘miracle of tenderness' as another Holy Year event passes without him

Catholic Church Mar 8

Pope Francis responding well to pneumonia therapy and showing ‘gradual, slight improvement'

Religion Mar 6

‘From the bottom of my heart': Pope Francis thanks people for their prayers

Francis followed the Vatican’s weeklong spiritual retreat via videoconference on Monday as he continued his recovery from double pneumonia and looked ahead to the 12th anniversary of his election amid questions about what the future of his papacy might look like.

As he did on Sunday, Francis participated in the retreat remotely from the Rome hospital where he is being treated. He could see and hear the Rev. Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, but the priests, bishops and cardinals gathered for the retreat in the Vatican auditorium could not see or hear him.

Pasolini is delivering a series of meditations this week 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 resuming his physical and respiratory therapy at the Gemelli hospital after a quiet night. Francis has been using a nasal tube for supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had what was just a bad case of bronchitis when he was hospitalized last month. 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.

In a sign Francis was still keeping his eye on things, the Vatican said he had been informed about the floods in his native Argentina and expressed his closeness to the affected population. In addition, a Vatican cardinal close to Francis spoke out Monday to refute some negative media reports that have circulated in his absence.

The Vatican development office released a letter written by Cardinal Michael Czerny to one of Francis’ close friends, the Argentine social justice activist Juan Grabois. Grabois had travelled to Rome to pray for Francis at Gemelli hospital, and some Italian media reported last month that he had tried to forcibly get into Francis’ 10th floor hospital suite, a claim he denied.

In the March 6 letter, Czerny told Grabois that Francis “knew of your presence in Rome and your daily vigils of prayer and spiritual solidarity at Gemelli Polyclinic and I’m sure this gave him a true comfort and support.”

“Additionally, I know that you join me in strongly repudiating the unfounded versions that have circulated in some media about alleged inappropriate behavior in the hospital,” Czerny wrote.

The Vatican is always abuzz with rumor but has gone into overdrive with speculation about Francis’ health and talk of conclaves, even though Francis is very much alive and in charge. The fact that Czerny felt it necessary to defend one of Francis’ friends suggested that the rumor and maneuvering in Francis’ absence had crossed a line.

Francis 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 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 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.

After more than three weeks in the hospital, the 88-year-old pope is responding well to treatment and has shown a “gradual, slight improvement” in recent days.

Francis on Sunday followed the opening day of a weeklong spiritual retreat in the Vatican for Holy See officials by video conference. He could see the officials, but they couldn’t see him in the Gemelli hospital, the Vatican press office said. Francis also participated in Mass at the hospital’s private chapel.

For the fourth consecutive Sunday, Francis didn’t appear for his weekly noon blessing, but the Vatican distributed the text he would have delivered if he were well enough. In it, the Argentine pope thanked all those who were caring for him and others who are sick and experiencing a “night of pain.”

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Pope Francis responding well to pneumonia therapy and showing ‘gradual, slight improvement'

Religion Mar 6

‘From the bottom of my heart': Pope Francis thanks people for their prayers

“Brothers and sisters, during my prolonged hospitalization here, I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and health care workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart,” read the message from Gemelli hospital.

“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,” he wrote.

The pontiff, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has remained in stable condition, with no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported.

The doctors said that such stability “as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy.” It was the first time the doctors had reported that Francis was responding positively to the treatment for the complex lung infection that was diagnosed after he was hospitalized on Feb. 14.

But they kept his prognosis as “guarded,” meaning that he’s not out of danger. The Vatican said that the medical update from Saturday remained valid Sunday.

In his absence, the Vatican’s day-to-day operations continued alongside celebrations of its Holy Year, the once every quarter-century Jubilee that brings millions of pilgrims to Rome. On Sunday, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who is close to Francis, celebrated the Holy Year Mass for volunteers that Francis was supposed to have celebrated.

During the Mass in St. Peter’s Square, the giant banner bearing Francis’ papal coat of arms fluttered from the loggia of the basilica above. Even while in the hospital, Francis is very much still the pope and in charge of the Catholic Church.

Francis has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

Francis was hospitalized Feb. 14 for 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.

The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has remained stable, with no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported in a Vatican statement.

The doctors said that such stability “as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy.” It was the first time the doctors had reported that Francis was responding positively to the treatment for the complex lung infection that was diagnosed after he was hospitalized on Feb. 14.

Francis worked and rested during the day on Saturday, as he entered his fourth week at Rome’s Gemelli hospital with his condition stabilized following a few bouts of acute respiratory crises last week.

Religion Mar 6

‘From the bottom of my heart': Pope Francis thanks people for their prayers

Catholic Church Mar 5

Pope Francis increases his physical therapy and marks start of Lent in hospital

“In order to record these initial improvements in the coming days as well, his doctors have prudently maintained the prognosis as guarded,” the statement said.

In his absence, the Vatican’s day-to-day operations continued, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrating Mass for an anti-abortion group in St. Peter’s Basilica. At the start, Parolin delivered a message from the pope from the hospital on the need to protect life, from birth to natural death.

In the message, dated March 5 and addressed to the Movement for Life, which seeks to provide women with alternatives to abortion, Francis encouraged the faithful to promote anti-abortion activities not just for the unborn, but “for the elderly, no longer independent or the incurably ill.”

Later Saturday, another cardinal closely associated with Francis’ papacy, Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, presides over the nightly recitation of prayers for Francis. Czerny then returns on Sunday to celebrate the Holy Year Mass for volunteers that Francis was supposed to have celebrated.

Francis has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

Francis was hospitalized Feb. 14 for 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.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

The Holy Father suffered no respiratory crises during the day, receiving oxygen through a nasal tube as has been the case in recent days. He will resume the use of a non-invasive mechanical mask for the night.

Doctors treating the pope for double pneumonia underlined that his prognosis remained guarded due to the complex picture. The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had two respiratory crises on Monday in a setback to recovery.

During the morning he participated in an Ash Wednesday celebration, receiving ashes and Holy Communion. He later set to work, which included a call to the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the Argentine priest who is the parish priest of the Holy Family church in Gaza. It was the third time they have spoken since the pope was hospitalized Feb. 14.

The evening health bulletin carried the first mention of physical therapy for the pope, in addition to respiratory therapy, and the Vatican said it was to ensure no other negative impacts from the longest hospitalization of his papacy.

Vatican opens Lent

The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season leading to Easter on Wednesday without the participation of Pope Francis, who is in the third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

A cardinal took the pope’s place leading a short penitential procession between two churches on the Aventine Hill, and opened an Ash Wednesday homily prepared for the pontiff with words of solidarity and thanks for Francis.

“We feel deeply united with him in this moment,” Cardinal Angelo De Donatis said. ”And we thank him for the offering of his prayer and his suffering for the good of the entire church in all the world.”

Catholic Church Feb 26

Pope Francis' friends around Rome pray for him as he fights pneumonia

Catholic Church Feb 23

Pope Francis writes personal message amid hospitalization. Read his statement

Ash Wednesday

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and leads up to Easter on April 20. A cardinal has been designated to take Francis’ place at Vatican celebrations.

On Ash Wednesday, observant Catholics receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads, a gesture that underscores human mortality. It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season.

“The condition of fragility reminds us of the tragedy of death,″ De Donatis said in his homily. ”In many ways, we try to banish death from our societies, so dependent on appearances, and even remove it from our language. Death, however, imposes itself as a reality with which we have to reckon, a sign of the precariousness and brevity of our lives.”

The pope was supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy. On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in “spiritual communion” with him. The theme, selected before Francis got sick, was “Hope in eternal life.”

Prayers of support

Yuris Asis, visiting from Colombia, said he prayed for the pope “because his current condition, which is serious. All of the Catholic community around the world is praying for him.”

Italian Emanuele Di Martino said the pope was utmost in his mind as he experienced the pilgrimage to the Vatican.

“We hope that the pope’s health issues can be resolved because unfortunately the condition is not the best, but we hope and we trust that he will get well, if possible,” Di Martino said.

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry and visual journalist Trisha Thomas contributed to this report.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

Francis had inhaled “copious” amounts of mucus in another setback in what has become a more than two-week battle to overcome a complex respiratory infection and pneumonia.

In a late update, the Vatican said the episodes were caused by a “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and bronchial spasms. “Two bronchoscopies were performed with the need for aspiration of copious secretions,” the Vatican said.

Francis remained alert, oriented and cooperated with medical personnel. The prognosis remained guarded.

Catholic Church Feb 26

Pope Francis' friends around Rome pray for him as he fights pneumonia

Catholic Church Feb 23

What does the Catholic Church do when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

Earlier Monday, Pope Francis issued a new message from the hospital as Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard after disappearing from public view for over two weeks as he recovers.

Francis, 88, denounced the “progressive irrelevance” of international organizations to combat war as he remained at Rome’s Gemelli hospital in stable condition. He was up, had breakfast and was receiving therapies after sleeping “well all night long,” the Vatican said.

The Vatican hasn’t released any photos or videos of Francis since before he entered the hospital on Feb. 14 with a complex lung infection. This has become the longest absence of his 12-year papacy.

The Vatican has provided brief, twice-daily medical updates on his condition, and Francis has begun signing off on documents with “From Gemelli Polyclinic” in an indication that he is up and working.

The Vatican has defended Francis’ decision to recover in peace and out of the public eye. But on Monday one of Francis’ closest friends at the Vatican, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, urged him to let his voice be heard, saying the world needs to hear it.

“We need men like him who are truly universal and not only one-sided,” Paglia said, speaking after a press conference to launch the annual assembly of his Pontifical Academy for Life, the Vatican’s bioethics academy, which has as this year’s theme “The End of the World?”

Francis wrote a message to the assembly, dated Feb. 26, in which he lamented that international organizations are increasingly ineffective to combat the threats facing the world and are being undermined by “short-sighted attitudes concerned with protecting particular and national interests.”

It’s a theme he has articulated before. Francis also has repeatedly called for peace between Russia and Ukraine while trying to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, and has tried to achieve a similar balancing act for Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

Even a Vatican ambassador not especially close to Francis, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, said the faithful needed to hear his voice at a time when war is raging in Europe. Gaenswein was Pope Benedict XVI’s longtime secretary, and Francis exiled him to be the Vatican ambassador in the Baltics after he published a memoir in 2023 that was critical of Francis.

“Pope Francis’ voice is of vital importance for all the world because he’s the only authority who speaks of peace, who condemns war, all the wars under way starting with Ukraine,” La Repubblica quoted Gaenswein as saying.

Francis’ 17-night hospitalization is by no means reaching the papal record that was set during St. John Paul II’s numerous lengthy hospitalizations over a quarter century.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

As is customary, the observation precedes Easter Sunday and is a time when followers engage in a variety of rituals including prayer, fasting, abstaining from meat on Fridays and giving up one or more vices for the duration of Lent.

The observance begins on Ash Wednesday, a day in which many Christians attend a church service and receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads. The gesture dates back thousands of years to the Old Testament, where displaying ashes served as a sign of someone’s humility before God, as well as a symbol of repentance.

If you’re planning to attend church services or observe Lent, you might be wondering when is Ash Wednesday in 2025.

Unlike other commemorations that fall on the same date annually — like Christmas or Independence Day — the dates of Lent, Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday vary year over year, and don’t always fall on the same day or even month.

Since the dates aren’t consistent, see below to find out when they fall on the calendar this year. You’ll also find out more about the customs associated with Ash Wednesday, what receiving ashes means within the Christian faith, and other details surrounding the holy holidays.

When is Ash Wednesday 2025?

In 2024, Ash Wednesday arrived early in the season, falling on Feb. 14, which is also Valentine’s Day.

This year, in 2025, Ash Wednesday is recognized nearly a month later on Wednesday, March 5. The day also marks the beginning of Lent, which lasts 40 days, and ends on another Christian observance, Holy Thursday.

Holy Thursday is on April 17 in 2025 and Lent officially ends at sundown.

Preceding Ash Wednesday, is Fat Tuesday, a day dedicated to merriment and revel ahead of the prolonged period of self-sacrifice. In 2025, Fat Tuesday is on Tuesday, March 4.

What are common Ash Wednesday rituals?

Even though Ash Wednesday isn’t a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics like Immaculate Conception and Christmas, it is one of the most highly-attended masses of the year.

Typically, the ashes used in the Ash Wednesday service are procured from burning the previous year’s palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration. The ashes from the palms are then blessed by a priest or deacon.

Those interested in participating can attend a church or prayer service where they’ll receive the ashes on their forehead in the sign of a cross, usually accompanied by the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

The ashes signify repentance for one’s sins and a renewed commitment to God. For many Christians, Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting, as well as abstaining from eating meat.

When is Lent in 2025?

Last year, Lent began on Wednesday, Feb. 14 and ended on Thursday, March 28. In 2025, Lent begins on Wednesday, March 4 and ends on Thursday, April 17.

If you’re planning ahead, in 2026, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent fall on Wednesday, Feb. 18 and end on Thursday, March April 2.

When is Easter in 2025?

This year, Easter Sunday is on Sunday, April 20, which is nearly a month later than it was in 2024.

In 2026, Easter lands on Sunday, April 5.

This article originally appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY:

• These creative and fun Easter egg hunt ideas are eggs-traordinary
• When did Women’s History Month begin? Its history, explained
• Harriet Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece on how her family is keeping her legacy alive

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

“The pope in the night slept well and is now resting,” the Holy See said in a statement Thursday morning.

The Vatican did not expand further on the 88-year-old pontiff’s condition, providing a short early morning update with more information expected to follow later in the day.

Hundreds of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday night to pray for the pope, as they have done in nightly masses held since Monday evening.

Fears grew for the pontiff after he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was later diagnosed with “double pneumonia,” or pneumonia in both lungs. But a “slight improvement” in the pontiff’s condition earlier this week brought some relief, despite Francis remaining in critical condition.

The Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday that Francis’ condition had shown “further slight improvement” over a 24-hour period and had dedicated his afternoon to work activities.

It noted that a “mild renal insufficiency” noted in recent days had receded. Meanwhile, a chest CT scan performed on Tuesday night appeared to reflect “normal” trends for a person receiving care for pneumonia.

The Holy See noted that Francis did not suffer from any asthmatic respiratory crises on Wednesday, but said he continued to receive high-flow oxygen therapy.

Despite the slight improvement in his condition, the Vatican said the pope’s prognosis remained “reserved.”

It was unclear as of Thursday morning whether the pontiff remained in critical condition.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:

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“The pope is by now a friend, a beloved person for me, not a customer,” said Francis’ optician, Alessandro Spiezia. “I am praying for his recovery.”

Francis’ occasional unannounced visits to Spiezia’s shop, on the tony Via del Babuino near Piazza del Popolo, often created mob scenes as tourists and Romans alike realized the pope was inside.

Francis has popped in a few times since becoming pope in 2013 to get new lenses for his glasses, arriving in a simple Ford or Fiat with minimal security detail and waving to well-wishers as he came and went.

The Argentine pope also has his favorite ice cream flavors, and a shop near his Vatican hotel has catered for years to his sweet tooth.

When Argentine ice cream maker Sebastian Padrón opened his gelato laboratory around the corner from the Santa Marta hotel, his dulce de leche ice cream, a typical Argentine caramel dessert, became the pope’s favorite.

“He called me on the phone after COVID to invite me,” Padròn told The Associated Press. “He wanted to meet me since he had been eating our ice cream for a few years. We went with my family, we talked to him for a long time. A very nice meeting, very friendly, very simple, as if we were neighbors and as if we had known each other our whole lives.”

“After we came to know of the hospitalization we sent him our greetings, and as he always says, we must pray for him,” he added.

Catholic Church Feb 23

What does the Catholic Church do when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

Catholic Church Feb 20

How is a new pope selected?

A Vatican-area tailor also was following news of Francis’ hospitalization.

“We are all saddened and we all pray for the recovery of the pope,” said Raniero Mancinelli, who sold the modest pectoral cross that Francis has been wearing for the past few decades.

Before Francis’ papacy, Mancinelli sold lavish crosses set with gemstones to cardinals and bishops. But afterward, the clerical style shifted to simpler crosses made of silver, Mancinelli said.

They are similar to the one that a bishop friend purchased in 1998 and later gave to the future pope, who at the time was archbishop of Buenos Aires. According to Mancinelli, the current cross that the pope still wears was bought in his shop.

“Francis immediately went on a much simpler and essential style,” he explained as he cut the fabric for a bishop’s garment in his historic workshop, steps away from the Vatican.

When he became pope in 2013, Francis decided not to live in the lavish, baroque papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square, but to stay in an austere room at the Santa Marta hotel inside Vatican City.

He has lamented that he can’t walk around freely as he did when he lived in Buenos Aires, when he was known for taking public transportation.

As an archbishop, Francis came to Rome frequently on periodic visits to the Vatican and frequented his favorite shops, including a record shop where he would stock up on his beloved classical music and tango.

In 2022, when he went to bless the newly renovated shop and visit its owners, a Vatican reporter happened to be nearby and filmed him exiting. Francis later reached out and mused about the attention he draws during his local outings.

“I won’t deny that it was (bad luck) that after taking all the precautions, there was a journalist waiting,” Francis later wrote the journalist, Javier Martinez-Brocal. “You can’t lose your sense of humor.”

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

The Vatican’s evening update said the 88-year-old pope had had no new respiratory crises and that his blood parameters were stable. He underwent a follow-up CAT scan Tuesday evening to check the lung infection, but no results were provided. Doctors said his prognosis remained guarded.

“In the morning, after receiving the Eucharist, he resumed work activities,” the Vatican statement said.

Decisions on saints and a formal meeting of cardinals

The Vatican’s Tuesday noon bulletin contained a series of significant decisions Francis had taken, most importantly that he had met on Monday with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Vatican “substitute” or chief of staff.

It was the first known time the pope had met with Parolin, who is essentially the Vatican prime minister, since his Feb. 14 hospitalization and the first outsider known to have called on Francis since Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Feb. 19.

During the audience, Francis approved decrees for two new saints and five people for beatification — the first step toward possible sainthood. Francis also convened a consistory, or a formal meeting of cardinals, to set the dates for the future canonizations.

Francis regularly approves decrees from the Vatican’s saint-making office when he is at the Vatican, albeit during audiences with the head of the office, not Parolin. A consistory is a necessary ceremonial step in that saint-making process, and it is normal that no date is given at first.

Catholic Church Feb 23

Pope Francis writes personal message amid hospitalization. Read his statement

Catholic Church Feb 23

What does the Catholic Church do when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

It wasn’t clear, though, why there was such urgency to approve the decrees while the pope was in critical condition, when some of the new proposed saints have been waiting years if not decades for their causes to advance.

The signing of the decrees did serve to show the pope fully in charge and provided a public way to announce Parolin’s audience. But it also raised some questions.

It was also at a banal consistory to set dates for canonizations on Feb. 11, 2013, that Pope Benedict XVI announced, in Latin, that he would resign because he couldn’t keep up with the rigors of the papacy.

Francis has said he, too, would consider resigning after Benedict “opened the door” and became the first pope in 600 years to retire.

Giovanna Chirri, the reporter for the Italian news agency ANSA who was covering the consistory that day and broke the story because she understood Latin, said that she didn’t think Francis would follow in Benedict’s footsteps, “even if some would want it.”

“I could be wrong, but I hope not,” she told The Associated Press. “As long as he’s alive, the world and the church need him.”

Francis’ English biographer, Austen Ivereigh, said that it was possible, and that all that matters is that Francis be “wholly free to make the right decision.”

“The pope has always said that the papacy is for life, and he has shown that there is no problem with a frail and elderly pope,” Ivereigh said. “But he has also said that should he ever have a long-term degenerative or debilitating condition which prevents him from fully carrying out the exercise of the papal ministry, he would consider resigning. And so would any pope.”

Francis’ ideas about resignation

Francis has said that if he were to resign, he would live in Rome, outside the Vatican, and be called ”emeritus bishop of Rome” rather than emeritus pope given the problems that occurred with Benedict’s experiment as a retired pope. Despite his best efforts, Benedict remained a point of reference for conservatives before he died in 2022, and his home inside the Vatican gardens something of a pilgrimage destination for the right.

Francis has also written a letter of resignation, to be invoked if he became medically incapacitated.

Speculation about a possible resignation has swirled ever since Francis was hospitalized, but the Vatican hierarchy has tamped it down. Parolin himself told Corriere della Sera over the weekend that such speculation was “useless” and that what mattered was Francis’ health.

In addition to the audience with Parolin, the Vatican released Francis’ message for Lent, the period leading up to Easter. And Francis named a handful of new bishops for Brazil, a new archbishop for Vancouver and modified the law for the Vatican City State to create a new hierarchy.

Many if not all of these decisions were likely in the works for some time and the Lent message was signed before he was hospitalized. But the Vatican has said that Francis has been doing some work in the hospital, including signing documents.

Doctors have said the condition of the Argentine pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and preexisting lung disease before the pneumonia set in.

Allies and ordinary faithful hopeful

Francis’ right-wing critics have been spreading dire rumors about his condition, but his allies have cheered him on and expressed hope that he will pull through. Many noted that from the very night of his election as pope, Francis had asked for the prayers of ordinary faithful, a request he repeats daily.

“I’m a witness of everything he did for the church, with a great love of Jesus,” Honduran Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga told La Repubblica. “Humanly speaking, I don’t think it’s time for him to go to Paradise.”

At Gemelli on a rainy Tuesday morning, ordinary Romans and visitors alike were also praying for the pope. Hoang Phuc Nguyen, who lives in Canada but was visiting Rome to participate in a Holy Year pilgrimage, took the time to come to Gemelli to say a special prayer for the pope at the statue of St. John Paul II outside the main entrance.

“We heard that he is in the hospital right now and we are very worried about his health,” Nguyen said. “He is our father and it is our responsibility to pray for him.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

“I have recently received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children. Thank you for your closeness, and for the consoling prayers I have received from all over the world!” the 88-year-old pope wrote in a personal message Feb. 23 on X.

“I urge you to continue your apostolate with joy and to be a sign of a love that embraces everyone, as the #GospelOfTheDay suggests. May we transform evil into goodness and build a fraternal world. Do not be afraid to take risks for love!” he added.

Francis’s message comes hours after the Vatican announced he had a “tranquil” night and was alert and rested on Sunday after undergoing multiple blood transfusions.

Catholic Church Feb 22

Pope Francis in critical condition with kidney issues but remains alert as prayers pour in

Catholic Church Feb 23

What does the Catholic Church do when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

In an update Sunday, the Vatican said his condition “remains critical; however, he has presented no further respiratory crisis since last night.”

The update noted that some blood tests show “initial, mild, renal insufficiency” that is “at present under control.” The prognosis is still “reserved.”

“The Holy Father continues to be alert and well oriented,” the Vatican said.

The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing for several days. He was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

The Vatican described the pope’s condition as critical for the first time on Feb. 22.

The pope required both high-flow oxygen therapy and multiple blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update.

“The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” the statement Feb. 22 said.

The pope shared a written message for his usual Sunday prayer in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 23, which he was unable to deliver for the second week in a row.

Francis said in his written message that he was “confidently” continuing with his treatment. He also thanked his physicians and others who have sent him messages of support.

Pope Francis has dealt with multiple health issues in recent years, including a previous flu diagnosis and various respiratory problems.

The elderly pope, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, also underwent a surgery in 2021 for a gastrointestinal disease called diverticulitis and another surgery in 2023 for a hernia.

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As a result, even though Pope Francis remains hospitalized in critical condition with a complex lung infection, he is still pope and very much in charge.

Still, Francis’ hospital stay is raising obvious questions about what happens if he loses consciousness for a prolonged period, or whether he might follow in Pope Benedict XVI’s footsteps and resign if he becomes unable to lead. On Monday, Francis’ hospital stay will hit the 10-day mark, equaling the length of his 2021 hospital stay for surgery to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon.

His age and prolonged illness has revived interest about how papal power is exercised in the Holy See, how it is transferred and under what circumstances. And it points to the legislative loophole that currently exists in what to do if a pope gets so sick that he can’t govern.

The Vatican Curia

Francis may be in charge, but he already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a team of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not, and whether he is conscious or not.

Chief among them is the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Other Vatican functions are proceeding normally, including the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year celebrations.

What happens when a pope gets sick?

Canon law does have provisions for when a bishop gets sick and can’t run his diocese, but none for a pope. Canon 412 says a diocese can be declared “impeded” if its bishop — due to “captivity, banishment, exile, or incapacity” — cannot fulfil his pastoral functions. In such cases, the day-to-day running of the diocese shifts to an auxiliary bishop, a vicar general or someone else.

Even though Francis is the bishop of Rome, no explicit provision exists for the pope if he similarly becomes “impeded.” Canon 335 declares simply that when the Holy See is “vacant or entirely impeded,” nothing can be altered in the governance of the church. But it doesn’t say what it means for the Holy See to be “entirely impeded” or what provisions might come into play if it ever were.

In 2021, a team of canon lawyers set out to propose norms to fill that legislative gap. They created a canonical crowd-sourcing initiative to craft a new church law regulating the office of a retired pope as well as norms to apply when a pope is unable to govern, either temporarily or permanently.

The proposed norms explain that, with medical advancements, it’s entirely likely that at some point a pope will be alive but unable to govern. It argues that the church must provide for the declaration of a “totally impeded see” and the transfer of power for the sake of its own unity.

Under the proposed norms, the governance of the universal church would pass to the College of Cardinals. In the case of a temporary impediment, they would name a commission to govern, with periodical medical checks every six months to determine the status of the pope.

“At first, the promoting group was accused of imprudently choosing topics that were too sensitive and controversial,” said one of the coordinators, canon lawyer Geraldina Boni.

But then, “a widespread consensus formed,” she told The Associated Press. Even Francis’ own canon lawyer, Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, acknowledged some sort of norms were necessary if the pope “incurably, then irreversibly, lost consciousness or otherwise the ability to perform human acts.”

“The problem is, who declares that the pope is in a situation where he cannot govern?” he told Italian daily Il Giornale in 2022.

Ghirlanda largely backed the crowd-sourcing initiative’s idea, proposing a committee of medical experts to determine if the pope’s condition is irreversible. If they confirm it is, the Rome-based cardinals would be summoned to declare the pope cannot govern, triggering a conclave.

Catholic Church Feb 22

Pope Francis in critical condition with kidney issues but remains alert as prayers pour in

Catholic Church Feb 20

How is a new pope selected?

What about the letters?

Francis confirmed in 2022 that shortly after he was elected pope he wrote a letter of resignation, to be invoked if he became medically incapacitated. He said he gave it to the then-secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and said he assumed Bertone had delivered it to Parolin’s office when he retired.

The text is not public, and the conditions Francis contemplated for a resignation are unknown. It is also not known if such a letter would be canonically valid. Canon law requires a papal resignation to be “freely and properly manifested” — as was the case when Benedict announced his resignation in 2013.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI wrote letters to the dean of the College of Cardinals hypothesizing that if he were to become seriously ill, the dean and other cardinals should accept his resignation. The letter was never invoked, since Paul lived another 13 years and died on the job.

What happens when a pope dies or resigns?

The only time papal power changes hands is when a pope dies or resigns. At that time, a whole series of rites and rituals comes into play governing the “interregnum” — the period between the end of one pontificate and the election of a new pope.

During that period, known as the “sede vacante,” or “empty See,” the camerlengo, or chamberlain, runs the administration and finances of the Holy See. He certifies the pope’s death, seals the papal apartments and prepares for the pope’s burial before a conclave to elect a new pope. The position is currently held by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the head of the Vatican’s laity office.

The camerlengo has no role or duties if the pope is merely sick or otherwise incapacitated.

Likewise, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who would preside at a papal funeral and organize the conclave, has no additional role if the pope is merely sick. That position is currently held by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91.

Earlier this month, Francis decided to keep Re on the job even after his five-year term expired, rather than make way for someone new. He also extended the term of the vice-dean, Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

In a late update, the Vatican said Francis hadn’t had any more respiratory crises since Saturday night but was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen.

Some blood tests showed “initial, mild, kidney failure,” but doctors said it was under control.

“The complexity of the clinical picture, and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback, dictate that the prognosis remains guarded,” Francis’ doctors concluded.

Prayers for Francis, meanwhile, poured in from around the world, from his native Argentina to the seat of Sunni Islam in Cairo to schoolchildren in Rome.

SAG Awards Feb 23

SAG Awards: ‘Conclave' stars shout out Pope Francis amid hospitalization

Catholic Church Feb 23

What does the Catholic Church do when a pope becomes sick or incapacitated?

In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan admitted what church leaders in Rome weren’t saying publicly: that the Catholic faithful were united “at the bedside of a dying father.”

“As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death,” Dolan said in his homily from the pulpit of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, though he later told reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would “bounce back.”

Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. His condition has revived speculation about what might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and whether he might resign.

Prayers for pope at Vatican

Francis was supposed to celebrate Mass on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Basilica and ordain deacons as part of the Vatican’s yearlong Holy Year commemoration.

The organizer of the Holy Year, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated the Mass in his place and offered a special prayer for Francis from the altar before delivering the homily the pope had prepared.

“Even though he is in a hospital bed, we feel Pope Francis close to us. We feel him present among us,” Fisichella told the hundreds of white-robed deacons.

A prewritten message that had been prepared for Francis to read Sunday, but he did not deliver, said he was “confidently continuing my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy!” The message asked for prayers for him — as he always asks — and noted the upcoming anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity.”

Meanwhile in Francis’ native Argentina, Catholics prayed for the pope at the Buenos Aires cathedral and the city’s iconic obelisk was lit up “Francis, the city prays for you.”

In Cairo, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning who forged a close bond with Francis, wished him well.

“I pray to Allah to grant my dear brother, Pope Francis, a swift recovery and to bless him with good health and well-being so that he may continue his journey in serving humanity,” Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb wrote in a Facebook post.

The American Jewish Committee also offered prayers. “We stand together with our Catholic brothers and sisters during this challenging time,” the group wrote on X.

And school children from around Rome deluged the Gemelli hospital with get-well cards, while Italian bishops led rosary prayers and celebrated special Masses across Italy.

Sepsis is a potential threat

Doctors have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. To date there has been no reference to any onset of sepsis in the medical updates provided by the Vatican, including on Sunday.

On Saturday, Francis developed a low platelet count, which remained low but stable Sunday. Platelets are cell-like fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections.

Francis also developed anemia and, during blood transfusions Saturday, was given hematin, a treatment designed to increase the level of hemoglobin in his his blood, which in turn helps the blood carry more oxygen. Doctors reported Sunday that the therapy had been beneficial.

Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.

Francis’ recent reforms suggest he knew he was getting older and more fragile

Francis has taken several recent decisions that suggest he was well aware that he was getting old and frail.

Last year, he revised the funeral rites that will be used after he dies, simplifying the rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. But the core elements of the rites remain, including the three key moments that must be observed between the death of a pope and his funeral: In his home, in St. Peter’s Basilica and in the place of burial.

In December, Francis created 21 new cardinals. All but one were under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect his successor. Their additions brought the overall number of voting-age cardinals to 140, well over the 120 limit set by St. John Paul II. But several of the current electors are turning 80 this year, bringing the number down.

Earlier this month, once he was already sick, Francis decided to extend the five-year term of the current dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91, rather than make way for someone new. As depicted in the film “Conclave,” the dean of the College of Cardinals plays an important role in the life of the Catholic hierarchy, and is a crucial figure during the transition between one papacy and the next.

Francis also decided to extend the term of the vice-dean, Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

In an early update Wednesday morning, a Vatican spokesman said Francis spent his fifth night in Rome’s Gemelli hospital peacefully. “He had a tranquil night, woke up and had breakfast,” he said.

The Vatican on Tuesday confirmed the pneumonia and said Francis’ respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which requires the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment. “Laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said.

Nevertheless the pope, who had the upper lobe of his right lung removed as a young man, is in good spirits and is grateful for the prayers for his recovery, Bruni said in a late update.

Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. On Monday, medical personnel determined that he was suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, meaning a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonized in his respiratory tract.

“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon … demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” Bruni said.

Catholic Church Feb 17

The pope has a ‘polymicrobial respiratory tract infection.' What is that?

Catholic Church Feb 17

Pope to remain hospitalized as doctors treat a respiratory tract infection

Bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, which is a deeper and far more serious infection of the lungs’ air sacs. Pneumonia can develop in part of one lung or an entire lung or both lungs. It tends to be more serious when both lungs are affected because there isn’t healthy lung tissue to compensate.

Treatment varies by severity but can include providing oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, intravenous fluids — and treatment of the underlying cause of the infection. To date Francis is not known to be using supplemental oxygen, and he has eaten breakfast every day, read the newspapers and done some work from his hospital room.

The Vatican hasn’t provided any information about how Francis is responding to any of the drugs he has been given other than to say he isn’t running a fever.

Dr. Carmelo D’Asero, an infectious disease and geriatric disease expert in Rome, said Francis’ lack of a fever was not necessarily a positive thing, given the seriousness of his infection.

“A high fever is a sign of an immune response to a pathogen,” he said. “Having a low fever and having a serious bronchial infection … is a sign of a decreased immune response and that makes us worry a little bit more, let’s say. Maybe if he had a fever, it would have been better.”

The Vatican has given no indication of how long the pope might remain hospitalized, only saying that the treatment of such a “complex clinical picture,” which has already required several changes in his drug regimen, would require an “adequate” stay.

Despite the less than positive news about Francis’ condition, a rainbow appeared over the Gemelli hospital on Tuesday afternoon and Francis received get-well drawings and cards from children being treated in the hospital’s oncology ward.

Here’s a look at the Pope’s latest diagnosis and what his treatment could involve.

What is a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection?

Essentially, it means there’s a mix of bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites growing in someone’s lungs.

“Often times, people will get a bronchitis or an airway infection and that can often start a cascade of multiple problems, including infections in the lungs,” said Dr. Maor Sauler, who specializes in adult pulmonary and critical care medicine at Yale University’s School of Medicine. He said such issues were common in older people whose immune systems might be weaker or had complex health issues.

“It likely means he has more than one organism in his lungs,” Sauler said, explaining that the pope’s doctors might have to adjust his treatment to make sure the antibiotics attack all the various organisms.

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How serious is this?

For someone with the pope’s medical history — he lost part of his right lung decades ago and has previously had pneumonia — it’s worrying that he’s been hospitalized.

Dr. Nick Hopkinson, medical director of Asthma + Lung UK, said most healthy people would likely recover quickly from bronchitis.

But in people whose lungs are already damaged, “bacteria can come and colonize the airways … and you start to see infections which makes it more difficult to treat.” In people with lungs that have been previously compromised, they might need help breathing, including oxygen support or chest physiotherapy to help them clear fluids building up in their lungs.

Still, Hopkinson said that getting the pope on the right medications should help.

“If they’ve identified particular things to treat, they can treat those and he’ll start to recover.”

How long might this take?

That depends. Antibiotic treatments typically take from a few days up to about two weeks. Hopkinson said the pope might be given various medicines, including ones that people typically take for asthma or conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in addition to getting physiotherapy to help keep his chest as clear as possible.

“Some infections require prolonged treatment because they’re just harder to clear from the system,” Hopkinson said. “It sounds like they’ve identified the bugs that are responsible and they’ll be able to treat those…but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Dr. Peter Openshaw, a lung expert at Imperial College London, said the presence of multiple organisms wasn’t unusual in people with complex medical histories but could be hard to manage.

Are there other issues doctors might be concerned about?

Pneumonia is a likely worry.

“Even though we can treat pneumonias with antibiotics, pneumonias are also one of the leading causes of death,” said Sauler of Yale University. He said antibiotics don’t work in isolation and that a person’s immune system is also critical to fighting off pneumonia, pointing out that the immune systems in older people aren’t usually as resilient.

“When you’re 88 years old, the age of the pope, then all of a sudden you have risk factors that make the situation tougher than just a routine pneumonia.”

What will doctors be monitoring next?

Sauler said the biggest thing to watch out for in the coming days is any sign that the pope is getting worse.

“I’d be most interested in making sure he’s not worsening despite the best efforts (of his doctors). That’s usually a bad prognostic sign,” he said, adding that they would likely review his condition in a few days to see whether or not the prescribed drugs are working.

“I have optimism and hope that he can pull through with the right antibiotic.”

___

Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a “polymicrobial respiratory tract infection” that has necessitated a further change in his drug therapy. Scientists say polymicrobial diseases are caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.

There was no timeframe given for his hospitalization, which has already sidelined him for longer than a 2023 hospitalization for pneumonia. Bruni said the complexity of his symptoms “will require an appropriate hospital stay.”

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Subsequent updates said his slight fever had gone away and that he was in “stable” condition.

Bruni said Francis, ate breakfast and read the newspapers Monday morning after a third peaceful night.

The Argentine pope, who had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man, is a known workaholic who keeps up a grueling pace despite his increasingly precarious health. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane because of bad knees and suffers from sciatica nerve pain. In 2021 he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed because of a narrowing, and then had a further surgery in 2023 to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair an abdominal hernia.

When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left the hospital after three days and only acknowledged after the fact that he had been admitted urgently after feeling faint and having a sharp pain in his chest. This time around, Francis insisted on finishing his morning audiences Friday before leaving the Vatican, even though he was having trouble speaking at length because he was short of breath.

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Francis’ continued hospitalization has already forced the cancellation of some events connected to the Vatican’s Holy Year and put others in question. The Holy See has only confirmed canceled appointments through Monday. Francis was supposed to have gone to Rome’s Cinecitta film studios to meet with artists as part of the Catholic Church’s Holy Year celebrations.

The pope’s next scheduled appointment is his weekly general audience Wednesday. Beyond that, he is scheduled to preside on Sunday at the ordination of deacons as part of a Holy Year weekend dedicated to deacons. Francis’ participation in both appears in doubt, but they remain on the official Vatican schedule.

When he missed the Jubilee Mass dedicated to artists this past Sunday, a cardinal stood in for him.

___

Medical writer Maria Cheng contributed from London.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

The appointment marks a major step in Francis’ aim to give women more leadership roles in governing the church. While women have been named to No. 2 spots in some Vatican offices, never before has a woman been named prefect of a dicastery or congregation of the Holy See Curia, the central governing organ of the Catholic Church.

The historic nature of Brambilla’s appointment was confirmed by Vatican Media, which headlined its report “Sister Simona Brambilla is the first woman prefect in the Vatican.”

The office is one of the most important in the Vatican. Known officially as the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, it is responsible for every religious order, from the Jesuits and Franciscans to smaller newer movements.

In an indication of the novelty of the appointment, and the theological implications involved, Francis simultaneously named as a co-leader, or “pro-prefect,” a cardinal: Ángel Fernández Artime, a Salesian.

But the appointment, announced in the Vatican daily bulletin, lists Brambilla first as “prefect” and Fernández second as her co-leader, which theologically is necessary since the prefect must be able to celebrate Mass and perform other sacramental functions that currently can only be done by men.

Brambilla, 59, is a member of the Consolata Missionaries religious order and had served as the No. 2 in the religious orders department since last year. She takes over from the retiring Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, 77.

Francis made Brambilla’s appointment possible with his 2022 reform of the Holy See’s founding constitution, which allowed laypeople, including women, to head a dicastery and become prefects.

Brambilla, a nurse, worked as a missionary in Mozambique and led her Consolata order as superior from 2011-2023, when Francis made her secretary of the religious orders department.

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Her appointment is the latest move by Francis to show by example how women can take leadership roles within the Catholic hierarchy, albeit without allowing them to be ordained as priests.

Catholic women do much of the church’s work in schools, hospitals and passing down the faith to future generations. But they have long complained of second-class status in an institution that reserves the priesthood for men.

Francis has upheld the ban on female priests and tamped down hopes that women could be ordained as deacons.

But there has been a marked increase in the percentage of women working in the Vatican during his papacy, including in leadership positions, from 19.3% in 2013 to 23.4% today, according to statistics reported by Vatican News. In the Curia alone, the percentage of women is 26%.

Among the women holding leadership positions are Sister Raffaella Petrini, the first-ever female secretary general of the Vatican City State, responsible for the territory’s health care system, police force and main source of revenue, the Vatican Museums, which are led by a laywoman, Barbara Jatta.

Another nun, Sister Alessandra Smerilli, is the No. 2 in the Vatican development office while several women have been appointed to under-secretary positions, including the French nun, Sister Nathalie Becquart, in the synod of bishops’ office.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

Francis appeared relaxed and energized during the one-day visit, just two days before his 88th birthday, still displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago.

He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place d’Austerlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsica — except, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour.

“Make children,″ he implored. ”They will be your joy and your consolation in the future.”

Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity “that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic,” that can adapt to “unforeseen situations” and promote cooperation “between civil and ecclesial authorities.”

The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary “can nurture constructive citizenship” on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition.

The visit to Corsica’s capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italy’s borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Francis was joined on the dais by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who organized the conference that brought together some 400 participants from Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and southern France. The two-day meeting examined expressions of faith that often occur outside formal liturgies, such as processions and pilgrimages.

Often specific to the places where they are practiced, popular piety in Corsica includes the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the “Madunnuccia,” which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa.

Corsica stands out from the rest of secularized France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members.

“It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, officials and religious authorities,’’ Bustillo told The Associated Press ahead of the visit. “There is no hostility between the two. And that is a very positive aspect because in Corsica there is no ideological hostility.”

The visit was awash in signs of popular piety. The pope was greeted by children in traditional garb and was continually serenaded by bands, choruses and singing troupes that are central to Corsican culture from the airport, to the motorcade route, convention center and cathedral. Thousands stood along the roadside to greet the pontiff and more waved from windows.

Renè Colombani traveled with 2,000 others by ship from northern Corsica to Ajaccio, on the western coast, to see the pope.

“It is an event that we will not see again in several years. It may be the only time that the pope will come to Corsica. And since we wanted to be a part of it, we have come a long way″ Colombani said.

The island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768, is located closer to the Italian mainland than France.

From the conference, the pope traveled to the 17th-century cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to meet with clergy, stopping along the way at the statue of the Madunnuccia where he lit a devotional candle.

The pope celebrated Mass beneath a looming statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor whose armies in 1808 annexed the papal states and imprisoned two of Francis’ predecessors — Popes Pius VI and VII — before being excommunicated and eventually defeated on the battlefield. Thousands packed the esplanade where Napoleon is said to have played as a child.

Francis met privately with Macron at the airport before departing for the 50-minute flight back to Rome.

They were slated to talk about the world’s crises, including wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and environment and climate-related issues, Macron’s office said. Macron presented the pope with two books about Notre Dame Cathedral.

The pontiff pointedly did not make the trip to Paris earlier this month for the pomp surrounding the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral following the devastating 2019 fire. The visit to Corsica seems far more suited to Francis’ priorities than a grand cathedral reopening, emphasizing the “church of the peripheries.”

It is Francis’ third trip to France, each time avoiding Paris and the protocols that a state visit entails. He visited the port of Marseille in 2023, on an overnight visit to participate in an annual summit of Mediterranean bishops, and went to Strasbourg in 2014 to address the European Parliament and Council of Europe.

Corsica is home to more than 340,000 people and has been part of France since 1768. But the island has also seen pro-independence violence and has an influential nationalist movement. Last year, Macron proposed granting it limited autonomy.

__

Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Milan and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

__

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.

The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.

The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”

Catholic Church Mar 23

Pope arrives home at Vatican after 5-week hospital stay to beat life-threatening bout of pneumonia

The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.

The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.

Charles addresses Parliament

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.

Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the U.K. and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.

The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.

“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.

Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.

“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.

During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.

The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.

On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.

Climate change warnings

Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”

He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.

Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”

Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.

___

Kirka reported from London.

Francis made the announcement at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday, saying he would proclaim the church’s youngest contemporary saint during the Jubilee of Adolescents at the Vatican on April 25-27.

Officials later confirmed the canonization Mass would occur on April 27 at the Vatican.

Acutis, who was born to Italian parents in London, was a web designer who died of leukemia in Italy in 2006 at the age of 15. Francis beatified him in 2020 in Assisi, where his tomb draws a steady stream of pilgrims.

Touted as the “patron saint of the internet,” Acutis used his natural tech talent to create a website to catalog miracles and took care of websites for some local Catholic organizations.

Francis announced in May that he had approved a second miracle attributed to Acutis’ intercession, paving the way for Wednesday’s announcement.

Francis revisited the key thorny topics of his trip to Belgium during his in-flight press conference coming home, praising Belgium’s late King Baudouin as a “saint” for having abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than sign legislation legalizing abortion.

“You need a politician who wears pants to do this,” Francis said, using a Spanish expression. “You need courage,” he said, adding that Baudouin’s beatification process was moving along.

Francis drew criticism from some in Belgium for having prayed at Baudouin’s tomb and for calling the abortion law “homicidal,” given that abortion remains a political issue in Belgium, with new proposals to extend the legal limit on an abortion from 12 to 18 weeks.

“Doctors who do this are – allow me the word – hitmen. They are hitmen,” Francis said. “And on this you cannot argue. You are killing a human life.”

It was the second time in as many weeks that Francis has been asked about his views on abortion during an in-flight press conference. Returning from Asia earlier this month and asked about the upcoming U.S. election, Francis said voters should chose the “lesser evil” when picking between a candidate who wants to deport migrants and one who supports abortion rights — a reference to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

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Francis calls for action on church abuse

Francis used his only Mass in Belgium to publicly demand that priests who abuse young people be punished, and that the church hierarchy stop covering up their crimes. He praised the courage of victims who came forward about their abuse in improvised remarks to a crowd of some 30,000 at Brussels’ King Baudouin stadium.

“Evil must not be hidden. Evil must be brought out into the open,” Francis said to repeated rounds of applause as the crowd took in what he was saying.

Francis deviated from his prepared homily Sunday to respond to the meeting he held with 17 abuse survivors on Friday night, where he heard first-hand of the trauma and suffering they endured and the tone-deaf response of the church when they reported the crimes.

Belgium has had a wretched legacy of abuse and cover-up, none more symbolic of the church’s hypocrisy than the case of Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe. He was allowed to quietly retire in 2010 after he admitted that he had sexually abused his nephew for 13 years.

Francis only defrocked him this year — 14 years later — in a move clearly seen as finally dealing with a problem before his arrival in Belgium.

The victims gave Francis a letter with several requests, including establishing a universal church system of reparations since many say the financial settlements they have received from the church don’t even cover the costs of therapy many require.

Francis praised the victims’ courage and acknowledged that the settlements many have received in civil judgements — which he said he believed were capped at 50,000 euros — were not enough.

“We have the responsibility to help the abused and take care of them,” he said. “Some need psychological help: (We must) help them with this.”

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Criticism of Francis and calls for church reform in Belgium

Francis’ visit to Belgium was always going to be difficult, given the country’s history of clerical sexual abuse and overall secularizing trends which have emptied its majestic cathedrals and churches.

But it’s unclear if he or his entourage expected such sharp public expressions of outrage or the pointed calls for reform from Belgium’s intellectual elite.

The main reason for the trip was to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Leuven/Louvain Catholic University, the oldest Catholic university in the world and long the Vatican’s academic fiefdom in Belgium.

But the rector of the Dutch-speaking campus told Francis that the abuse scandal had so harmed the church’s moral authority that it would do best to reform if it wants to regain credibility and relevance. Luc Sels suggested that opening up greater roles for women — including the priesthood — and being more welcoming to LGBTQ+ Catholics would be a good place to start.

Francis heard a similar call from the French-speaking campus, where students staged a reading of an articulated critique of his landmark environmental encyclical “Praised Be” in which they called for a “paradigm shift” in the way the church views women.

They noted that the encyclical virtually ignores women, cites no female theologians and contributes to women’s “invisibility” in the church and society. Women have long complained they have a second-class status in the church, barred from the priesthood and positions of power despite doing the lion’s share of the work educating the young, caring for the sick and passing on the faith.

Francis, an 87-year-old Argentine Jesuit, said he liked what they said. But he repeated his frequent refrain about women being the “fertile” nurturers who complement men, and that regardless “the church is woman.”

His words drew a remarkable rebuke from the Catholic university that invited him. As soon as he finished speaking, Louvain issued a statement expressing its “incomprehension and disapproval” of his views on women, which it said were “deterministic and reductive.”

“We cannot agree on his position for sure,” said rector Françoise Smets. “We are fighting against discrimination for women, and we would like women to have another role in the society and in the church also.”

During the in-flight press conference, Francis doubled down on women and criticized the Louvain students for what he said was a “pre-made” communique, which was distributed as soon as his remarks finished.

Francis has insisted that women’s focus on ordained ministry was misplaced given his claims that they already are more important than men.

“I always speak about the dignity of women, and I said something that I can’t say about men: The church is woman,” Francis said. “Women are more important than men because the church is woman.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The 11-day trip, which earlier took him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, is the longest for the 87-year-old pontiff since becoming head of the Catholic Church in 2013. Francis will be the second pope to visit Singapore, after a five-hour stopover by the late John Paul II in 1986.

Here’s what to know about Pope Francis’ three-day stay in Singapore:

Why is Francis visiting Singapore?

Singapore was originally part of Francis’ travel plans to the region in 2020 but it was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The island city-state at the tip of the Malay peninsula has a small population of just under 6 million people and lacks natural resources, but it is a heavyweight in regional and international affairs. Astute leadership, its strategic location and reputation as one of the most open and least corrupt economies had transformed Singapore into a bustling financial giant and maritime and aviation hubs in just 59 years after independence.

Singapore is a strategic U.S. partner but also maintains close ties with China. Ethnic Chinese account for about three-quarters of its residents followed by minority Muslims and Indians.

According to a 2020 Singapore population census, Buddhists make up about 31%. About a fifth of the population claimed no religious belief, while Christians account for almost 19% and Muslims about 15%.

Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, reflecting its multicultural identity and heritage.

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“Singapore and the Holy See share a common interest in promoting interfaith dialogue and understanding. Pope Francis’ state visit is also the first papal visit to Singapore in almost 40 years,” Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said.

In a city ranked as one of the most expensive to live in, Singapore’s Cardinal WIlliam Goh said that key themes frequently emphasised by Francis such as human dignity, inclusiveness, interreligious dialogue, family values, the need to manage artificial intelligence responsibly and care for the environment were of particular relevance.

“As such, Pope Francis’ visit is highly anticipated and warmly welcomed not only by the Catholic faithful, but also by the wider society.” Goh said in a written response to The Associated Press. “After the apostolic visit is done, I pray that Singapore will be filled with hope — a profound, divine hope.”

What’s on the pope’s itinerary?

After flying in from Dili, East Timor, on Wednesday, Pope Francis will hold a private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

On Thursday, he will receive an official welcome at Parliament House and meet Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. He will also meet government officials, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the National University of Singapore.

The highlight will be a public Mass at the 55,000-seat National Stadium in the evening. Those attending include Catholics from neighboring Malaysia and Brunei. Francis will make a tour around the stadium pitch to greet the faithful in his Popemobile before delivering his homily.

On the last day, Francis will visit elderly residents at the St Theresa’s Home. He will also hold an interreligious meeting with youths at the Catholic Junior College.

How influential is the church in Singapore?

The church marked 200 years in Singapore in 2021. The Archdiocese of Singapore was formed in 1972, seven years after Singapore’s independence. Diplomatic relations with the Holy See were established in 1981.

In Singapore’s early years, Cardinal Goh said the church’s work in education and health care were important contributors to national development.

“Many of the country’s top leaders in both the public and private spheres were formed in Catholic schools; and many basic health care needs were provided by Church-run health care institutions,” he wrote on the Vatican News website.

The church supports 395,000 Catholics in Singapore with its 29 parish churches, three devotional churches, 53 schools, 47 humanitarian organizations and two health care institutions. Goh said the church holds frequent dialogue with the government, which views it as an important contributor and shaper of Singapore’s social fabric.

Goh, Singapore’s first cardinal installed by Francis in 2022, is a member of two Presidential Councils that advise the government on matters relating to racial and religious harmony and minority rights.

“As the final stop on this apostolic journey, Singapore stands as a testament to peaceful coexistence in a modern, multicultural, and multi-religious society,” Goh wrote in his reply to the AP. “This reflects the spirit of unity and diversity that Pope Francis has emphasized throughout his pontification.”

Francis flew aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane from Port Moresby to Vanimo, on the northwest coast of the South Pacific nation. There, Francis met with the local Catholic community and missionaries from his native Argentina who have been ministering to them.

For an Argentine pope who marveled in 2013 at having been chosen from the “end of the Earth” to lead the church, it was a voyage to another end of the Earth on the longest, farthest trip of Francis’ pontificate.

Francis has previously traveled to the edge of the Arctic (to apologize to the Inuit people for church abuses), and into the Peruvian Amazon (to draw attention to its plight), and to the plains of Ur, Iraq (to boost Christian-Muslim ties). But even by his standards, Sunday’s trip to remote Vanimo was extraordinary.

An estimated 20,000 people were singing and dancing on the field in front of the Vanimo cathedral when Francis arrived, and he promptly put on a feathered headdress that had been presented to him.

In remarks from a raised stage, Francis praised the church workers who go out to try to spread the faith. But he urged the residents of Vanimo to work at home at being good to one another. He urged them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries.

Doing so, he said, would help to “drive out fear, superstition and magic from people’s hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviors such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters.”

It was a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterized the country’s culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea to urge an end to the violence, including gender-based violence, and for a sense of civic responsibility to prevail.

Francis echoed the theme on Monday morning in a final encounter with young people in Port Moresby, the capital, before flying to East Timor on the next leg of his trip.

Francis was elected pope largely on the strength of a speech he gave to his fellow cardinals in 2013 about the need for the church to go out to the “peripheries” where people need God most. In keeping with that philosophy, Francis has largely shunned foreign trips to European capitals, preferring instead far-flung communities where Catholics are often a minority.

Vanimo, population 11,000, certainly fits the bill of being remote. It is near Papua New Guinea’s border with Indonesia, where the jungle meets the sea, and is for the most part only reachable by plane or boat.

There is a small airport, but no ambulift, the wheelchair elevator Francis needs to get on and off planes. Because of that, and the donated and purchased cargo Francis was bringing in, the C-130 was used so he could be wheeled on and off using the back ramp.

Francis, history’s first Latin American pope, has a special affinity for the work of Catholic missionaries. As a young Argentine Jesuit, he had hoped to serve as a missionary in Japan but was prevented from going because of his poor health. As pope, he often holds up missionaries as models for the church.

The Rev. Martin Prado, an Argentine missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word religious order, was responsible for inviting the pope to Vanimo.

As he waited for Francis to arrive Sunday, he recounted for reporters the “crazy” story of how he accompanied a group of Vanimo parishioners to Rome in 2019, and ended up scoring an audience with the pope after his parishioners insisted that they wanted to give him some gifts.

Prado, who has spent the past 10 of his 36 years working as a missionary in Vanimo, said he wrote a note, left it for the pope at the Vatican hotel where he lives, and the next day received an email from Francis’ secretary inviting his group in.

“I invited him, but he wanted to come,” Prado said. “He has a big heart for people. It’s not just words: He does what he says.”

Prado said some people deep in the interior of the diocese, in the jungle where cars have yet to arrive, need clothes, and for them a plate of rice and tuna fish “is glorious.”

Francis brought about a ton of medicine, clothing, musical instruments and toys, the Vatican said. Prado said Francis was also helping to build a new secondary school. He said half of the children of the diocese are unable to go to high school because there simply aren’t enough spots for them.

The event had a very Argentine flair to it: On the stage was a statue of the Virgin of Lujan, the patron of Argentina who is particularly dear to Francis and whose name also graces the local girls’ school. When Francis met privately after the event with the nuns and missionary priests, they served him mate, the Argentine tea.

There are about 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea, according to Vatican statistics, out of a population in the Commonwealth nation believed to be around 10 million. The Catholics practice the faith along with traditional Indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery.

Francis’ visit to Vanimo was the highlight of his visit to Papua New Guinea, the second leg of his four-nation tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. After first stopping in Indonesia, Francis heads on Monday to East Timor and then wraps up his visit in Singapore later in the week.