CBCP asks public to keep praying for Pope Francis
Pope Francis —Photo by Filippo Monteforte/Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) asked the public on Sunday to keep praying for Pope Francis, who remains in “critical condition” at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been confined since Feb. 14.
“Let us continue to pray for Pope Francis,” the CBCP said in a Facebook post in which it also shared the latest update given by the Holy See Press Office on the health of the 88-year-old leader of the Catholic Church.
The Vatican reported on Sunday that the Holy Father “has spent a peaceful night.”
“The night passed uneventfully; the Pope rested,” it said in an update.
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Article continues after this advertisement‘Power of praying together’
Cardinals Jose Advincula and Pablo Virgilio David are leading the vigil prayers in the Philippines for the Pope’s recovery.
Article continues after this advertisementThe two are among the 138 cardinals below the age of 80 who are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.
David led a Mass for the Holy Father in Caloocan City on Thursday evening at the Cathedral of San Roque, the patron saint of the sick and suffering.
“May I ask for your prayers for his healing and recovery during this challenging time,” said David, also the CBCP president.
Advincula presided over the “Holy Hour for the Healing of Pope Francis” at the Manila Cathedral on Friday, the eve of the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, who is considered the first pope of the Catholic Church.
“Let us storm heaven with our supplications. Let us accompany Pope Francis with our loving prayers and entrust him to the Lord’s healing hand as well as his doctors, nurses, and medical professionals,” Advincula said in a circular issued on Thursday.
“Time and again we have witnessed the power of praying together as a family and community,” he added.
