Sawt Falasteen - 'Stable' pope marks start of Lent in hospital

The Argentine pontiff, head of the worldwide Catholic Church, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since February 14, suffering several respiratory attacks that have sparked alarm across the globe.

In its evening update on Wednesday, the Vatican said his condition was stable and he spent the day in an armchair, with no repeat of Monday's episodes of respiratory failure.

Francis missed the formal Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome marking the start of Lent, but took part in a blessing in the private suite reserved for popes on the 10th floor of the Gemelli.

He also did some work and in the morning made what had previously been his daily call to the only Catholic priest in Gaza, the Vatican said.

However it added that "given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains reserved", meaning doctors will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.

- 'His sufferings' -

Francis, leader of the world's almost 1.4 billion Catholics, has not been seen in public since his hospitalisation, nor has the Vatican issued any photos, although he has published several texts.

His absence was keenly felt at the Ash Wednesday procession and mass in Rome marking the start of Lent, 40 days of prayer and sacrifice before Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar.

Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read out the pope's homily at the mass at the Santa Sabina basilica, attended by around 20 red-clad cardinals.

"We feel deeply united with him at this moment and we thank him for the offering of his prayers and his sufferings for the good of the entire Church, and the whole world," De Donatis said of the pontiff at the start.

Christians across the globe celebrating Ash Wednesday also prayed for the pontiff's recovery, including in his native Argentina.

In the Flores neighbourhood of Buenos Aires where the pope grew up as Jorge Bergoglio, pilgrims prayed in front of portraits of him in the Basilica of San Jose de Flores.

It was there that Francis has said he first felt the call, aged 17, to dedicate his life to the Church.

"We are praying so that he can finish his work," Gabriela Lucero, 66, told AFP after the mass, which she said was themed on love for one's neighbour, regardless of their origins.

"In this time when the prevailing voices are rejecting immigrants, the pope is calling us to give love to all of them," she said.

- 'We really need him' -

Francis, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, had been breathless and struggled to read out his texts in the days leading up to his hospitalisation.

On February 22, he suffered a "prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis" and on February 28 had "an isolated crisis of bronchospasm" -- a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs.

On Monday, Francis "experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm", according to the Vatican.

However, he has since then been reported to be stable.

Acute respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening, occurs when the lungs cannot pass enough oxygen into the blood or when carbon dioxide builds up in the body.

The pope has suffered numerous health issues in his 12-year papacy, including undergoing colon surgery in 2021 and a hernia operation in 2023, but this hospitalisation is the longest and most serious.

Francis's health has regularly led to speculation, particularly among his critics, as to whether he could resign like his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who stepped down in 2013.

But many of the well-wishers who have been gathering in front of the hospital to light candles and pray for Francis urged the liberal reformer to keep fighting.

Domenica Patania, a 63-year-old Italian, told AFP she was praying for him to get better "because in this particular period of time we really need him, his support and his closeness".

"Above all, we want him to be well for many, many years to come."

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E.Aziz--SF-PST