In a quiet chapel within Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, a doctor kneels before the Blessed Sacrament in his white coat. A patient in a wheelchair bows his head in silent prayer. Nearby, a group of religious sisters hold their rosary beads as they gaze up at the altar.
This is the scene in the John Paul II hospital chapel, where a daily Holy Hour of Eucharistic adoration is being held just floors below where Pope Francis, 88, is receiving treatment for pneumonia and early-stage kidney failure — marking the most extended hospitalization of his pontificate.
The hospital Holy Hour is one of many prayer initiatives that have sprung up in the Eternal City as the pope remains in critical condition and the global Catholic community continues to offer fervent prayers for him.
Each evening at 9 p.m., undeterred by a week of rainy weather, hundreds of Catholics convene in St. Peter’s Square to recite the rosary for the pope.
The rosary vigils are led by prominent cardinals, including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Notably, more than two dozen Rome-based cardinals, among them Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal Gerhard Müller, occupy the front rows, heads bowed in unified prayer.
Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, spoke to CNA after the first vigil in St. Peter’s Square.
“I hope the pope will heal,” he said, emphasizing the importance of following Pope Francis’ example during this time by living the Word joyfully, loving others, and opening our hearts to the marginalized and the poor.
The South Korean cardinal gave a passionate response when asked what was his message for the pope during this time: “Once I said to the Holy Father, ‘I am ready to give my life for you, for the Church.’ This I repeat.”
At the Basilica of St. Mary Major — the basilica where Pope Francis has said he hopes to be buried — every Mass is being offered for the pope, the basilica’s communications director told CNA, including Masses celebrated in the chapel of the ancient Salus Populi Romani image of Mary, a favorite of Francis, who prays in the chapel before and after every international trip.
Gemelli Hospital, a bustling hub as Rome’s premier teaching hospital and Italy’s second-largest medical facility, has long had a connection to the papacy. The 10th floor, where Francis is under medical care, has been a designated suite for papal medical emergencies for decades.
The hospital’s chapel bears the name and contains a relic of another pope who knew these corridors well: St. John Paul II. The Polish pontiff was hospitalized here multiple times, including after an assassination attempt in 1981.
The hospital is a place where life moves at a relentless pace — surgeries being performed, babies crying in maternity wards, ambulances arriving with patients for the emergency room. Yet amid all that is happening, within the walls of the John Paul II hospital chapel there is peaceful silence as people are united in communal prayer and words of hope in front of the real presence of Jesus.
Father Nunzio Corrao, the chaplain of Gemelli Hospital, opened the midday hour of adoration on Tuesday with a prayer.
“We want to continue to pray for Pope Francis that the therapeutic course he is taking is effective,” the chaplain said.
“We ask for grace as well that following the example of Pope Francis, we can also be ready to respond to the Lord’s call to be credible witnesses of the Gospel,” he added.
A pharmacologist who has worked at Gemelli Hospital for 37 years was among those who attended the Holy Hour in his white laboratory coat. He said that it is an honor and a privilege to serve God and God’s people in the same hospital that treated John Paul II and Pope Francis.
Outside the hospital, beneath a towering statue of John Paul II holding the cross — now covered with candles, flowers, and handwritten notes wishing Francis a swift recovery — Catholics have been frequently gathering to recite the rosary.
Friar Massimo Fusarelli, the minister general of the Order of Friars Minor, offered Mass in the hospital chapel after the Holy Hour on Feb. 25.
“May we be at peace and pray for our dear Pope Francis that he may soon return to his mission, invigorated in spirit and body according to God’s will,” Fusarelli said in his homily.
The Franciscan superior, himself a patient at Gemelli after undergoing surgery, reflected on suffering and illness from a Christian perspective. Inspired by the readings of the day, he compared the trials of life to the fire that purifies gold and silver, removing impurities.
“Trials, sufferings, and illnesses reveal who we really are,” he said. “Here in this hospital, many of you, including doctors and medical staff, live this truth every day.”
“We ask the Lord to continue to listen to our prayer, so that the voice of Pope Francis does not fade away but is strong and loud; we especially need him as a compass in a dark time like the one we are living in,” the Franciscan said.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
