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Passersby peer into the John Paul II Chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where a daily Holy Hour is among several prayer initiatives in the Eternal City for the health and recovery of Pope Francis. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNAVatican City, Feb 27, 2025 / 06:15 am (CNA).Pope Francis spent another restful night at Rome's Gemelli Hospital after being admitted on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis. Follow here for the latest news on Pope Francis' health and hospitalization:
Members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO). / Credit: CENCOACI Africa, Feb 27, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Fear has gripped the Nazaré Training Center in Mozambique's Archdiocese of Beira following a Sunday, Feb. 23, attack that left two priests and a religious brother at the facility injured.The Conference of Religious Institutes of Mozambique told Catholic pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International that a group of men armed with pistols, machetes, and irons entered the institution in the early hours of Feb. 23, violently attacking three missionaries who were there.According to a Feb. 25 ACN report, the conference "expressed its concern about the insecurity" in the southern African nation following the attack and appealed for prayers for peace in the country.ACN reported that the two priests and brother were "tied up and tortured by the bandits" at the institution, which engages in various activities, including formation c...
Pope Francis attends the general audience at the Vatican on Feb. 12, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez / EWTN NewsCNA Newsroom, Feb 27, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).Pope Francis slept well overnight and his condition continues to improve as he undergoes treatment for a complex respiratory infection at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican announced Thursday morning.The 88-year-old pontiff continues oxygen therapy "with high flow rates" and has begun physiotherapy treatment for his respiratory passages.While the pope's condition shows signs of improvement, Vatican officials emphasized that "the prognosis remains cautious" as his hospitalization extends into its thirteenth day.Pope's consolation to grieving motherThe Vatican, meanwhile, has revealed a moving letter the Holy Father wrote shortly before his hospitalization.In the letter, set to appear in the monthly magazine "Piazza San Pietro," Pope Francis responded to a grieving Roman mother who lost her 21-year-old son."Jesus, who weeps wi...
null / Credit: Declausura FoundationMadrid, Spain, Feb 26, 2025 / 18:07 pm (CNA).The Poor Clare abbess of the Monastery of Santo Cristo de Balaguer in Lérida province in northeast Spain is criticizing a 2018 rule established by Pope Francis that dissolves communities of women religious with fewer than five nuns, a rule that does not apply to male communities.Sister María Victoria Triviño, OSC, made her critique in an article published by the magazine Catalunya Cristiana regarding the recent closure of the Monastery of Santa María de Pedralbes in Barcelona that had been in existence for 700 years.Asked about the reason for the closure, "which people, hurt and perplexed, address to some of the Poor Clares every day," the nun explained that the Holy Father published the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei Quaerere in 2016 but emphasized that the document "did not affect monks."Similarly, regarding the Cor Orans instruction, published in 2018 to implement Vultum Dei Quaerere, the Poo...
People pray at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on Feb. 26, 2025. / Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 15:05 pm (CNA).Pope Francis' mild early-stage kidney insufficiency "subsided" on Wednesday, according to the Vatican. "The Holy Father's clinical condition over the past 24 hours has shown further slight improvement," the Holy See Press Office stated. "The mild renal insufficiency noted in recent days has receded."Despite the improvement, the latest medical report stated the pope's "prognosis remains reserved." The 88-year-old pontiff had a chest CT scan Tuesday evening that showed a "normal evolution" of lung inflammation caused by pneumonia.Blood tests taken Wednesday confirmed the pope, though fragile, is showing signs of recovery. "Today's hematochemical and hemacrocytometric examinations confirme...
Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, leads Eucharistic adoration at the parish in December 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel RomanelliVatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).Father Gabriel Romanelli, IVE, the pastor of Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, was able to speak with Pope Francis on Tuesday despite the fact that the pontiff remains hospitalized in critical condition with bilateral pneumonia.After the phone call, the parish priest shared how the entire community rejoiced "to hear his voice.""As he did every day from the beginning of this terrible war, Pope Francis has called us once again to show his closeness, to pray for us, and to give us his blessing," Romanelli said in a video message posted on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem."As the Parish of the Holy Family of Gaza, which belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, we rejoice to hear his voice," he added. A...
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum meets with the country's bishops during their plenary assembly on Nov. 13, 2024. / Credit: Courtesy of the Mexican Bishops' ConferencePuebla, Mexico, Feb 26, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).Faced with uncertainty about the impact of the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, especially regarding America's relationship with Mexico, the Mexican bishops are calling for the strengthening of "authentic national unity."Last month, at the beginning of his second term in office, Trump announced various measures that directly affect Mexico, including the declaration of an emergency on the U.S. southern border, the designation of drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations," and the threat of imposing 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports unless these issues are quickly addressed by those countries.In this context, the Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) published a message on Feb. 24 addressed to Mexican society stating that ...
People wait outside a distribution point to receive aid rations in Oromia Region, Ethiopia, in February 2018. / Credit: Will Baxter/Catholic Relief ServicesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 26, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a federal court decision that ordered the government to resume foreign aid grants by late Wednesday evening as many Catholic groups that receive those grants are still without funds.The attorney general's office filed an appeal late Tuesday night after U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the administration to supply those funds by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday. The same judge, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, had ordered the government to resume its foreign aid funding on Feb. 13. However, the Trump administration has not complied with that order.Numerous Catholic organizations have lost grant money due to the foreign aid funding freeze, including Catholic Relief Services and Jesuit Rel...
null / Credit: Declausura FoundationMadrid, Spain, Feb 26, 2025 / 18:07 pm (CNA).The Poor Clare abbess of the Monastery of Santo Cristo de Balaguer in Lérida province in northeast Spain is calling out for criticism the 2018 rule established by Pope Francis according to which communities of women religious with less than five nuns must be dissolved, a rule that does not apply to male communities.Sister María Victoria Triviño, OSC, made her critique in an article published by the magazine "Catalunya Cristiana" regarding the recent closure of the Monastery of Santa María de Pedralbes in Barcelona that had been in existence for 700 years.Asked about the reason for the closure, "which people, hurt and perplexed, address to some of the Poor Clares every day," the nun explained that the Holy Father published the apostolic constitution Vultum Dei Quaerere in 2016 but emphasized that the document "did not affect monks."Similarly, regarding the Cor orans instruction, published in 2018 to...
The interior of St. Alphonsus Liguori "Rock" Catholic Church in St. Louis. / Courtesy of Shannon HorstmannSt. Louis, Mo., Feb 26, 2025 / 12:05 pm (CNA).A parish church in St. Louis that primarily serves the African American community was announced Feb. 24 as a recipient of a preservation grant to support the restoration of the historic building's stained-glass windows. St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church, known in the community as the "The Rock" because of the church building's rock-hewn appearance, was one of 30 Black churches throughout the country chosen to receive a grant this year from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, an independent nonprofit organization.The parish, which is under the care of the Redemptorists and located in the Grand Center district of St. Louis, will receive $500,000 to help restore its stained-glass windows, which were created in Munich by the German firm Meyer & Co...
