Cardinal Koch: 'Suffering of illness' a great challenge for aging Pope Francis
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Hundreds of people gather to pray the rosary for Pope Francis' health on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Mar 12, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflected Tuesday on the great challenge of illness and suffering for Pope Francis as he approaches a month's hospital stay amid a series of health crises.Before leading Tuesday evening's recitation of rosary, held inside the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall, Koch drew parallels in the lives of Pope Francis and St. Peter."Truly, truly, I say to you when you were young, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go," Koch said, citing Jn 21:18. Commenting on the Gospel account when the resurrected Jesus asked Peter, the first pope, to follow him until ...
Hundreds of people gather to pray the rosary for Pope Francis' health on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Vatican City, Mar 12, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).
Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflected Tuesday on the great challenge of illness and suffering for Pope Francis as he approaches a month's hospital stay amid a series of health crises.
Before leading Tuesday evening's recitation of rosary, held inside the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall, Koch drew parallels in the lives of Pope Francis and St. Peter.
"Truly, truly, I say to you when you were young, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go," Koch said, citing Jn 21:18.
Commenting on the Gospel account when the resurrected Jesus asked Peter, the first pope, to follow him until the end, Koch asked: "How can we not recognize in these words, [is] in fact, what our Holy Father — the successor of Peter — is also experiencing and struggling with?"
"Of course the situations are different, but also the suffering of a serious illness is a great challenge," he said, before starting Tuesday's contemplation of the Rosary's sorrowful mysteries.
Since Feb. 24, a cardinal has presided over the daily recitation of the Rosary for the pope's health. Hundreds of local Catholic faithful and jubilee pilgrims from around the world have come to St. Peter's Square to join the evening prayers open to the public.
"We ask for the intercession of Mary, the mother of hope, for the health of Pope Francis," Koch prayed.
The 88-year-old pontiff has undergone various medical therapies to treat bronchitis, bilateral pneumonia, as well as mild kidney problems, since being admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital almost one month ago on Feb. 14.
Over the weeks, several Catholic faithful from Rome and abroad have also gathered outside Gemelli Hospital to pray for the Holy Father and have left behind written notes with well wishes, candles, and flowers before the St. John Paul II statue outside the facility.
Wednesday evening's Rosary at the Vatican was held at 6 p.m. local time and led by Cardinal ??George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
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St. Thomas Aquinas/St. John Henry Newman. / Credit: Public domainACI Prensa Staff, Oct 31, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV declared St. John Henry Newman, along with St. Thomas Aquinas, as a patron saint of the Catholic Church's educational mission in his recent apostolic letter on education, "Drawing New Maps of Hope."In the letter, the pontiff draws a connection between the two saints, separated by six centuries but united by the same mission: teaching within the Catholic Church.Paul Gordon, professor of Catholic social doctrine and contemporary history and literature at the Ángel Ayala Institute of Humanities, reflected on the Holy Father's letter in a recent conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner.Union between faith and reasonAs the Scottish professor noted, both Newman and Aquinas were theologians who promoted dialogue between the sciences, especially between faith and reason, positioning the gift of faith as a guide in the search for truth.&n...
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Shrine of the Queen Mother in Atibaia, Brazil. / Credit: Schoenstatt Apostolic MovementACI Prensa Staff, Oct 30, 2025 / 16:50 pm (CNA).On the occasion of the centenary of the Secular Institute of the Sisters of Mary of Schoenstatt, Germany, Pope Leo XIV has granted a plenary indulgence to anyone who visits the original Schoenstatt shrine or any shrine, church, or chapel under the care of this community.The indulgence can be obtained throughout the community's jubilee, which began on Oct. 1 and will conclude on Nov. 4, 2026."For our community, this gift of indulgence in our jubilee year is an invitation from God, through the Church, for a deeper purification of our hearts," the Schoenstatt Movement said on its website, adding: "We trust that God's grace will sustain us in a more perceptible way at the beginning of a new era for our family."The decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See states that the indulgence is granted "to members of the institute and to all the ...
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Mercedes Schlapp, Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) senior fellow (left), and conservative political commentator and practicing Catholic Jack Posobiec (right) discuss Christian persecution at the Summit on Ending Christian Persecution on Oct. 30, 2025, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. / Credit: CPACWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 30, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA).The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) launched an initiative to combat Christian persecution domestically and abroad, a subject at the heart of its latest summit in Washington, D.C. CPAC hosted a Summit on Ending Christian Persecution at the Kennedy Center on Oct. 30 as a part of its wider effort to collaborate with its coalition partners to raise awareness and identify policy solutions to religious targeting of Christians."As Catholics, we are all called to help those most in need, those who are facing persecution here and across the globe," Mercedes Schlapp, CPAC senior fellow, told C...
