Rome – Pope Francis participated in the Vatican’s week-long mental retreat while continuing to recover from double pneumonia on Monday and advanced his 12th anniversary of his election in doubt about his future.
Francis started the opening of the retreat on Sunday via video conference: He could see the Rev. Roberto Pasolini, a missionary of the Pope, but the priests, bishops and cardinals in the Vatican auditorium could not see or hear him.
Pasolini meditates on “Hope of Immortality,” a theme chosen before being taken to Rome of Rome Hospital by Francis on February 14 due to a complex lung infection.
The retreat is an annual gathering that begins the solemn Lent season of the Catholic Church, leading to Easter and lasts throughout the week. The Vatican once said that Francis would “interaction with the distant hierarchy.”
The Vatican said in an early update on Monday that Francis had rested after a quiet night.
The 88-year-old pope suffered from chronic lung disease, partly one lung, when he was hospitalized last month, and was removed from a case of bad bronchitis. The infection developed into a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia, leaving Francis to occupy his longest period of 12 years as a pope and raised questions about the future.
Doctors reported that he is now in a stable state for more than a week, without fever or respiratory crisis, and with good oxygen levels in the blood.
The doctor said that this stability was a positive thing in itself, showing that he responded well to treatment. But they see his prognosis as “protection”, which means he is not at risk. Doctors are expected to provide medical updates later on Monday.
On Thursday, the Vatican will mark the 12th anniversary of the Francis election, the first time in the Pope’s sight, but still in charge. Francis was elected the 266th Pope on March 13, 2013, the first Pope of Jesuit, first from Latin America, and Pope Benedict XVI resigned.
Francis met Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra for the third time at the hospital on Sunday. Such meetings are the conventional way the pope manages and show that Francis is still keeping up with the basic business.
Although Francis had previously praised Benedict for his courage and humility in his resignation, he recently said he believed the Pope’s work was lifelong and said last year that he had no plans to step down.
Francis has been using a lot of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and breathe in a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.
