Vatican City, Mar 14, 2025 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has provided the Vatican with a list of names of Ukrainians detained by the Russian military, requesting diplomatic mediation to secure their release.

“The Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians being held in Russian prisons and camps. We are counting on the support for their release,” Zelenskyy said in a message shared on social media.

The Ukrainian president indicated that he had a telephone conversation with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, in which he also wished Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for a month in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, “a speedy recovery.”

“I thanked him for his prayers and moral support for our people, as well as for his efforts in facilitating the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported and displaced by Russia,” Zelenskyy said, expressing his gratitude for the prayers for Ukraine and for peace.

The Holy See’s mediation for the release of Ukrainians detained in Russia is nothing new. Ukrainian Redemptorist priests Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta were detained in Berdyansk by Russian occupation troops in November 2022 and released almost two years later following Vatican mediation.

“The voice of the Holy See is very important on the path to peace. I am grateful for the readiness to make efforts toward our shared goal,” the Ukrainian president noted.

Zelenskyy also referred to his government’s decision to approve the United States’ proposal for a 30-day temporary ceasefire. This compromise was reached two days ago after a meeting lasting more than eight hours between the two countries’ delegations in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

“The exchange of prisoners and an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire are the first quick steps that could significantly bring us closer to a just and lasting peace. Ukraine is ready to take these steps because the Ukrainian people want peace more than anyone,” Zelenskyy said in his post on X.

However, despite the progress in the negotiations, Ukraine launched its largest attack on Russia since the start of the war before the agreement was reached. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over several regions in that attack.

Zelenskyy commented that “meanwhile, the world sees how Russia is deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process, as Russia is the only party that wants the war to continue and diplomacy to break down.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Vatican City, Mar 14, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).

Over 30,000 runners will hold 42 seconds of silence for Pope Francis before the start of the Rome Marathon on Sunday morning.

The silence — 42 seconds for the 42 kilometers in a marathon — is a sign of closeness toward the ailing, 88-year-old pope, who has been receiving medical treatment at Gemelli Hospital for a month.

“The greatest moment of recollection and silence in history at a shared sporting event will be dedicated to the Holy Father, a great fan of sports and the Rome Marathon,” the race’s press office said. More than 30,000 people from 126 countries have registered for the March 16 race.

The Rome Marathon, in its 30th year, will start close to the Colosseum and the Imperial Forums and will later cross with many of Rome’s most-visited sites, including Piazza Navona and Castel Sant’Angelo. At around the 10th mile of the 26-mile race, runners will go down Via della Conciliazione, the main thoroughfare to St. Peter’s Basilica, and around Bernini’s colonnade outside St. Peter’s Square.

The marathon’s press office described the gesture as a “huge, collective hug” for Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for bronchitis and double pneumonia since Feb. 14.

“It will be 42 beautiful seconds, one second for each kilometer of the race, where each participant can dedicate a personal, private, and silent thought and greeting,” a press release said.

In past years, Pope Francis has greeted Rome marathon runners during his Sunday Angelus addresses, praising the race’s commitment to helping others through its simultaneous fun run marathon, which raises money for charities in Rome.

The Rome Marathon is one of the official events of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

Vatican City, Mar 14, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After one full month of being hospitalized and treated for double pneumonia and other respiratory infections, Pope Francis' medical condition has decidedly stabilized, the Vatican press office said.

Despite his "complex" medical situation, there has been no significant change for the past few days so doctors caring for the pope at Rome's Gemelli hospital decided not to release a medical bulletin as scheduled, it said. The brief medical reports will also probably be released every two or three days because recovery in this case "is slow."

No change to his condition is in itself a positive sign, the press office added March 14. 

Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, leads the Lenten retreat for cardinals and senior officials of the Roman Curia in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican March 13, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

The pope spent the past week following the Roman Curia's Lenten retreat March 9-14 by video, listening to the daily meditations led in the morning and afternoon by Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household.

Father Pasolini ended the last mediation by thanking the pope, whose absence was "more than justified." He joked that if the pope had planned to be absent to alleviate the pressure and fear of leading his first series of Lenten reflections for the Curia, then "mission accomplished."

The pope suspended all work-related activities to dedicate the week to prayer and reflection, but he did continue to follow his prescribed physical therapies with physiotherapy and respiratory therapy, which often entails breathing exercises, in the mornings and afternoons, the Vatican press office said.

The pope still "is able to move and walk as he always has," a Vatican source said March 14. Sometimes he moves "with more assistance, sometimes with less," but those movements are limited, most often alternating between his bed and a chair.

He continues to use high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube during the day and "noninvasive mechanical ventilation" with a mask overnight. 

Religious sisters pray the rosary for Pope Francis March 10, 2025, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, celebrated a Mass for the pope March 14 with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. "We gather in prayer this morning with the intention of the health of the Holy Father, that he might recover and return among us soon," the cardinal said at the Mass, celebrated in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace.

In the evening, Msgr. Lucio Adrián Ruiz, secretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication, led the recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis which has been taking place every night since shortly after his hospitalization. The nightly prayer in St. Peter's Square was moved from 9 p.m. to 7:30 p.m Rome time.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Four weeks after Pope Francis was hospitalized and one day after the 12th anniversary of the pope's election, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, celebrated a Mass for the pope with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.

"We gather in prayer this morning with the intention of the health of the Holy Father, that he might recover and return among us soon," the cardinal said March 14.

The Mass was celebrated in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, a chapel containing the last two murals Michelangelo ever painted: one of the crucifixion of St. Peter and the other illustrating conversion of St. Paul.

In his homily, focused on the day's Lenten Gospel reading, Cardinal Parolin spoke about the connection between prayer and love for God, which is expressed through love for others.

"The best way to present our prayers to God is, above all, to offer him a heart, our hearts, open and attentive to his word," the cardinal said. 

Ambassadors accredited to the Holy See listen to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, give his homily during a Mass offering prayers for the health of Pope Francis March 14, 2025, in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Citing Matthew 5:20, in which Jesus tells his disciples, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven," Cardinal Parolin urged the diplomats to actively seek God's will.

"If you do not go beyond human logic in your search for God's will, you will never find it," he said.

And Jesus' examples in the passage -- of not hating others, speaking ill of them or refusing to forgive them -- show that trying to do God's will involves treating others with kindness and respect, the cardinal said.

"And this relationship must be founded on charity," he said. "Charity, love for our neighbor, is the proving ground of our love for God."

In the Gospel reading, Jesus reminds his disciples of the commandment not to kill and then tells them, "But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment."

The passage, the cardinal said, equates anger with killing.

"It seems a bit exaggerated, a bit extreme," Cardinal Parolin said. "But it is that way, isn't it?"

Looking at the wars "bloodying our planet," diplomats know that they do not begin on a battlefield, "but they are born in the human heart, in feelings of hatred and hostility," he said.

The Gospel call to love one's enemies, the cardinal said, is a call to recognize with humility how much each person needs God's help and grace.

"Listening to this Gospel, we must first of all open our hearts to accept a gift before following a command," Cardinal Parolin said. "Purified by these words of the Lord, may our prayer for the health of our Holy Father gain more momentum in rising to the giver of all good gifts." 
 

Vatican City, Mar 13, 2025 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his pontificate on Thursday from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been receiving treatment for pneumonia for nearly a month.

Hospital staff commemorated the occasion by presenting the 88-year-old pope with a cake decorated with candles. Additionally, he received hundreds of drawings, messages, and letters from children and well-wishers worldwide.

The Holy See Press Office told journalists that Pope Francis continued his medication regimen, motor physiotherapy, and high-flow oxygen therapy on Thursday morning. He participated in spiritual exercises and prayed in the hospital chapel.

In the afternoon, he followed the Roman Curia’s spiritual exercises via video link to the Paul VI Hall and continued respiratory therapy. His clinical condition remains stable yet complex, according to the Vatican, with ongoing “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” at night and high-flow oxygenation during the day.

Friday will mark one month since the pope’s hospitalization. During his hospital stay, the pope has experienced multiple episodes of acute respiratory failure in which his situation appeared critical. After weeks of treatment, the pope’s doctors indicated on Tuesday that the Holy Father is “no longer in immediate danger from the respiratory infection.”

A chest X-ray earlier this week indicated “a slight improvement” in Pope Francis’ lungs. The Vatican is currently not providing an estimate for when the pope may be discharged from the hospital.

At the age of 76, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the 266th successor of St. Peter on March 13, 2013, taking the name Pope Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. He is the first Latin American pope and the first from the Jesuit order.

To mark the 12th anniversary of Francis’ pontificate, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will offer a Mass for the pope on Friday morning in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, attended by members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. The liturgy will be broadcast live via Vatican Media at 10:30 a.m. local time.

Catholics are invited to gather in St. Peter’s Square on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. to pray the rosary for the pope’s recovery.

Rome Newsroom, Mar 13, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Media reports say the Vatican may be getting closer to making a decision in the case of Father Marko Rupnik, the artist and former Jesuit who has been accused of the sexual and spiritual abuse of women under his spiritual care.

Pope Francis lifted the statute of limitations on the case on Oct. 27, 2023, allowing it to be tried by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).

More than 500 days later, reports say Rupnik continues to travel while reportedly living in a monastery an hour outside of Rome — and will be tried under the canonical crime of “spiritual abuse.”

The head of the DDF, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, said in an interview at the end of January that the dicastery had finished gathering information in the case, had conducted a first review, and was working to put together an independent tribunal for the penal judicial procedure.

A lawyer for some of Rupnik’s victims released a book in March detailing the accusations of three women against the priest. Laura Sgrò told EWTN News she is looking forward to receiving updates in the case.

Here’s a timeline of known facts about the Rupnik case, including the knowledge and response of the Jesuits and the Vatican: 

2018

October: Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, Rupnik’s superior, receives allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Rupnik and an allegation that Rupnik gave absolution in confession to an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment. A preliminary investigation is set up.

2019

May: The 2018 allegations are deemed credible; a file is sent to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).

June: Precautionary restrictions are imposed on Rupnik by his superior, Guerrero. What the specific restrictions were is unknown.

July: The CDF asks Father Arturo Sosa, the Jesuits’ superior general, to set up a penal administrative process for the Rupnik accusations. Sosa appoints a delegate and two assessors who are not part of the order.

2020

January: The delegate and assessors assembled by Sosa unanimously find that Rupnik did commit the canonical crime of absolution of an accomplice. The order knows that Rupnik had incurred an automatic excommunication for that crime.

May: The CDF also formally declares the excommunicable act (the absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment) happened and that Rupnik is in an excommunicated status. The excommunication is lifted by CDF decree later the same month. Rupnik ceases to be director of the art and theological center he founded in Rome, the Centro Aletti, and administrative restrictions are imposed for three years.

October: Bishop Daniele Libanori, SJ, an auxiliary bishop of Rome, is appointed extraordinary commissioner of the Loyola Community following a canonical visit that identified governance problems in the religious institute. 

2021

Libanori, in conversations with current and former members of the Loyola Community in early 2021, uncovers allegations of abuse against Rupnik, who had split from the institute in 1993 after co-founding the community with current head Sister Ivanka Hosta in the late 1980s. Libanori, according to the Associated Press, urges the women to file their complaints with the Vatican.

June: The CDF contacts the Jesuit general curia about allegations concerning Rupnik and some members of the Loyola Community.

July: Sosa asks Father Johan Verschueren, who succeeded Guerrero in January 2020 as Rupnik’s superior, to set up a preliminary investigation into the allegations with a person outside the Jesuits.

2022

January: An investigation concludes that there was enough evidence for a case; the results are sent to the CDF with a recommendation for a penal process. Pope Francis has a meeting with Rupnik at the Vatican on Jan. 3.

February: Verschueren imposes new, unspecified restrictions on Rupnik’s ministry.

October: The CDF (now called the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) says the statute of limitations has expired on the alleged criminal acts and there can be no trial. Rupnik’s ministry continues to be under restrictions.

December: Sometime during this month, Verschueren imposes new restrictions on Rupnik. On Dec. 18, the Jesuits publish a statement asking anyone who has suffered abuse to contact them to lodge a new complaint or to further discuss any complaints that were already made. The statement also includes a basic timeline of when the Jesuits learned of accusations against Rupnik and what actions were taken.

On Dec. 17, Verschueren tells the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, that Rupnik’s early restrictions were to “avoid private, in-depth spiritual contacts with persons, forbidden to confess women, and to give spiritual direction to women specifically in the context of Centro Aletti. In 2020, these restrictions were widened geographically to include anywhere.” In further comments to the Register on Dec. 20, Verchueren says Rupnik had been able to continue certain public activities while under restrictions because “a few exceptions” were made for him. “The local superior had the right to allow exceptions,” Verschueren said, and “could judge whether they were opportune or not.” He added: “I admit that this did not work well. We made these rules ‘absolute’ after complaints reached my ears.”

2023

January: In statements to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Verschueren says he asked Rupnik to not leave Lazio, the Italian region where Rome is located, during ongoing preliminary investigations. 

February: The Society of Jesus says it will open a new internal procedure on Rupnik after receiving 15 abuse accusations with a “very high” degree of credibility.

A more detailed timeline of the developments in the Rupnik case, including notes on his public activities while under restrictions, can be read here.

June: Rupnik is dismissed from the Jesuits due to his “stubborn refusal to observe the vow of obedience.” 

“Faced with Marko Rupnik’s repeated refusal to obey this mandate, we were unfortunately left with only one solution: dismissal from the Society of Jesus,” the order says in a June 15 statement.

August: Rupnik is accepted for priestly ministry in the Diocese of Koper in his native Slovenia.

October: In a statement to CNA on Oct. 25, the Diocese of Koper confirms that Rupnik is now incardinated there and says the local bishop accepted Rupnik’s request to be received into the diocese “on the basis of the decree on Rupnik’s dismissal from the Jesuit order” and “and on the basis of the fact that no judicial sentence had been passed on Rupnik.”

Two days later, on Oct. 27, the Vatican announces that Pope Francis has waived the statute of limitations, allowing the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to open a disciplinary case against Rupnik.

2024

February: Two former religious sisters, ex-members of the Loyola Community Rupnik co-founded, share their testimony and identities publicly for the first time at a press conference in Rome.

October: A year after the Vatican case against Rupnik was opened, a person working in the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), who asked not to be named, tells CNA the DDF does not usually comment on open cases but is looking at the merits of Rupnik’s case and examining the procedural steps that can be taken and “the mechanism by which justice can be served.” 

2025

January: The head of the DDF, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, reveals in an interview that the dicastery had finished gathering information in the case, had conducted a first review, and was working to put together an independent tribunal for the penal judicial procedure.

March: A media report says a decision in Rupnik’s case could come “in the not too distant future,” as other reports say he is living in a monastery an hour outside Rome and continuing to travel internationally for his work. Rupnik does not respond to questions from an Italian journalist who confronts him at a Rome airport.

This story was first published on Feb. 26, 2023, and updated on Oct. 26, 2023, and March 13, 2025.

Vatican City, Mar 13, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).

A media report says the Vatican’s doctrine office could be close to a decision in the case of the ex-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik.

According to OSV News, a “sentence is expected in the not too distant future” in the canonical trial of the priest-artist accused of the sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse of dozens of religious sisters under his spiritual care.

OSV News also said Rupnik would be tried for the crime of “spiritual abuse.” Last November, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, said a Vatican working group was studying the possibility of making “spiritual abuse” a formalized crime in Church law rather than merely an aggravating circumstance of other crimes.

The report was published as some of Rupnik’s alleged victims shared their stories on the Italian television program “Le Iene” (“The Hyenas”), which aired on March 9. In the program, Italian journalist Roberta Rei confronted Rupnik at a Rome airport baggage claim but received no response to her questions about whether the abuse claims against him were true.

Bishop Jurij Bizjak, who retired Nov. 29, 2024, from the Diocese of Koper, told OSV News in January that Rupnik continues to travel internationally as part of his artistic career. Another recent media report said he is living in a religious convent about an hour’s drive from Rome called the Convent of Montefiolo, with some of his collaborators from the Centro Aletti art and theological center he founded in Rome.

In August 2023, Rupnik was accepted for priestly ministry in the Diocese of Koper, in his native Slovenia, after he was expelled from the Jesuit order for disobedience. In an October 2023 press release the Diocese of Koper stated that “as long as Rev. Rupnik has not been found guilty in a public trial in court, he enjoys all the rights and duties of diocesan priests.”

Regarding Rupnik’s case in the DDF, Fernández said in an interview at the end of January that the dicastery had finished gathering information, had conducted a first review, and was working to put together an independent tribunal for the penal judicial procedure.

CNA contacted officials of the DDF and others close to the case but received no answer by the time of publication.

In October 2024, one year after Pope Francis waived the statute of limitations, thus allowing the Vatican to investigate and try Rupnik’s case, a person working inside the disciplinary section of the DDF told CNA that they were examining the procedural steps that could be taken in the Rupnik case and “the mechanism by which justice can be served.” 

Rupnik, internationally recognized for his religious artistic works, has been accused of abusing adult women who were under his spiritual care as part of a religious community he helped found in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some of these accusations became public through the media in early December 2022, although the priest’s superiors and officials at the Vatican were aware even several years earlier.

Vatican City, Mar 13, 2025 / 08:30 am (CNA).

The Holy See’s delegation to the United Nations is organizing a March 19 event in conjunction with the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women titled “The Scourge of Pornography in the Digital Age.”

This event will address the social impact resulting from the widespread availability of pornographic content on the internet and will take place at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

The conference will feature experts in law, psychology, and pastoral care who will analyze the social consequences of pornography, especially for women and children.

Speakers will include Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; Julia Dezelski, associate director for marriage and family life at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth; Maria Parker, assistant director for the laity at the secretariat; and Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan, vice president and director of public policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

Also participating will be Teresa Gerns Jiménez-Villarejo, representative of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe; and Marissa Eckelkamp, policy adviser on marriage and family at the USCCB.

The event coincides with the 30th anniversary of the publication of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a resolution adopted by the United Nations on Sept. 15, 1995, at the conclusion of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

The document recognized the harmful effects of pornography on women and girls: fostering violence and reinforcing degrading portrayals.

However, the event organizers lamented that despite international efforts, “the proliferation of pornography in the digital age continues to represent a growing challenge, especially with the rise of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and social media.”

In addition to the exploitation of children in the production of pornography, the event will address emerging forms of abuse, such as “sextortion” and “virtual child pornography,” practices that violate human dignity and have serious psychological and social consequences.

Pope Francis has described pornography as a “brutality” that requires urgent attention.

In 2015, the USCCB published the pastoral document “Create in Me a Pure Heart,” a response to raise awareness about the destructive effects of pornography and to help those affected by it to heal.

In this context, the event, organized by the Holy See, seeks to promote a global dialogue on current challenges and discuss effective strategies to counter this form of violence.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis spent the 12th anniversary of his election to the papacy undergoing physiotherapy at Rome's Gemelli hospital, but he was well enough to celebrate it in little ways.

Along with the health care workers treating him, the pope -- who has been hospitalized for nearly a month -- had a small celebration to mark the anniversary of his election, complete with a cake and candles, the Vatican press office said March 13. 

Hundreds of cards sent from children all around the world also were delivered to Pope Francis, wishing him a happy anniversary as well as a speedy recovery, the press office added.

Drawings for Pope Francis are placed at the base of a statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital March 6, 2025, where the pope has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, receiving treatment for double pneumonia. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

The 88-year-old pope continued the therapies prescribed, including pharmacological treatment and physical therapy, it said.

A chest X-ray had confirmed continued improvements in his condition, the Vatican said the previous day, though doctors did not state that his double pneumonia had fully cleared.

The pope has been following the Roman Curia's Lenten retreat by video, listening to the daily meditations led by Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household. While retreat participants gathered in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall could not see the pope, Father Pasolini opened his March 13 reflection with a direct message for him.

"Good morning, and a greeting with deep affection and gratitude to our Holy Father on this very special day: the 12th anniversary of his election," he said. 

Since 12 is a number associated with completeness or fullness in the Bible, he said, "we can truly thank God because the gift of Pope Francis to the church and the world is complete. And certainly, in these 12 years, he has had the opportunity to express himself in fullness."

Before their evening meditation, Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, read a message from the Curia sent to Pope Francis to mark his anniversary. 

Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, leads the Lenten retreat for cardinals and senior officials of the Roman Curia in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican March 13, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

From the Vatican and from many other places around the world, he said, "the prayer of the people of God rises unceasingly, and we join ourselves in spiritual communion."

"Holy Father, in this Jubilee year, we grow in hope that the message of peace and fraternity, to which we are constantly called by your magisterium, may spread among nations and among all people of goodwill," he said, "and that in everyone the desire to be disciples of the Lord, witnesses of the Gospel, and builders of the kingdom of God may grow."

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, led the recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis which has been taking place every night since shortly after his hospitalization.

"With the recitation of the rosary, let us invoke Mary, health of the sick, for the health of the Holy Father Francis," he said.

After taking place at 6 p.m. Rome time in the St. Paul VI Audience Hall to coincide with the Curia's retreat, the nightly rosary for Pope Francis will return to St. Peter's Square March 14 at 7:30 p.m. local time.