Catholic faithful in Argentina prayed for Pope Francis’ health during an Ash Wednesday Mass in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood where Jorge Bergoglio grew up.
Francis, 88, has been hospitalised for 20 days, developing pneumonia in both lungs.
"We are praying that he may complete his work and continue being a voice in the wilderness," said Gabriela Lucero, 66, after the Mass that marked the beginning of Lent in the Flores neighbourhood, in the west of the capital.
Following the liturgy, worshippers prayed before portraits of the Pope displayed throughout the Basílica de San José de Flores (Basilica of Saint Joseph of Flores), an iconic church in the pontiff’s personal history.
"In the Mass, we spoke about the love we should have for those who arrive in our country," said Lucero. "At a time when the prevailing voices call for rejecting immigrants, the Pope is calling us to show love to all of them," she added.
Francis remains in stable condition, but his prognosis is still "guarded" following two episodes of acute respiratory failure on Monday.
The Pope has a special bond with the Basilica of Flores because, as he has recounted, it was there, at the age of 17, that he first felt the calling to dedicate his life to religion.
"I knew him as Archbishop of Buenos Aires," said María, 63. "He was very young, and he had a great conversion here. In fact, this is the confessional, which is sometimes illuminated in his honour, where he used to confess and where he found his vocation," she said, pointing to the structure 20 metres from the church entrance.
It was there that the young Bergoglio experienced what he later described as his revelation. A plaque commemorates the moment: "In this confessional, on 21 September 1953, Jorge Mario Bergoglio answered God’s call to become a priest."
The Basilica also houses a sculpture of a sleeping Saint Joseph, sent by the Pope in 2023 to mark his 10th year as Pontiff, as a token of his personal connection to the Church.
– TIMES/AFP
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