During his hospitalization, Pope Francis visits children and baptizes a newborn

He Pope francesco visited this friday afternoon pediatric oncology department of the hospital where he remains hospitalized, the Gemelli in Rome, where he has distributed gifts to various children and he baptized onethe Vatican reported after confirming that he is expected to be discharged this Saturday.

Francisco left the apartment reserved for popes on the 10th floor of the Gemelli and went to the pediatric area to give birth rosaries, easter eggs and copies of the book “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea…” (“Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea”).

During the visit, which lasted about half an hour, the pope imparted the sacrament of baptism a few weeks old baby called Miguel Ángel, whose video was released by the Holy See.

According to the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, Francis is expected to leave the hospital on Saturday, having passed this Friday a set of controls for the bronchitis for which he had to be hospitalized on Wednesday.

Francisco, 86, spent his second night at the Gemelli in Rome due to bronchitis and his intention is to be present at the Holy Week events, even if I don’t officiate them.

Indeed, he will participate in the Palm Sunday mass in the Plaza de San Pedro, this April 2.

Given his state of health, with the convalescent pontiff, the Vatican work in a program which allows Easter to be celebrated and, as the media advances, the idea is that the rites are officiated at the altar by different cardinals, but presided over by Francisco.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday will be officiated by the Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals, Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, and with this celebration the most important week of the liturgical calendar will open, in which Catholics commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ.

Currently It has not been confirmed how Francisco will be involved in the different masses, if, for example, he will read homilies or messages like the one he usually pronounces at the end of the Via Crucis on Good Friday, in the Roman Colosseum.

At the moment it is expected that he will take care of it deliver the homily on Palm Sunday and also to impart the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing and read his message for Easter Sunday from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Francis suffers infectious bronchitis and is receiving infused antibiotics, intravenouslytherapy that produced “the desired effects with a notable improvement in his state of health,” said the Vatican spokesman.

Friday morning, after her second night in the hospital and as she had the day before, he had breakfast, read some newspapers and continued his work from the hospital.

It is the second time that Francisco has been hospitalized in this Roman hospital, after having undergone colon surgery on July 4, 2021 and remained hospitalized for ten days, during which he came to officiate the Angelus from the balcony of the polyclinic.

Since then the Pope has only accused a problem in his right knee which forces him to walk with a cane or a wheelchair and has assured on several occasions that he does not want to be operated on.

EFE extension

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