Staff and patients at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital are expressing their solidarity with Pope Francis by offering an hour of Eucharistic Adoration and Mass each day.
By Vatican News
The Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, released a statement expressing the Italian Bishops’ solidarity with Pope Francis and encouraging everyone to pray for him.
“Aware of how precious communal prayer is, we ask all parish and religious communities to spend an hour in silent adoration,” he said. “As one large family, we ask the Lord to grant our Bishop the strength needed to face this delicate moment.”
Following this invitation to communal prayer, the community of the Gemelli University Hospital and the Roman branch of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart expressed “even stronger support and solidarity with His Holiness Pope Francis during this time of trial and suffering” through various moments of prayer.
Starting Monday, February 24, and for the entirety of Pope Francis’ recovery in the Gemelli Hospital, there will be an hour of Eucharistic Adoration every day from noon until 1 p.m. at the St. John Paul II Chapel in the hospital, followed by Mass.
During the Mass and Adoration, special prayers will be offered for Pope Francis. Later, at 4:30 p.m. Rome time, the Rosary will be recited in front of the statue of St. John Paul II in the square outside the hospital, and Mass will follow at 5 p.m. in the Hospital Hall.
Everyone all around the world is invited to participate in these moments of prayer—both physically and spiritually. For those who wish to join from outside of Rome, they can recite the following prayer:
“Lord Jesus, Redeemer of the world, who took upon yourself our pain and carried our suffering in your passion, hear the prayer we offer for our sick brother: grant him trust and revive his hope, that he may be lifted up in body and spirit.”
