BUENOS AIRES, Feb 25 — Hundreds of Argentines attended a special mass yesterday for their countryman Pope Francis, hospitalised in a critical condition with pneumonia in Rome.
They gathered on the same square in Buenos Aires where, as archbishop, Jorge Bergoglio used to give mass and rail against inequality and injustice.
Waving Argentine flags and placards wishing the pontiff a speedy recovery, the faithful prayed, sang hymns, partook in the Eucharist, and chanted: “Viva el Papa Francisco” (Long Live Pope Francis).
“May our prayer be the breath of fresh air that reaches his lungs,” Jorge García Cuerva, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, said in his sermon.
Among the crowd, well-wisher Mariana Martínez, 49, told AFP that Bergoglio, before leaving Argentina in 2013 to take up the papacy, “was the first priest I came across on a subway. And seeing him close, with the people, I always liked. That is why he is my mentor, he is my father, and he is my priest.”
Francis, 88, has been diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs. The Vatican said yesterday he remained in a critical condition, but reported a “slight improvement.” — AFP
