VATICAN CITY — After leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer Aug. 13, Pope Francis again assured the people of Hawaii of his prayers. With some 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray with him, the pope said he was praying “for the victims of the fires that have devastated the Hawaiian island of Maui.” The official death toll from the fires had risen to 96 Aug. 13 and the number was expected to increase as the search through burned out rubble continued. In his public prayers and appeals after reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis also made a strong appeal for serious efforts at immigration reform after 41 migrants were reported to have drowned in the Mediterranean in early August. “Another tragic shipwreck happened a few days ago in the Mediterranean — 41 people lost their lives,” the pope said. “I have prayed for them.” Four migrants from Africa were rescued by a merchant ship and brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa Aug. 9. They said they were on a boat carrying 45 people that capsized off the coast of Tunisia; using inner tubes and other makeshift flotation devices, they reached an abandoned boat adrift, only to discover it had no motor. They were rescued by a cargo ship and transferred to the custody of the Italian coast guard. “Sadly and shamefully,” Pope Francis said, “we must say that since the beginning of the year, almost 2,000 men, women and children have already died trying to reach Europe. This is an open wound on our humanity.” The pope said he wanted to offer his encouragement and support to “the political and diplomatic powers that are trying to heal this in a spirit of solidarity and fraternity,” and he praised “the dedication of all those who are working to prevent shipwrecks and are aiding migrants.” Pope Francis also used the occasion to offer his support to a pilgrimage for peace Aug. 14, the eve of the feast of the Assumption, in Cameroon, which is “still afflicted by violence and war.” “Let us unite ourselves in prayer for our brothers and sisters of Cameroon so that, through the Mary’s intercession, God might sustain the hope of the people who have been suffering for years, and open paths of dialogue so that peace and harmony might be achieved,” the pope said. Since 2016, militias in with the country’s two English-speaking regions have been fighting to break away and form a new nation they call Ambazonia. Also Aug. 12, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sent a message of condolence and concern to the archbishop of Quito, Ecuador, after the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. “In the face of the suffering caused by the unjustifiable violence, which he condemns unreservedly, His Holiness calls upon all citizens and political forces to unite in a common effort for peace,” the cardinal said.
Pope returns to Vatican after long hospitalization Immediately before leaving Rome’s Gemelli hospital after more than five weeks of treatment for breathing difficulties, double pneumonia and infections, Pope Francis greeted hundreds of people who gathered outside the hospital March 23.
Pope to return to Vatican, prescribed to continue rest, doctors announce Pope Francis will return to his residence in the Vatican March 23 after spending 38 days in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for treatment of double pneumonia, his doctors announced.
Pope’s doctors report more improvement, but no date for his release Pope Francis no longer needs the “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” he has used most nights since experiencing a breathing “crisis” Feb. 28, his doctors reported in a bulletin released by the Vatican press office March 19.