(6 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vatican City – 6 March 2025
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Mid of St. Peter’s Basilica dome
2. Wide of the Basilica while Pope’s audio message is being transmitted, UPSOUND (Spanish): "May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Philip Crowther, The Associated Press:
"Hearing the voice of Pope Francis was a very positive surprise for the few hundred people who came together here at Saint Peter’s Square for the nightly praying of the Rosary for Pope Francis. Pope Francis recorded this audio message at the Gemelli Hospital here in Rome and it brought a smattering of applause from the people who came together here. In that audio message, though, the Pope, not surprisingly, sounded weak, labored and out of breath. He thanked people for their prayers. ‘I accompany you from here,’ he said in his native Spanish. It’s now been three weeks that Pope Francis has been in hospital being treated for double pneumonia. Doctors say that his condition is stable and they add that he has been able to alternate working and praying. Most important, though, they say that his prognosis is still guarded. That means, quite simply, that he is still not out of danger."
4. Various of nuns holding the rosary and a picture of Pope Francis praying
5. Various of people arriving to attend the rosary
6. Wide of altar in St. Peter’s Square
7. Wide of St. Peter’s Square
STORYLINE:
A weak and breathless Pope Francis thanked people for their prayers for his recovery in a remarkable audio message broadcast Thursday, the first public sign of life from the 88-year-old pope since he was hospitalized three weeks ago with double pneumonia.
Francis’ feeble voice, discernible through his labored breaths and in his native Spanish, was recorded Thursday from the hospital and broadcast to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square who had gathered for the nightly recitation of the rosary prayer.
For anyone used to hearing Francis’ voice, which is often so soft it sounds like a whisper, the audio was an emotional punch to the gut that hammered home just how sick he is.
The cardinal presiding over the prayer, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, had told the crowd at the start of the service that he had “beautiful news, a beautiful gift” to share.
The clearly surprised crowd broke into applause and then applauded again after Francis’ final “Gracias.”
Fernández Artime, for his part, bowed his head as he listened.
The 88-year-old pope has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.
The Vatican has given twice-daily updates on Francis’ medical condition, but has distributed no photos or video of him since the morning of Feb. 14, when he held a handful of audiences at the Vatican before being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for what was then just a bad case of bronchitis.
The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future of his papacy.
Francis has issued written messages from the Gemelli, including some that sounded very much like him.
But even Vatican officials had been clamouring to hear his voice, saying the pope’s calls for peace are particularly needed at a time of such global conflict and war.
More than any pope before him, Francis has mastered the art of informal and direct communication, often recording cell phone videos for visitors to bring home to their communities.
His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a0c55ebdfe25412fbfc1d3c3b34681ef
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in March 12, 2025, 12:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
