WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, is reportedly in critical condition. For more than a decade, the Pope has been a central figure, guiding the spiritual lives of more than 1.3 billion people, but now his health is the focus of prayers worldwide.
The Pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital more than a week ago for bronchitis. Over the past few days, he experienced a rapid decline in health, developing pneumonia in both lungs. Doctors are also concerned about the possibility of sepsis.
At Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Waco, parishioners gathered on Sunday. Many said they were deeply concerned, but they found peace in their faith and prayers.
Grant Arias, a parishioner at the church, reflected on the uncertainty of the situation.
“Obviously, when you are dealing with health, there’s a lot of questions about death – that’s always a very, very negative and scary scenario. But I think at this point, you are going to practice your faith,” Arias said.
“This is a jubilee year, so it’s a big deal – that he’s around and able to celebrate that with the rest of the faith,” another parishioner added.
As Catholics around the world wait for updates on the Pope’s health, parishioners at Sacred Heart are focused on one thing: prayer.
“The best thing to do right now is to just pray,” Olga Pantoja, a server and minister at Sacred Heart, said.
“Just pray, pray, pray. We’ve been thinking about him throughout. We’ve been praying for him at church, out of church, and even when we’re not thinking about him, we see him in social media all the time, so he is always present in our minds.”
