January 11, a few days later Forest fires in South California had already spread and ravaged the houses and the life of thousands, Pope Francis sent a telegram to Archbishop José H. Gomez and to the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Pope assured the affected communities of “his spiritual proximity”, The telegram Read“By confusing the souls of the deceased with the loving mercy of the Almighty God, His Holiness sends sincere condolences to those who cry their loss. He also prays for the help of rescue of the staff of emergency services and confers his blessing to everyone as a commitment to consolation and force in the Lord. »»
More than a week later, during its weekly general audience, the attraction of Pope Francis was again focused on the victims of forest fires.
“My heart is with the inhabitants of Los Angeles who suffer as much from the fires that have devastated neighborhoods and whole communities,” he said. “Let Notre-Dame de Guadalupe intercede for all the inhabitants so that they can be witnesses of hope through the power of diversity and creativity for which they are known in the whole world.”
Now, while the Holy Father’s struggle to recover from pneumonia and other respiratory problems extends beyond the bar for a month, Catholics refer feeling and support.
Thousands of people locally have made special intentions to pray for the health of Pope Francis, whether in Archdiocese Recent Congress of Religious EducationIn special masses or rosary services, or in the privacy of their own houses and hearts.
In his homily during a service of ashes at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame des Anges, the Archbishop Gomez made a special mention of the sick pontiff.
“While we are starting this holy season of Lent, let’s keep Pope Francis near us in our prayers,” he said. “May God bring him to healing and peace.”
Part of this effort was captured in a new video produced by the digital team of the Archdiocese, which recently published a multimedia compilation entitled “To Pope Francis with love“, Which largely presents Catholics offering prayers, remarks and text messages.
The five-minute compilation has taken videos submitted by sympathizers in the parishes and schools of the Archdiocese, in addition to a few national and international.
The video begins: “Dear Pope Francis, in your time of need, we wanted to let you know …” Followed by a group of students from Saint Monica Preparatory in Santa Monica, shouting: “We hope you feel better. We love you, Pope Francis!”
From there, a series of videos and messages offer personal promises of prayer and support.
“Thank you for always being there for us and praying for us. I pray for you now at the moment so that you are better soon, ”explains a St. Pius X-ST student. Matthias Academy in Downey.
“We pray for you, Pope Francis,” explains a group from the Ministry of Youth of St. Gertrude, the great church of Bell Gardens.
There are even prayers of those outside the region, including a group of Notre-Dame of the Church of the Rosaire de Carbondale, in Pennsylvania, a priest of the Queen of Peace church in Waterloo, Iowa, and a priest and parishioners of St. James the great Church in the Philippines.
The video concludes: “He’s soon, Pope Francis! From, the Catholics … and some friends.”
The digital team of the Archdiocese previously helped to produce three Videos for Pope Francis’ monthly prayer intentions in collaboration with the Pope’s global prayer prayer network, including one from July 2024 in which Pope Francis has thought about the importance of the sacrament of the anointing patients.
“Since our digital team has produced videos to help Pope Francis invite the world community to pray for his monthly intentions, we thought it would be appropriate to invite our community and friends to submit video messages for the Holy Father during this period,” said Sarah Yaklic, digital director of the Archdiocese. “We hope that we will inspire more faithful to share their good wishes with Pope Francis and unite in prayer with Catholics around the world to pray for the Holy Father, in particular those who prayed daily on Saint-Pierre square.”
Pope Francis has been hospitalized at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome since February 14 with an initial diagnosis of bronchitis. Since then, he has fought against pneumonia plus a series of bronchospasm episodes which required ventilation, which prompted the doctors to describe his prognosis as “guarded” and “complex”.
Groups of people gathered daily near a statue of St. John Paul II outside the hospital, as well as flowers, candles, balloons and handwritten messages for the Pope. The cardinals also directed a night rosary on Saint-Pierre square for the recovery of Pope Francis.
On March 6, the Vatican published a 27 seconds Audio message recorded by Pope Francis Earlier in the day that thanked people for their prayers.
“Thank you from the bottom of your heart for your prayers for my health from the square; I accompany you from here, “he said. “May God bless you, you and the Virgin, protect you. THANKS.”
