Thousands gather outside the Vatican to pray for Pope Francis

Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening to pray for an ailing Pope Francis, expressing sorrow for his suffering, hope for his recovery and gratitude for his efforts to steer the Catholic Church in new directions

The 88-year-old Francis has pneumonia in both lungs and remains in critical condition despite showing a slight improvement after 11 days in the hospital.

As Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s No. 2, led prayers for 45 minutes on a chilly, rainy night, the faithful fingered rosary beads while hoping for Francis’ recovery. The Vatican issued a dose of optimism earlier in the evening, delivering a more upbeat health bulletin than in recent days.

Still, the mood was mostly grim in the monumental square, with many of the roughly 4,000 assembled understanding they may be in Rome for Francis’ final days. Crowds sat under umbrellas on folding chairs or stood by the vast colonnades as they reflected fondly on the pontiff’s legacy.

“To see him suffer hurts,” said Robert Pietro, a Romanian seminarian who stood at the prayer holding a small, fragrant candle in tribute. “But we also pray in thanksgiving for what he has done for the Church.”

Roberto Allison, a priest from the Mexican state of Guadalajara, said members of his community had come together to show appreciation for “all that we have learned from him.”

Stopping to deliver personal blessings to some at the end of the ceremony, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said the crowd’s diversity — many world languages could be heard spoken — was “a big sign of comfort” for the Catholic Church.

The Argentine pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 and doctors have said his condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and preexisting lung disease.

But in Monday’s update, they said he hadn’t had any more respiratory crises since Saturday, and the supplemental oxygen he is using continued but with a slightly reduced oxygen flow and concentrations.

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