Archbishop: Pope is grateful for prayers, bears witness to God's loving presence

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has expressed his gratitude for the outpouring of prayers from all over the world, said Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, who has visited the pope twice in the hospital.

“Each time I had the opportunity to visit him at Gemelli hospital, together with Cardinal Pietro Parolin,” the Vatican secretary of state, “the Holy Father said how grateful he was for these prayers,” he told the Italian bishops’ conference news agency, SIR, March 5.

“I personally believe that the Lord is giving him a great sign of consolation through these prayers,” said the archbishop, who is the substitute for general affairs in the secretariat.

There has been “a special outpouring of concern for the pope’s health from all over the world, a closeness that is expressed in particular through prayer,” he told SIR.

A characteristic of this pontificate has been Pope Francis’ constant request for people to pray for him, beginning with the evening of his election.

“We all remember that extraordinary moment on the evening of March 13 — 12 years ago — when a crowd filled St Peter’s Square and exploded with joy at the announcement of the election,” he said. But soon after, the huge crowd fell silent, “at the invitation of the pope,” who had appeared on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica and asked the faithful “to pray for him and bless him.”

“Today, while Pope Francis is suffering from illness, that square is again filled with crowds of believers who come together every evening to pray the rosary under the guidance” of his closest collaborators — cardinals living in Rome.

“The prayers offered for the pope beautifully illustrate the unity of the church,” Archbishop Peña Parra said. “Despite our different sensitivities and roles, we unite as brothers and sisters to pray for our shepherd. That is the most important thing.”

Prayer is not a mere ritual or a meaningless gesture, he said, “but a lived relationship with the Lord who, through his love, unites us all as brothers and sisters and instills in us compassion and solidarity for one another.”

The pope wrote in his Sunday Angelus prayer March 2 that he felt “in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty.”

The archbishop said the pope was expressing his wish, “once again, to bear witness to the Gospel, as he bears on his body the signs of fragility and illness,” by proclaiming “the loving presence of the Lord, who cares for us and does not leave us alone in times of trial.”

“It is a testimony that encourages, supports, comforts and warms the hearts of all those who are experiencing pain,” he said. “The pope, whose magisterium has so often reminded us of the Lord’s mercy and tenderness, wishes to remind us that the Lord cares for us and never abandons us, including in times of illness.”