Vatican

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.

The Polish prelate, who heads the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Service of Charity, is the pope’s point man for distributing alms to the poor and needy — those that Francis put at the center of his papacy. Cardinal Krajewski led the rosary March 2.

The best medicine to heal the pain of a wounded family is forgiveness, Pope Francis said.

The nightly recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis and for all the sick “is a beautiful gesture” of affection and of faith, said Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.

The pope’s health was the prime focus of the Mass, celebrated by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States. Following the Mass, the rosary was recited.