Vice President JD Vance said he was “surprised” by Pope Francis’ criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, but said he is praying for the pontiff’s recovery amid his hospitalization.

Liturgical leaders in the church must serve as humble guides to prayer rather than be strictly focused on the application of rules, Pope Francis said.

The Serra Club of Miami, a chapter of the worldwide Serra International organization, spearheaded the event. This Vatican-recognized lay organization educates Catholics on vocations to priesthood and religious life, supporting those living out that call.

While Pope Francis’ condition has continued to improve, the Vatican announced that he will not lead his traditional Ash Wednesday services in Rome March 5.

A pause on U.S. foreign aid could harm efforts to combat Christian persecution around the globe, a Catholic NGO told OSV News.

Pope Francis, now hospitalized with severe respiratory issues, has been “broadly popular among the nation’s Catholics throughout his tenure,” according to multiple surveys conducted by Pew Research over the past 12 years.

Pope Francis’ clinical condition continued to improve Feb. 27, the Vatican said, and he had respiratory physiotherapy in the morning and the afternoon.

Chief Justice John Roberts granted the Trump administration’s request late Feb. 26 to pause a lower court’s midnight deadline for the government to resume more than $1.5 billion in foreign aid payments for already completed aid work that have been suspended for several weeks, a pause impacting some Catholic entities.

House Republicans Feb. 25 narrowly passed a budget resolution calling for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending over a decade, clearing a first hurdle for key parts of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda.

The office governing Vatican City State was set to have a new president March 1 and, while in the hospital, Pope Francis changed the office’s statutes to give the new president two top-level assistants.