Category: Diocese of Scranton News

ASHLEY – The highly-anticipated Lenten food sale at Saint Leo Parish is back, marking a 35-year tradition of offering delicious meatless meals every Friday through April 11.

Sponsored by the Holy Name Society, the food sale provides a perfect opportunity for the community to come together while enjoying a variety of flavorful dishes.

“We love to come in here and support them every year,” Theresa Shypulefski of Warrior Run said. “It is good stuff. The guys are great. Everybody is friendly here and we like coming and giving ourselves an easy lunch. The Manhattan clam chowder is awesome.”

In addition to Manhattan clam chowder, the parish also offers haluski, pierogi, mushroom soup, tuna hoagies and potato pancakes.

“All the food is homemade. That is what makes it popular,” volunteer Frank Aukstakalnis said. “The potato pancakes are a big draw. The size of our pancakes are bigger and they have more flavor.”

Each Friday, the Lenten food sale takes place between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Volunteer Kevin Hooper said some of the items sell out quickly.

“We go through about 1500 potato pancakes each week and 15 gallons of soup and probably another 15 gallons of halushki, maybe more,” Hooper explained.

While serving as an important fundraiser for the parish, the Lenten food sale also brings parishioners closer together and creates community spirit.

“Everybody looks forward to it,” volunteer John Boyle explained. “We have a good time doing it. It’s not like work; it is more like fun.”

“A good friend of mine asked if I could help out about 18 years ago and I’ve been helping out ever since,” Bob Hess added.

Whether picking up a meal for themselves, family or a group, many customers return weekly to enjoy this flavorful and meaningful tradition.

“I’ve been coming here for many years. The food is absolutely terrific, better than I could make,” Lisa Brand of Forty Fort said.

“They have a simple menu. They have the same menu each year but what they make is very good,” Mary Anne Malone added. “It is like a well-oiled machine.”

For those wishing to avoid the line, advance orders are highly encouraged. Orders can be placed by calling (570) 266-8835 or by emailing Lenten.food.sales@gmail.com.

PITTSTON – While many Lenten food sales have been ongoing for decades, Saint John the Evangelist Parish just recently decided to get in the game.

“We started just within the last couple of years, but it has been growing and growing each year,” Father Joseph Elston, pastor, said.

Every Friday during Lent, in addition to Good Friday, the parish is selling potato pancakes and take-and-heat pizza to the community.

“The food is really, very tasty and it is fresh. They can come here, and it is ready to go,” employee Cathy Rusnok stated.

About a dozen volunteers come together each week to make the Lenten food sale a reality.

Jackie Rinish helps to prepare all the ingredients and mix up the potato pancake batter. She said the idea for the Lenten food sale started off as a team building project for parish staff and quickly grew into an important way for people to support the parish.

“It is fun for us to be together, to cook together, and serve the community,” Rinish explained. “We welcome everyone.”

The potato pancakes are sold for three for $5, while orders of red pizza or white pizza with broccoli are $15/tray.

“The food is really great,” parishioner Margie Vetack said.

After trying the potato pancakes on the first Friday in Lent and the broccoli pizza on March 14, Vetack already knows what she is getting next.

“I already have my order in for next week to try the red pizza. Everything is very good,” she added.

Father Elston said he wasn’t surprised by the sales’ success as anticipation builds for the parish’s much-anticipated summer festival.

“People love them (potato pancakes) during the picnic in the summer. Now they can get a late winter or early spring taste,” he joked.

Pre-orders are appreciated by calling the parish office at (570) 654-0053, but organizers say walk-ins are also welcome. Food pick-up takes place from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. in the Monsignor Bendik Pastoral Center.

EXETER – After years of serving and enriching the local community, the Cosmopolitan Seniors Group has officially made the decision to disband. In a final act of generosity and commitment to helping others, the group has decided to donate its remaining funds to Catholic Social Services.

On Feb. 20, 2025, group members gathered to present Catholic Social Services with a check for $1,249.87, which will be used to support Mother Teresa’s Haven, an emergency shelter in Wilkes-Barre that assists men experiencing homelessness.

“Nobody could need it more than the homeless,” Veronica Spliethoff, Cosmopolitan Seniors Group treasurer, said.

For many years, Cosmopolitan Seniors Group was a community organization dedicated to providing seniors with opportunities to connect, socialize, and contribute to the local community. Through regular bingo games and community bus trips, the group fostered a sense of camaraderie among its members and the wider community.

“We used to have 140 people at a meeting. That is how big it was. You needed to be on a list in order to get in,” Marie Cheskiewicz, Cosmopolitan Seniors Group Care and Concerns Committee member, explained. “We were down to only 29 people when COVID came and several more members passed away.”

The donation to Catholic Social Services will be specifically earmarked to help Mother Teresa’s Haven with its ongoing mission to help those most in need.

In January, the emergency shelter formally dedicated its new permanent location on East Jackson Street in Wilkes-Barre, directly above Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen.

Mother Teresa’s Haven is open every night of the year (including weekends and holidays) and can accommodate up to 20 men each evening.

“Our volunteers and people who donate to our mission are the backbone of our shelters,” Amanda Deisroth, Mother Teresa’s Haven manager, stated. “The things that we take for granted – like toothpaste, soap, towels, and washcloths – are things that are always needed at the shelter. Donations like this will go to our clients to help them with daily needs.”

To support Catholic Social Services, call (570) 207-3808 or visit dioceseofscranton.org.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis no longer needs the “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” he has used most nights since experiencing a breathing “crisis” Feb. 28, his doctors reported in a bulletin released by the Vatican press office March 19.

“The Holy Father’s clinical condition is confirmed to be improving,” the bulletin said.

In addition to discontinuing the nightly use of the ventilation, the doctors said the 88-year-old pope also has a reduced need for the “high-flow oxygen therapy” through a nasal tube that he had been using during the day.

The Vatican press office had said Pope Francis had spent the night of March 17-18 without needing the ventilation through a mask. Instead, it had said, the pope received high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube overnight.

The pope, who has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, also continues to make progress in his physical therapy and his respiratory therapy, the bulletin said.

Pope Francis was able to concelebrate Mass in the chapel of his suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for the March 19 feast of St. Joseph, one of his favorite saints and the 12th anniversary of the solemn inauguration of his pontificate, the bulletin said.

The Vatican press office said the pope’s double pneumonia and infections were “under control,” with his blood counts within the normal range and no episodes of fever.

No estimate has been made for how long the pope will remain in the hospital, and the Vatican press office said no decisions have been made regarding the Vatican celebrations of Palm Sunday April 13 nor of Holy Week and Easter.

The pope’s doctors, citing his “gradual” improvement, stopped providing daily medical bulletins March 6, the same evening the Vatican released a very brief audio message from Pope Francis thanking people for their prayers.

Before the bulletin March 19, the last news from the doctors was published March 15, although the Vatican press office continued to provide news each day about the pope’s progress and activities in the hospital.

Apparently satisfied that his condition was consistently improving, even the press office did not plan to issue a statement March 20 and said a medical bulletin was not expected before March 24.

Earlier March 19, the Vatican released the catechesis prepared for Pope Francis’ weekly general audience as well as his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The text of the message was dated that day at Rome’s Gemelli hospital. But neither text mentioned his illness.

The evening recitation of the rosary for the pope’s health, a recitation that began Feb. 24, continued March 19, when it was led by Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, dean of the Roman Rota.

(OSV News) – Celebrating yet another high school victory in the fall of 2017, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. described how he and his football teammates had dismantled their latest opponent.

Unprompted, Trotter eschewed gridiron chatter and delved into what made his scholastic experience at perennial Pennsylvania state champion St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia an “outline for living out important values” in both the present and future.

“The Prep does a lot of good things for students,” said Trotter, speaking to Philadelphiasportsdigest.com. “It’s hard to describe. They definitely try to live out faith values rather than just talking about them.”

At that point, Trotter had not yet completed his sophomore year at the Jesuit high school. Fast-forward seven years. After an All-American career as a linebacker at Clemson University, Trotter is now a Super Bowl champion following his hometown Philadelphia Eagles’ decisive 40-22 romp over the Kansas City Chiefs Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Reminded of his uncommon spiritual maturity at such an early age, Trotter explained his mindset back then and how it did indeed provide a blueprint for what has occurred since.

“The Prep didn’t just talk about faith values,” Trotter told OSV News. “We would have Mass, pray as a team before games, things along those lines. Not many schools have their students taught or do actions such as this.

“It didn’t matter who it was. Students, teachers, coaches, janitors … everyone treated one another kindly and with respect,” he said.

Trotter, whose father, Jeremiah Trotter Sr., was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2016 after donning Eagles green for eight of his 11 seasons, cited his four years at the Jesuit institution as integral for helping him mature at a rapid pace.

“At that young age, Prep gave me a lot on my plate as both a student and an athlete,” he said. “I was thrown right into the fire and had to learn how to manage my time efficiently to be a successful student-athlete.

“By the time I graduated and went to college, everything that was required of me I already went through and knew how to go about it,” he said. “I thought the culture helped me by teaching me how to compete.”

Trotter is one of 12 St. Joseph’s Prep graduates to reach the NFL, five of them currently playing. Along with Trotter, 2021 graduate Marvin Harrison Jr., starts at wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals; 2017 alum D’Andre Swift just finished an excellent season at running back for the Chicago Bears; 2015 guard Jon Runyan Jr. just completed his first season as a New York Giant after four seasons as a Green Bay Packer; and 2015 grad Olamide Zaccheaus just helped the Washington Commanders reach the NFC championship.

Off the playing field, 2000 graduate Kevin Stefanski is head coach — and two-time NFL Coach of the Year — of the Cleveland Browns, and 2009 alum Sam DeLuca was recently promoted as the director of pro personnel for the Minnesota Vikings.

“Prep has always had a lot of really good athletes on the football team, which meant a lot more depth at each position,” Trotter said. “This is exactly how it is in college. So being in high school and learning how you have to work hard to make yourself better and earn playing time only prepared me more for college.”

Although there were “a lot of teachers” who influenced him at the Prep, Trotter singled out his high school coach, Tim Roken.

“He was one of the ones that was a definition of a leader,” Trotter said. “The way he would use his words and actions taught others how to lead.”

Contacted by OSV News, Roken vividly recalled Trotter as a young man of uncommon all-around growth.

“Jeremiah is a true man for others,” Roken said. “He has always demonstrated a strong sense of compassion and service to others. His faith has opened doors for him to make a positive impact on the lives of those around him, and it has given him the strength to get through the most difficult of times.”

Not understating the difficulties of football-related injuries — such as a broken arm in high school and hamstring issues at Clemson — Trotter’s most difficult personal challenge was losing his mother, Tammi Trotter, to breast cancer on Feb. 28, 2023.

His mother – admired for her faith, compassion, philanthropic support, constant enthusiasm, parental support and electric personality – not being able to watch her son suit up as a rookie this past year devastated Trotter.

“I would definitely say my faith was a big part of how I got through it,” Trotter said. “Being able to pray and trust in God helped me understand that everything he allows is for a reason. Losing her on earth hurts me, but knowing she is in heaven is comforting.”

Among those who leaned on Trotter for guidance and strength was his brother, Josiah Trotter. Like Jeremiah, Josiah Trotter flourished at St. Joseph’s Prep and now plays linebacker at the University of Missouri.

“He is a great man and respectful, and his faith is a big piece of that,” Josiah Trotter said. “That’s what my parents have implemented in him — how to carry yourself and treat others. He is a great role model and leader. He doesn’t talk much and is pretty introverted, but his work and play always set the standard and what it meant to be a pro.”

Since the Eagles’ Super Bowl triumph, Jeremiah Trotter now understands firsthand what it feels like to slowly travel three miles in a caravan and overlook more than 1 million parade-celebrating zealots waving flags and shouting compliments all while ignoring freezing temperatures.

“Since I was younger, playing and winning a Super Bowl has always been a dream,” Trotter said. “Actually being able to do it is still very surreal. I think doing it and seeing what it takes changed me in that way.

“I am very grateful for everything,” he said. “There have been ups and downs, but overall, God has blessed me so much. Even when I had bad times God was with me, and I can’t complain.”

ROME (CNS) – For the first time since Pope Francis was hospitalized in mid-February, the Vatican press office released a photograph of him March 16; the image shows him concelebrating Mass that morning in the chapel of his suite of rooms at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

The Mass also was the first the Vatican described as concelebrated by the 88-year-old Pope Francis in the hospital. He has been receiving the Eucharist daily and on the previous Sundays was described as having “participated” in the liturgy.

The Vatican press office did release a 27-second audio message from Pope Francis March 6 thanking people for their prayers. The pope had obvious difficulty breathing and speaking.

But for the fifth Sunday in a row, Pope Francis did not come to his window for the recitation of the Angelus prayer, but he may have seen some yellow or white balloons fly past his hospital room.

More than a hundred children gathered March 16 in the square in front of Rome’s Gemelli hospital to pray the Angelus; many were hoping the pope would come to his window to wave while a few of the little ones were more concerned about keeping ahold of their balloons.

Although the pope did not come to the window, he thanked the children in the message the Vatican press office published at noon.

“I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness,” he wrote. “Thank you, dearest children! The pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you.”

Pope Francis has been hospitalized since Feb. 14 and continues to be treated for double pneumonia and multiple infections. His doctors have said his condition continues to improve gradually, so they do not expect to publish another medical bulletin until March 18 or 19.

In the square under the pope’s window, Elena, 8, came with a group from Sacred Heart School in Rome’s Monte Mario neighborhood “because the pope is in the hospital. We wanted to show our affection to make him feel better.”

Giulio, 10, knows Pope Francis personally. “I met him when I was little and again when he baptized my little sister” three years ago. Giulio’s dad works at the Vatican, and was one of the employees whose newborns were baptized by the pope in the Sistine Chapel in 2022.

Leonardo was part of a group of 22 Beaver Scouts, ages 5-7, who “came to see the pope” from Jesus the Divine Teacher Parish not far from the hospital. He wanted people to know, though, that he is 7 and a half.

The children’s trek was coordinated by the Pontifical Committee for the World Day of Children and the Sant’Egidio Community’s School of Peace program.

Marco Impagliazzo, president of Sant’Egidio, told reporters the children wanted to wish the pope a speedy recovery and “thank him for his words of peace, which he gives every day.”

In fact, the pope’s Angelus message included a request that people “continue to pray for peace, especially in the countries wounded by war: tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

Pope Francis also used the message to affirm his decision, announced the previous day, to launch a three-year program to ensure implementation of the recommendations of the Synod of Bishops on synodality to promote a culture of listening to one another, valuing the gifts of each member of the church and encouraging all Catholics to take responsibility for the church’s mission.

Commenting on the day’s Gospel reading, which recounted the Transfiguration, Pope Francis said that when Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and was transfigured, he showed them “what is hidden behind the gestures he performs in their midst: the light of his infinite love.”

Saying that he was writing while “facing a period of trial,” the pope said that he joins “with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me.”

“Our bodies are weak,” he wrote, “but even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope.”

And, the pope said, the light of God’s love shines in the hospital through the care of doctors, nurses, orderlies and the entire staff. “That is why I would like to invite you, today, to join me in praising the Lord, who never abandons us and who, in times of sorrow, places people beside us who reflect a ray of his love.”

In the afternoon, Argentine dancer Daiana Guspero brought a dozen couples to square under the pope’s window to dance the tango, his favorite dance, as a form of prayer for him.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has approved the next phase of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, launching a three-year implementation process that will culminate in an ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028.

In a letter published March 15, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, announced that the synod’s new phase will focus on applying its conclusions at all levels of the church, with dioceses, bishops’ conferences and religious communities working to integrate synodality into daily church life before the meeting at the Vatican in 2028.

“For now, therefore, a new synod will not be convened; instead, the focus will be on consolidating the path taken so far,” he wrote in the letter addressed to all bishops, eparchs and the presidents of national and regional bishops’ conferences.

Cardinal Grech told bishops that Pope Francis approved the three-year plan March 11 at Rome’s Gemelli hospital where he has been being treated since Feb. 14.

The final document of the synod on synodality, approved by Pope Francis in October 2024, emphasized synodality as essential to the church’s mission and called for greater lay participation, mandatory pastoral councils and continued study on women in ministry and seminary formation.

Over the next three years, dioceses, bishops’ conferences and religious communities will work to integrate synodal principles into church life with the guidance of a Vatican-issued document scheduled to be published in May.

Evaluation assemblies at diocesan, national and continental levels from 2027 to early 2028 will assess progress before a final ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028, where church leaders will reflect on the synodal journey and discern future steps, the cardinal said.

According to the apostolic constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis,” which governs procedures when the papacy is vacant, a council or Synod of Bishops is immediately suspended when a pope dies or resigns. All meetings, decisions and promulgations must cease until a new pope explicitly orders their continuation, or they are considered null.

In the letter, Cardinal Grech noted that implementation phase of the synod “provides the framework” for implementing the results of the 10 Vatican-appointed study groups which, since March 2024, have been examining key issues raised during the first session of the synodal assembly in 2023, such as the role of women in the church, seminary formation and church governance.

The study groups were scheduled to present their findings to the pope before June 2025; however, they can also offer an “interim report” then as they continue their work, Cardinal Grech said.

The cardinal added that a key component of the implementation process will be the strengthening of synodal teams, composed of clergy, religious and laypeople, who will work alongside bishops to accompany “the ordinary synodal life of local churches.”

In an interview with Vatican News accompanying the letter’s publication March 15, Cardinal Grech said that this phase of the synodal process is not about adding bureaucratic tasks but about “helping the churches to walk in a synodal style.” He explained that the church must continue “a path of accompaniment and evaluation” rather than treating the synod as a one-time event.

The cardinal encouraged local churches to engage in ongoing reflection on the insights of the synod rather than simply replicating past listening sessions, warning that the synod’s implementation “must not take place in isolation.”

The 2028 ecclesial assembly, Cardinal Grech said, will be an opportunity to “gather the fruits of the journey” and offer the pope “a real ecclesial experience to inform his discernment as the successor of Peter, with perspectives to propose to the entire church.”

(OSV News) – Pope Francis congratulated Catholic Relief Services on the 50th anniversary of CRS Rice Bowl, the Catholic relief agency’s annual Lenten program dedicated to global hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.

CRS, the official international relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., is marking the 50th anniversary of its Rice Bowl program this Lent, which has raised more than $350 million to support domestic and overseas poverty relief efforts. The organization has described that effort – with its iconic cardboard donation box – as more important than ever in light of a freeze on much U.S. foreign aid.

“I was pleased to learn that the Rice Bowl program of Catholic Relief Services is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter the group shared with media March 14. “On this auspicious occasion, I express my good wishes to all involved in this noble initiative as well as my gratitude for the faithful in the United States of America, who, through this service, assist the poorest and most vulnerable at home and abroad.”

Pope Francis said that for five decades, during “the holy season of Lent, when the Church invites us to pray, fast, and give alms in preparation for the Easter celebrations,” the Rice Bowl program “has offered a concrete way for Catholics to give alms as they seek to put their faith into action.”

“When caring for our neighbor, we must always remember that charity is to be given without qualifications or limits, as Jesus teaches us in the parable of the Good Samaritan,” he said, referring to the story in Luke’s Gospel. “In doing so, we reflect the closeness, compassion, and tender love of God who cares for all of his children in the one human family.”

CRS’ Rice Bowl initiative combines the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to provide humanitarian aid, spiritual renewal and increased solidarity with those in need.

The funds – 25% of which help local diocesan outreaches, with 75% benefiting CRS programs abroad – support a mission that is “critical to millions,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, CRS board chair, in a March 5 statement from the organization.

The campaign, launched in 1975 by Msgr. Robert Coll as a local effort in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, became a national initiative through its introduction at the Philadelphia-based 41st International Eucharistic Congress in 1976, and its subsequent adoption by the U.S. bishops through CRS.

The Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis said in his message, “reminded us that we are members of a global community, ‘all in the same boat,’ where the problems of others are the problems of all.”

“With this in mind, we must continuously strive to help others realize that the serious challenges currently affecting so many of our brothers and sisters, including war, forced migration and hunger, concern all of us,” he said. “Perhaps we could even invite others to compare their daily lives with those migrants and foreigners, so that they might learn how to understand better their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us in our own day.”

The program is a reminder of “the importance of working together,” he added.

In 2023, some 733 million people worldwide faced hunger, according to the United Nations’ 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition have devastating physical and psychosocial consequences, including insufficient height and weight in children.

In June 2024, UNICEF said that growing inequality, conflict and climate concerns — along with the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have left 181 million, or 1 in 4, children in severe food poverty, with the majority living in 20 countries. Of those, 64 million are in South Asia, and 59 million in sub-Saharan Africa.

“It is my hope therefore that the Rice Bowl program and other initiatives offered by Catholic Relief Services will continue to serve as examples of how to fulfill the Gospel’s command to love and serve our neighbor in a communal way,” Pope Francis said. “With these sentiments, I renew my best wishes as you celebrate this anniversary, and upon all who support the Rice Bowl program, I invoke Almighty God’s blessings of wisdom, hope and strength.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis spent the 12th anniversary of his election to the papacy undergoing physiotherapy at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, but he was well enough to celebrate it in little ways.

Along with the health care workers treating him, the pope — who has been hospitalized for nearly a month — had a small celebration to mark the anniversary of his election, complete with a cake and candles, the Vatican press office said March 13.

Hundreds of cards sent from children all around the world also were delivered to Pope Francis, wishing him a happy anniversary as well as a speedy recovery, the press office added.

The 88-year-old pope continued the therapies prescribed, including pharmacological treatment and physical therapy, it said.

A chest X-ray had confirmed continued improvements in his condition, the Vatican said the previous day, though doctors did not state that his double pneumonia had fully cleared.

The pope has been following the Roman Curia’s Lenten retreat by video, listening to the daily meditations led by Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household. While retreat participants gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall could not see the pope, Father Pasolini opened his March 13 reflection with a direct message for him.

“Good morning, and a greeting with deep affection and gratitude to our Holy Father on this very special day: the 12th anniversary of his election,” he said.

Since 12 is a number associated with completeness or fullness in the Bible, he said, “we can truly thank God because the gift of Pope Francis to the church and the world is complete. And certainly, in these 12 years, he has had the opportunity to express himself in fullness.”

Before their evening meditation, Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, read a message from the Curia sent to Pope Francis to mark his anniversary.

From the Vatican and from many other places around the world, he said, “the prayer of the people of God rises unceasingly, and we join ourselves in spiritual communion.”

“Holy Father, in this Jubilee year, we grow in hope that the message of peace and fraternity, to which we are constantly called by your magisterium, may spread among nations and among all people of goodwill,” he said, “and that in everyone the desire to be disciples of the Lord, witnesses of the Gospel, and builders of the kingdom of God may grow.”

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, led the recitation of the rosary for Pope Francis which has been taking place every night since shortly after his hospitalization.

“With the recitation of the rosary, let us invoke Mary, health of the sick, for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.

After taking place at 6 p.m. Rome time in the St. Paul VI Audience Hall to coincide with the Curia’s retreat, the nightly rosary for Pope Francis will return to St. Peter’s Square March 14 at 7:30 p.m. local time.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ condition continues to be stable and a chest X-ray “confirmed the improvements recorded in the previous days,” his doctors said, but without saying his double pneumonia had cleared up completely.

The 88-year-pope is still using high-flow oxygen through a nasal tube during the day and “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” with a mask overnight, said the medical bulletin published March 12 by the Vatican press office.

In their bulletin of March 10, the pope’s doctors had said that the pope’s continued stability and incremental improvements in his breathing and blood tests had led them to lift their “guarded” prognosis, although they insisted he continued to need hospitalization. The bulletin March 12 continued to speak of the “complexity” of the pope’s illness.

The physicians leading the team of doctors treating Pope Francis have met reporters only once and that was Feb. 21, when the pope had been in the Gemelli hospital for one week.

The team is led by Dr. Sergio Alfieri, director of medical and surgical sciences at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, and Dr. Luigi Carbone, vice director of the Vatican health service. At their February news conference, they said the whole team of doctors and Pope Francis himself approve what is released by the Vatican in the evening medical bulletins.

Pope Francis has continued watching the livestream of the morning and afternoon meditations offered to cardinals and senior members of the Roman Curia at their annual Lenten retreat, the bulletin said. He also “received the Eucharist, devoted himself to prayer” and then to physical therapy, which is designed to prevent the problems associated with limited movement during a prolonged hospital stay.

Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, began the Curia retreat March 12 by saying, “Good morning, and may it be a good morning especially for our Holy Father, to whom we offer our greetings, our affection and our prayers at the beginning of this day.”

The dates for the traditional Lenten retreat were announced before Pope Francis was hospitalized Feb. 14. During the retreat, he does not hold his weekly general audience and usually does not schedule private audiences either.

For the first three Wednesdays that he was hospitalized, the Vatican press office published the text of the catechesis prepared for the general audiences. But since no audience was scheduled for March 12, no text was released.

A group of 85 pilgrims from Russia had planned their Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome before the date for the retreat was announced and before Pope Francis was hospitalized.

So, led by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow, they walked more than two miles to the Gemelli hospital March 11 and spent an hour praying for Pope Francis, reciting the rosary in Russian and a Marian litany in Latin.

“We understood that we could not see him physically, but we tried to meet him spiritually, to intensify our spiritual bonds with him,” Moscow Auxiliary Bishop Nicolai Dubinin, who also was part of the group, told Vatican News March 12. “Each pilgrim experienced this moment intensely. The meeting with the pope had been highly anticipated, but we felt very strongly the closeness with him.”

The rosary, recited at the end of the Curia’s retreat March 12 was led by Cardinal George Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the main organizer of Pope Francis’ trips abroad.

Members of the Curia, he said, were joining “the Christian faithful and members of other religious traditions who are offering prayers and sacrifices for the Holy Father.”

“And also with many nonbelievers who appreciate and love Pope Francis and are worried about his health, we entrust the Holy Father and all the sick to the maternal protection of Mary,” the cardinal said.

“We unite our invocations to those of the poor because their prayers are the most effective, as sacred Scripture suggests, especially in the Book of Sirach, which says, ‘Prayer from the lips of the poor is heard at once,'” Cardinal Koovakad said.