The Pope: In the heart of Rome, where the Tiber River laps against ancient stones, Gemelli Hospital stands like a steadfast guardian. On the tenth floor, in a modest room adorned with a simple cross and a view of the city’s domes, Pope Francis, the shepherd of a billion souls, was staging a quiet rebellion against his latest foe: a stubborn case of pneumonia.
How the Pope is Doing
The latest word from the Holy See Press Office, delivered just hours ago, painted a picture of cautious hope. They said that the Holy Father’s condition remains stable with no new episodes of respiratory distress today.
The 88-year-old pontiff was still full of jokes, according to the Italian Prime Minster.
It is hard to know if the Pope will be able to continue his duties. Old Moore has predicted that there will be a change of Pope, so perhaps the Pontiff is due a comfortable retirement.
Looking Back
Back in Buenos Aires, decades ago, young Jorge Bergoglio—long before he donned the white cassock—might have seen this as just another challenge.
Born on December 17, 1936, in the vibrant Flores neighborhood, he was the son of Italian immigrants, a family of modest means but rich in warmth. His father, Mario, a railway accountant, and his mother, Regina, a homemaker with a knack for ravioli, instilled in him a love for simplicity and community.
Little Jorge, with his mop of dark hair and a penchant for tango, wasn’t always destined for the Vatican. As a teenager, he worked as a bouncer at a local bar, keeping rowdy patrons in line with a stern look and a quick wit. “I didn’t throw punches,” he’d later joke, “but I knew how to dodge them!”
Life threw its first real punch when he was 21. A severe bout of pleurisy—a lung inflammation—landed him in a hospital bed, where surgeons removed part of one lung. It was a grim time, but Jorge found solace in prayer and the kindness of a nun who urged him to fight on. “God’s got plans for you,” she’d said, and he believed her.
That brush with mortality steered him from a chemistry degree—he’d been a lab technician, mixing solutions with precision—toward the priesthood. By 1969, he was ordained, trading beakers for blessings.
The Pontiff Today
Fast forward to March 6, 2025, and that same resilience was on display. The Vatican’s evening update, released just before dusk, added a touch of humanity to the clinical details: “Pope Francis spent the afternoon in prayer and reviewed a few letters from children, smiling at their drawings of him with a halo—and, in one case, a football.”
His doctors said, “He’s frail, yes, but his spirit? That’s iron.”
Outside Gemelli, a small crowd gathered, their candles flickering like stars against the Roman night.
Back in his youth, Jorge had loved ravioli nights with his family, the table crowded with laughter and sauce-stained plates. Now, confined to hospital food, he reportedly quipped to a visitor, “If I beat this, I’m asking for ravioli—extra cheese!”
In a city of eternal stories, his was still being written, one breath at a time.
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