ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The Vatican has announced the start of nighttime prayers for Pope Francis, who remains in critical condition in the hospital. The 88-year-old is battling double pneumonia, and over the weekend, he was also diagnosed with early kidney failure. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports from the hospital in Rome, where he's being treated.
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: This is a smart, busy hospital with gleaming, clean corridors. On a hillside, overlooking the hospital, there are lines of TV cameras. In the lobby here, snatches of conversation and a lot of it is about Pope Francis.
LUIGI ANTONELLI: (Speaking Italian).
FRANCESCO PADOVANO: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Francesco Padovano (ph) and Luigi Antonelli (ph) are physiotherapy students here in Gemelli Hospital.
ANTONELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Antonelli tells me they went up to the 10th floor, where Pope Francis is being treated.
PADOVANO: (Speaking Italian).
ANTONELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: It's a VIP area, with parquet floors and gold pommels, they say. Security services stopped them in the corridor.
PADOVANO: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Antonelli and Padovano are young - just 20 and 19 years old. It's exciting to have the pope here, but then they strike a more serious note.
PADOVANO: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Padovano says the difference between the pope and politicians is that his messaging brings him closer to people.
ANTONELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: "Yes, he's much closer to us," adds Antonelli. The Vatican has announced the start of nightly prayers for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square. In countries around the world, churches have been holding special services.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: At the basilica of St. John Lateran - the oldest public church in Rome, with gold leaf ceilings and towering statues of the 12 disciples - hundreds have gathered to pray.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Speaking Italian).
MARISSA MORON: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: "These are difficult moments for the Holy Father, and also for humanity, for the whole world," says Marissa Moron (ph), a thin woman who looks in her 60s.
MORON: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: "It's a terrible moment in the world," she repeats.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing in Italian).
SHERLOCK: Pope Francis has been outspoken about civilians suffering in the wars in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and in Ukraine. And in a message from hospital prepared for a mass he would usually lead in person, he called on people to remember the victims of armed conflicts.
MARY JOHNSON: So even from his hospital room, he was calling for peace.
SHERLOCK: Sister Mary Johnson (ph) was among the congregation in the Cathedral.
JOHNSON: We are very grateful we're here for this liturgy to ask God's strength and healing for Pope Francis.
SHERLOCK: It was a moment of unity for a pope, she says, who means so much, not just to the church but also the world. Ruth Sherlock, NPR 瓜神app, Rome.
(SOUNDBITE OF RIOPY'S "MEDITATION 22") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR鈥檚 programming is the audio record.
