After the Vatican announced that Pope Francis’ health took a turn, the San Antonio archbishop voiced his concerns and called for people to pray for Pope Francis’ recovery.
Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican told the Associated Press.
KSAT reached out to the San Antonio archbishop for a comment on Pope Francis’s health status.
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller sent the following statement to KSAT:
“Today, on February 22, the Catholic Church observes the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a tradition that dates back more than 1,600 years. The feast honors the authority of St. Peter, the first pope, and the unbroken line of his successors, up to our current Holy Father, Pope Francis. This afternoon it has been widely reported and the Vatican has confirmed that the pope’s health has taken a turn, and he is now in critical condition. I invite the people of God and all people of goodwill to pray for Pope Francis. May the Holy Spirit sustain him and give him the strength to persevere to the end. We are in unity in prayer for the Holy Father.”
Francis received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe and received blood transfusions after test results showed low counts of platelets, the Vatican told the Associated Press.
Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 following a worsening of his weeklong bout with bronchitis.
The pope got sick at the start of the Vatican Holy Year, a once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism.
Francis was scheduled to celebrate deacons this weekend, a ministry in the church that precedes ordination to the priesthood, the Associated Press reported. The Holy Year organizer would preside over Sunday’s Mass.
Francis will also miss his traditional Sunday noon blessing for the second consecutive weekend, which he could have delivered from the hospital he was admitted to if he were up to it, the Associated Press reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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