For the third week in a row, Pope Francis has been unable to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer in person, with the Vatican publishing his written comments instead.
The Vatican said the text, sent from his hospital room in Rome, had been written “in the past few days”. In it, the Pope thanked people for their prayers and thanked his medical team for their care.
“I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” he wrote.
“At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.”
The Pope told Catholics around the world that he felt their “affection and closeness”.
“I feel as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people. Thank you all!” the text reads.
The Vatican said the pontiff’s clinical conditions had remained stable on Sunday.
He had not required “non-invasive mechanical ventilation, only high-flow oxygen therapy,” it said.
The Pope did not have a fever and had participated in mass on Sunday morning with those caring for him in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, it added, and spent the rest of the day alternating rest and prayer.
In an update on Sunday morning, Pope Francis was said to be resting after a “peaceful” night.
“The Pope woke, had breakfast with coffee, continued his therapy and read the newspapers as he usually does.”
The pontiff received two visitors in hospital on Sunday – the first outside visitors the Vatican has mentioned since last Monday.
Once again, it was Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin and his deputy, Monsignor Pena Parra, who saw Pope Francis in his 10th-floor hospital room. There are no details about the length of time they spent with him or what was discussed.
On Friday, the Pope suffered a second breathing “crisis”, after which he was receiving extra oxygen support – but was not intubated.
By Saturday evening, the Vatican described his condition as stable, with no fever and no further “crises” with his breathing. He was said to be “alert” and eating normally.
In his Sunday Angelus, the Pope also prayed for peace, including in “tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel”, adding: “From here, war appears even more absurd.”
On Sundays, visitors to the Vatican usually gather on St Peter’s Square to see the Pope appear at a window high up in the Apostolic Palace in the official Papal apartment.
However, Francis does not live there, opting for the simpler setting of the Vatican’s Santa Marta guest house.
