In Rome and Buenos Aires, hundreds of faithful gathered to pray for the healing of Pope Francis

This Monday evening in Rome, the rain did not discourage the hundreds of faithful who gathered in St. Peter's Square, joined by around thirty cardinals who recited the rosary with them, praying for the health of Pope Francis .

While the scene was reminiscent of the gatherings held in the same place in the final days of Pope St. John Paul II's life in 2005, "it is not yet time for [Pope Francis] to go to heaven," Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said. "He is someone who does not back down in the face of difficulty, who does not get discouraged (...) and who does not stop moving forward," he added to the daily La Repubblica .

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In Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio's hometown where he served as archbishop before being elected pope, hundreds of Argentines also prayed together in the streets for the Holy Father. Speaking in the same square where Bergoglio used to rail against injustice and inequality, Archbishop Jorge Garcia Cuerva called Francis' pontificate "a breath of fresh air for a world suffocated by violence, selfishness and exclusion."

Messages of support have also been sent from world leaders. "The situation is very serious but we wish him well," said US President Donald Trump, while his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron wished him a "speedy recovery."

The health of the head of the Catholic Church deteriorated on Saturday with "a prolonged asthmatic attack" and hematological problems requiring "a blood transfusion" .

This hospitalization, the fourth and longest since 2021, raises serious concerns, the pope having already been weakened by a series of problems in recent years: he has, among other things, undergone operations on the colon and abdomen and had difficulty walking.

Also read : In critical condition, Pope Francis "rested well" during the night, says the Vatican

Despite his hospitalization, the pope signed a decree of canonizations, a signal that he can work and that his health appears to be improving. Pope Francis "rested well, all night," the Vatican said Tuesday morning on the 12th day of his hospitalization, after reporting a "slight improvement" the day before. The Vatican announced that the pope had received a visit the day before from his Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and from Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra - the two highest officials of the Holy See after him.

During this visit, the first since his admission to the Gemelli hospital in Rome, the pope authorized the canonization of two lay people from Venezuela and Italy and convened a consistory (assembly of cardinals), the date of which has not been specified.