"How the Pope Spent the Night": Heavy Rumors About Francis From the Vatican

"The Pope rested well, all night." This is what we read in a note from the Vatican press office. The Holy Father has been hospitalized since February 14 at the Policlinico Gemelli. In the bulletin released yesterday evening, the Pope's clinical conditions were defined as "slightly improving" although "in their criticality". "The doctors, in consideration of the complexity of the clinical picture, prudentially do not yet release the prognosis".

Meanwhile, hundreds of people attended an outdoor Mass in Buenos Aires dedicated to their compatriot Pope Francis, who is hospitalized in critical condition in Rome for bilateral pneumonia. The faithful gathered in a square in the capital where, when he was archbishop, the pontiff presided over celebrations, denouncing inequalities and injustices. Waving Argentine flags and signs wishing Jorge Bergoglio a speedy recovery, they prayed, sang hymns, participated in the Eucharist and sang: "Viva el Papa Francisco" ("Long Live Pope Francis"). "Let our prayer be the breath of fresh air that reaches his lungs," said Jorge Garcia Cuerva, the current archbishop of Buenos Aires, during his homily in Constitution Square. Before leaving Argentina in 2013 to become pope, Jorge Bergoglio "was the first priest I met in a subway. And seeing him up close, with people, has always given me pleasure. That's why he is my mentor, he is my father and he is my priest," an emotional Mariana Martinez, 49, told AFP. Pope Francis, 88, remains in critical condition but "slightly improving," the Vatican announced Monday evening, amid growing concern for his health.