Boston area Catholics react as Pope Francis remains in critical condition

BOSTON — At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, and at parishes across Eastern Massachusetts, Catholics prayed for Pope Francis.

Since Valentine’s Day, the Pope has been hospitalized with pneumonia -- a condition which grew out of a week-long bout with bronchitis.

“We know he took a turn for the worse, but hope he recovers,” said one parishioner, after attending Mass at the Cathedral.

“It’s definitely sad,” said another. “I want him to get better.”

Doctors say the Pope’s pneumonia is of complex, multifaceted origin -- with viral, bacterial, and even fungal organisms causing his disease. The challenge is to prevent those pathogens from making it into Pope Francis’s bloodstream and causing sepsis. He’s under treatment with antibiotics and steroids and, as of Sunday, doctors found no evidence of sepsis.

But the Pope’s age, 88, puts him at high risk for deadly pneumonia. A study in the Singapore Medical Journal from 2018, found the fatality rate for those hospitalized with pneumonia to be more than four times greater in patients 85 or older than in those under 65 -- with about 30 percent in the older group not surviving.

“He’s elderly and he’s been through a lot,” another parishioner said. “He lost part of his lung when he was a youth. I remember hearing him say he would resign years ago when he took office if he got ill. But then he reconsidered and said he didn’t want a pattern to develop where Popes were constantly resigning when things got bad.”

Francis became Pope twelve years ago after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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