THE Manila Cathedral is set to hold a prayer vigil at 5 p.m. today for the speedy recovery of Pope Francis today.
The vigil comes a day after Advincula called on all parishes and communities in the Archdiocese of Manila to organize prayer activities for the speedy recovery of the Pope.
Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula is set to preside the vigil.
Pope Francis, spending his seventh day at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, is
battling pneumonia but is alert and got out of bed to eat breakfast on Thursday morning, the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a brief update that the 88-year-old pope had slept well and had breakfast while seated in an armchair.
The pope’s condition was stable and he had shown “slight improvement” in results from recent blood tests, the Vatican said in its latest medical statement on Wednesday evening.
Francis is suffering from double pneumonia, a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs and makes breathing more difficult.
The Vatican had said previously that the pope had a polymicrobial infection, which occurs when two or more micro-organisms are involved, adding that he would stay in hospital as long as necessary to tackle a “complex clinical situation.”
A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the pope’s condition, said on Thursday that Francis was not on a ventilator, was taking some phone calls, and continuing to do some paperwork.
The pontiff’s latest illness is the latest in a long history of health problems he has suffered over the years.
