Chilean religious: praying for the Pope is like making a visit to the hospital

Today a week has been completed since the rosary prayer began by Pope Francis in the Plaza de San Pedro del Vaticano. Since last Monday, faithful and pilgrims from different parts of the world raise their prayers for the Holy Father since the Epicenter of the Catholic faith.

The faithful continue to challenge the low temperatures of Roman winter and go to this appointment on time. On Sunday they played the glorious mysteries, and the Rosary was chaired by Cardinal Krajewski.

“Praying is like being next to Pope Francis’s bed in the hospital”

It was the first rosary in which Sister Teresa Olivares participated in the Secular Institute of the Sisters of María de Schoenstatt. Just landed from Chile, he did not hesitate to join this prayer at the foot of the imposing basilica. With the Virgin of Schoenstatt in her arms, she told ACI Press how important this prayer initiative is for her.

“The reason I am here, after the long trip, is that we are all a single church. And the Pope is a bit our Father, representative of Christ here on earth, ”he said.

He affirms that the health of Pope Francis depends on God’s plan and that “his will will always be done.” However, he insists on the importance of praying the Rosary for the Pontiff: “It is a way of accompanying him, as he constantly accompanies us, with his concern, with his writings, with everything that he is.”

For sister Teresa, who did medicine before joining the Marian movement, praying for the Pontiff from the place where the remains of the first Pope in history rest, Saint Peter, “it’s like being next to Pope Francis’s bed in the hospital.”

“It is the feeling of being able to be with the bed to the Holy Father, although we cannot be physically there. It is a visit to the hospital, ”he says without losing his smile.

A gesture of gratitude

Mons. Humberto González, a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, has only lacked one day to Rosario. The prelate, resident in Rome for decades, recalled when Pope Francis “sustained the world” he only from this square, during the Covid 19 pandemic.

“Today, for gratitude, out of respect, for love and faithfulness, the world has to sustain it. He has a lot to give, and we have to accompany him with our prayer, ”he said.

The diocesan priest Nü Xuan, a student in Rome, told ACI Press his desire that Pope Francis will recover soon. “The Pope is a great father for China. Now the Vatican and China are friends, I hope his pontificate continues to move forward with this good relationship. ”

Before being in one of the chairs prepared for the prayer of the Rosary, the sisters Rosa María and María Eugenia, daughters of María Immaculate of Guadalupe – consideration founded in Mexico by the venerable Antonio Plancarte and Labastida -, highlighted the “important mission of Pope Francis for the entire Church and the world.”

“That’s why we pray for the Pope, because being with Him, we are with God. We pray that he can move forward with the work that God has begun on earth. The Holy Father has always asked us to pray for him and corresponds to us as Christians to help him in this great mission that God has entrusted to him, ”they say.

Four young priests of the Mexican College of Rome did not want to miss this appointment either. “He challenges us in faith, and this is our opportunity to pray for him.”