On February 14, 2025, Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for bronchitis treatment. He has since developed pneumonia in both lungs and is being monitored for "mild early-stage kidney insufficiency."
Let us join the Catholic Church in prayer for our Holy Father as he battles health issues.
Here are six ways we can pray for Pope Francis' health:
1) Prayer from the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.
According to the National Catholic Register,
“The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word — founded by EWTN’s foundress, Mother Angelica — wrote this prayer so we may all unite as one voice to lift up the Vicar of Christ in prayer today.”
Here is the prayer for Pope Francis:
We thank you for the loving service of Pope Francis and the hope he has inspired in so many in your great mercy. Have mercy on him in his illness now, we pray, and guide the medical staff in his care. Grant him peace and healing. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
2) Bring the Holy Father and his intentions to Mass.
Offer up a Mass for Pope Francis’ health and his intentions. You can bring this intention with you and carry it in your heart as you receive the Holy Eucharist.
“It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do so without the Holy Mass.” - St. Pio of Pietrelcina
3) A Prayer for Pope Francis from the USCCB.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has the prayer below on their website:
O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favorably on your servant Francis,
whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd;
Grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
4) Pray the Rosary for Pope Francis.
The Rosary is such a powerful prayer!
Pope Francis once said,
“In the prayer of the Rosary, we turn to the Virgin Mary so that she may bring us ever closer to her son Jesus, so as to know him and to love him more and more. And as we repeat 'Hail Mary,' we meditate on the mysteries, the joyous, luminous, painful, and glorious phases of Christ’s life, but also of our lives because we journey with the Lord.
"This simple prayer, in fact, helps us to contemplate all that God in his love has done for us and for our salvation, and allows us to understand that our life is united to that of Christ.
"In prayer, we bring everything to God, our struggles, our wounds, our fears, but also our joys, our gifts, our loved ones … all to God. By praying, we allow God to enter our time, to welcome and transfigure all that we experience.”
Furthermore, there is an opportunity to pray for the Holy Father alongside others in Saint Peter’s Square–virtually, of course.
According to EWTN Vatican,
“The Vatican announced Monday that cardinals will lead a nightly rosary in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’s recovery, with the first prayer service scheduled for 9 p.m. Rome time on Monday evening.”
You can access the broadcast LIVE across EWTN’s television networks and digital platforms.
5) Fast for the Holy Father’s health and his intentions.
You can fast in many ways for the swift recovery of Pope Francis.
Begin the day with the morning offering below and offer up your sufferings and annoyances for the Holy Father!
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians,
and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.
Read more on the spiritual benefits of fasting here.
6) Prayer for Pope Francis to Our Lady Undoer of Knots.
The prayer to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, reads,
"Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Pope Francis has been devoted to you, and you have answered so many requests of your children under this title.
"With that same confidence, we pray that you undo the knots of his illness at this time and ask your Son, Jesus, to restore him to health. Not our will but God’s will be done. Amen."