Dozens of children filled the square outside the Policlinico A. Gemelli hospital in Rome on Sunday, showing their unwavering support for Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for pneumonia for over a month. Dressed in the Vatican's signature yellow and white, the kids chanted “Papa Francesco” and raised signs reading messages of love and encouragement, as they cheered, “Viva la Pace”—a call for peace.
Among the gathering, a group of energetic young "castorini," Italian children too young to be Cub Scouts, held up a sign that said, “Ciao Papa Cesco, I love you a lot.” Although the pope did not make an appearance, he acknowledged the love of the children during his traditional Sunday blessing, which, for a fifth time, was delivered without a live audience. “I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness,” he shared, expressing heartfelt gratitude for their presence.
Rev. Enzo Fortunato, the head of the pontifical committee for World Children’s Day, who helped organize the event, remarked that children symbolize joy and serve as a “symbolic medicine” for the ailing pontiff. Father Fortunato mentioned that the kids' posters and letters would be carefully saved for the pope's return to the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where he resides, assuring that he would personally respond to their heartfelt messages once he is well again.
