Petrine Ministry from Gemelli Hospital

In an interview in 2022, Pope Francis said that “one governs with the head, not the knee” to downplay his mobility issues.

Known to work himself to exhaustion, from Rome's Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis carries on the triple function of the Church as Christ’s Vicar on Earth. With the assistance of the Holy Spirit, as always, he performs the priestly, prophetic, and kingly or governing functions on his bed or armchair.

On Valentine’s Day, His Holiness was admitted to Rome’s Polyclinic Gemelli Hospital, the best and second biggest hospital in Italy, about 6.5 kilometers from the Vatican. The Holy See issues twice-daily health bulletins and some news about how the Pope continues to perform his Petrine Ministry as high-flow oxygen and other medical therapies are administered for complex infections in his respiratory system. 

Inside his hospital room, Pope Francis makes his daily call to Holy Family Parish, a refuge for the Christian minority in war-torn Gaza, to give hope to the hopeless, as he holds regular meetings with his council of advisors and closest assistants.

As expected, his visits have been more limited after the February 22 respiratory crisis that put him in a critical condition. Yet, after that crisis, the Holy See continues to publish appointments and decisions requiring his authorization, including further moves to clean up and strengthen Vatican finances.

On February 15, he appointed Italian Sister Raffaella Petrini as the new president of the Governorate of Vatican City, taking over from Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vergéz Alzaga effective March 1. A few days later, on February 18, our Jesuit pontiff accepted the resignation of Bishop Jean-Pierre Blais of the Diocese of Baie-Comeau in Canada.

On February 19, Italy’s Prime Minister visited Pope Francis, head of the Vatican State, and conveyed best wishes for a speedy recovery on behalf of the Italian government and the nation. In her official statement, the Prime Minister said he was “very pleased to have found him alert and responsive [...] We joked as always. He has not lost his well-known sense of humor.”

On February 25, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis, also from the hospital, advanced the causes of several individuals on the path to sainthood and approved a consistory to determine the canonization dates of Venezuelan layman Blessed Giuseppe Gregorio Hernández Cisneros and Italian layman Blessed Bartolo Longo.

Also on February 26, Francis ordered the creation of a new high-level commission, Commissio de donationibus pro Sancta Sede, tasked with boosting external fundraising and donations following aggressive budget cuts within the Roman Curia. The emphasis on fundraising is to maintain and prolong the financial assistance earmarked for missionary and charitable works.

On the same day, Pope Francis sent a message to students, liturgists, and masters-of-pontifical-ceremonies professors of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, marking the inauguration of a course designed for those responsible for liturgical ceremonies celebrated by a bishop. 

To date, worrying statements and questions exist about the critical condition of health. As Pilgrims of Hope, we continue to storm heaven for the good health of our beloved Pontiff.

 Every time God renews the Church, Ecclesia ad intra, He does it mainly through the Pope, the successor of Peter, instituting the Petrine Ministry as a divine institution. Christ established the Church as the visible “sacrament and channel of His grace” and directly gave Peter, the first Pope, the supreme authority to accomplish the triple office of sanctifying, teaching, and governing. Tu es Petrus, “You are Peter” [Aramaic “kephas”] et super hanc petram… “and upon this Rock, I shall build my Church [Hebrew “qahal” and Greek “ekklesia”]… I shall give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 16:19).

Always relying on the Holy Spirit and a transformational vision for the Church, Pope Francis goes beyond the standard expectations of leadership. Even from Gemelli Hospital, he continues to inspire and motivate his cardinals, bishops, priests, the religious, and the laity—even the non-Catholic world—very significantly, driving impactful renewal for the Church and the world at a remarkable level.

On several occasions and conferences, when asked how I could describe the present pope in one sentence, I would always say without second thought, “He is Francis the Great!”

José Mario Bautista Maximiano is the lead convenor of the Love Our Pope Movement (LOPM) and the author of Church Reforms 3: The Synodal Legacy of Pope Francis (Claretian, 2025). Church Reforms 1 and Church Reforms 2 are available on Lazada and Shopee. Email: jomaximiano@gmail.com