The pontiff received questions about his state of health on the return flight from Lisbon, where he presided over World Youth Day. It was his first trip since he spent nine days hospitalized in June after surgery to repair an abdominal hernia and remove scarred intestinal tissue.
The trip, which took place during a heat wave that sent the thermometer reaching 40 degrees Celsius in Lisbon, was notable because the 86-year-old pontiff often strayed from his speeches, homilies and even his prayers, which normally they are written months in advance and focused on specific events and audiences.
One of the most notable acts in which Francis deviated from the script was when he was to deliver a prayer for peace at the Shrine of Fatima, which is famous precisely for its centuries-old connection to calls for peace and the conversion of Russia after the first World War.
Given the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, a papal prayer for peace at the Shrine was supposed to be one of the most notable moments of Francis’ visit, but also a potentially controversial one at a time when the Vatican seeks to maintain relations with Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church, which has expressed strong support for the Kremlin invasion.
Francis improvised his speech in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary and skipped the prayer entirely, instead reciting a Hail Mary along with young people with disabilities. The Vatican later posted part of the prayer on the pope’s account on platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
When asked why, Francis insisted on the flight back to Rome that he had prayed silently for peace, but did not want to give “publicity” to an intimate prayer.
Source: VOA
