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Pope Francis remains hospitalized for treatment for pneumonia in both lungs. A Vatican spokesman says the pope slept peacefully overnight and ate breakfast this morning. Despite his illness, the 88-year-old pope has managed to continue to work, including keeping in touch with the Catholic parish in Gaza, as he has done throughout the war there. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports from Rome.
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GABRIEL ROMANELLI: (Speaking Italian).
RUTH SHERLOCK, BYLINE: Father Gabriel Romanelli says in an interview posted on Vatican News that Pope Francis has called from hospital at the same time he always calls.
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ROMANELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: "Even though there was a power blackout in Gaza," he says, "the pope kept trying to get through until he was able to speak with the parishioners in a video call and send everyone there his blessings."
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ROMANELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: The pope has maintained near-daily contact with leaders in the Catholic Church in Gaza throughout the recent war between Israel and Hamas that has killed at least 48,000 Palestinians.
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ROMANELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Father Romanelli says the pope had sounded a little more tired than usual when he rang from hospital, and that the pope had acknowledged that he needed to take care of himself. The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and has been in hospital for several days.
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ROMANELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: Romanelli says on Sunday, the pope texted him instead of calling and thanked him for all the prayers he was receiving from Gaza.
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ROMANELLI: (Speaking Italian).
SHERLOCK: The Vatican said today that doctors are now describing the pope's condition as a, quote, "complex clinical situation." It said in a press release that a chest scan demonstrates the onset of bilateral pneumonia. As a young adult, Pope Francis had part of one lung removed after he developed pleurisy. The Vatican says despite these challenges, the pope remains in a good mood and continues to pray.
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GEORGE ANTONE: Hello.
SHERLOCK: On a scratchy phone line from Gaza, George Antone, the head of the emergency committee of the Catholic Church there, describes for NPR the scene when Pope Francis calls every day.
ANTONE: Hundreds of people here in the church - they hear him every day.
SHERLOCK: More than 500 people took refuge in the compound of the Holy Family Church in Gaza to shelter from the intense Israeli aerial bombardments. When there's enough power, parishioners would project the pope's video calls onto a big screen.
ANTONE: He's asking us about everything. What do we eat? How is the situation of the water? How is the situation of the health sectors?
SHERLOCK: U.N. officials warned in the war between Israel and Hamas that over half a million Gazans were one step away from famine. Pope Francis has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Last month, he described the humanitarian situation there as, quote, "shameful." And he said there should be an investigation into whether Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide.
ANTONE: The wartime was very horrible for us, you know, and it was something that makes us feel like we're facing death every day. But his phones every day makes us feel like we have a father. We have someone who's really protecting us and listening to us through all this mess here in Gaza.
SHERLOCK: Now there's a ceasefire in Gaza, and Antone says he and all the parishioners there are thinking about their Holy Father.
ANTONE: We love him so much. We have a real father.
SHERLOCK: They're all praying, he says, that he will get better very soon.
Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Rome.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROLY PORTER'S "AL DHANAB") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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