St. Columba Catholic Church

Pope Francis waves from a balcony at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, March 23, 2025, following weeks of hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Mar 23, 2025 / 07:04 am (CNA).

Shortly before returning to his home in the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis made a brief appearance from a fifth-floor balcony of the Gemelli Clinic in Rome to a crowd of faithful gathered outside the hospital.

The moment marked his first public engagement in weeks. Waving and giving a “thumps-up” before blessing the faithful gathered outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the pontiff briefly thanked one well-wisher for bringing flowers for the occasion.

After the short interaction, the Holy Father was discharged from the hospital and taken to the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, where he delivered flowers to place before the icon of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani.

Afterward, he returned to the Vatican, according to the Holy See.

The pontiff prepared a written message published by the Vatican while briefly appearing at approximately noon to greet the faithful and impart his blessing.

“During this long period of hospitalization, I have had the opportunity to experience the patience of the Lord, which I also see reflected in the tireless care of doctors and health care workers as well as in the attentiveness and hopes of the patients’ families,” Francis noted.

“This confident patience, anchored in God’s love that never fails, is truly necessary for our lives, especially to face the most difficult and painful situations.”

In his written address, the pope reflected on this third Sunday of Lent’s Gospel reading about the barren fig tree, drawing parallels between the patient farmer in the parable and God’s merciful approach to humanity.

On the situation in Gaza, the pope called for a ceasefire and “that weapons be silenced immediately; and that there be the courage to resume dialogue, so that all hostages may be freed and a definitive ceasefire reached.”

Francis emphasized that the humanitarian situation in Gaza “is once again extremely serious and requires the urgent commitment of the warring parties and the international community.”

On a more positive note, the Holy Father expressed satisfaction with diplomatic progress in the Caucasus region.

“I am pleased, however, that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on the final text of the peace agreement,” he said. “I hope that it will be signed as soon as possible and can thus contribute to establishing a lasting peace in the South Caucasus.”

Convalescing in Casa Santa Marta

Prior to his window appearance and return to the Vatican, Pope Francis briefly met with medical staff and the hospital leadership to thank them for his treatment.

Hospital officials indicated on Saturday that the pope will continue convalescing at his apartment in Casa Santa Marta for at least two months and will require ongoing oxygen therapy during his convalescence.

Doctors said at a Saturday press conference that Francis would undergo a “protected discharge” and would “still have to carry out” treatment “for a long time.”

This story was updated on March 23, 2025, at 8:25 a.m. ET with additional information released by the Holy See Press Office.

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court building. / Credit: Duc Huy Nguyen/Shutterstock

ACI Africa, Mar 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The African branch of the global Catholic activist organization CitizenGo is urging the government of Kenya to pursue diplomatic intervention for a Kenyan facing execution in Vietnam.

CitizenGo Africa officials say the life of Margaret Nduta, a young Kenyan woman sentenced to die in Vietnam following a court ruling in July 2023, should be given top priority.

In a March 16 report, CitizenGo officials said: “We urgently petition Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, prime cabinet secretary of the Republic of Kenya, to immediately intervene through diplomatic channels.”

“A simple diplomatic call from Nairobi to Hanoi could significantly alter Margaret’s fate by advocating for her sentence to be commuted and served in Kenya, preventing her execution abroad,” they added.

As of March 19, the execution of Nduta, a 37-year-old Kenyan woman found guilty of drug trafficking, had been postponed, offering a glimmer of hope to her family and supporters.

Nduta was arrested in July 2023 at Ho Chi Minh City Airport while traveling to Laos after authorities reportedly discovered two kilograms of cocaine that was concealed in a false compartment of her suitcase.

Despite her claims of being unaware of the suitcase’s contents, she was convicted on March 6 and initially scheduled for execution by lethal injection on March 17. 

The Kenyan government has actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to secure clemency or a stay of execution for Nduta.

Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei reportedly communicated with Vietnamese officials, expressing the Kenyan people’s concerns and requesting a postponement of the execution to explore alternative resolutions.

Nduta’s family, residing in Kenya’s Murang’a County, has been fervently praying and appealing to President William Samoei Ruto to intensify efforts for her safe return.

Her family maintains that Nduta was unaware of the drugs in her luggage, suggesting she may have been duped by those facilitating her travel. They have expressed profound gratitude for the postponement of her execution.

Diplomatic negotiations are ongoing, with Kenyan officials seeking a resolution that could allow Nduta to serve her sentence in Kenya.

In their March 16 petition, CitizenGo officials said Nduta’s “tragic story highlights the vulnerability of many Kenyans exposing them to exploitation and extreme dangers overseas.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis gives a thumbsup gesture from his window at Gemelli Hospital in Rome during his first public appearance in weeks on Sunday, March 23, 2025. / Credit: Screenshot/Vatican Media

Vatican City, Mar 23, 2025 / 06:22 am (CNA).

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:

Grace Center in northern Ethiopia provides extensive care and support to over 50,000 individuals yearly of all ages and abilities. / Credit: Marcie Erickson

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 23, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In 2006, five young children arrived at a small, faith-based facility in northern Ethiopia for food, medical aid, and an education. Now, nearly two decades later, Grace Center provides extensive care and support to over 50,000 individuals yearly of all ages and abilities — all thanks to the vision that its founder says she received from God.

The center carries out multiple programs dedicated to the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of anyone who comes to them for help.

“At Grace Center we ask: What would Jesus do for this person? Then we do the same,” founder and executive director of Grace Center Marcie Erickson told CNA.

‘God gave me this vision’

Erickson shared how God called her to Ethiopia to help those in need. 

“I was a senior in high school and I said a prayer asking God what he wanted me to do with my life. I heard him send me to be a missionary,” she said.

Erickson went to Ethiopia to teach English in the middle of a famine. “There were people coming every day that were starving. There was also a lot of abandoned babies.”

“I spent time in many different countries in Africa, volunteering with different schools and orphanages and children’s homes, and ended up back in Ethiopia,” Erickson said. “God made it very clear that that was where he wanted me to be.”

“I really felt that the Lord was calling me to adopt and [provide] foster care for as many children as I could personally take on,” she said. Erickson listened to this call and adopted three boys and later adopted a daughter. She raised the four children by herself before she married her husband, Sefinew Birhanu Mengistu, in 2008. 

“In this particular area of Ethiopia, there really weren’t any services for the people. There was no help for food or housing,” Erickson said. She wanted to do more, but as a single mother she was unable to take in any more children. She believed this was because “God had a bigger plan.” 

“I was laying down in bed right in the midst of this,” Erickson said, “and God gave me this vision of having a center and how it could be properly run and properly staffed, and the kids would receive proper love and care.”

“I sat up. I said, ‘OK, Lord, if this is coming from you, then you’re going to give me the people to help me run this.’”

Erickson then started Grace Center in Bahir Dar, a city in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia, with the help of a few friends. She said it all came from the idea that “God knows every person. He’s created every person and he has a plan for every person.”

Help for ‘every single person who’s genuinely in need’

Today, Grace Center has about 225 staff members on the ground in Ethiopia. They provide food, water, housing, child care, medical assistance, and education. The organization assists people from infants in day care to adults looking for jobs.

The center obtains no government aid but receives 85% of its funds from individual donations that go directly to Ethiopia to aid its mission and programs. 

Grace Center has its own school where kids learn about God and receive what Erickson believes is the best education in the area. If children live too far from the center, the staff find a school closer to them and make sure they are able to attend. 

Erickson said the organization’s prison ministry program is vital to many children in Ethiopia. 

“In Ethiopia, when a mother goes to prison, all of her children go to prison with her. One of the reasons is to protect these children from being killed in revenge of the alleged crime of the mother.”

Erickson added: “What we were able to do was not only minister to them and talk to them and pray with them but also find schools in their areas. We can have them bused to these schools that are going to have protection.”

Grace Center also has a day program for special-needs children that is “very unique to Ethiopia.”

Staff members provide different forms of therapy and have access to equipment that has either been donated or built at the center. It is one of the few special-needs programs in the country.

Grace Center houses abandoned special-needs children and other orphaned children full time but tries to help families live outside the center so they can “be part of the community,” Erickson said. 

The center has “anywhere from 25 to 40 children” full time. “At this point, we have 37, and these are babies that the police bring to us, usually, that are found in the ditches, they’re found in boxes,” she said.

Grace Center started a program so that locals can adopt these children. Erickson explained that families in Ethiopia thought adoption was something only foreigners did. She said “we were able to come in and say, ‘No, this is actually something that God does. He adopts each one of us, and we need to be prayerful about that.’”

If Grace Center is unable to reunite abandoned children with a family member and they are not being adopted, they will be fostered by families that work directly with the center.

“This is not like foster care in America. This is run by us,” Erickson said. “These are Christian families. We pay for the houses and we have a house mom for each place, and they live throughout the neighborhood.”

Rescuing babies

In an additional March 19 interview with “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” Erickson also detailed Grace Center’s baby rescue hotline. The program started a few years ago when Erickson realized there was no helpline for mothers advertised in Ethiopia.

“The first text message went out to over 5 million phones in our area saying … if you’re pregnant or if you have a small child and need help, please call this number,” Erickson explained.

“And every single pregnant person that we’ve talked to up to this point through our hotline has decided to choose life for her baby, has carried her baby to term, and kept her baby.”

‘A big vision’

Erickson shared the upcoming plans and expansion of Grace Center and its pro-life programs. She told CNA: “I feel like God’s just given me a big vision.” 

The expansion has started in Debre Marcos, another Ethiopian city about a four-hour drive from the current location, where they have already started to build. Erickson said the Grace Center’s director there has created an initiative to grow plants on the land to help feed the local community. 

Erickson, who is based in the U.S., has an upcoming trip planned to Ethiopia to do work at the Grace Center and oversee expansion plans. She will be there for about three months with her husband and their 12 children.

Erickson said they are “looking at expanding to other countries” and “are excited to see what God will do.”

Watch the “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” interview with Marcie Erickson below.

Candles with Pope Francis’ image on them stand outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Feb. 21, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

CNA Staff, Mar 22, 2025 / 14:09 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, the Vatican said on Saturday afternoon, with the Holy Father leaving the facility after spending more than a month there amid a health crisis. 

Hospital officials said on Saturday that the pope will continue convalescing at his apartment in Casa Santa Marta for at least two months.

Francis first entered the hospital on Feb. 14, more than a month ago. He was treated for several conditions while there including bilateral pneumonia.

Sergio Alfieri, the director of the department of medical and surgical sciences at the hospital, said at a Saturday press conference that Francis would undergo a “protected discharge” and that he will “still have to carry out” treatment “for a long time.”

The pope will continue to receive oxygen during his ongoing convalescence, Alfieri said.

As recently as Friday doctors were still uncertain as to when the Holy Father would be discharged from the hospital. In recent days the Vatican has regularly reported that the pope’s condition has continued to improve.

The Vatican had said earlier on Saturday that Francis would make his first public appearance in weeks on Sunday, with the pope scheduled to appear at a window of the Gemelli Hospital and greet visitors following the Angelus prayer.

Alfieri said on Saturday that doctors at the hospital “were all in charge to try to solve the problem” of the pope’s health struggles.

“Today we are happy to say that tomorrow he will be home,” he said.