The prelates invited the faithful to join in the Vatican-led rosary on Monday evening.
In Buenos Aires on Monday, an evening Mass “for the health of Pope Francis” was scheduled to take place at the Plaza de la Constitución.
Francis served as archbishop of the Buenos Aires Archdiocese from 1998 to 2013. Current archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva said in a statement that the pope had “prayed so many times for his people” at the public plaza.
“Let us gather so that our prayer may accompany and encourage him in this moment of weakness,” the archbishop said.
In the U.S., New York archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan said on X on Saturday that “our prayers are with the Holy Father.”
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“We entrust him to the hands of the Lord. We love him, and we’re with him all the way!” the prelate wrote.
Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez called on Catholics “to join in prayer for Pope Francis as he continues to battle serious illness.”
On Saturday evening, St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda noted that Saturday marked the feast of the Chair of Peter.
“[W]e join Catholics and those of goodwill around the globe in praying for Pope Francis: May he be restored to good health and be comforted at this critical time by our prayers and the maternal intercession of Mary, Help of the Sick,” the archbishop said.
On Monday, Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, said the faithful “continue to offer their love and support for Pope Francis.”
Knestout “asks all to join him in praying for an outpouring of grace upon the pontiff,” the diocese said in a statement.
On Sunday the Archdiocese of Miami shared on Facebook the Hail Mary in both English and Spanish in response to the pope’s health crisis. “We ask Our Lady of Good Health to intercede for Pope Francis in his hour of need,” the archdiocese said.
On its website on Monday the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops invited the faithful to join in “praying the rosary for Pope Francis.” The bishops included instructions on how to pray the rosary, including a list of the various mysteries associated with it.
At the Mass for the Jubilee of Deacons on Sunday, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who celebrated the Mass, said the faithful could feel the Holy Father “close to us, present among us” at the Eucharistic celebration.
“This compels us to make our prayer even stronger and more fervent, so that the Lord may assist him in this time of trial and illness,” he said.
Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.
