Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, during a Rosary prayer service held for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.

The U.S. bishops urged the faithful to join in on a call from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to pray the rosary for Pope Francis Feb. 24 as he remains hospitalized.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis remained in critical condition Monday but showed slight improvement in laboratory tests and resumed some work, the Vatican said, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began.

Daily evening prayers will be held for Pope Francis at the Vatican's St. Peter's Square as he remains hospitalized in Rome, Italy, for a complex lung infection.

The Vatican press office said there were "no episodes of asthmatic respiratory crisis" on Monday, and some laboratory tests "have improved."

You can get in touch with Jesus by emailing [email protected] The chaplain of the Agostino Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis remains hospitalized, has called for faith and prayer, urging Catholics to embrace "hope against all hope" as concerns over the pontiff's health persist.

The Vatican announced Monday that cardinals will lead a nightly rosary in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’s recovery, with the first prayer service scheduled for 9 p.m. Rome time on Monday evening.