(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland has called for Catholics to pray for Pope Francis that he will come to “know Christ more deeply.”
In a video released on February 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the former bishop of Tyler stressed that the Petrine office, the papacy, “exists in the Church to help us know Christ.”
“We pray for Pope Francis to be more deeply imbued with, more deeply rooted in that truth,” Strickland said.
Francis was taken to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome Friday, Feburary 14 for bronchitis, and since then was diagnosed with double pneumonia in what was described as a “complex” medical scenario. The Vatican announced Saturday that Francis remains in critical condition and was recently administered a blood transfusion and “high flows” of oxygen. (For full background, see LifeSite’s coverage here.)