Thousands congregate in Buenos Aires poor neighborhoods to pray for Pope Francis

Record ID: 1983861

  • Title: Thousands congregate in Buenos Aires poor neighborhoods to pray for Pope Francis
  • Date: 16th March 2025
  • Summary: LUJAN, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (MARCH 16, 2025) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF LUJAN BASILICA VARIOUS OF FAITHFUL FROM LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS OF BUENOS AIRES ENTERING THE BASILICA WITH VIRGIN, BANNERS AND PLAYING MUSIC GIANT BALLOON WITH PHOTOGRAPH OF POPE FRANCIS VARIOUS OF PRIESTS FROM LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS ENTERING THE BASILICA IMAGE OF OUR LADY OF LUJAN, PATRON SA
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Argentina Francis Pope mass prayer
  • Location: LUJAN, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
  • City: LUJAN, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001925516032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of worshippers gathered at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lujan on the outskirts of Buenos Aires on Sunday (March 16) to pray for the swift recovery of Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for over a month with a double pneumonia.
    Accompanied by drums, cymbals, and flags, parishioners and priests from the villas - as low-income neighborhoods in Argentina are known - filled the imposing Basilica of Lujan and its surroundings to pray for the recovery of the Argentine-born Pope, the first from Latin America.
    The closeness of then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio with the poor earned him the nickname of "slum Pope" before becoming pontiff at the age of 76 in 2013 in a move that surprised the world.
    The 88-year-old Pope has been hospitalized at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for over a month. The latest medical reports from the Vatican indicate that he is improving and is no longer facing an immediate risk of death, but they have not yet said when he will be discharged.
    The Vatican on Sunday released the first image of Pope Francis in hospital since he began treatment.
    The basilica, an imposing neo-Gothic building, is dedicated to Our Lady of Luján, the patron saint of Argentina, and is considered the country's national shrine.
    (Production: Miguel Lo Bianco, Claudia Martini, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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