Kenya Insights

Tag: vatican

  • World’s Most Secretive Election: How The Next Pope Will Be Chosen On Wednesday

    World’s Most Secretive Election: How The Next Pope Will Be Chosen On Wednesday

    The world’s most secretive election begins Wednesday, when 133 Catholic cardinals will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel to choose a successor to Pope Francis.

    Each cardinal will have sworn an oath of lifelong secrecy, as will every staff member supporting the process—from doctors and dining staff to Vatican officials. Anyone who breaks the rules faces excommunication.

    Electronic devices are banned, and all participants must surrender phones, tablets, and smartwatches. The Vatican enforces strict isolation, with rooms swept for bugs and electronic jammers in place to prevent any communication with the outside world.

    “There are no TVs, radios, newspapers or even open windows,” said Monsignor Paolo de Nicolo, a former papal household chief. “The cardinals are completely incommunicado.”

    The conclave is not just secret—it’s also secure. Vatican police, walkie-talkies for emergencies only, and heavily vetted staff ensure total lockdown until a new pope is chosen. The result is announced to the world by white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

    Despite the religious framing, political undercurrents are hard to ignore. Media speculation has swirled around potential successors, and books and videos promoting certain cardinals have circulated. But inside the conclave, external lobbying is blocked out.

    “It’s meant to be a decision guided by the Holy Spirit, not by headlines,” said Ines San Martin of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

    Cardinals have been meeting daily in “general congregations” to prepare for the vote. Many are new and unfamiliar with each other, thanks to Pope Francis’ diverse appointments.

    By Wednesday morning, voting cardinals—those under age 80—will be sealed off behind Vatican walls. Over the following hours or days, they will vote up to four times daily until one of them receives a two-thirds majority.

    The stakes are global: the pope leads over 1.3 billion Catholics and commands immense influence on moral, social, and political issues worldwide.

    As John Allen of Crux put it: “The Vatican takes isolation seriously. This is one of the biggest decisions of their lives.”

  • Rome Locks Down: Drones, Snipers, and Tiber Patrols Guard Pope Francis’ Funeral as Trump and Royals Descend on Vatican

    Rome Locks Down: Drones, Snipers, and Tiber Patrols Guard Pope Francis’ Funeral as Trump and Royals Descend on Vatican

    From patrols on the River Tiber to surveillance drones and snipers deployed around St. Peter’s Square, Rome is preparing to throw a thoroughly modern security shield around the ancient rituals of a papal funeral and its attendant huge crowds.

    More than 200,000 people are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral, taking place on Saturday in the huge Vatican square that sits in front of the Basilica of St. Peter, Rome’s public transport company said.

    Among them will be dozens of world leaders—including heads of state such as U.S. President Donald Trump and royals from Spain, Sweden and Belgium.

    “The most complex aspect is the arrival of many dignitaries from all over the world, who will converge on Rome to go to a single point,” Rome’s police chief, Roberto Massucci, told RTL 102.5 radio on Thursday.

    Some 2,000 local police officers will be on duty, joined by thousands more officers from the national security forces. Security measures will include patrols on the Tiber, drones, an army device to neutralise hostile flying objects and snipers, a police source told Reuters.

    Streets will be closed to traffic around the Vatican on Saturday and authorities are assessing the best route for the procession that will take the coffin from the funeral to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), where Francis chose to be buried.

    He died on Monday aged 88, and tens of thousands of people have filed past his open coffin since it was laid out in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday. Security officers patrolled St. Peter’s Square on Thursday as people queued to get into the basilica.

    The funeral will start at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday. Fabio Ciciliano, head of the national Civil Protection Department, said people might gather not only in St. Peter’s Square but also along the 4 km (2.5 miles) separating the Vatican from Santa Maria Maggiore, on the other side of the Tiber.

    Authorities, who on Monday announced a no-fly zone over the capital for this week, will have to juggle a steady flow of VIP jets and state planes landing at Rome’s airports for the event.

    “Some delegations will want to stay in Rome for some time, others, the vast majority we are registering at this moment, will leave immediately after the funeral,” Ciciliano said, stressing the difficulty of handling so many arrivals and departures.

    He said the military airport of Pratica di Mare, south of Rome, will be a backup to the two city airports of Fiumicino and Ciampino in case of need.

    The national railway company will add some 260,000 seats to its trains to the capital, the Civil Protection Department said, while city airports operator ADR expects up to 20,000 more people to arrive in Rome compared to previous estimates made for the Easter holidays.

    Rome’s turn in the spotlight will not end with the funeral. Huge crowds generally gather to wait for the outcome of the secret conclave of cardinals that elects a new pope. That is not expected to start before May 6. — Reuters

  • Pope Francis Makes Surprise Public Appearance After Leaving Hospital Two Weeks Ago

    Pope Francis Makes Surprise Public Appearance After Leaving Hospital Two Weeks Ago

    CNN  — Pope Francis made a surprise public appearance on Sunday, the first time the leader of the Catholic Church has been seen in public since leaving hospital two week ago.

    Francis greeted crowds at the Vatican and seemed to be in good spirits. He was seated in a wheelchair and wearing what appeared to be a nasal cannula aiding his breathing.

    The 88-year-old pontiff spent five weeks in hospital with pneumonia in February and March. According to his medical team, the pope came close to death during the illness.

    Francis appeared in better health than when he was last seen in public, which was two weeks shortly before he was released from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. At that time, he struggled to speak and raise his arms, but managed to wave to people and gave a thumbs up from a balcony.

    On Sunday, the pope appeared to move his arms around with more ease. His voice was still weak, but stronger than two weeks ago.

    The pope’s appearance had not been previously announced.

    Crowds of worshippers gathered at Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square on Sunday when the pope made his short appearance after a mass dedicated to the sick.

    When the smiling pontiff was wheeled in, those there cheered wildly.

    The Vatican said that the pope went to confession in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday morning and gathered in before greeting the pilgrims and the faithful in the square.

    Pope Francis is cheered at by faithful at the end of a mass in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, on April 6, 2025. Andrew Medichini/AP
    Pope Francis is cheered at by faithful at the end of a mass in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, on April 6, 2025. Andrew Medichini/AP

    Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on February 14, initially suffering from a severe respiratory infection. He was subsequently diagnosed with a polymicrobial infection, which evolved to pneumonia in both lungs.

    He was discharged on March 23 and was expected to convalesce at Casa Santa Marta, his residence in the Vatican. His doctors said in a news conference at the time that he would need to recuperate for at least two months to allow his body time to fully heal.

    The prolonged hospital stay marked the biggest health crisis Francis has experienced since he was elected as pope in 2013.

    His doctors told reporters that there were “two very critical episodes in which the Holy Father’s life was in danger” during the 38 days he was hospitalized.

  • Pope Francis Rested During A Peaceful Night Following Respiratory Crisis and Blood Transfusion

    Pope Francis Rested During A Peaceful Night Following Respiratory Crisis and Blood Transfusion

    Pope Francis rested during a peaceful night following a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said Sunday.

    Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni’s one-line statement didn’t mention if Francis was up or eating breakfast.

    The brief update came after doctors said the 88-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was in critical condition. On Saturday morning, he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection.

    The pope received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said in a late update.

    The Saturday statement also said that the pontiff “continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday.” Doctors said the prognosis was “reserved.”

    Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease, and that the main threat facing him is if the infection enters the bloodstream, a serious condition known as sepsis.

    (AP)

  • Vatican Says Pope Francis Is In Critical Condition

    Vatican Says Pope Francis Is In Critical Condition

    Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said.

    The 88-year-old Francis, who has been hospitalized for a week with a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update.

    “The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” the statement said.

    Earlier, doctors said that Francis was battling a pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection that doctors say remains touch-and-go and will keep him hospitalized for at least another week.

    The Vatican carried on with its Holy Year celebrations without the pope on Saturday.

    In a brief earlier update on Saturday, Francis slept well overnight.

    But doctors have warned that the main threat facing Francis would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope’s medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope’s condition.

    “He is not out of danger,” said his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone. “So like all fragile patients I say they are always on the golden scale: In other words, it takes very little to become unbalanced.”

    Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. 

    Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infectionand then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.

    Carbone, who along with Francis’ personal nurse Massimiliano Strappetti organized care for him at the Vatican, acknowledged he had insisted on staying at the Vatican to work, even after he was sick, “because of institutional and private commitments.” He was cared for by a cardiologist and infectious specialist in addition to his personal medical team before being hospitalized.

    Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said the biggest threat facing Francis was that some of the germs that are currently located in his respiratory system pass into the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death.

    “Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri told a news conference Friday at Gemelli. “The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want,” he said as he tapped the microphone. “But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.”

    “He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri added. “And he told us to relay that.”

    Deacons, meanwhile, were gathering at the Vatican for their special Jubilee weekend. Francis got sick at the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism. This weekend, Francis was supposed to have celebrated deacons, a ministry in the church that precedes ordination to the priesthood.

    In his place, the Holy Year organizer will celebrate Sunday’s Mass, the Vatican said. And for the second weekend in a row, Francis was expected to skip his traditional Sunday noon blessing, which he could have delivered from Gemelli if he were up to it. 

    “Look, even though he’s not (physically) here, we know he’s here,” said Luis Arnaldo Lopez Quirindongo, a deacon from Ponce, Puerto Rico who was at the Vatican on Saturday for the Jubilee celebration. “He’s recovering, but he’s in our hearts and is accompanying us because our prayers and his go together.” 

    Beyond that, doctors have said Francis’ recovery will take time and that regardless he will still have to live with his chronic respiratory problems back at the Vatican.

    “He has to get over this infection and we all hope he gets over it,” said Alfieri. “But the fact is, all doors are open.”

    (AP)