Time for ‘Hope Against All Hope’ for Pope – Gemelli Chaplain

Rome: Father Nunzio Corrao, the chaplain of the Agostino Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is being treated for double pneumonia, said on Monday that the time had come “to hope against all hope” for the pontiff, quoting St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

According to Ansa News Agency, Father Corrao led a prayer on Monday morning at Rome’s polyclinic, expressing his wish for Abraham’s faith, “spes contra spem,” which translates to “hope against all hope” in Latin. The chaplain quoted the passage, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed,” to inspire faith in the pontiff’s recovery.

The prayer took place in the St John Paul II chapel near the hospital’s hall dedicated to the pope, who is currently in the hospital’s special Papal suite on the tenth floor. Father Corrao emphasized the pontiff’s enduring desire for peace, hoping that the Pope is utilizing this moment of suffering to seek the Lord’s intervention for peace after years of conflict in Europe and the Middle East, as well as other regions experiencing war.