Local churches take part in Ash Wednesday amid Pope Francis’s illness

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Father Dan Merz says he remembers the day Pope Francis was elected in 2013.

"He came out and the cardinal says 'We have a pope,' and the crowd just goes crazy," Merz said.

Twelve years later on Ash Wednesday, as the pope continued to face health issues, Merz said he's focused on the recovery of the church leader. The Vatican said Pope Francis was stable on Wednesday and spent the day blessing ashes and called a Gaza parish from his hospital in Rome.

The 88-year-old was hospitalized on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

He did not have any episodes of respiratory failure on Wednesday, according to the Vatican. The St. Thomas More Newman Center Parish in Columbia has been partaking in prayers since the pope's health crisis began nearly three weeks ago.

Some have chosen to look at the situation as something that has united the church, and say they've found comfort in thinking about the influence Francis has had during his papal tenure.

"We know that everything is going to continue as it has for the past 2,000 years," assistant director of campus ministry for the Newman Center Mason Arneson said. "And we can really take a lot of hope in where the church is heading because of leaders like Pope Francis."

The hope for Catholics across Mid-Missouri is that the pope makes a full recovery and can continue leading. However, most say they're accepting of whatever happens.

"There's no doubt that the pope will die eventually, however right now that's really not our focus. We are praying for his health, his recovery and when that day comes we will mourn appropriately," Father Andrew Auer said.

According to Merz, the Newman Center plans to have a mass prayer following the death of Francis.