Lula offers mass for the Pope's health at his presidential residence

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday offered a mass in the chapel of the Alvorada Palace for the health of Pope Francis , hospitalized for 13 days in Rome with double pneumonia, the presidency reported.

The initiative for the meeting came from Lula and (first lady) Janja because of the immense affection, respect and admiration they have for Pope Francis and his life mission," the presidency of the country with the most Catholics in the world said in a statement.

The Eucharist at the palace in Brasilia was presided over by three Jesuit priests , the community to which Pope Francis belongs, and was also attended by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Brazilian Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno.

We recommend: Pope Francis reports a "slight improvement" in his health: The Vatican.

The Argentine pontiff, 88, showed a "slight improvement" in his health on Wednesday. Although he has been working from the Gemelli clinic in Rome, "the prognosis remains reserved," according to the latest Vatican report.

In mid-February, Lula had already expressed his "wishes for improvement" in the health of his "dear friend" Francisco, the first Latin American to occupy the highest hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

"His Holiness is a model of solidarity and dedication to world peace and the fight against inequality," the leftist president wrote on the social network X.

The spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics has been hospitalized since February 14. However, alarm bells rang last weekend when his health deteriorated, already worn down in recent years by operations on his colon and abdomen, and difficulties in walking.

With 212 million inhabitants, Brazil is the country with the largest number of Catholics in the world , although its number of followers has decreased while the number of evangelical churches has grown.

We recommend: Concerns grow over Pope Francis; the pontiff remains stable.

About 64 percent of its population identified as Catholic according to the latest available data from 2010, down from 74 percent in the 2000 census.

Even with this decrease, there is a "historically constructed Catholic hegemony in the country," said Magali Cunha, a researcher at the Institute for Religious Studies (Inser) in Rio de Janeiro.

With information from AFP.

ORP