Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - According to the Vatican on Monday, Pope Francis remained in critical condition, but showed slight improvement in laboratory tests and resumed some work, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began.
The Vatican’s evening bulletin was more upbeat than in recent days, as the 88-year-old Francis battles pneumonia in both lungs at Rome's Gemelli hospital. The pope has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, and doctors have said his condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease.
But in Monday's update, doctors said the pope hadn’t had any more respiratory crises since Saturday, and the supplemental oxygen he is using continued but with a slightly reduced oxygen flow and concentrations.
In addition, a slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was not causing alarm at the moment, doctors said, while saying his prognosis remained guarded.
Pope Francis received the Eucharist Monday morning, and resumed working in the afternoon.
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In Buffalo, Bishop Michael Fisher is offering a Mass for the pontiff on Tuesday out of concern for the declining health of Pope Francis. This will allow the Western New York faithful an opportunity to unite their hearts and minds in the Eucharist, and to offer intercession for the seriously ill Holy Father.
Mass will be at St. Joseph Cathedral, located at 50 Franklin Street in Downtown Buffalo, at 12:10 p.m. Bishop Fisher will be the main celebrant and homilist at this special Mass for Pope Francis.
Across Western New York, a number of local parishioners are keeping the pope in their prayers, wishing for a full recovery for the 88-year-old.
"He has been a remarkable shepherd for the church. Very inclusive, very welcoming, very understanding that all of us are sinners, and one of his classic lines was, 'Who am I to judge?' Boy, that is something we should all remember. So I think he has been amazing," said Nancy Nielsen, parishioner at Nativity of Our Lord in Orchard Park. "He is beloved by millions and millions of people. Perhaps not by all, particularly the very conservative people within the church, he may have been a little too progressive for them. But there is prayer going on around the world for Pope Francis, and it's important to know that today, he actually seems to be somewhat improved. So that's really good news."
Nielsen believes the lasting legacy of Pope Francis is going to be one of love and inclusion.
"His papal cross I really, really love. I went to Rome and I got one of those crosses, and he blessed it. And if you look at that cross, it's a simple metal cross, an image of a shepherd with a sheep draped around his neck That, to me, is exactly the image that is his legacy," Nielsen shared with WBEN.
Michael Taheri, parishioner at St. Bernard's in the Village of Youngstown, feels Pope Francis has been a pope of mercy for most of the last 12 years.
"He's a pastoral-type father, and he's just a person who is so always focused on the social justice issues of immigration, and caring for the poor," said Taheri in an interview with WBEN.
"But I think the message is that when you look to Pope Francis, you see a pope, a person of mercy, of kindness, who really saw the downtrodden. Jesus was poor, and we're all poor, we're all broken, we're all wounded. I think that message of being merciful to each other, even to those you don't get along with, is the message that I think the pope always put forth. And hopefully the people in this community took that message to heart about being merciful, and being pastoral to each other."
Parishioner Patrick Gorman from Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Buffalo feels the potential loss of the pope would be hurtful for Catholics not only in Western New York, but across the world.
"Obviously he's the main leader of our community, and he is when we look to for direction. So whenever we're in dire straits, which a lot of dioceses are currently in, we need someone to kind of lead us through the darkness and into the light," said Gorman with WBEN.
Even through, perhaps, the most tumultuous time in the history of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese, parishioners hope that every pope is remembered in a positive way, even with the challenges the Catholic Church is facing locally, nationally and across the globe.
"I hope that most Catholics in Western New York sort of view him as someone who did the best he could for the positions that he was in, and try to make the best choices to have our faith continue long past after he passes on," Gorman said.
While Pope Francis' health may be improving, at this time, when the time does come to elect a new pope, what is it that local parishioners are hoping to see with the next pope in line?
Nielsen is hoping for a pastor with the next pope.
"I think what the lay faithful are looking for is someone who understands us, who, as He says, smells like the sheep, and really is inclusive and not punitive. He has been very powerful about the need for peace, not war, and to treat those who are in need. I think we cannot go back on that. We cannot have a pope who is anything other than that, in my opinion," Nielsen said. "So there'll be lots of prognostications about who might be among the papabile, as they refer to them, but I just hope that when this good man's time is done, we have somebody else who's very much like him."
Gorman is hopeful that the next pope is more active and more presentable to the world.
"I remember Pope John Paul, he was always everywhere. He always was involved in things. It seems like this pope, he took a step back, maybe due to his declining health. But we need someone, we need an exceptionally strong leader, at this moment. We need someone that is going to be a voice for all Catholics, not just in West New York, but nationwide," Gorman said. "So I hope that the next pope that they do bring in is something that has a lot of power, a lot of inner strength, and wants to get out there and actually continue to grow our faith, as opposed to losing it, which is what's unfortunately happening in a lot of cities."
In addition, Gorman is hoping the next pope can be a better communicator, and give the bishops in cities like Buffalo the guidance as to how to continue the path of the Catholic Church and streamline the dioceses.
As for Taheri, he would like to see the pope, if it's not Pope Francis, to be able to show some more leadership.
"We've got so much litigation, so many legal expenses. Those are secular issues, but they need to be closed down, whether it's the clergy abuse. I understand there are other types of litigation involved, and these parish mergers are a disaster, we have fewer and fewer priests. So I think we need a pope that continues the message of Pope Francis of mercy and kindness, and seeing the need of those most broken and most wounded. I think that's just a great message for us all. The church is a hospital field, and we need to tend to those who are wounded," Taheri said.