"I will sing at the Policlinico Gemelli. I hope that Pope Francis...": Al Bano's announcement

This morning, Monday 24 February, during a meeting with students of the Nursing and Physiotherapy courses at the ASL University Campus in Brindisi, Al Bano Carrisi announced: "I will go and sing at the Gemelli on 7 March. I hope that Pope Francis will have already been discharged by that day, but if he is still there we have prepared an extraordinary Ave Maria by Gounod to dedicate to him".

In short, a concert by Al Bano where, today, the Pope is hospitalized. The event, already scheduled, will see the famous singer perform at the invitation of Professor Giorgio Meneschincheri , accompanied by the Guardia di Finanza symphonic band. During the meeting, Al Bano addressed a heartfelt wish to the Pope: "Get well soon because we need you, up there the Good Lord can wait a little longer".

According to the latest medical bulletin released by the Vatican Press Office, Pope Francis, hospitalized at the Gemelli Polyclinic since February 14 for bilateral pneumonia, spent a peaceful night, resting well. His condition remains critical, but stable: no further respiratory crises have occurred and the Pontiff is alert and in good spirits. The prognosis obviously remains reserved. What is worrying, however, are the words of the Gemelli chaplain, who spoke of "hope beyond hope".