People around the world are praying for Pope Francis as Tuesday marks his 11th day in critical condition with double pneumonia.

What You Need To Know

  • As Pope Francis approaches two weeks in the hospital in critical condition, people around the world pray for his recovery

  • Gardner-Webb University historical theology professor Dr. Steve Harmon met Pope Francis and now shares the pope’s teachings with his students

  • Pope Francis continues to work from his hospital room despite battling double pneumonia and early kidney failure

Thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square Monday night praying for his recovery.

North Carolinians with a personal connection to the pope are spreading his messages of hope to those around them. Dr. Steve Harmon has a connection.

Harmon teaches historical theology at Gardner-Webb University. He’s been preaching since he was in high school. And, while he was raised Baptist, a lot of his high school classmates were Catholic. That later inspired his work with the Baptist World Alliance, which brings different Christian denominations together, leading him to meet Pope Benedict and most recently Pope Francis.

“It was certainly an honor to meet Pope Francis,” Harmon said.

Their 2022 meeting was just as Harmon imagined it would be.

“Pope Francis was as many people experienced — warm, very personable, very engaged with the people and concerned about them,” he said.“Pope Francis was as many people experienced — warm, very personable, very engaged with the people and concerned about them,” he said.

When he learned of Pope Francis’ critical condition in the hospital, facing double pneumonia and early kidney failure, he started to do what the pope does for many others, pray for him.

“In many ways I feel attached to this pope, not only because I met him personally, but because of his heart for the world,” he said.

It drives him to use the pope’s lessons in his own classroom.

“We have a unit on environmental ethics: ethological theology,” Harmon said. “In one of the texts we read together and discuss in that class is Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.”

They are teachings he hopes to pass down long beyond Pope Francis’ tenure.

“A lot of the things that he cares about — the flourishing of human life, the plight to the poor, the environment and human harm done to the environment — I think he has inspired others, and not only Catholics to care about those things,” he said.

According to the Vatican, Pope Francis had another restful night and continues to work from his hospital room.

The Vatican said he still calls the Gaza Parish every day to pray for them.