ATLANTA — Followers of the Catholic Church are praying for Pope Francis, in Rome, at the Vatican, and here in Georgia.
Channel 2′s Karyn Greer spoke with a priest in metro Atlanta from the same Jesuit order as Pope Francis.
Ignatius House is a Jesuit retreat center in Sandy Springs that honors the spiritual tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
The Jesuit priests there have a special connection to the Holy Father, as they share the same Ignatian heritage.
Pope Francis remains in critical but stable condition according to the Vatican, battling double pneumonia.
We are told the 88-year-old pontiff had a restful night on Tuesday, but that’s not stopping the Catholic faithful from offering prayers and support, including in North Georgia.
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“Ignatius House here in Sandy Springs is one of the three ministries of the Jesuits here in Atlanta. And the Pope is a member of that same religious order that I am a member of the Jesuits. We’ve had a 500-year history, but he’s the first pope that is a Jesuit. So he, like Francis, has a special place in our hearts,” Father Jim Fleming of Ignatius House said.
There are 1.2 million people of the Catholic faith in the Atlanta archdiocese, which covers 69 counties north of, and including Lincoln, McDuffie, Warren, Hancock, Baldwin, Putnam, Jasper, Monroe, Upson, Meriwether, and Troup Counties.
Father Fleming is keeping up with all of the updates and asks that people continue to keep Pope Francis and the Catholic Church in their prayers.
The Society of Jesus, known as Jesuits in the United States, run a number of schools, like Georgetown University, Boston College, and Loyola.
Here in Atlanta, Crysto Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School in downtown Atlanta and St. Thomas More Catholic School in Decatur are Jesuit schools.
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