Nearly a decade after Pope Francis plucked them from a refugee camp in Greece, a Syrian couple and their child have carved out a quiet life in suburban Rome.

The theme of the retreat, which will take place from the evening of March 9 through the morning of March 14, is “The Hope of Eternal Life,” the Vatican announced Tuesday.

Recovery for the 88-year-old Holy Father “will certainly not be imminent,” Vatican officials cautioned, indicating a potentially extended hospital stay.

Pope Francis was recuperating on Tuesday morning, from two episodes of acute respiratory distress, requiring a return to noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

Just outside the hospital, hundreds of the faithful with their own stories stop to pray every day at the feet of the statue of St. John Paul II.

TORVAIANICA, Italy (AP) — Moira Camila Garnica and a group of fellow migrant transgender women have been gathering at their parish church to pray for Pope Francis as he continues to battle pneumonia in a Rome hospital, about an hour away from this modest seaside town.

People in Rome and the Vatican are relying on their faith as they cope with the daily anxiety waiting to hear about the pope’s health.

Pope Francis was a frequent visitor to Rome long before he became pope, and over time found his favorite shops and artisans who are now pulling for him as he battles double pneumonia.