Hundreds attend special mass in Pope Francis's home city, Buenos Aires

Hundreds of Argentines attended a special mass Monday for their countryman Pope Francis, hospitalized in a critical condition with pneumonia in Rome.

They gathered on the same square in Buenos Aires where as archbishop, Jorge Bergoglio used to give mass and rail against inequality and injustice.

Waving Argentine flags and placards wishing the pontiff a speedy recovery, the faithful prayed, sang hymns, partook in the eucharist, and chanted: "Viva el Papa Francisco" (Long Live Pope Francis.)

"May our prayer be the breath of fresh air that reaches his lungs," Jorge Garcia Cuerva, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, said in his sermon.

Among the crowd, well-wisher Mariana Martinez, 49, told AFP that Bergoglio, before leaving Argentina in 2013 to take up the papacy, "was the first priest I came across on a subway. And seeing him close, to the people, I always liked. That is why he is my mentor, he is my father, and he is my priest."

Francis, 88, has been diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs. The Vatican said Monday he remained in a critical condition but reported a "slight improvement."