Pope Francis praying for baby Indi Gregory and her family

By Vatican News

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, has conveyed Pope Francis’ closeness and prayers to the family of Indi Gregory.

The 8-month-old British baby is suffering from an incurable disease and her parents have been involved in a legal battle to keep her on life-support.

In a statement released on Saturday, Mr. Bruni said, ”Pope Francis embraces the family of little Indi Gregory, her father, and her mother; prays for them and for her, and turns his thoughts to all the children around the world who, at this very hour, are living in pain or whose lives are at risk because of illness or war.”

Indi Gregory, born on 24 February 2023, suffers from a rare degenerative mitochondrial disease and has been receiving life-sustaining treatment on a ventilator at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, England.

Doctors say the treatment she receives causes pain and is futile. Judges have confirmed that it is not in her best interests for her critical care to continue and have rejected Indi’s parents’ request to have her transferred to the Vatican’s Bambino Gesù paediatric hospital in Rome.

In an effort to save Gregory’s life, the Italian government has decided to grant her Italian citizenship and cover the cost of her medical treatment in Italy.

However, on Friday, 10 November, the UK High Court ruled that her life support should be removed “immediately,” though the time and location was not specified.

The ruling stated that the attempted Italian intervention in the case is “not in the spirit” of the 1996 Hague Convention, to which both the UK and Italy are parties.