Catholics from across Argentina have flocked to churches to pray for the recovery of native son Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope in history.

A lawyer for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally gunning down U.S. health insurance executive Brian Thompson in December, told a judge Friday that her client was illegally searched during his arrest and she would seek to exclude that evidence from his trial on state murder and terrorism charges.

Francis was also given blood transfusions, according to the Vatican, after blood tests revealed he was suffering from thrombocytopenia, meaning the platelet count in his blood was too low, a condition the doctors said is associated with anemia. Infections and medical treatment may lower platelet count.