Pope Leo XIV is said to have requested a halt to Christa Pike's execution

Pope Leo XIV allegedly asked U.S. authorities to halt the execution of Christa Pike, who was sentenced to death in Tennessee, according to the Italian publication La Repubblica. However, the Vatican did not receive a response before the procedure scheduled for Wednesday failed.

Christa Pike, 50, was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries. She was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of a 19-year-old friend, a crime committed when Pike was 18.

The execution by lethal injection could not be completed after two doses of pentobarbital were administered. The condemned woman remained alive and was transported to a hospital outside the prison. Her lawyers said Thursday that the woman is in critical condition.

The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty, and Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly called for its abolition worldwide. In April, the pontiff stated that human dignity must be protected even in the case of people convicted of extremely serious crimes. Three bishops from Tennessee also asked Governor Bill Lee to postpone the execution.