VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis extolled Wednesday the “apostolic zeal” of St. Daniele Comboni, an Italian missionary priest and bishop who fought to end slavery in Africa. Comboni witnessed “the horror of slavery” as a missionary in the mid-19th century in what is now Sudan. In his writings, he spoke of slavery more than 450 […]
Most World Youth Day pilgrims will say the highlight of the international event is closing Mass with the pope on Sunday morning. St. John Paul II began the tradition in 1985. It has been continued by Pope Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. “The closing Mass was great,” said Sarah Leahy, youth minister for Our […]
Pope Francis offered his condolences after at least 55 people died in wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The pope sent a condolence telegram on Friday expressing his sadness and solidarity with all who are suffering due to the destruction caused by the wildfires, which have destroyed hundreds of buildings and left scores missing […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed the news from the Holy See’s General Secretariat of the Synod of the delegates appointed for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to be held this October. The two episcopal conferences serve as the coordinating […]
ROME — Pope Francis’ doctors expect the pope to be discharged from the hospital “in the next few days,” according to the Vatican. The 86-year-old pope is currently recovering in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital one week after he underwent a three-hour surgery for an incisional hernia. A team of surgeons removed scar tissue and operated on […]
VATICAN CITY — One of Pope Francis’ last gestures before undergoing abdominal surgery on Wednesday was to pray before a relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. A relic of the French Carmelite nun, also known as St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, was present on the platform in front of St. Peter’s Basilica during the […]
Pope Francis canceled meetings on Friday morning due to a fever, a Vatican spokesman confirmed. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told CNA that “due to a feverish condition, Pope Francis did not receive (anyone) in audience this morning.” As of Friday afternoon, the pope does not have any public appointments scheduled […]
ROME — The Vatican announced Wednesday that there will be laypeople participating as voting members in the Synod on Synodality’s October assembly, a break with past custom, which allowed laypeople to participate without the right to vote. Pope Francis will also approve every member in advance. The general assembly of the Synod on Synodality will […]
ROME — While the world today can view sickness and suffering as meaningless, Pope Francis wants everyone to remember that Christ has the power to transform suffering into love. Suffering places a person at a crossroads, the pope said Thursday, April 20 during an audience with the Pontifical Biblical Institute. “He can allow suffering to […]
ROME — The Vatican announced Thursday the date and theme for the third annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. The event will take place this year on July 23, the Sunday before the feast of SS. Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus, and the theme for the day, selected by the pope, […]
