VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has invited Catholics to annually renew an act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25. The solemnity of the Annunciation on Saturday marks one year since Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica with a prayer asking for […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Diocesan bishops must have Vatican authorization to allow the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Mass in a parish church, to establish a new “personal parish” for devotees of the old Mass or to allow its celebration by a priest ordained after July 2021 when Pope Francis issued rules restricting the celebration, […]
Vatican News – At 9:30 a.m. Vatican time, on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father Francis presided over the funeral Holy Mass for the late Supreme Pontiff Emeritus Benedict XVI. The Eucharistic celebration was followed by the Ultima Commendatio and the Valedictio. The coffin of the Supreme Pontiff Emeritus was taken to […]
At the beginning of his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis paid tribute to his predecessor, the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose funeral will be held on Thursday. Thousands of pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican to hear the pope and pay their respects to the pope […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will soon pack his bags for his first foreign trip of 2023, a year that promises to be as busy as ever. The pope, who celebrated his 86th birthday Dec. 17, can move quickly – in a wheelchair – and keeps saying in interviews that a functioning head and […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A person who helps others but does not worship God is a “good atheist,” while someone who claims to believe in God but does not do anything to help others “is a cynic, a liar,” Pope Francis said. Meeting with a delegation from the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires, […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Making churches accessible and services understandable is important, but having wheelchair ramps and sign-language interpreters is not enough for a parish to call itself “inclusive,” Pope Francis said. The church also must meet people’s needs for “belonging, relating to others and cultivating their spiritual lives so they experience the fullness and […]
Pope Francis released his third message for the 37th World Youth Day on Monday. In this final message of a trilogy, the Holy Father recalls the theme of the last WYD, held in 2019 in Panama: “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). […]
Today I would like to share some reflections with you on the apostolic journey I made to Canada in recent days. It was unlike the other journeys. In fact, the main motivation was to meet the indigenous peoples to express to them my closeness and my sorrow, and to ask for forgiveness – to ask […]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The only reasonable way to address the suffering of Ukrainians is to stop fighting and negotiate, Pope Francis said. Even during his busy six-day journey to Canada, “I did not cease praying for the suffering and battered Ukrainian people, asking God to free them from the scourge of war,” the pope […]
