Pope Pius VII, a prisoner of Napoleon from 1809 to 1814, endured humiliation but successfully resisted all attempts to fracture the unity of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said.
Jesus laid down his life out of love for each person, pope says
When Jesus called himself the “good shepherd,” he was telling people not only that he was their guide, but that they were important to him and “that he thinks of each of us as the love of his life,” Pope Francis said.
Cardinal: Vocation is call to happiness; right path is discerned in prayer
At its most basic level, a vocation is a call to happiness, said Korean Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for Clergy.
A better world can’t be built ‘lying on the couch,’ pope tells children
Peace can spread and grow from “small seeds” like including someone who is left out of an activity, showing concern for someone who is struggling, picking up some litter and praying for God’s help, Pope Francis told Italian schoolchildren.
In age of excess, temperance helps one experience real joy, pope says
Exercising the virtue of temperance is not a recipe for a boring life, Pope Francis said, but rather it is the secret to enjoying every good thing.
Pope, Council of Cardinals continue discussion of women in the church
Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals continued their discussions about the role of women in the church, listening to women experts, including a professor who spoke about how culture impacts women’s roles and status.
Stop war from spreading throughout Middle East, pope says in message
One day before Iran launched missiles and exploding drones at Israel, Pope Francis sent a message to viewers of Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya Network pleading for peace throughout the Middle East.
Pope pleads for military restraint in the Middle East
The morning after Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel, Pope Francis pleaded with nations to avoid a further escalation of the violence.
Pope plans to travel to Asia in September, Vatican confirms
Pope Francis is planning to make the longest trip of his papacy in September, visiting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore, the Vatican press office announced.
Pope turns Rome catechism class into ‘school of prayer’
Pope Francis took over the catechism classes at St. John Vianney parish on the far eastern edge of Rome to inaugurate his “School of Prayer.”
‘Patriarch of the West’ reappears as papal title in Vatican yearbook
The 2024 edition of the Vatican yearbook has inserted “Patriarch of the West” as one of the historical titles of the pope.
Pope asks Bible scholars to highlight Jesus’ care for those who suffer
In the Bible, Jesus never explains suffering, but he reaches out to those who are hurting, heals them and ultimately, on the cross, shares and redeems the suffering of all humanity, Pope Francis said.