Vatican

Like keeping a bicycle upright when riding it, a balanced life of faith is possible only in motion, Pope Francis said.

In a celebration of life, peace, joy and harmony, thousands of children representing young people on every continent greeted Pope Francis during an afternoon event in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall.

With every act of charity and serving others, Christians must always try to “disappear” so that only the Lord and his love appear before the people they serve, Pope Francis said.

The pope celebrated a memorial Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for Pope Benedict XVI and the six cardinals and 147 bishops who died over the past year.

Pope Francis will travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates Dec. 1-3 to participate in the U.N. Climate Change Conference, the Vatican press office confirmed.

As the sun broke through the morning sky after a torrential downpour in Rome, Pope Francis was wheeled past dozens of gravestones that marked the final resting place of members of the military forces who died during and immediately after World War II.

Calling for a major push toward developing a “fundamentally contextual theology, capable of reading and interpreting the Gospel in the conditions in which men and women live each day,” Pope Francis has approved new statutes for the Pontifical Theological Academy.