A holy year is an opportunity to start fresh with one’s relationship with God and with other people, Pope Francis told thousands of pilgrims.

The Vatican’s top diplomat met with papal representatives to various Middle Eastern countries to discuss possible avenues toward peace in the region and the state of the Catholic Church there.

While calling himself an “old man” and saying he never expected to be pope this long, Pope Francis said he still has dreams for the future.

Pope Francis has named three U.S. experts — two women and an abbot — to be members of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a position once reserved for cardinals and bishops.

The Italian bishops’ new program of priestly formation, approved by the Vatican, repeats a prohibition against admitting to the seminary men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies,” but also says that being gay does not automatically exclude a candidate.

“It’s quite an honor for her to be here with the likes of St. Oscar Romero,” Tom Stang said after a relic of his sister was placed on an altar in Rome alongside a relic of the martyred archbishop from El Salvador.

God has not abandoned the Romani people even if it often seemed that the society and even Catholic Church had, Pope Francis said.

When children are baptized, their parents and the church are giving them the greatest gift ever: the gift of faith, Pope Francis said before baptizing 21 infants in the Sistine Chapel.

“I am praying for all of you,” Pope Francis said, using his televised Sunday Angelus address to speak directly to the people impacted by the wildfires in Southern California.

President Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the nation’s highest civilian honor, the White House said Jan. 11.