Like St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native North American woman to be canonized, all Christians must embrace their unique call to service of God and neighbor as well as the personal crosses that come with it, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis confirmed plans to publish a “second Laudato Si’,” which is expected to update and expand on his 2015 encyclical on the environment.

Pope Francis asked a group of Italian journalists to shun fake news and a love of scandal, including when covering the Catholic Church and the upcoming assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

Pope Francis asked people to accompany him to “the heart of Asia,” Mongolia, with their prayers.

Although Russia’s continuing war on Ukraine may make peace seem an impossible dream, Pope Francis urged young Russian Catholics to sow seeds of reconciliation and peace however they can.

Pope Francis prayed that God would raise up a new generation of “well-educated and faithful Catholics leaders committed to promoting the church’s social and ethical teachings” through public service, especially in politics.

If Jesus were just a great teacher or prophet or even hero from the past, imitating him and following him on the path to holiness would be impossible, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church in the United States has “a very strong reactionary” element that is well-organized and refuses to see how Catholic doctrine can and must grow and mature, Pope Francis told Jesuits in Portugal.

Ahead of the ecumenical celebrations of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Sept. 1 and the monthlong “Season of Creation,” Pope Francis said he is writing a follow-up document to his 2015 encyclical on the environment.

– In the eyes of the world it would appear “absurd” to begin helping the poor and struggling for justice by spending time in adoration before the Eucharist, Pope Francis said, but that is precisely what an Italy-based religious order has been doing for 100 years.