People often are tempted to think their relationship with God is some kind of commercial transaction where they buy God’s grace with their hard work, Pope Francis said.

The world and the Catholic Church today need to take a leap forward “in faith, charity and hope,” Pope Francis said in his homily at a late afternoon Mass in Marseille’s open-air stadium.

Unlike earlier meetings of the Synod of Bishops, which focused on a specific issue or a specific region of the world, the “synod on synodality” is focused on the church itself: Who belongs? How are leadership and authority exercised? How does the church discern God’s call? How can it fulfill its mandate to share the Gospel with a changing world?

In a rather unusual moment for secular France, the president of the country confirmed he will attend Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Marseille Sept. 23.

Jesuit Brother Bob Macke, a Vatican astronomer and meteorite expert, has built a custom device for studying material from the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid.

At a moving ceremony at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Pope Francis led a moment of silence for the countless lives lost in its blue but treacherous waters.

Pope Francis arrived in the ancient port city of Marseille Sept. 22 for a two-day visit that was to focus on the plight of migrants and other opportunities and threats facing the Mediterranean Sea and the nations along its shores.

In a message to an ecumenical meeting at a historic Benedictine abbey in Hungary, Pope Francis said Russia’s war on Ukraine is a reminder of what the Second Vatican Council taught: “Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself.”

On the recommendation of the Catholic bishops of mainland China in consultation with the Chinese government, Pope Francis has named two bishops from the country’s mainland as members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

With more than 450 people gathering at the Vatican from around the world for a monthlong meeting, the General Secretariat of the Synod said it is taking action to reduce the environmental impact of the synod assembly.