Holiness is a gift everyone receives with baptism, and it is a journey to be made together with the help of the saints in heaven, Pope Francis said on the feast of All Saints.

Pope Francis regularly asks people to pray for him, and in October he jokingly told a group of nuns why: “This job is not easy; in fact, it’s a bit bothersome.”

The monthlong experience of synodality with cardinals, bishops, religious and laypeople from all over the world created new and wider “spaces” for everyone to feel welcome, to listen and discern God’s will together, several synod members said at the conclusion of the synod assembly’s first session.

On the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi setting up the first Nativity scene, the creche in St. Peter’s Square in 2023 will come from the Diocese of Rieti, Italy, and pay tribute to the scene set up in the diocese in 1223.

While some of the issues discussed at the synod on synodality were judged to require further study, members came up with a list of things that can or should happen immediately and others that should be considered.

A report summarizing discussions at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops said the church may need more welcoming pastoral approaches, especially to people who feel excluded, but also acknowledged fears of betraying traditional church teachings and practices.

The day after Pope Francis called for a cease-fire in the Holy Land, his foreign minister spoke by phone with the foreign minister of Iran, “reiterating the absolute need to avoid escalating the conflict,” the Vatican press office said.

To reform the church is to put God first and adore him, and to love and serve others, Pope Francis said at Mass marking the conclusion of the first session of the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

Pope Francis asked Mary to look mercifully upon the human family, “which has strayed from the path of peace,” and entrusted to her protection the world’s regions and nations at war.

Pope Francis has lifted the statute of limitations on abuse accusations against Father Marko Rupnik to allow for a formal investigation of the case by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.