At the end of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square March 8, International Women’s Day, Pope Francis led a round of applause for women.

If Jews, Christians and Muslims truly recognize Jerusalem as a sacred city, their desire for the city to be at peace must come before any political claim on its territory, Pope Francis said.

Taking in and welcoming others must be done without expecting anything from them in return, Pope Francis said.

The mission to spread the Gospel message of God’s love and of salvation in Christ is entrusted to all the baptized who are called to work together and never set out alone, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis named five new members to his international Council of Cardinals and renewed the mandate of four current members, the Vatican announced March 7.

Pope Francis will open a Lenten prayer and penance initiative at a Rome parish March 17 rather than in St. Peter’s Basilica as in past years.

Speaking to some 25,000 visitors gathered to pray the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square March 5, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew of Jesus’ Transfiguration, in which he appears to the disciples in radiant glory.

Human traffickers must be stopped from risking the lives of migrants traveling in search of a better future, Pope Francis said.

The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2021, while the number of seminarians, priests, and men and women in religious orders declined, according to Vatican statistics.

In the first Lenten reflection for the Roman Curia delivered by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa March 3, the Capuchin friar said that Vatican II showed the church how “to walk through history, alongside humanity, trying to discern the signs of the times.”