The input and feedback coming from those taking part in the synodal journey underway around the world have inspired feelings of gratitude, hope and deeper faith for the many people involved with the process, said a panel of officials and organizers for the Synod of Bishops.

John Mundell considers it “an incredible honor” that he was recently chosen as the director of the worldwide effort to put Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home” into action.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who was expected to meet Pope Francis at the Congress of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan, will not attend the interreligious gathering in September, a senior Russian Orthodox bishop said.

Elderly men and women are called to pass on their wisdom and shine a path toward a better tomorrow for future generations, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis will lead a number of major events at the end of August, starting with the creation of 20 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Marking the six-month anniversary of the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for prayers for an end to “the horror of war.”

Two state-sponsored church bodies in China have elected new leaders, who promised to invigorate the Catholic faithful pastorally in line with the socialist principles of the Chinese Communist Party.

Jesus’ image of entering the kingdom of heaven through a “narrow gate” does not mean that “only a few are destined to go through it” but instead means living “one’s life in love, in service, and in giving oneself as he did,” the pope said during his Sunday Angelus address.

Pope Francis offered prayers and condolences to the victims of a fire in an Orthodox Church that took the lives of 41 people — including 18 children — who died in a fire in Egypt’s capital, Cairo.

While the purpose of Pope Francis’ visit to Kazakhstan will be to attend the Congress of World and Traditional Religions, the interreligious meeting also will serve as the backdrop for his long-awaited meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.