Pope Francis said his heart was “broken” by the war in Ukraine, and he pleaded again, “Silence the weapons!”

As Russia continued its assault on Ukraine and Russian troops pressed toward the capital, Kyiv, Pope Francis left the Vatican Feb. 25 to pay a visit to the Russian ambassador to the Holy See.

Reflecting themes he has emphasized throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis participated Feb. 24 in a webinar with university students from North, Central and South America to discuss Building Bridges North-South.

Ambassadors to the Holy See, priests, religious and laity packed Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere to overflowing Feb. 24, pleading to God for peace in Ukraine.

As the threat of war loomed over the world, Pope Francis called on people to pray and fast for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday.

The Vatican is looking for designs for the official logo for the Holy Year 2025 that will highlight its theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Pope Francis has confirmed that members of the Fraternity of St. Peter may continue to celebrate the Mass, sacraments and Liturgy of the Hours using the pre-Vatican II texts and forms, the fraternity said.

Promoting better collaboration between women and men in the Catholic Church is not primarily about equality but about allowing the church to fulfill the mission given to it by God, said women speakers at a Vatican conference on priesthood.

The requirement that most priests in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church be celibate has theological and spiritual foundations and not only practical motivations, said speakers at an international conference on priesthood.

Meeting leaders of the Eastern Catholic churches — many from countries at war, facing the threat of war or dealing with the destruction left by war — Pope Francis said human beings seem to be “attached to wars, and this is tragic.”