Pope Francis will travel to Asti Nov. 19 for a private family celebration of his cousin’s 90th birthday, and he will celebrate a public Mass the next morning in the Asti cathedral, the Vatican said.

Reviewing one’s life is an essential step in discerning God’s call because it helps one see places where God was at work, even in small things, and also helps one recognize “toxic” thoughts of self-doubt, Pope Francis said.

Completing a project to repatriate human remains held in the Vatican Museums’ ethnological collection, the Vatican and the government of Peru signed an agreement Oct. 17 to return to Peru three mummies sent to the Vatican in 1925.

At a time when tensions are growing, fueled by “blatant misuse of social media” and by political manipulation, Catholics and Hindus are called to teach personal responsibility for civilized behavior and to promote “respect, love and trust” among people, a Vatican office said.

While many Catholic movements go through a period of confusion after their founder dies, the key to continued flourishing is to remember with gratitude the founder’s gifts and to be open to new ways or new places the Holy Spirit wants them to grow, Pope Francis told members of Communion and Liberation.

Saying he did not want to rush the process of discerning how the Holy Spirit is calling the church to grow in “synodality,” Pope Francis announced that the next assembly of the Synod of Bishops would take place in two sessions.

Prayer is medicine for one’s faith and it reinvigorates the soul, Pope Francis said.

Success in eradicating hunger will require acts of love and solidarity, not just carefully planned and executed international programs, Pope Francis said.

Young people in the United States are looking for a sense of community and a safe space in the church to express themselves freely, two representatives of Catholic youth told Pope Francis.

The Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations told a committee of the world body that “civilian populations continue to be victims of widespread and systematic attacks.”