Visiting a lagoon of tiny islands, canals and narrow walkways for one day, Pope Francis moved around Venice by boat, bridge and electric golf cart.

Some 80 female detainees, prison staff and volunteers applauded and smiled when Pope Francis told them he wanted to meet them first on his one-day visit to Venice April 28 to tell them, “You have a special place in my heart.”

Those who attend silent retreats say that silence and solitude is an essential, although often uncomfortable, prerequisite to an encounter with God.

An Argentine priest who works with the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people is hopeful that Pope Francis will visit the community during a proposed trip to the pontiff’s homeland later this year.

Speaking at a conference April 18, Father Baggot said that while Catholics must have “an awareness of human sin and the capacity to misuse technology” when thinking about artificial intelligence, they must also have “confidence in grace, in redemption and the ability to harness these technologies well.”

A religious sister best known for helping more than 100,000 migrants and asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Texas was in Chicago April 15 to share her artwork nationally for the first time and reiterate a message of love.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Pope Francis would participate in a G7 “outreach” discussion on artificial intelligence when the leaders of the world’s leading industrialized nations countries meet in southern Italy in mid-June.

Catholic evangelists are handing out rosaries, asking fans if they need prayers, and inviting them to tour Detroit’s historic churches as hundreds of thousands of people congregate in downtown Detroit for the 2024 NFL draft, which began April 25 in Cadillac Square.

While misusing modern forms of media dulls the mind, games like checkers are a simple way to stimulate one’s intellect and foster community, Pope Francis said.

In response to the public health emergency due to the dengue virus, Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves of San Juan, Puerto Rico, called on the faithful to take action and “be instruments of everyone’s right to health.”