The world urgently needs dialogue that promotes a culture of peace and nonviolence, and concrete efforts aimed toward that end, Pope Francis said.

Any Catholic who participates in the celebration July 24 of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly can receive a plenary indulgence, the Vatican announced.

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, former Vatican secretary of state and former dean of the College of Cardinals, died in Rome May 27 at the age of 94.

Pope Francis announced he will create 21 new cardinals Aug. 27, including 68-year-old Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego, California.

Various orders of women religious said that lamenting the May 24 mass killing of 19 children and two of their teachers in Uvalde, Texas, also should accompany action so that it doesn’t happen again.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bills May 25, saying he has kept his promise to voters to “sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk.”

Pope Francis and Ukrainian families in Rome will gather May 31 before a statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, to recite the rosary for peace in Ukraine and in other places at war.

Ivan Dmytriiev, 17, a Ukrainian refugee who arrived in the United States with his 6-year-old brother, Mykhailo, after a harrowing escape from his country just after Russia launched its invasion there, is attending DeMatha Catholic High School.

San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller said it was important to be with the people suffering from the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, tragedy to remind them they are not alone, give them the support they need and most of all just show them “love, love, love.”

The congregation at the Maritime Day Mass in Washington May 21 prayed for “safe harbor” in heaven for mariners and other seafarers who died in the last year and for the protection of “our brothers and sisters” currently plying the waters aboard vessels delivering goods to the world.