As thousands of people sat in the dark in St. Peter’s Square, they watched fish jump from the facade of the basilica, saw the word “no” form and dissolve three times and heard an actor reciting the part of St. Peter speak about the overwhelming love and mercy of Jesus.
ope Francis personally expressed his thanks to the four dozen people who read through hundreds of reports about the listening phase of the Synod of Bishops and, after 12 days of prayer, reflection and discussion, drafted a working document for the continental stage of the synod process.
With “rivers of blood and tears” still flowing in Ukraine and with the increasing threat of the use of nuclear weapons, Pope Francis begged Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Stop this spiral of violence and death.”
It’s too early to tell the extent of the damage in the Catholic dioceses of Venice and St. Petersburg in Florida following a direct hit Sept. 28 by Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful hurricanes the state has seen.
The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis intends to visit the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain Nov. 3-6.
Hurricane Ian made landfall Sept. 27 in Cuba’s western region of Pinar del Rio, with sustained winds of 125 mph that took down the entire island’s electric grid.
After only two days, the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court adjourned the trial of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 90, and four co-defendants, until Oct. 26.
Damage inflicted to church properties throughout the Maritimes by post-tropical storm Fiona has yet to be tabulated, but it seems for the most part Catholic Church property escaped relatively unscathed after one of the strongest weather systems to ever hit Atlantic Canada.
Canon Law experts recently met at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome to discuss annulment — what it is and isn’t — and to talk about Pope Francis’s decision to streamline the process.
By sheer coincidence, Pope Francis spent last Sunday in southern Italy, in the city of Matera, which has long been a symbol of the poverty and neglect that’s enveloped Italia meridionale, meaning the southern part of the country since the theoretical unification of the nation in 1870.
