Celebrating Mass Dec. 5 in Athens’ Megaron concert hall, the pontiff touched on a theme he had explored in depth with Catholic leaders the day before: the blessing and spiritual advantage of being a small community without power and without pretenses.
Pope Francis often says that migrants are more than mere numbers, but people with names and faces. On Sunday, he had the opportunity to look into these faces himself during a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos.
Pope Francis arrived in Greece Saturday issuing a searing critique of the state of Europe, where he said democracy is waning in favor of a nationalist agenda that has forgotten the pursuit of solidarity and common good that he insisted are characteristic of the Old Continent’s roots.
Representatives of various congregations which gather across Brooklyn and Queens — and around the world — say the “Nativity Fast” launches many believers on a rewarding journey that ends on Christmas Eve.
On his second day in Cyprus, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for the island’s Catholic community and said the only way to truly recover from the tensions that still divide the country is to seek healing in Jesus together, as brothers and sisters.
The Lebanese designer for Pope Francis’ vestments for Mass in Cyprus chose simple fabric and symbols that figure prominently in the island nation.
The Catholic Church is a mosaic of different rites and cultures and must show the world the beauty of welcoming all people as brothers and sisters, Pope Francis told the Catholics of Cyprus.
On the first Monday of Advent, it was revealed the European Union was attempting to ban the use of the word “Christmas” in an internal dossier promoting “an inclusive communication.”
Pope Francis asked visitors in St. Peter’s Square to join him for a moment of silent prayer for migrants, especially those who recently drowned in the English Channel and in the Mediterranean and those who are freezing on the border of Belarus and Poland.
Just days ahead of Pope Francis’ Dec. 2-6 visit to Greece and Cyprus, both he and the Cypriot ambassador to the Holy See have issued statements highlighting, among other things, the urgency of the migration issue for the island nation and the broader Mediterranean region.
