In less than a month, Pope Francis will make his second journey outside Rome of the year. He will visit the Italian city of Verona, the setting of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” where he will participate in an event dedicated to promoting peace and meet with local clergy and youth.
The rusted wrought iron frame and grate of an old well became a garden of crocheted flowers inside the courtyard of the Giudecca women’s prison in Venice. The handmade garlands also adorned the archways’ brick columns and copper drainpipes.
Meeting with thousands of Italian grandparents and their children and grandchildren, Pope Francis insisted repeatedly, “Love makes us better.”
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.
In an oasis in the eastern desert of Egypt hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains 140 miles southeast of Cairo, sits the oldest monastic building in the world, dating back to the third century. The Monastery of St. Anthony was formed in a cave inside a mountain by St. Anthony, the founder and father of Christian monasticism.
President Joe Biden on April 24 said the U.S. will begin sending military aid to Ukraine within “the next few hours” after he signed legislation sent to him by Congress approving $95 billion in foreign aid to provide weapons and support to key U.S. allies including Ukraine and Israel — as well as billions in humanitarian aid — after a monthslong process.
More than 50,000 Catholics in Sri Lanka have appealed to the Vatican to recognize the 171 victims of the 2019 Easter massacre as martyrs. This tragedy unfolded on April 21, 2019, when eight suicide bombers struck two Catholic churches, a Protestant church, and three luxury hotels, resulting in the loss of 269 lives and leaving over 500 wounded.
When Cardinal Timothy Dolan recently met with victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and families of hostages taken during it, he said what stood out was that in a “land of broken hearts,” people will not give up on peace.
Peace can spread and grow from “small seeds” like including someone who is left out of an activity, showing concern for someone who is struggling, picking up some litter and praying for God’s help, Pope Francis told Italian schoolchildren.
Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals continued their discussions about the role of women in the church, listening to women experts, including a professor who spoke about how culture impacts women’s roles and status.
