Pope Francis closed a marathon of activities and messages over the weekend May 31 with a livestreamed Mass on the feast of Pentecost, insisting the Holy Spirit is a gift from God that unites and for whom distinctions such as “conservative” or “progressive” have no meaning.
On May 30, Pope Francis will be praying a rosary to implore Mary’s intercession and protection amid the pandemic.
Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, clearing the way for his beatification.
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
On May 18, we commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II, and now St. John Paul II. I would like to share my reflection about St. John Paul II and me.
St. Pope John Paul II, the longest reigning pope in modern history, was born May 18, 1920, and the national shrine in Washington dedicated to the pontiff will celebrate the centennial of his birth with a series of virtual events May 16-22.
The continuity between St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis is rooted in the message of God’s divine mercy for all men and women, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said in a letter commemorating his predecessor’s birth.
During his early morning Mass, Pope Francis joined leaders of every religion marking May 14 as a day of prayer, fasting and acts of charity to ask God to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 12, the Vatican announced that with public Masses set to resume in Italy this weekend as coronavirus restrictions ease, Pope Francis’s daily Masses at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta guesthouse will no longer be livestreamed.
As the number of global COVID-19 coronavirus infections continues to rise, notably among healthcare workers, Pope Francis in his daily Mass on May 12 offered special prayers for nurses on International Nurses Day.
Praying for families around the world who have been restricted to their homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis included mention of victims of domestic violence.
