On the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, the words and gestures of three popes still echo through the grief of that day — from St. John Paul II’s immediate prayers for a shaken nation, to Pope Benedict XVI’s silent visit to ground zero, to Pope Francis’ rose placed at one of the memorial’s reflecting pools.
A plan for Pope Leo XIV to visit Lebanon as well as Turkey in late November and early December is being studied, a Vatican official said.
For months, rumors have circulated that Pope Francis could be set to resign later this summer, at least in part due to his ongoing health struggles. However, comments from both Pope Francis and his top aides suggest that rather than winding down, his schedule is actually picking up.
When Pope Francis visits Canada July 24-29, Oneida First Nation activist Daisee Francour and her colleagues at the U.S.-based international Indigenous nongovernmental organization Cultural Survival will be paying close attention.
Speaking at the largest Roma impoverished community in Europe, Pope Francis said they are not in the margins of the Catholic Church, but at its center, and that they should be at the center of society too, integrated and not hidden from view.
Pope Francis said on Tuesday, Sept. 14, that the cross is not a flag to be waved, nor a political symbol. The pontiff’’s remarks were seen as a rebuke of populist politicians such as Matteo Salvini in Italy and Viktor Orban in Hungary using religious symbols as political tools.
Speaking in the place that was once the beating heart of Slovakia’s Jewish quarter, Pope Francis asked for Jews and Christians to work together so that the past is not forgotten, and religion doesn’t become irrelevant.
Less than three weeks from Pope Francis’ highly anticipated trip to Iraq, the local government on Feb.14 announced new restrictions to try to curb the spread of COVID-19, which includes the closure of all houses of worship until the last day of his March 5-8 visit.
Despite renewed security concerns after a series of recent terrorist attacks, one of Iraq’s top prelates has said preparations for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit are still underway, calling it a sign of hope that peace is possible in the war-torn nation.
Although the thought of standing with throngs of people for hours at a time seems foreign now in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it was something tens of thousands of Catholics were happy to do in Washington, New York and Philadelphia when Pope Francis made his visit to the United States five years ago.
