Yesterday, my wife and I did something we, along with most people in Rome, haven’t been able to do since March 8: We went to Mass. (We also went out to lunch for the first time in two months and 10 days, enjoying a gorgeous Roman spring day and a fine meal, but that’s a story for another time.)
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.
Pope Francis asked Catholics to make a special effort in May to pray the rosary, knowing that by doing so they will be united with believers around the world asking for Mary’s intercession in stopping the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 80 NGOs, including major Catholic service organizations, have entered into a Climate Compact pledging a “concerted, unified, and urgent action to address climate change,” through a full-scale review of their operations.
Pope Francis has agreed with a recommendation by the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life to postpone by one year the next gatherings of the World Meeting of Families and World Youth Day.
Celebrating Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis said the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity to practice mercy toward the poor and those who are suffering, particularly in the aftermath.
