As Pope Francis spoke to a joint meeting of Congress Sept. 24, the members of the House and Senate vacillated between their usual response to similar addresses and intensely focusing on the pontiff’s heavily accented, carefully pronounced delivery of a text in English.
Acknowledging the real challenges and burdens the U.S. bishops face in their ministry, Pope Francis shared with them his own experience as a pastor and urged them to keep their eyes focused on Jesus and their hearts open to others.
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller believes Pope Francis’ call for the church to serve immigrants and people on the move around the world will inspire the church to respond with love and care for people seeking a new home.
Pope Francis urged the hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Pa., to serve and care for each other as freely as God loves the human family.
When Pope Francis celebrated Mass for 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden, the Brooklyn Diocese was well represented – on and off the altar.
Photos from Pope Francis around the United States.
At the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Pope Francis said prisons must focus on rehabilitation, and he insisted that no one is perfect and without need of forgiveness.
Pope Francis greets students and talks with immigrant families at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem (photos)
Being one of 2,500 people in attendance for evening prayers with Pope Francis at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Manhattan, Sept. 24, seminarian Mark Bristol described the experience as intimate.
After silently praying at the 9/11 Memorial in Downtown Manhattan Sept. 25, Pope Francis entered the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, where he mourned the victims of the “senseless act of destruction” and asked more than 400 religious representatives to be prophets of reconciliation and peace.
