This past week, the Vatican sponsored a workshop for formators and vocation directors of religious orders of women and men from around the world. It culminated in an audience with Pope Francis, who himself is a member of a religious order, the Jesuits.
Pope Francis
White House Easter Event Welcomes Cross-Section of Christians
Quoting Pope Francis and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Easter Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama observed that the celebration of Easter puts other concerns into context.
Pope Prays for Defense of Christians
Christians live the joy of the Resurrection when they share a smile with someone, weep with those who mourn and defend the rights of those persecuted for their faith, Pope Francis said.
Announcing the Holy Year
Celebrating the first vespers for Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis formally will deliver the “bull of indiction” or proclamation of the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.
Papal Preacher: Persecutions Being Ignored
Widespread indifference to the violent persecution of Christians and other communities suggests the world is full of Pontius Pilates who eagerly wash their hands of all responsibility, said Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household.
Recognizing Evil
This coming Sunday, April 12, on the feast of the Divine Mercy, Pope Francis, is scheduled to preside at an Armenian Catholic rite Divine Liturgy at St. Peter’s. The main reason why he is choosing to celebrate this Armenian liturgy on this day is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the massacre of Armenians by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, a Sunni Islamic state, in 1915.
Pope: Exhaustion Is Part of Being a Priest
Priestly ministry is hard, sometimes lonely or dangerous work serving the neediest with an open, vulnerable heart, Pope Francis told the world’s priests.
Pope Prays for Persecuted at Holy Week Services
To enter Christ’s empty tomb like the disciples and see that he has risen, Christians today also must “bend down,” Pope Francis said in his Easter message.
Pope Shares Easter Joy
As Holy Week and Easter approached, Pope Francis wanted to show his ongoing concern for people persecuted and displaced by violence in Iraq and in northern Nigeria.
Pope Will Venerate the Shroud in Turin in June
The papal visit June 21-22 also will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco, a 19th-century priest from the Turin region.