Ash Wednesday 2022 marked the first time since the pandemic uprooted everyone’s lives that Catholics were able to take part in the holy day in a normal fashion. It also marked Bishop Robert Brennan’s first Ash Wednesday since becoming Bishop of Brooklyn in November.
Prayer, charity and fasting have a medicinal power to purify oneself, help others and change history, Pope Francis wrote in a homily read by Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Coexistence between older and younger generations can bring about a better appreciation for life that is often lost in today’s fast-paced society, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis praised Poland’s welcoming of refugees escaping the violence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Pope Francis knows his appeals for an end to the war in Ukraine carry little weight with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he also knows he has an obligation to continue speaking out and rallying others to join him in praying for peace.
When leaders at Loyola University Chicago set out to find a way to discuss the upcoming world Synod of Bishops on synodality with students, they did not set out to host a dialogue with Pope Francis.
The Vatican is ready to facilitate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.
Pope Francis said his heart was “broken” by the war in Ukraine, and he pleaded again, “Silence the weapons!”
As Russian troops approached Ukraine’s capital, Pope Francis phoned the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, offering his encouragement and promising, “I will do everything I can” to help.
On a day when the world saw the heart-rending images of Russia launching a brutal invasion of Ukraine, people gathered at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington Feb. 24.
