Back in January, Pope Francis asked that this Sunday be observed as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, since July 26th is the feast of Saints Joachim & Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.
Pope Francis
There Never is a Time When We Can Do Without Mary, Our Heavenly Mother
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, offered us a reflection on the Coronavirus pandemic in his book, “Let Us Dream; A Path to The Future.” As he began the book, Pope Francis said, “The question is whether you are gong to come through this crisis and if so, how? The basic rule of a crisis is that you do not come out of it the same.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Iraq-first-communion-1024x571-1-140x78.jpg)
For Iraqi Christians, Scenes of Both Horror and Hope
As Iraqis sort through the rubble of the latest terrorist attack Tuesday, an attack on a busy market in downtown Baghdad that left at least 30 people dead, one Catholic priest in Iraq says it’s important not just to focus on the horror of life in the country but also the hope.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210720T1345-POPE-MEXICAN-TOWN-SOLIDARITY-1505046-140x93.jpg)
Pope Offers his Solidarity in Letter to Cartel-afflicted Mexican Diocese
Pope Francis sent a letter of encouragement to residents of a Mexican diocese afflicted by battling drug cartels, a conflict that has cast attention on the lawlessness covering wide swaths of Mexico and the government’s inability to pacify the country.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210719T1400-LEBANON-RAI-INTERCESSION-CHARBEL-1505004-140x93.jpg)
Cardinal Implores Saint’s Intercession to Overcome Lebanon’s Crisis
Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite patriarch, pleaded for the intercession of Lebanon’s beloved St. Charbel Makhlouf as the beleaguered country spirals deeper into collapse, further roiled by the resignation of the prime minister-designate.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210719T0800-POPE-ANGELUS-CUBA-1504929-140x93.jpg)
As Pope Francis Prays For Cuba, Cubans Who Heard Him Voice Anguish
Pope Francis, Sunday, expressed closeness to Cuba in his traditional noontime Angelus address, and he voiced the hope that the country will become more just and fraternal. While those words may elicit only quiet reaction within Cuba itself, a band of Cuban expatriates who gathered in St. Peter’s Square didn’t disguise their anguish.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/POPE-GERMANY-FLOODS-2-140x100.jpg)
Priests Join Emergency Response to Catastrophic Flooding in Germany
In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, a particularly hard-hit area south of Bonn, one priest, Father Joerg Meyrer, helped in the emergency response. He told the German Catholic news agency KNA that the area was completely without fresh water and electricity.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210702T1530-LATIN-MASS-1251361-140x93.jpg)
Appealing to Need for Unity, Pope Francis Restores Limits on Traditional Latin Mass
Saying he was acting for the good of the unity of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has restored limits on the celebration of the Mass according to the Roman Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council, overturning or severely restricting permissions St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI had given to celebrate the so-called Tridentine-rite Mass.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Jesus-Over-Guevara-CubaSB-140x93.jpg)
Auxiliary Bishop Cisneros Recalls Cuba’s Repression of Catholics, From Revolution to Recent Protests
Jesuit priests may have educated the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro but, as a Communist dictator, he sought to separate people from religion — a grim legacy that Catholics still struggle to overcome.
![](https://thetablet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210714T0700-POPE-HOSPITAL-RELEASE-1476780-140x93.jpg)
Pope Francis Released From Hospital, Prays at Rome Basilica
Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican confirmed.