In line with papal tradition, Pope Francis relayed well wishes and messages of hope and prayer to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. Biden is the second Catholic president, following John F. Kennedy, who was elected as the United States’s 35th president in Nov. 1960.
Among the many traditions surrounding a presidential inauguration, Catholics seem to have created one of their own, especially when it’s a Democrat: Mixed messages from the Vatican and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Australian Cardinal George Pell, formerly the Vatican’s top official on financial affairs, said he believes the pope’s recent reforms signal progress, and called for additional competent laypeople to be involved in the process.
Both Pope Francis and retired Pope Benedict XVI have received the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 after the Vatican started vaccinating its employees and residents Jan. 13.
The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments asked priests to take special anti-COVID-19 precautions this year when distributing ashes on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, including sprinkling ashes on the top of people’s heads rather than using them to make a cross on people’s foreheads.
After a 10-day stay in the hospital battling COVID-19, one of Pope Francis’s closest cardinals came home Jan. 1 to find a gift from the boss: An Argentinian steak.
At the beginning of a year people hope will mark the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis urged them to create a “culture of care,” including by sharing the gift of their time with others.
The Vatican will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January, giving priority to its health care workers, security personnel, employees who deal with the public and older residents, employees and retirees.
While he skipped morning Mass due to what the Vatican called a “painful sciatica,” Pope Francis was in the saddle again for his Angelus address later in the day, reflecting on the role of Mary as Mother of God and the need for a change in attitude at the end of a tumultuous year.
Known as a globe-trotting pope who conducts the bulk of his diplomacy through words and gestures during trips, Pope Francis found himself with extra time on his hands this past year with international travel brought to a halt by the coronavirus pandemic.
