Photo Essays to explain what words cannot describe.
"For you I am a bishop; with you I am a Christian" These words Pope Leo XIV spoke, quoting his spiritual father, St. Augustine, in his first address after his May 8 election. Over the weeks since, Pope Leo has followed a busy schedule of meetings, public appearances, liturgies and visits with public figures and [...]
Pope Francis prays in the atrium of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, March 27, 2020. The Pope led a prayer service for the world suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, and gave his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). The service was live-streamed because of COVID-19 quarantines. (CNS photo/ Yara Nardi, [...]
“This Day You Will Be With Me in Paradise” The “Second Word” of Christ on the Cross Was Spoken to the Good Thief, After He Asked, “Remember Me, O Lord, When You Come Into Your Kingdom” And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were come [...]
Lent Way of Silence Lent is a time to celebrate Our Lord’s sacrifice on Calvary as “a thing present” — not merely a memorial, but a living reality: “All seasons, most beloved, engage the minds of Christians with the mystery of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection; nor is there any service of our religion in which [...]
At the end of the Palm procession in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis blesses palms and olive branches in front of the Obelisk (photo Grzegorz Galazka) The Liturgical Celebrations of Holy Week Unfolded with No Violent Incidents Despite Fears following the March 22 Terrorist Bombings in Brussels Pope Francis in his Palm Sunday 2016 [...]
Pope proclaims Sri Lanka’s first saint, right to religious freedom Interreligious meeting in Sri Lanka. Canonizing Sri Lanka’s first saint, who ministered to Catholics under persecution three centuries earlier, Pope Francis proclaimed what he called the “fundamental human right” of religious freedom. “Each individual must be free, alone or in association with others, to [...]
Sri Lanka, Madhu. The people of Sri Lanka recently ended 25 years of ethnic and religious civil war, and the central message of Pope Francis during his three-day visit to the island was “reconciliation.” He said that would require people to accept persistent differences within their society. And, he said, “the process of healing [...]
On First Trip to a European Country, Francis Moved to Tears Two survivors of Albania’s communist crackdown against the Church brought Pope Francis to tears with their stories during a vespers service in Tirana’s cathedral September 21. “To hear a martyr talk about his own martyrdom is intense,” the Pope told journalists on the papal plane [...]
Pope Francis began his pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a stop in Jordan and called for religious freedom. MAY 24, 2014 AMMAN, Jordan Pope, Arriving in Holy Land, Calls for Religious Freedom in Middle East Pope Francis began a densely packed visit to the Holy Land with a call for religious freedom in [...]
The images of the two new saints hanging from the balconies of St. Peter’s Basilica (the image of John Paul was a 1989 photo by our photographer Grzegorz Galazka) and an aerial photo of the vast crowd during the April 27 Mass. On April 27 in Rome, the Feast of Divine Mercy, Pope Francis [...]
