Albania

Transmit the faith with the courage of truth and witness

During his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta Pope Francis reflected on the how we announce the Gospel message saying that words are empty if they do not reflect real life. At the heart of Pope Francis’ homily on Friday morning in the Casa Santa Marta was a reflection on how to transmit the faith. Taking [...]

USCCB approves aid to Church in Central and Eastern Europe

(USCCB) The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe approved over $4.8 million in funding for 206 projects in 22 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Projects approved for funding include: * The Don Bosco Center for Education in Albania, founded 21 years ago, provides cultural, social, and academic resources [...]

Letter #62, 2016: On the Knife's Edge

October 3, 2016, Monday -- The Pope Walks on the Knife's Edge "Today there is a world war to destroy marriage." —Pope Francis on Saturday, October 1, in Georgia, two days ago, in a meeting with priests, men and women religious, seminarians and pastoral workers at the Church of the Assumption "There are ideological colonizations that [...]

Francis outside the Vatican

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 [...]

The Pope Will Be Visiting A Church Founded by Laity

Mass in the church in Seoul, South Korea, dedicated to St. Andrew Kim and his martyr companions. Pessimists, looking at statistics, talk about the crisis, or decline, of the Church in Europe. But simply widen the horizon to include other continents, and a very different picture emerges. At the beginning of the 20th century, [...]