Pope Francis met with leaders of the World Methodist Councilon Thursday, celebrating fifty years of dialogue between the two Churches. Noting that in the Old Testament, a golden jubilee was a moment to set slaves free, the pope said “we too have been freed from the slavery of estrangement and mutual suspicion”. After fifty years of patient dialogue, he [...]
Pope Francis’ Twitter account - @pontifex – has reached a milestone: 40 million followers in 9 languages. The figure is significant not only in itself, but in what it represents for the Holy Father, himself, who, like his predecessor, desires to be a Christian witness among many on the “Digital Continent”, especially through social media. Alessandro Gisotti spoke to the Prefect of the [...]
Pope Francis’ homily at the Mass in the Casa Santa Marta this morning focused on the figure of Our Lady of Sorrows, whose feast day the Church celebrates on September 15th. Contemplating the Mother of Jesus We need to contemplate the Mother of Jesus, said the Pope, we need to contemplate “this sign of contradiction, because [...]
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who is on a 4-day visit to Russia, gave a wide-ranging interview with the Russian state news agency TASS, ahead of his arrival on Monday. Cardinal Parolin speaks at length about the aims of his visit to Moscow and gives his views on various international issues. Q: Your Eminence, this [...]
It is only the Holy Spirit Who can teach us to say: “Jesus is the Lord.” That was the focus of Pope Francis’ reflections during the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Monday. The Holy Father emphasized that we must open our hearts in order to hear the Holy Spirit, and thus be able [...]
True peace is not man-made but a gift of the Holy Spirit. "A peace without a cross is not the peace of Jesus" for it is only the Lord who can give us peace amidst tribulations. This was the central message of the homily of Pope Francis at Mass, Tuesday morning, in the chapel of the [...]
Self-centeredness and sin corrupt the beauty of Creation, but God does not abandon humanity and turns Creation’s groans into hope for new life. That was at the heart of Pope Francis’ catechesis on Christian hope at his Wednesday General Audience. Drawing inspiration from Chapter 8 of the Letter to the Romans, Pope Francis continued his catechesis [...]
True doctrine is not a rigid attachment to the Law, which bewitches as ideologies do. Rather, it is the revelation of God, which allows itself to be discovered more and more fully each day by those who are open to the Holy Spirit. (Vatican Radio) That was the message of Pope Francis at the morning Mass [...]
“Today, 24 May, is the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, which is celebrated with special devotion in China. I offer this Mass for all Chinese people, for their great country, that the Lord may bless China”: with these words Pope Francis began the Eucharistic celebration in the Chapel of Santa Marta. In his homily the [...]
Pope Francis focused on the Feast of Pentecost during his remarks before the Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday. The day’s liturgy, Pope Francis said, “invites us to open our minds and our hearts to the gift of the Holy Spirit . . . the first and principle gift that He has obtained with His Resurrection and [...]