Roberto Benigni and Cardinal Pietro Parolin during the presentation of the book Italian comedian Roberto Benigni is best known for his intentionally goofy humor and slapstick sketches, but he was chosen to be the pitchman for Pope Francis’ new book on mercy, The Name of God Is Mercy, when it was presented to the [...]
THE HOLY FATHER’S CATECHESIS Dear Brothers and Sisters, Day after day, we enter the heart of the Holy Year of Mercy. While we cross the Holy Door, the Lord guides our steps with His grace, and He comes to meet us, to remain always with us, notwithstanding our faults and contradictions. Let us never tire of [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! In Sacred Scripture, God’s mercy is present throughout the history of the people of Israel. The Lord accompanies, with His mercy, the path of the Patriarchs; He gives them children despite the condition of sterility, He leads them by ways of grace and reconciliation, as the story of Joseph and [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Today we begin catecheses on mercy according to the biblical perspective, in order to learn mercy by listening to what God Himself teaches us with His Word. We begin from the Old Testament, which prepares and leads us to the full revelation of Jesus Christ who, in an accomplished way, [...]
January 1, 2016, Friday -- Pope Begins 2016 with Visit to St. Mary Major "The Son of God, made incarnate for our salvation, has given us his Mother, who joins us on our pilgrimage through this life, so that we may never be left alone, especially at times of trouble and uncertainty."—Pope Francis, at a 5 [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! Last Sunday, the Holy Door was opened in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Cathedral of Rome, and a Door of Mercy was opened in the Cathedral of every diocese of the world, as well as in shrines and churches indicated by bishops. The Jubilee is in the whole world, [...]
A father or a mother tells their child: “Do not be afraid, I am here” and pampers the child with caresses. This is the privileged condition of man: small, weak, but reassured, supported and forgiven by a God who is in love with him. At the beginning of the Jubilee, Pope Francis took the opportunity to [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning. Yesterday, I opened here, in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the, after having opened it already in the Cathedral of Bangui in the Central African Republic. Today, I would like to reflect together with you on the meaning of this Holy Year, responding to the question: Why a Jubilee of Mercy? What [...]
In a few moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out this act – as I did in Bangui – so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace. Again and [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning and Feast! Today, the feast of the Immaculate Conception makes us contemplate Our Lady who, by a singular privilege, was preserved from Original Sin from her conception. Although living in the world marked by sin, she was not touched by it: she is our Sister in suffering, but not in [...]