International

Ahead of Pope Francis' imminent travel for World Youth Day, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, maintains that investing in the young generation is very dear to the Pope’s heart, and how doing so, while leading them always closer to Christ, has the power to work miracles.

Visitors to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican are invited to pray with pilgrims attending World Youth Day in Lisbon on August 1-6 as part of an initiative promoted by the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

Looking ahead to Pope Francis' Apostolic Journey to Portugal, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin says World Youth Day offers an important opportunity for young people to come into close contact with Jesus and describes the Pope's visit to Fatima as a time to be close to the sick and to call for prayers for peace.

Ahead of his Apostolic Journey to Portugal, Pope Francis prays at the Roman Basilica of Saint Mary Major and entrusts his visit and World Youth Day participants to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Amongst the groups of pilgrims going to World Youth Day is one from a parish in Rome, where nine young people are preparing to head to Lisbon to join Pope Francis and young Catholics from all over the world.

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development speaks at the 4th International Congress on the Care of Creation held in Lisbon, Portugal. He underscores the urgent need for "transitioning from a fossil-fuel economy to a clean-energy economy."

While the Pope is about to leave for World Youth Day in Lisbon, the members of the Vatican Cycling team are preparing for the World Cycling Championships in Glasgow. The event, which for the first time will be attended by the Vatican media, will take place during the WYD.

A home for the elderly and specially-abled, overseen by dedicated missionaries in Telangana, India, extends care to the forsaken and marginalized, irrespective of their religious, racial, or ethnic background. Their commitment persists even after their death, ensuring that love and dignity are bestowed upon them until the very end.

In a wide-ranging interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht, Holland, remembers new martyrs who, faced with enmity and atrocities during the Second World War, embraced their crosses with love, such as Dutch new martyr, St. Titus Brandsma. 

At the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis speaks about the importance of seeking the Lord, discovering the treasure of His boundless love, and always welcoming Him into our lives.

Pope Francis has called for prayers for a restoration of the distribution of grain through the Black Sea Initiative, appealing to the authorities of the Russian Federation, so that millions who suffer hunger can be saved.

The Holy See Press Office releases the schedule of Pope Francis' visit to the French port city at the conclusion the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes” hosted by the Archdiocese in September.

As the Church marks the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Fr Edmund Power, OSB, offers his thoughts on the day’s liturgical readings under the theme: “What do you truly seek?”

One year on from Pope Francis's Apostolic Journey to Canada, Bishop Raymond Poisson, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, reflects on the progress that has been made in the process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Pope Francis encourages Koreans to always promote peace in a message he sent on 27 July, for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement.

A website dedicated to spreading information about World Youth Day has evolved into a mission to preserve the spirit of the global youth gatherings, while providing a source of communion and authentic Catholic media coverage of the Pope's encounters with young people.

As SECAM, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), turn fifty-four years this weekend, the current President has urged the African Bishops to rediscover the treasure behind the formation of SECAM.

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of August, which is dedicated to the upcoming World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, and invites young people to set aside fear and embark on a joyful journey to bear witness to Christ in our world.

In the preface of Zdzisław Józef Kijas’s new book “Brulicante di vita,” celebrating the 800th anniversary of the institution of St. Francis’ Rule, the Pope stresses its current relevance in opening up “to a shared path.”

Pope Francis sends a message to young people at the Medjugorje Youth Festival, and urges them to trust in God and to respond positively to His grace.

Participants of the XXVII Theological Week, which took place at the Nazaré Formation Centre in the Archdiocese of Beira, Mozambique, have expressed satisfaction with the event.

Cardinal-elect Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks about the upsurge of attacks against Christians by Israeli extremists, saying Christians in the Holy Land don’t want special protection, but their fundamental rights to be ensured.

The President of the World Youth Day Foundation - Lisbon, Cardinal-elect Americo Aguiar, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon, Portugal, brings Pope Francis' closeness to young people of the Holy Land unable to travel to WYD, saying they are an example that teach us resilience and faith.

As part of the 2,500 Asian Catholics attending World Youth Day in Lisbon, Hong Kong young people stress the importance of integrating their "small community" into the larger group of Catholic pilgrims embarking on a spiritual journey toward Christ.

A small cohort of young people from Estonia begin their pilgrimage toward World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, entrusting their spiritual journey to God and the Estonian Servant of God Eduard Profittlich.

The United States are one of the five largest delegations participating in the week-long event which will kick off on 1 August under the theme “Mary arose and went with haste” with Pope Francis joining the young pilgrims from 3 to 6 August during his Apostolic Journey to Lisbon.

A rescript of Pope Francis establishes the Van Thuân Foundation, which replaces the "Good Samaritan" and "Justice and Peace" Foundations.

Fr Mark James OP, a member of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Chaplains to the Deaf Community, has welcomed the recognition of South African Sign Language (SASL) as the 12th official language.

In Lisbon, Fr. João Chagas, the Vatican official responsible for youth and World Youth Days, shares great excitement for the imminent encounter between the Pope and the world's young people. The WYD, he suggests, will not only be transformative spiritually for the young people,...

Ahead of World Youth Day in Lisbon, Pope Francis listens to the concerns of young people who share their personal stories, hopes, and challenges, and he offers them consolation and encouragement in the second edition of the "Popecast" produced by Vatican Radio - Vatican News.