International

How do the Palestinian authorities view this weekend’s pilgrimage by Pope Francis to the Holy Land that includes a 6-hour visit to Bethlehem in the West Bank? Could it have any impact on the quest for peace in this land and...

“With the gift of knowledge, the Spirit leads us to grasp the value and beauty of people and the realities that surround us, but also their limitations”, said Pope Francis Wednesday as he continued his series of lessons dedicated to the seven gifts...

Pope Francis received in audience the King of Bahrain, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on Monday. A communique from the Press Office of the Holy See says the Pope and His Majesty held cordial discussions on ...

Pope Francis met with members of the Apostolate of the Suffering and with the Silent Workers of the Cross on Saturday in the Paul VI Hall. Among the estimated 5,000 people in attendance, about 350 people were in wheelchairs.

Since 1999, the U.S. State Department has tracked the world's worst abusers of religious rights. As the most recent report notes, it has never lacked for material. Persecutions of people of faith are rising across the globe.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi expressed his concern on Tuesday regarding the increasing trend of “dehumanization of warfare” and the use of lethal autonomous weapon systems.

Pope Francis has appointed a Coptic Catholic priest, Father Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, to work as his 2nd personal secretary, Andrea Tornielli of La Stamp reports. Father Lahzi Gaid has been working in the Secretariat of State, where his duties have included ...

Pope Francis has told the men and women of Italy’s Secular Institutes that their establishment was a revolutionary and courageous act that revealed how his predecessor Pius XII knew how to read the signs of the times.

Speaking to the men and women who manage the UN’s vast network of humanitarian offices, Pope Francis urged them to challenge “all forms of injustice” and resist the “economy of exclusion”, the “throwaway culture” and the “culture of death” which nowadays ...

“At this difficult time, when more and more people and families lose their jobs, generating new social inequalities, we need a perspective that opens a new horizon of reality”. This is what Massimo Gattamelata, Secretary General of the Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice ...

Pope Francis will receive United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in audience in the Vatican Friday. The UN chief is in Rome for an annual meeting of all the heads of the UN agencies. As his press spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, tells...

During his first Angelus address, Pope Francis recommended a work of theology that “has done me so much good” because it “says that mercy changes everything; it changes the world by making it less cold and more fair.” That book is...

The Christian who does not witness to the faith becomes sterile. This was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily at morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta. The Pope drew inspiration from the martyrdom of St. Stephen, narrated in the Acts of the Apostles...

The Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations will lead a delegation in Geneva Tuesday at a second meeting of the UN Committee on the Convention against Torture (CAT) to which the Holy See acceded in 2002. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi...

nder clear blue skies Wednesday, tens of thousands attended Pope Francis general audience, the first since the great canonization of the two Pope Saints on Sunday, the second in his series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After touring at length through the throngs in ...

Employment and decent work for all is the best route out of poverty in the world. That’s the conviction behind a two day meeting taking place here in Rome under the auspices of the Pontifical Justice and Peace Council.

“Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed!”. Pope Benedict XVI raised this prayer three years ago on Sunday, 1 May 2011 during his homily at the beatification of his Predecessor in St Peter's Square. ...

It was the day of the four Successors of Peter. The first to appear on the dais of Saint Peters’ Basilica was the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Dressed in white he passed beneath the banners of the two Saints to be canonised during Holy Mass on...

The two banners of the two soon-to-be saints now hang on the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica, and the final countdown toward the highly anticipated canonizations has begun. With just one day to go before the canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II...

Prayer Vigils Organized for Saturday Night

Pilgrims thronged St. Peter’s Square, the long boulevard of Via della Conciliazione, spilling all the way down to the banks of the Tiber this Wednesday for Pope Francis' weekly general audience, the first of the Easter season.

Thousands of pilgrims from around the world celebrated Easter in the Holy Land, commemorating the day when according to Christian tradition Jesus was resurrected in Jerusalem two millennia ago.

Syria, but also Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Ukraine and Venezuela in Pope Francis’ prayers. " In every human situation, marked by frailty, sin and death, the Good News is no mere matter of words, but a testimony to...

Hundreds of faithful filled St Peter’s Basilica Friday evening for the celebration of the Passion of Our Lord. The liturgy, also known as the Good Friday service, recalls the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Pope Francis presided the liturgy,...

“The Lord anointed us in Christ with the oil of gladness, and this anointing invites us to accept and appreciate this great gift: the gladness, the joy of being a priest.” At the Chrism Mass in Saint Peter’s, Pope Francis spoke about “priestly joy,” a joy,...

The Secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop Arthur Roche, walks Vatican Radio through the Holy Week liturgies, explaining their significance, symbolism and place within the history of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection...

Palm Sunday, which is the 6th Sunday of Lent, marks the official beginning of Holy Week during which Christians recall the passion and death of Christ.

Pope Francis on Saturday received in audience participants in a Congress for Surgeons who work with oncological patients.In his address, he quoted Blessed John Paul II pointing out that when caring for the sick it is essential not to lose sight of the human person,...

In his new book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, James Martin, SJ, will help you encounter Jesus in a new, vivid, and exciting way with a seamless combination of stories from a real-life pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the most up-to-date biblical scholarship, and profound spiritual reflections.

In Jerusalem, a group of Christians petitions the Israeli government, asking for lighter security police measures during Easter celebrations, which could discourage the faithful from going to church. Police respond by saying that the roadblocks and checkpoints are needed to ensure order.