Tag Archives: Pope Francis

An Ecumenical Prayer Vigil will take place on Saturday, 30 September – immediately preceding the General Assembly of the Synod.  This service will emphasise the centrality of prayer in the synodal process and highlight the relationship between synodality and ecumenism. Presenting the event at a press conference at the Holy See Press Office, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the General Secretariat ...

In his beautiful Apostolic Exhortation ‘Gaudete et Exsultate’, Pope Francis spoke at some length about the call to holiness in today’s world. He reminded us that holiness exists not only in those whom the Church has beatified or canonised, but in those “saints next door”, who don’t appear in any book and whose names are known only to God. Such people are ...

“ … we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace ...

The World Youth Day from the 1-6 August 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal was truly a moment of God for all of us who could connect with it in any way – there was no distance! When a lamp is put on the lampstand there is no limit to where the light can reach.  At his weekly General Audience in Rome on ...

The momentum is building as we are on Day 5 of the count down to the start of the #WYD2023 in Lisbon Portugal from 1-6 August 2023.  The energy and excitement is almost palpable on all media platforms with a very real sense of a global and local network of joy-filled young people making this pilgrimage. Let us go in ...

As the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly approaches on Sunday, 23 July the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life renews its invitation for Christians to celebrate the event by attending Mass or visiting those who are alone. Sunday, 23 July, marks the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. The theme chosen for this year is  ...

In 2016, Pope Francis raised the celebration of Mary Magdalene from Memorial to Feast in the liturgical calendar.  Her Feast Day is 22nd July.  There is also a special preface to the Eucharistic Prayer included for this Feast Day Mass which is entitled “Apostle to the Apostles,” which is the honorary title bestowed upon Mary Magdalene. “Recalling that “apostle” means ...

The extraordinary synodal journey is not one that the Catholic Church is embarking on alone. The recently published Instrumentum Laboris – working document – for the forthcoming October assembly in Rome devotes a whole section to Christian unity and how the Catholic Church can learn from other traditions.  Pope Francis has emphasised, the synod is not about producing documents but ...

On the 13th June (Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Patron of the Poor) Pope Francis published his Message for the 7th Annual World Day of the Poor, on Sunday 19th November, 2023.  The theme for this year’s Message is:  “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor” (Tob 4:7)  This Message is a reflection on the Book of ...

How do we, as individuals and as an ecclesial community, live in the digital world  “loving our neighbour”, genuinely present and attentive to each other on our common journey along the “digital highways”? “Towards Full Presence” is the title of a document released by the Dicastery for Communication that offers a pastoral reflection on people’s engagement in the digital world. ...