(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-121011-vatican-da-05.photoblog900.jpg)Stefano Rellandini / ReutersPope Benedict XVI arrives to conduct mass to open the year of faith at the Vatican October 11, 2012.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-121011-vatican-da-03.photoblog900.jpg)Stefano Rellandini / ReutersPope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to conduct mass.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-121011-vatican-da-02.photoblog900.jpg)Bishops walk in a solemn procession through St Peter's Square as they arrive for a mass led by the pontiff.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-121011-vatican-da-01.photoblog900.jpg)Bishops from around the world gather for the mass.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-121011-vatican-da-04.photoblog900.jpg)Stefano Rellandini / ReutersA Swiss guard stands before the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI.Pope Benedict opened a global "Year of Faith" as he conducted mass in St. Peter's Square on Thursday, Agence France Presse reports. The Vatican is celebrating the 50th anniversary of a council that changed the face of Catholicism, as it tries to rekindle the religious fervor of the time amid rising secularism.
A Pew Research Center study released Tuesday found that one in five Americans is religiously unaffiliated (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/09/14316083-1-in-5-americans-is-religiously-unaffiliated-survey-shows?lite), including one in three adults under 30.
Read a transcript of the Pope's homily at The National Catholic Register (http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/popes-homily-at-opening-mass-of-year-of-faith).
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