Pope Francis on Wednesday called for greater solidarity in the world in his first New Year blessing as pontiff in front of crowds of pilgrims on St Peter’s Square. “We all have a responsibility to act so that the world may be a community of brothers…
Browsing: Pope Francis
Pope Francis held his first Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican by highlighting the role played by humble shepherds in the Nativity, as thousands flocked to the historic site of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem. At the service in St Peter’s Basilica, the 77…
Pope Francis on Saturday paid a pre-Christmas visit to dozens of children at a Catholic paediatric hospital in Rome, observing a decades-old papal tradition. Stopping in the hospital’s chapel, the pope was given a basket containing handwritten messages…
Pope Francis on Friday paid tribute to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela for “forging a new South Africa” and said he hoped his example would inspire the nation to strive for “justice and the common good”. Francis praised the “steadfast commitment…
Pope Francis on Thursday formed a committee to fight child sex abuse in the Catholic Church in a landmark initiative after thousands of abuses and cover-ups, but campaigners said the new body would be “toothless”. While the composition and precise tasks…
Pope Francis on Wednesday called for prayers for a group of nuns seized from their convent in Syria and for all hostages held in the war-torn country. “I invite you all to pray for the nuns of the Greek Orthodox convent of St Takla of Maalula in Syria…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has restated his firm opposition to a nuclear deal with Iran during a visit to Rome in which he was set to meet Pope Francis and Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Monday. “It is very easy to receive a pat on the…