Vatican

• Coptic Catholic cleric named as Pope’s 2nd priest-secretary

  Apr 24, 2014

  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.

  

• Pope washes the feet of women and non-Catholics

  Apr 24, 2014

  Non-Catholics and women were among the 12 disabled and elderly people whose feet Pope Francis washed and kissed when he celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

  

• JPII: a man indispensable to the fall of the Soviet Union

  Apr 24, 2014

  Bl. John Paul II’s key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact can be attributed to his vision of the human being, informed by personalism and the Catholic faith.

  

• John XXIII and the beginning of the fall of the Iron Curtain

  Apr 24, 2014

  While Pope, Bl. John XXIII began a dialogue with the Soviet Union that led to the eventual fall of the Iron Curtain during the pontificate of his successor John Paul II, both of whom will be canonized April 27.

  

• Pope Francis: JPII to become WYD’s ‘Great Patron Saint’

  Apr 24, 2014

  Prior to the recitation of the Angelus at the conclusion of the Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis addressed the faithful and gave special greetings.

  

• Priests must anoint others with oil of gladness, Pope reflects

  Apr 24, 2014

  In his homily given during the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis spoke on the joy of the priestly vocation, saying a cleric “is useless” unless his happiness is found in the grace of God.

  

• “End all war and every conflict”

  Apr 24, 2014

  In a stirring Easter message to the world, Pope Francis prayed to the Risen Jesus “to put an end to all war and every conflict, whether great or small, ancient or recent”, and “to the scourge of hunger”.

  
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  Pope: Easter invites return to our first encounter with Jesus

  Apr 24, 2014

  In his homily for the Easter Vigil Pope Francis encouraged those present to remember the moment they first felt the love of God, saying that Jesus' resurrection is a time to relive this experience anew.

  
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  Love has triumphed over hatred: End all war and every conflict

  Apr 24, 2014

  In his Easter “urbi et orbi” Easter message “to the city and the world,” Pope Francis focused on the victory of love brought about through Christ’s death and resurrection.

  
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  Resurrection pours 'fresh hope' on the world, Pope reflects

  Apr 24, 2014

  During his general audience Wednesday, Pope Francis emphasized the certainty of Christ's presence in the world today, noting how his resurrection invites us to reject sin and open ourselves to joy and hope.