Palestinians wounded in Israeli fire while waiting for aid, according to health officials, lie on beds at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City.

In a statement issued on Friday 1 March, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have joined the international community in condemning the “wanton attack against innocent civilians” that took place the previous day in Gaza City during the distribution of humanitarian aid. 

On Thursday 29 February, a doctor from al-Chifa hospital and witnesses said that Israeli soldiers fired on a crowd of civilians desperately seeking food aid being distributed from aid trucks in Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian enclave… Read more »

Ritratt: Vatican Media

A statement released by the Holy See Press Office on Wednesday said Pope Francis visited the Gemelli Hospital on Rome’s Tiber Island straight after the General Audience, where he underwent some diagnostic tests. Following the tests, he was driven back to the Vatican.

Some scheduled papal audiences were cancelled in the past days as a precautionary measure due to flu symptoms the Pope was experiencing… Read more »

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization has issued a new resource on prayer aimed at inviting the faithful to “intensify prayer as a personal dialogue with God” and to reflect on their faith and commitment in today’s world.

The new guidebook, entitled Teach Us to Pray (Italian: “Insegnaci a pregare”), is the latest in a series of resources provided by the Dicastery to assist the Church as she prepares for the celebration of Jubilee 2025… Read more »

At least 15 Catholics attending Sunday Mass were killed on Sunday in jihadi-ridden Burkina Faso during a terrorist attack, reported local Church sources.  

The attack occurred in Essakane village in the country’s North-Eastern Oudalan province, a jurisdiction of the Catholic Diocese of Dori bordering Mali and Niger.

According to a media release issued by the Vicar General of diocese on behalf of the Bishop Laurent Birfuoré Dabiré, twelve worshippers died at the scene of the attack, while three succumbed to their injuries  and two others are in hospital… Read more »

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has announced the theme for the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

The theme for this year’s World Day – which will be celebrated on Sunday, 29 September 2024 – will be “God walks with His people”.

A Church on the move

Ahead of that date, Pope Francis will release a message.

In a press release, the Dicastery said that this message would “address the itinerant dimension of the Church”, with “a particular focus on our migrant brothers and sisters”, who represent “a contemporary icon of the journeying Church.”

“It is a path to be undertaken in a synodal way,” the statement continues, “overcoming all threats and obstacles, in order to reach our true homeland together.  During this journey, wherever people find themselves, it is essential to recognize the presence of God who walks with His people, assuring them of His guidance and protection at every step.  Yet it is equally essential to recognize the presence of the Lord, Emmanuel, God-with-us, in every migrant who knocks at the door of our hearts and offers an opportunity for encounter.”

110 years of the World Day

The World Day of Migrants and Refugees is observed every year on the last Sunday of September… Read more »

The Bambino Gesù Hospital, a reference point for paediatric assistance worldwide, was donated to the Vatican 100 years ago on 20 February. We look back at the hospital’s history and the paternal relationship the Holy Father has with the Rome institution that is known as “the Pope’s Hospital”.

In 1869, Duchess and Duke Scipioni founded the Bambino Gesù paediatric hospital. Their house in the centre of Rome and its 12 beds became the city’s first hospital dedicated to children… Read more »