Pope Francis

Pope on Holy Land war: Without two states, true peace remains distant

29/01/2024

In an interview with the Italian newspaper ‘La Stampa’, Pope Francis renews calls for a global ceasefire, warning the world is on the brink of the abyss, and says the recent declaration ‘Fiducia supplicans’ seeks to include, not divide.

“There was the Oslo agreement—so clear—with the solution of the two states. Until that agreement is applied, true peace remains distant.”

This is Pope Francis’ judgment on events in the Holy Land, following the attacks by Hamas and the war that is destroying the cities of the Gaza Strip… Read more »

Year of Prayer: Pope Francis to set up ‘School of Prayer’

25/01/2024

As the Year of Prayer gets underway, the Prefect and Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelisation explain its purpose as helping Catholics prepare for the 2025 Jubilee, announcing that Pope Francis will set up a “School of Prayer” to explore various aspects of every Christian’s “breath of faith.”

On Sunday, Pope Francis inaugurated a Year of Prayer ahead of the 2025 Jubilee, calling on the faithful “to pray more fervently to prepare ourselves to live properly this grace-filled event and to experience the power of hope in God.”

The Year of Prayer, the Holy Father explained, is dedicated “to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer, prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, prayer in the world.”

The Holy See Press Office presented the Year of Prayer on Tuesday at a press conference held by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, and Monsignor Graham Bell, Undersecretary of the Dicastery, whose Section is in charge of coordinating the Year of Prayer… Read more »

Pope at Audience – Patrimony is built with a great deal of sweat, but can disappear in a moment

24/01/2024   Paul VI Audience Hall, The Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

We are continuing our catechesis on vices and virtues, and today we will talk about avarice, that form of attachment to money that keeps man from generosity.

If is not a sin that regards only people with large assets, but rather a transversal vice, which often has nothing to do with the bank balance… Read more »

Pope’s Communications Day message: AI can never replace wisdom of human heart

24/01/2024

In his message for the 58th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Francis urges humanity to cultivate wisdom of the heart in the age of artificial intelligence.

Pope Francis has released his message for the 2024 World Day of Social Communications, focusing on the theme: Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication.

Celebrated on 12 May, this year’s theme is closely linked to the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace, which was devoted to the development of systems of artificial intelligence (AI)… Read more »

Pope at Angelus: proclaiming the Gospel is not wasted time

21/01/2024   St Peter's Square, the Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

The Gospel today recounts the vocation of the first disciples (cf. Mk 1:14-20). Calling others to join His mission is one of the first things Jesus does at the beginning of His public life: He approaches some young fishermen and invites them to follow Him to “become fishers of men” (v. 17). And this tells us something important: the Lord loves to involve us in His work of salvation, He wants us to be active with Him, He wants us to be responsible and protagonists… Read more »

Pope at Audience – Falling in love is one of the purest feelings

17/01/2024   Paul VI Audience Hall, The Vatican

Brothers and sisters, good morning!

And today, let us listen well to the catechesis, because afterwards there will be a circus that will perform for us. Let us continue our journey concerning vices and virtues; and the ancient Fathers teach us that, after gluttony, the second ‘demon’ – that is, vice – that is always crouching at the door of the heart is that of lust, called porneia in Greek… Read more »

Pope at Angelus: Rediscover the joy of Jesus’ disciples

14/01/2024   Saint Peter's Square, The Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today the Gospel presents Jesus’ encounter with the first disciples (cf. Jn 1:35-42). This scene invites us to remember our first encounter with Jesus. Each one of us has had the first encounter with Jesus, as a child, as an adolescent, as a young person, as an adult… When did I encounter Jesus for the first time? … Read more »

Pope at Audience – A poor relationship with food produces all these illnesses

10/01/2024   Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

In our journey of catechesis, in this path of catechesis we are doing, on vices and virtues, today we will take a look at the vice of gluttony. Gluttony.

What does the Gospel tell us about it? Let us look at Jesus. His first miracle, at the wedding at Cana, reveals His sympathy towards human joys: He is concerned that the feast should end well and gives the bride and groom a large quantity of very good wine… Read more »

Pope at Angelus – Do you remember the date of your baptism?

07/01/2024   Saint Peter's Square, The Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord (cf. Mk 1.7-11). It occurs at the river Jordan, where John – for this reason known as the “Baptist” – performs a rite of purification, which expresses the commitment to renounce sin and to convert. The people go to be baptized humbly, sincerely, and as the Liturgy says, “barefoot and bare of soul”, and Jesus goes there too, inaugurating His ministry: He thus shows that He wants to be close to the sinners, to come for them, for us, for all of sinners! … Read more »

Pope at Angelus – Are we able to see the problems of the world through the eyes of children?

06/01/2024   Saint Peter's Square, The Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno and happy feast day!

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, that is, His manifestation to all peoples in the person of the Magi (cf. Mt 2:1-12). They are wise seekers who, after wondering about the apparition of a star, set out on a journey and arrive in Bethlehem. And there, they find Jesus, “with Mary His mother”, they bow down and they offer “gold, frankincense and myrrh” (c… Read more »