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Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square from his window in the Apostolic Palace during his Angelus address on the solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

At All Saints’ Day Angelus, Pope Francis Highlights Christians’ "identity card"

Nov 1, 2024

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

In his Angelus address on Friday, the solemnity of All Saints, Pope Francis spoke about the “identity card” of the Christian.

Top, left to right: St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Paul II, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Francis de Sales. Bottom, left to right: St. John Henry Newman, St. Gertrude of Helfta, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Thomas Aquinas. / Credit: Brooklyn Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Gov.pl, CC BY 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons; Leiloeira São Domingos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Corrado Giaquinto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Giovanni Battista Lucini, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Herbert Rose Barraud, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Public domain via Wikimedia Commons; Céline Martin, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"Dilexit Nos": Wisdom From 20 Saints on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Nov 1, 2024

By Courtney Mares

“Dilexit Nos,” meaning “He Loved Us,” describes how devotion to the heart of Christ “reappears in the spiritual journey of many saints.”

A crowd prays the rosary in Madrid, Spain, on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patron saint of Spain, Dec. 8, 2023. / Credit: ACI Prensa

Vatican: Holy Days of Obligation not Dispensed If Transferred to a Monday

Nov 1, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

The Vatican said that certain feast days are established by canon law as days of obligation. These “must be observed” and “the canon does not provide exceptions.”

Pilgrims gather throughout a sunny St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Angelus address on the solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Here’s How Catholics Can Get 8 Plenary Indulgences During the First Week of November

Nov 1, 2024

By Daniel Payne

For centuries, the Catholic Church widely observed All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) as an octave, extending the holy celebration to eight days.

Sr. Josephine Kangogo. Credit: ACI Africa

At Regional Research Symposium, Leader of Kenya’s Association of Sisterhoods Explores Ways to Achieve Sustainability

Nov 1, 2024

By ACI Africa Staff

Faith-based organizations can transform their social ministries from challenging enterprises into sustainable ones through partnerships, designing and implementing “business” models, realizing a diverse “revenue streams” and ensuring strategic monitoring and evaluation, the Chairperson of the Association of Sisterhoods in Kenya (AOSK) has said.

“Pricks the heart and mind”: Kenyan Bishop Moved by Experiences of Catholic Sisters Serving in Non-Catholic Institutions

Oct 31, 2024

By Agnes Aineah

The experiences of women Religious serving in non-Catholic institutions are deeply moving, Bishop  Wallace Ng’ang’a Gachihi of the Military Ordinariate in Kenya has said, and pledged to rally other Catholic Bishops in the East African country to support the Sisters who have been said to grapple with a myriad of pastoral challenges.

Late Bishop Peter Marzinkowski

“Simple yet profound”: Germany-based Nigerian Spiritan Eulogizes Pioneer Catholic Bishop of Alindao, CAR

Oct 31, 2024

By ACI Africa Staff

Bishop Peter Marzinkowski, the pioneer Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Alindao in the Central African Republic (CAR), who died October 21 has been remembered for touching many lives in his “simple yet profound” approach to life.

Bishop Gaetano Di Pierro (left) and Bishop Marcellin Randriamamonjy (right)

Pope Francis Accepts Retirement of Bishop of Farafangana Diocese in Madagascar, Appoints Successor

Oct 31, 2024

By Silas Isenjia

Pope Francis has accepted the retirement of Bishop Gaetano Di Pierro of the Catholic Diocese of Farafangana in Madagascar and appointed Bishop Marcellin Randriamamonjy of the country’s Fenoarivo Atsinanana Diocese as his successor.

Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy’s Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Secular World Needs Teachers with "a big heart" and High Ideals: Pope Francis

Oct 31, 2024

By Kristina Millare

“Christian education crosses unexplored terrain, marked by anthropological and cultural changes, on which we are still seeking answers ...,” the Holy Father said.

Religious Orders in Africa Urged to Embrace “paradigm shift from social ministries to social enterprises”

Oct 31, 2024

By Silas Isenjia

The Chairperson of the Association of Sisterhoods in Kenya (AOSK) is calling on religious congregations and faith based organizations to embrace “a paradigm shift” that seeks to transform social ministries into social enterprises to enhance sustainability.

Pope Francis with members of “Project Hope,” a program of accompaniment for the spiritual and emotional healing of women and men who suffer the consequences of having chosen abortion, on Oct. 30, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Parents of Aborted Children: Evil Does not Have the Last Word

Oct 31, 2024

By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú

Pope Francis received in audience members of “Project Hope,” a program of accompaniment for the healing of those who suffer consequences of abortion.

Pope Francis prays near the tomb of Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, superior general of the Society of Jesus between 1965 and 1981, during a Mass at the Jesuit Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, known as the “Gesu” in Rome, Italy, on March 12, 2022, on the 400th anniversary of the canonization of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the society’s founder. / Credit: Vatican Media/Abaca/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images

Vatican Inquiry into Canonization of Former Jesuit Leader, Mentor to Pope Francis, Fr. Arrupe, to Begin

Oct 31, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

The diocesan tribunal will conclude its inquiry into the life, virtues, and holiness of Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, with a ceremony on Nov. 14 in Rome.

Diocesan Priests in Nigeria Caution against Artificial Intelligence’s “potential to distance us from one another”

Oct 30, 2024

By Silas Isenjia

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the technology that enables gadgets to simulate human faculties facilitating learning, comprehension, solving of challenges, decision making, and other possibility with creativity has the potentiality of negatively affecting interpersonal communication and relationships, members of the Nigeria Catholic Diocesan Priests' Association (NCDPA) hare warned. 

Newly Ordained Priest, Deacon in Mozambique Urged to “serve without seeking recognition”

Oct 30, 2024

By João Vissesse

Members of the Clergy are to prioritize service to the people of God with humility, Bishop Tonito Francisco Xavier Muananoua has said.

Africa’s Christian Professionals Laud Sierra Leone for Commitment to Fostering Dialogue in Addressing Crises

Oct 30, 2024

By Silas Isenjia

Members of the Africa Christian Professionals Forum (ACPF) have commended Sierra Leone’s commitment to dialogue as a vital step towards peaceful coexistence in the West African nation and across the globe.

Argentine Vatican Diplomat to Represent Holy Father in Benin, Togo as Apostolic Nuncio

Oct 30, 2024

By Jude Atemanke

Pope Francis has appointed Mons. Rubén Darío Ruiz Mainardi, a native of Argentina, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Benin and Togo, assigning him the Titular See of Ursona with the dignity of Archbishop.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he enters St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Confirmation is the "sacrament of witness," not the "sacrament of goodbye": Pope Francis

Oct 30, 2024

By Kristina Millare

The Holy Father during his Wednesday general audience said confirmation is a “gift of God” and a “milestone” that should not mark a departure from the Church.

Pope Francis says Mass for All Souls' Day at the Laurentino Cemetery outside Rome, Nov. 2, 2018. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Here’s What Pope Francis is Doing for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days 2024

Oct 30, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

For All Souls’ Day, Francis will continue his custom of holding a Mass in a local cemetery to pray for the dead, especially the holy souls in purgatory.

An academic congress — “From the Council to the Synod: Rereading a Church’s Journey, 60 Years on Since Lumen Gentium (1964–2024)” — was hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–30, 2024. / Credit: Pontifical Gregorian University

In Rome, Theologians Reflect on "reception" Stage of Synod on Synodality

Oct 30, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

The academic congress was hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–30.

Screen grab from "The Heartbeat of Budaka" by Lornah Hope Apiyo. The documentary is one of the winning entries in the "Communicating Africa" contest by Harambee Africa International. Credit: HAI

Winners of “Communicating Africa” Contest by Rome-Based Development Agency to be Feted in Poland

Oct 29, 2024

By Agnes Aineah

Harambee Africa International (HAI) has announced winners of the contest, “Communication Africa: Stories of Hope and Change”, which was launched earlier in February.