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The 40-minute private meeting took place in a room at Ajaccio’s Napoleon Bonaparte Airport, where the two leaders addressed several pressing international issues.
During the Dec. 15 trip, the pontiff encouraged the island’s Catholic majority to continue to foster its traditional piety as secular culture grows in Europe — and to use their devotion as fuel to serve others in charity.
The pope emphasized the unique power of music to foster unity and communion, drawing parallels to the first Christmas.
Pope Francis said that “we need women’s work and their word in a Church that reaches out that it may be leaven and light in the culture and in our lives together.”
The Vatican’s first day care center is slated to begin operating next spring and will serve up to 30 children between ages 3 months to 3 years.
Pope Francis on Thursday released his message for the 58th World Day of Peace, commemorated annually on Jan. 1, with three concrete proposals.
Pope Francis emphasized the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego during the Mass celebrated Dec. 12 in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis has accepted the retirement of Bishop Juan Matogo Oyan from the pastoral care of the Catholic Diocese of Bata in Equatorial Guinea.
Among the new crop of cardinals created by Pope Francis on Dec. 7, Cardinal Mykola Bychok stands out. At 44, he is the youngest cardinal in the world.
Catholic pilgrims have flocked to the Holy House of Loreto since the 14th century to stand inside the walls where tradition holds the Virgin Mary was born.
Pope Francis met with academic staff participating in the International Congress on the Future of Theology “Heritage and Imagination” conference Dec. 9–10.
While he has appointed 78% of electors, factors including limited gatherings and logistical challenges suggest the next conclave’s outcome remains unpredictable.
Pope Francis celebrated the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception with the news cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica, calling Christians to imitate Mary.
The pope also encouraged everyone to “open our hearts and minds to the Lord Jesus, born of Mary Immaculate” as the Church prepares for Jubilee 2025.
Pope Francis marked the Immaculate Conception by visiting to two of Rome's most important Marian sites, followed by an unexpected stop.
The pope highlighted that the term “cardinal” symbolizes a “hinge,” emphasizing their vital role as in holding the Church together.
“Today, sadness and mourning give way to joy, celebration, and praise,” the Holy Father wrote in his message to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.
“I am with my heart, and I would say with my whole body, for a synodal vision,” Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo of Abidjan said.
In a message to participants in this year’s conference on popular piety in Seville, Spain, from Dec. 4-8, the pope emphasized the significance of “beauty.”
“Preachers must preach an idea, a feeling, and a call to action. Beyond eight minutes the preaching starts to fade, it is not understood,” Pope Francis said.