Pope Francis, who was discharged from a three-day hospital stay on Saturday, seemed on the mend on Sunday as he addressed tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Palm Sunday Mass, allaying concerns about his health. Francis, 86, arrived at the crowded square in an open-topped jeep, which drove along a […]
Tag: Francis
Pope Francis Quips He’s ‘Still Alive’ After Hospital Stay
Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Saturday morning after a three-day hospital stay during which he was treated for bronchitis, raising new concerns about the health of the aging pontiff, who had major surgery in 2021 and now often uses a cane or a wheelchair because of knee problems and sciatica. Francis, 86, left […]
Pope Francis Calls for Peace in South Sudan During Visit
JUBA, South Sudan — On the last full day of his trip to Africa, Pope Francis met with the displaced South Sudanese who have borne the brunt of the conflict he came to help resolve by issuing blunt and insistent calls for leaders to get serious about peace. “I am with here you, and I […]
Pope Francis Visits South Sudan to Highlight Young Nation’s Troubles
It is just over a decade since the steamy capital of South Sudan exploded in joy, with revelers singing and dancing through the night to mark the birth of their nation as it split from its old enemy, Sudan. The new country was cheered on in 2011 by the American diplomats who had midwifed its delivery […]
Pope Francis, in Africa, Urges an End to Congo’s Cycle of Violence
The thumping church music, booming choir and exuberant crowd of about a million people greeting Pope Francis for an open-air papal Mass on Wednesday in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, felt a world away from the violence ravaging the country’s east, where scores of competing armed groups are pillaging villages, plundering resources […]
Pope Francis Lands in Congo, Where All His Priorities Converge
In his 10 years leading the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has called attention to the plight of refugees and the poor and to the plunder of the earth’s natural riches. He has traveled to the peripheries of the church to touch the wounds of its afflicted and most forgotten. And he has welcomed young […]
Some find fault with Francis’ homily for Benedict.
VATICAN CITY — The unusual nature of Thursday’s funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, presided over by his successor, Pope Francis, only heightened curiosity over what course Francis would take to honor Benedict. Would he give his predecessor the simple send-off he had requested, while managing not to offend the church’s conservative wing, which wanted […]
Former Pope Benedict XVI Is ‘Very Ill,’ Francis Says
Pope Francis on Wednesday asked those present at his weekly audience to pray for the retired Pope Benedict XVI, who Francis said was “very ill.” In their prayers, Francis said, people should ask God to console Benedict and “support him in this witness of love to the church, until the end.” Matteo Bruni, a Vatican […]
Pope Francis’ Christmas Address Bemoans ‘Grave Famine of Peace’
Pope Francis used his Christmas address from a balcony overlooking a crowded St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to call for “concrete gestures of solidarity” with besieged Ukrainians living through the holiday “in the dark and cold, far from their homes due to the devastation caused by 10 months of war.” Lamenting that the “icy winds […]
Pope Francis: Arming Ukraine Can Be ‘Morally Acceptable'
The pontiff said that it is acceptable for countries to provide weapons to Ukraine so that the country can defend itself, but stressed that communication channels with Russia should remain open.