By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With a huge and festive crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV led his first Sunday recitation of the “Regina Coeli” prayer and urged all Catholics to pray for vocations, especially to the priesthood and religious life.
Before the pope appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica May 11, the crowd was entertained by dozens of marching bands and folkloristic dance troupes who had marched into the square after attending an outdoor Mass for the Jubilee of Bands and Popular Entertainment.
Pope Leo also noted that it was Mother’s Day in Italy, the United States and elsewhere. “I send a special greeting to all mothers with a prayer for them and for those who are already in heaven,” he said. “Happy holiday to all moms!”
Italian officials estimated 100,000 people were in St. Peter’s Square or on the surrounding streets to join the new pope for the midday prayer.
In his main address, Pope Leo said it was a “gift” to lead the crowd for the first time on the Sunday when the church proclaims a passage from John 10 “where Jesus reveals himself as the true Shepherd, who knows and loves his sheep and gives his life for them.”
It also is the day the Catholic Church offers special prayers for vocations, especially to the priesthood and religious life.

“It is important that young men and women on their vocational journey find acceptance, listening and encouragement in their communities, and that they can look up to credible models of generous dedication to God and to their brothers and sisters,” the pope said.
Noting that Pope Francis had released a message in March in preparation for the day of prayer, Pope Leo told the crowd, “Let us take up the invitation that Pope Francis left us in his message for today: the invitation to welcome and accompany young people.”
“And let us ask our heavenly Father to assist us in living in service to one another, each according to his or her state of life, shepherds after his own heart, capable of helping one another to walk in love and truth,” the new pope said.
Setting aside his prepared text, he told young people in the square, “Do not be afraid! Welcome the call of the church and of Christ the Lord.”
After reciting the “Regina Coeli,” he mentioned how the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe was celebrated May 8, the day of his election.
While that is reason to celebrate, he said, “’the Third World War is being fought piecemeal,’ as Pope Francis often said. I, too, appeal to the leaders of the world, repeating this ever-relevant plea: Never again war!”
Pope Leo prayed for the people of Ukraine, saying, “May everything possible be done to achieve as soon as possible an authentic, just and lasting peace. May all prisoners be freed, and may the children return to their families.” Ukraine says thousands of children have been forcibly taken to Russia during the war.
The pope also told the crowd, “I am deeply saddened by what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Let the fighting cease immediately. Humanitarian aid must be given to the exhausted civilian population, and all hostages must be released.”
He praised India and Pakistan for reaching a ceasefire agreement, but said, “But how many other conflicts are there in the world?”
Pope Leo entrusted his “heartfelt appeal” for peace to Mary, “Queen of Peace, that she may present it to the Lord Jesus to obtain for us the miracle of peace.”
Earlier in the day, Pope Leo had celebrated Mass at an altar near the tomb of St. Peter in the grotto of St. Peter’s Basilica. Father Alejandro Moral Anton, the prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, to which the pope belonged, was the principal celebrant.
Afterward, the Vatican press office said, he stopped to pray at the tombs of popes who are buried in the grotto.

By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With his death April 21, Pope Francis marked yet another first in the history of the Catholic Church: he became the first pope to open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica without living to close it.

The pope opened the Holy Door Dec. 24, 2024, marking the beginning of the Holy Year 2025, a tradition normally celebrated in the church every 25 years as a time of spiritual renewal and pilgrimage. His death four months later means the Holy Door will be sealed by his successor – an unprecedented moment in the modern history of Jubilee celebrations.

Only once before had a Jubilee begun under one pope and concluded by another. In 1700, Pope Innocent XII, already gravely ill, gave his blessing for the start of the Jubilee he had declared in 1699 but was unable to preside at the opening of the Holy Door. He died in September 1700 and it fell to Pope Clement XI, elected later that year, to close the Holy Door and conclude the Jubilee.

There have been other instances in which a Jubilee was proclaimed by one pontiff and carried out by another.

In 1389, Pope Urban VI declared the following year to be a holy year by changing the cycle of Jubilee celebrations to be observed every 33 years. His death that year meant the Holy Year 1390 was presided over by Pope Boniface IX.

A similar situation occurred when Pope Paul II proclaimed the Holy Year 1475 and laid out the requirement of visiting Rome’s four major basilicas, but he died before the Jubilee began and it was presided over by Pope Sixtus IV.

Pope Julius III presided over the Holy Year 1550 proclaimed by his predecessor, Pope Paul III, and Pope Pius VI presided over the Holy Year 1775 proclaimed by his predecessor Pope Clement XIV.

Yet Pope Francis became the only pope to personally open the Holy Door to inaugurate a holy year without closing it himself.

He previously opened and closed the Holy Door of the basilica during the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy he called in 2015. The pope was also the first to open a holy door outside the Vatican, opening the Holy Door of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Bangui, Central African Republic, that year.

In December 2024, he opened the Holy Door at the church in Rome’s Rebibbia prison complex as a sign of hope to incarcerated people.

A few days before Pope Francis was elected in March 2013, he told his fellow cardinals, “I have the impression that Jesus is locked inside the church and that he is knocking because he wants to get out!”
Among his last gestures as pope, he left the door to the world’s largest church wide open.

By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Christian joy is for everyone, not just for a privileged few, Pope Francis wrote.
“Christian joy is reliance on God in every situation in life,” he said in a message to people taking part in the second synodal assembly of the Catholic Church in Italy.

The assembly, which is meeting at the Vatican March 31-April 3, is part of a synodal process the church in Italy began in 2021. About 1,000 people – including more than 440 lay men and women – were taking part, representing 219 of the 226 dioceses in the country.

“The church is not made up of majorities or minorities, but of the holy faithful people of God who walk in history, enlightened by the Word and by the Spirit,” the pope said in his text, which was read by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian bishops’ conference, during the opening session March 31.

“Christian joy is never exclusive, but always inclusive, it is for everyone. It takes place in the details of everyday life and in sharing: it is a joy with broad horizons, accompanying a welcoming style,” Pope Francis wrote.

This joy is God’s gift, he wrote. However, “it is not an easy joy, it is not born of convenient solutions to problems, it does not avoid the cross, but springs from the certainty that the Lord never leaves us alone.”

It is a joy that the pope has experienced himself during his hospitalization, he added, “and now in this time of convalescence” as well.

The synodal assembly planned to discuss and vote on a series of concrete proposals and suggestions that emerged after a long process of listening and discerning, starting at the local church level. The bishops’ permanent council and the conference’s general assembly, which is meeting at the end of May, will finalize the proposals, which will be given to the local churches for their reception.

In his address to the assembly in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall, Cardinal Zuppi said the outcome of their synodal journey will depend on their approach as “pilgrims of hope,” who set out alongside others with humble backpacks and not set apart and above others, just shining “beacons” for others to follow.
The hope is to put the Gospel back into everyday life and discourse, and to build “open communities, full of God and humanity,” he said.

(OSV News) – Pope Francis congratulated Catholic Relief Services on the 50th anniversary of CRS Rice Bowl, the Catholic relief agency’s annual Lenten program dedicated to global hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.

CRS, the official international relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., is marking the 50th anniversary of its Rice Bowl program this Lent, which has raised more than $350 million to support domestic and overseas poverty relief efforts. The organization has described that effort – with its iconic cardboard donation box – as more important than ever in light of a freeze on much U.S. foreign aid.

“I was pleased to learn that the Rice Bowl program of Catholic Relief Services is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter the group shared with media March 14. “On this auspicious occasion, I express my good wishes to all involved in this noble initiative as well as my gratitude for the faithful in the United States of America, who, through this service, assist the poorest and most vulnerable at home and abroad.”

Pope Francis said that for five decades, during “the holy season of Lent, when the Church invites us to pray, fast, and give alms in preparation for the Easter celebrations,” the Rice Bowl program “has offered a concrete way for Catholics to give alms as they seek to put their faith into action.”

“When caring for our neighbor, we must always remember that charity is to be given without qualifications or limits, as Jesus teaches us in the parable of the Good Samaritan,” he said, referring to the story in Luke’s Gospel. “In doing so, we reflect the closeness, compassion, and tender love of God who cares for all of his children in the one human family.”

CRS’ Rice Bowl initiative combines the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to provide humanitarian aid, spiritual renewal and increased solidarity with those in need.
The funds – 25% of which help local diocesan outreaches, with 75% benefiting CRS programs abroad – support a mission that is “critical to millions,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, CRS board chair, in a March 5 statement from the organization.

The campaign, launched in 1975 by Msgr. Robert Coll as a local effort in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, became a national initiative through its introduction at the Philadelphia-based 41st International Eucharistic Congress in 1976, and its subsequent adoption by the U.S. bishops through CRS.

In 2023, some 733 million people worldwide faced hunger, according to the United Nations’ 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition have devastating physical and psychosocial consequences, including insufficient height and weight in children.
“It is my hope therefore that the Rice Bowl program and other initiatives offered by Catholic Relief Services will continue to serve as examples of how to fulfill the Gospel’s command to love and serve our neighbor in a communal way,” Pope Francis said. “With these sentiments, I renew my best wishes as you celebrate this anniversary, and upon all who support the Rice Bowl program, I invoke Almighty God’s blessings of wisdom, hope and strength.”

(NOTES: More information about the program can be found at crsricebowl.org/give.)

By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The best medicine to heal the pain of a wounded family is forgiveness, Pope Francis said.

“Forgiveness always renews the family, making it look forward with hope,” the pope said in a video message to present his prayer intention for the month of March: “For families in crisis.”

The video, which was recorded weeks before his hospitalization Feb. 14 and released March 4, did not include the usual footage of Pope Francis at his desk reading the message but only used his voice for the narration.

It did not seem “respectful” or appropriate to be publishing a previously recorded video of him while he was recovering at the hospital, an official at the prayer network told Catholic News Service March 4. No images of the pope taken after he was hospitalized have been released.

The final frame of the video says, “The video was recorded a few weeks ago. Let us join in prayer with Pope Francis at clicktopray.org.”

In the message, Pope Francis said, “We all dream about a beautiful, perfect family. But there’s no such thing as a perfect family. Every family has its own problems, as well as its tremendous joys.”

“Every member of the family is important because each member is different than the others, each person is unique. But these differences can also cause conflict and painful wounds,” he said.

The best medicine to help heal the pain of those wounds, he said, is forgiveness. “Forgiveness means giving another chance. God does this with us all the time. God’s patience is infinite. He forgives us, lifts us up, gives us a new start.”

Even if there is no possibility of there being a fairytale ending of “happily ever after,” he said, “God’s grace gives us the strength to forgive, and it brings peace, because it frees us from sadness, and, above all, from resentment.”

“Let us pray that broken families might discover the cure for their wounds through forgiveness, rediscovering each other’s gifts, even in their differences,” he said.

(The video can be found in English and other languages at www.thepopevideo.org.)

By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a sign affirming that Pope Francis has been able to conduct work while in the hospital, the Vatican said the pope had met with the top officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State and had signed several decrees in sainthood causes.

The Vatican press office said Feb. 25 that the pope had signed the decrees the previous day during a meeting at Rome’s Gemelli hospital with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and with Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute secretary of state.

The announcement followed a typically brief morning update on the health of the 88-year-old pope, which said, “The pope rested well, all night.”

Pope Francis, diagnosed with double pneumonia, has been in the hospital since Feb. 14.

A medical bulletin published by the Vatican late Feb. 24, said Pope Francis’ condition had shown a slight improvement during the day, but his condition remained critical. He had not had another “asthmatic respiratory crisis,” so doctors were able to reduce the oxygen he is receiving by nasal cannula.

Hours after visiting Pope Francis in the hospital, Cardinal Parolin led the recitation of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square, praying for the pope and his health. Some two dozen cardinals joined the nighttime prayer, along with officials of the Roman Curia and hundreds of Catholics from Rome and around the world.

The 9 p.m. rosary will be a fixed appointment, the Vatican said. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, was scheduled to lead the prayer Feb. 25.

By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The presentation of Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem shows that God’s closeness to humanity is not confined to a place of worship but is manifested in his living among people, Pope Francis said.

“God is present in the midst of his people, not because he dwells within four walls, but because he lives as a man among humanity,” the pope said before praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter’s Square Feb. 2. “ This is the novelty of Jesus.”

The day’s Gospel reading from St. Luke recounted how Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple 40 days after his birth, following Jewish tradition. The “heartfelt voices” of Simeon and Anna, who had long awaited the messiah, “resound among the ancient stones of the temple, announcing the fulfillment of Israel’s expectations,” the pope said.

Simeon described Jesus in “three beautiful ways,” the pope said. “Jesus is salvation, Jesus is light; Jesus is a sign of contradiction.”

“Like the sun that rises over the world, this child will redeem it from the darkness of evil, pain and death,” Pope Francis said. “How much we need light, this light, even today!”

Simeon then prophesied that Jesus will be “a sign that will be contradicted” so that “the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

“Jesus reveals the criterion for judging all of history and each of our lives,” Pope Francis explained. “And what is this criterion? It is love: those who love, live; those who hate, die.”

The pope urged Christians to reflect on whether they, too, are longing for God: “Do I wish to see the face of the Lord? Do I await the manifestation of his plan of salvation?”

After praying the Angelus, the pope called for people to say “no” to war.

“It destroys everything, it destroys life and induces us to disregard it,” he said; “let us not forget that war is always a defeat.”

Pope Francis renewed his Jubilee year appeal for Christian government leaders “to do their utmost in the negotiations to bring all the ongoing conflicts to an end.”

“Let us pray for peace in tormented Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and North Kivu,” he said, referring to the region in Congo where intense fighting flared up in late January, leading to the deaths of hundreds of people.

By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A holy year is an opportunity to start fresh with one’s relationship with God and with other people, Pope Francis told thousands of pilgrims.

The Holy Year 2025 theme, “Pilgrims of Hope,” is a reminder that hope “is not a habit or a character trait – that you either have or you don’t – but a strength to be asked for. That is why we make ourselves pilgrims: We come to ask for a gift, to start again on life’s journey,” the pope said Jan. 11.

Meeting more than 7,000 pilgrims who filled the Vatican audience hall or pressed against crowd-control barriers outside, Pope Francis began a series of Saturday general audiences designed, as he said, to “welcome and embrace all those who are coming from all over the world in search of a new beginning.”
Throughout the audience, the pope had the crowd repeat “ricominciare,” Italian for “begin again.”

The audience was held the day before the feast of the Baptism of the Lord when the church commemorates Jesus going down to the Jordan River and joining the crowds who responded to St. John the Baptist’s call for conversion.

A summary of the pope’s talk, read to the pilgrims in English, said that John the Baptist’s “message in calling for conversion was one of hope in the advent of the Messiah, a hope fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and his invitation to welcome the kingdom of God.”

“Like the crowds that flocked to the waters of the Jordan, may all who pass through the Holy Door this year receive the grace of interior renewal, openness to the dawn of God’s kingdom and its summons to conversion, fraternal love and concern for the least of our brothers and sisters,” the pope’s message to English-speakers said.

On a Holy Year pilgrimage and, more generally, on the journey of life, “we, too, bring many questions,” the pope told the pilgrims, but Jesus replies by pointing to a “new path, the path of the Beatitudes,” which proclaims how blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who struggle for justice and those who work for peace.

“Hope for our common home – this Earth of ours, so abused and wounded – and the hope for all human beings resides in the difference of God. His greatness is different,” the pope said. Jesus demonstrated how greatness comes not from domination, but from learning “to serve, to love fraternally, to acknowledge ourselves as small. And to see the least, to listen to them and to be their voice.”

By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God’s unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and illuminate even the darkest corners, Pope Francis said.

Despite being born into a world “where there is a great need for light, for hope and a need for peace, a world where people at times create situations so complicated that it seems impossible to get out of them,” Jesus, the pope said, opens windows of light “even in the darkest nights of humanity.”

“God never stops, he finds a thousand ways to reach everyone, each and every one of us, wherever we are, without calculation and without conditions,” he said before praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter’s Square Jan 5.

Pope Francis said that Christmas celebrates how Jesus, through his humble birth, “overcomes so many walls and so many divisions.”

“He confronts the closed minds and hearts of the ‘great’ of his time, who are concerned more with defending power than seeking the Lord,” he said.

Born to parents “without means,” Jesus offers himself to the shepherds who were in the fields with their sheep, “men whose hearts are marked by the harshness of life and the disdain of society,” the pope said, as well as to the Magi who find Jesus “in great poverty.”

Pope Francis said Christians should be consoled and encouraged by the context of Jesus’ birth: “It seems impossible to get out of so many situations, but today the word of God tells us that it is not.”

He said that Christians are called to “to imitate the God of love, opening up glimmers of light wherever we can, with whomever we meet, in any context: family, social, international.”

God “invites us to not be afraid of taking the first step,” the pope said. “This is the Lord’s invitation today: let us not fear taking the first step; it takes courage to do it but let us not be afraid.”
Pope Francis said that opening “wide bright windows of closeness to those who are suffering, of forgiveness, of compassion and reconciliation” are the “many first steps we must take to make the path clearer, safer and possible for all.”

Particularly during the current Holy Year, he said, God invites Christians to be messengers of hope by saying “yes” to life in simple and concrete ways “with choices that bring life.”

After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan. He called on the international community to “act firmly so that humanitarian law is respected in conflicts.”

“No more striking schools, hospitals; no more hitting workplaces,” he said. “Let us not forget that war is always a defeat, always!”