“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.
Further information will be provided as soon as possible.”
#PopeFrancis
delivers an extraordinary blessing “To the City and to the World” to pray for an end to the Covid-19
#coronavirus
pandemic, and reflects on Jesus’ words to His disciples: “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”
Pope Francis appeals for an end to the war ravaging the Holy Land, praying especially for Christians holed up in the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza.
As people around the world pray for
#PopeFrancis
as he recovers in hospital from a respiratory infection, we invite our followers to send the Pope their messages of well-wishes and prayers in a retweet with comment.
Pope Francis has visited the children's ward at Gemelli hospital, bringing gifts of Rosaries, chocolate Easter eggs, and books for the young patients. While there, he baptized little Miguel Angel, born just a few weeks ago:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s remains rest at the 'Mater Ecclesiae' monastery in the Vatican.
Starting Monday morning at 9 am, the Pope Emeritus’ body with lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing until Thursday morning.
"I would like to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who in silence is supporting the Church. Remember him - he is very ill - asking the Lord to console him, and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end."
#PopeFrancis
"The Pope Emeritus was able to rest well last night. He is absolutely lucid and alert. Today, although his condition remains serious, the situation remains stable at the moment. " – Matteo Bruni, Director
@HolySeePress
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"[Jesus] became man so that man may learn to speak the language of love, transforming it into gestures of generosity and self-giving." (9 Sep 2018)
Video highlights of Pope Francis receiving an official welcome to Mongolia with all trappings of a state visit.
The Pope was greeted by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh and signed the Book of Honour.
#PopeInMongolia
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflection for Good Friday
To the disciple, and to each of us, Jesus said: “Behold, your Mother”. Mother Mary, at this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross.
"May his face, for which the light of this world has been extinguished, be forever illuminated by the true light, which has in You the inexhaustible source."
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
"As of Monday morning, 2 January 2023, the body of the Pope Emeritus [Benedict XVI] will be in Saint Peter's Basilica so the faithful can bid farewell." – Matteo Bruni, Director
@HolySeePress
The burial of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: the closing of the coffin Wednesday evening and placement in the grottos under St. Peter’s Basilica following the burial rituals and tradition of Popes.
Pope Francis was released from Gemelli Hospital on Saturday morning following a brief hospital stay that involved scheduled tests and treatment for bronchitis.
Read more:
A prayer for the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI:
Father, eternal shepherd, hear the prayers of your people for your servant Benedict,
who governed your Church with love.
May your Son welcome him into eternal glory.
Amen
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"May the Virgin Mother help us to live always in communion with Jesus, recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit who acts in Him and in the Church, regenerating the world to new life."
Read the full text:
"We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again."
Pope Francis presides over the Good Friday liturgy of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica.
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflection
Knowing that he will have to die on the cross for us, Jesus identifies himself with that bread broken and shared, which will become his Body and his Blood.
Easter Sunday
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"We, as Church, are built on Jesus, and, even when we grow disheartened and tempted to judge everything in the light of our failures, He comes to make all things new, to overturn our every disappointment."
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflection for Maundy Thursday
This is Jesus’ rule and the rule of the Gospel: the rule of service, not of dominating, of doing harm, of humiliating others. Service! We too must all be servants.
"The love of Jesus asks us to be affected by the situations of those who suffer. I think especially of
#Syria
and
#Turkey
, and the many victims of the earthquakes, as well as the daily drama facing the dear Ukrainian people and the many people who suffer from war."
#PopeFrancis
“Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.”
Happy Anniversary, Pope Francis!
#TenYearsPopeFrancis
The Catholic community in Gaza continues to show the world an incredible testimony of faith. Today, despite the war and its dangers, the Holy Family Parish celebrated Palm Sunday in the most solemn way.
May their courage be an example to everyone.
A blessed Holy Week to us all.
"My heart is broken over the mass shooting at the elementary school in Texas. I am praying for the children and adults who were killed, and for their families. It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms." - Pope Francis
Today is First Friday in March
Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O most holy Heart of Jesus,
Within your heart I place my every care.
In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying,
Heart of Jesus, help me.
Amen.
Following a government crackdown on national protests, Zimbabwe's Catholic Bishops criticize the constant unleashing of the police and military on the people.
Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation! To Christ be glory and honour forever.
The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On the night of Christmas,
#PopeFrancis
reminded the world of God's closeness to humanity in His Son Jesus.
“If you feel consumed by events, if you are devoured by a sense of guilt and inadequacy, if you hunger for justice, I, your God, am with you.”
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
God is always near us with his kindness. He is like that father who went up to the terrace every day to see if his son was returning: the love of the Father never tires of us.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
God, in becoming man, made our thirst His own, a thirst not only for water itself, but especially for a full life, a life free from the slavery of evil and death.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"All those who welcome Jesus’ word are children of God and brothers and sisters among themselves. Welcoming the word of Jesus makes us brothers and sisters, makes us Jesus’ family."
Read the full text:
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"Jesus asks you to welcome him in the daily reality in which you live; in the Church of today, as it is. It takes humility to encounter God, to allow ourselves to be encountered by Him." (Angelus, 30 January 2022)
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
“[Jesus] won against the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to return home, to take possession of us… be vigilant! And always with Jesus!” (Santa Marta, 11 October 2013)
Read the full text:
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"The Lord goes before us; He goes before us always. It is encouraging to know that He walks ahead of us in life and in death." (Homily, Easter Vigil 2020)
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"Each person is a love story that God writes on this earth. Each one of us is God’s love story. He knows us by name. He looks at us, waits for us, forgives us, and is patient with us." (General Audience, 17 May 2017)
Today is the first Saturday in March
We implore Your protection, O Holy Mother of God, do not despise our petitions in our needs, but always deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Amen
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
All of us have gone through terrible, intense moments: we know what it feels like in a dark time, in a time of suffering. In these moments we must always remember to turn to prayer, patience and hope.
February 11 is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl in a small cave of the Pyrenees mountains of southern France. Lourdes soon became a place of healing for all those who suffer in body and spirit.
According to the report “Martyred Christians in Nigeria” issued by Intersociety, over the past 14 years at least 52,250 Nigerian Christians have been brutally murdered at the hands of Islamist militants.
A prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.”
Amanda Gorman, who captivated the US with her poem recited at President Biden's inauguration ceremony, shares her thoughts on the importance of education, the power of poetry, and the movements launched by the dedication of young women.
@AGisotti
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
It would be good to ask ourselves every day: “What can I bring to Jesus today?”. He can do a lot with one of our prayers, with a gesture of charity for others.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
We must tell the truth: Christian life not just one big party. We cry, we cry so many times.
Be courageous in suffering and remember that afterwards the Lord will come, after the dark comes the sun.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
Love of neighbour is fundamental for Jesus: he says our relationship with God cannot be honest if we are not at peace with our neighbour. Therefore we must reconcile with others before turning to the Lord in prayer.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"Let us remember: God always awaits us with open arms, whatever the situation in life in which we are lost may be." (Angelus, 11 September 2022)
Read the full text:
God’s love is for everyone!
At today’s
#GeneralAudience
,
#PopeFrancis
reminds us that God has an infinite amount of love for each person and excludes no one.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"We must not consider ourselves superior to others; modesty is essential for an existence that seeks to conform to the teaching of Jesus, who is meek and humble of heart and came not to be served but to serve"(5 Nov 2017)
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"How much suffering, how many wounds, how many wars could be avoided if forgiveness and mercy were the style of our life!" (13 September 2020)
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"The light hits us in the face, it makes us see what we do not want to see... Let us allow the love of God, who sent Jesus to save us, enter into us."
The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference says it stands "in unconditional solidarity" with the Bishops of Zimbabwe, in the face of the wrath of the government.
A young child runs up to
#PopeFrancis
during the Wednesday’s
#GeneralAudience
and quietly stands by his side.
Pope Francis notes the child’s courage and how the alliance between the old and the young “will save the human family.”
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"Faith knows times of comfort, zeal and enthusiasm, but also of weariness, confusion, doubt and darkness. The Gospel shows us Thomas’ “crisis” to tell us that we should not fear the crises of life and faith."
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
We can ask ourselves: are we capable of preserving the quality of Jesus' relationship with the disciples, according to His style that is so open, so frank, so direct, so humanly real? How is our relationship with Jesus?
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"God's plans are not always clear; they require a great deal of trust that God wants only and always the good. And so we must do as St Joseph did: abandon ourselves to God to receive his messages." (23 December 2021)
"It's the moms who pass on the faith. The faith is passed on in dialect, that is, the language of moms, that dialect that moms know to speak with their children. And to you moms: be diligent in passing on the faith in that maternal dialect."
#PopeFrancis
#GeneralAudience
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
The Lord today calls us to respond generously to the Gospel’s call to love, placing God at the centre of our lives and dedicating ourselves to the service of our brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis recites the Rosary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, and offers the 200,000 pilgrims present his Apostolic Blessing.
Praying the fourth joyful mystery, the Pope and the pilgrims invoked the blessing of peace upon our war-torn world.
#PopeInPortugal
“The night is drawing to a close and the first light of dawn is appearing upon the horizon as the women set out toward Jesus’ tomb. Upon seeing the empty tomb, they... run to the disciples to proclaim a change of course: Jesus is risen and awaits them in Galilee.”
#PopeFrancis
"I ask everyone to pray with me for Fr. Isaac Achi, of the Diocese of Minna in northern
#Nigeria
, who was killed last Sunday in his parish residence. So many Christians suffer violence: let us pray for them!"
#PopeFrancis
#GeneralAudience
Pope Francis renews his prayers for peace in our world enduring countless wars, and recalls the 60th anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s landmark encyclical “Pacem in Terris”.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
How many times have we asked for a grace, a miracle, and nothing has happened. Then, over time, things have worked out but in God’s way, the divine way, not according to what we wanted in that moment.
Pope Francis gives thanks for the closeness of the Lord, who like a father, takes us by the hand when we fall and struggle. The Pope expressed his profound gratitude to all for the prayerful support when he was in hospital.
“The motherhood of Mary is the path leading us to the paternal tenderness of God, the closest, most direct and easiest of paths."
Pope Francis presided over Mass on New Year’s Day, as the Church celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
"The Gospel is proclaimed by moving, by walking, by going forth."
#PopeFrancis
urges Christians to ask ourselves if we allow our heart to be changed by our encounter with Christ so as to spread the
#Gospel
to others.
Prayers for the repose of the soul of Queen Elizabeth II
Almighty God,
grant your servant, Elizabeth,
eternal rest, O Lord,
And let Perpetual light shine upon her.
May she Rest in Peace.
Amen.
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"Let us ask the Lord for the grace to always see the Lazarus who knocks at our heart and for the grace to go outside of ourselves with generosity, with an attitude of mercy, so that God’s mercy can enter our heart." (Santa Marta, 25 February 2016)
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
Love gives birth to life and even gives meaning to pain. Love is the engine that empowers our hope. Let each of us ask: “Do I love? Have I learned how to love? Do I learn each day to love more?”
Pope Francis' Gospel Reflections
"The most profound mission of Jesus is the redemption of all of us sinners... This is the greatest miracle, through which Jesus made us children of God and gave us the freedom of children."