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Tens of thousands gather outside of the Colosseum in Rome for the Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, on Good Friday, March 29, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Pope Francis Skips Way of the Cross in Rome, Tens of Thousands Pray his Meditations

Mar 29, 2024

In an apparent last-minute decision, Pope Francis skipped the Way of the Cross ceremony held at Rome's Colosseum on Friday to safeguard his health ahead of Easter liturgies. 

Pope Francis presides over Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis’ Good Friday Way of the Cross Meditations: Full Text

Mar 29, 2024

For the first time in his 11-year pontificate, Pope Francis has written his own spiritual meditations for Friday’s Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) in Rome.

Pope Francis arrives at the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter's Basilica on Good Friday on April 7, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

What are the Good Friday Reproaches?

Mar 29, 2024

The Good Friday Reproaches are a series of antiphons, known also as “Popule Meus” (“My people”), coming from the opening lines of the Latin text of the recitation.

Cardinal Mario Grech and Pope Francis at the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 28, 2023. / Credit: National Catholic Register / Vatican Media

Controversial Comments by Secretary General of Synod of Bishops Add to List of Concerns on Postsynodal Study Groups

Mar 29, 2024

The Maltese cardinal stated in a recent interview that a female diaconate would not be a “revolution” but a “natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”

Pope Francis presides at the Vatican's chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis Asks Priests to Weep Over their Sins

Mar 28, 2024

Pope Francis encouraged the priests to turn their gaze upon the crucified Lord and weep over their sins in repentance, saying tears can “purify and heal the heart.”

Students and teachers from Jerusalem Christian schools walk the Way of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. The yearly event was organized by the Custody of the Holy Land on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, on the occasion of Lent. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

In Letter to Holy Land Christians, Pope Francis Deplores the War, Expresses Closeness 

Mar 27, 2024

“Dear brothers and sisters, allow me to tell you once more that you are not alone. We will never leave you alone,” the pope wrote in his Holy Wednesday letter.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gather in Paul VI Audience Hall for his Wednesday general audience on March 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Amid Holy Week, Pope Francis Points to "beautiful testimony" of Fathers who Lost Daughters

Mar 27, 2024

The Holy Father called attention to two men present at his general audience in the Paul VI Hall on Wednesday, one Palestinian, one Israeli.

The Stations of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum, April 15, 2022. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Pope Francis to Write Meditations for Good Friday Way of the Cross for the First Time

Mar 26, 2024

The reflection will be based on the theme “In Prayer with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.”

Pope Francis meets with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Gives Thanks to Young Nigerian Priests and Nuns who Answered God’s Call

Mar 25, 2024

In a meeting with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, the pope said that he was grateful for all that Nigerian Catholics have done to bear witness to the Gospel.

Pope Francis addresses approximately 7,000 children from around the world in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Nov. 6, 2023, at an event sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education dedicated to the theme “Let us learn from boys and girls.” / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Young People: "Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!"

Mar 25, 2024

“Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” Pope Francis wrote in a letter to young people signed on March 25.

Pope Francis at Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square on March 24, 2024. / Vatican Media

Pope Francis Prays for Victims of Moscow Terrorist Attack at Palm Sunday Mass

Mar 24, 2024

Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the “vile terrorist attack” in Moscow at the end of his Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican.

Pope Francis greets staff and families of RAI, Italy’s national public broadcasting company, March 23, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Implores Public Broadcasters to Serve the Common Good and Combat "fake news"

Mar 23, 2024

The pope spoke of “the devious plans of those who seek to influence public opinion in an ideological manner, lying and disintegrating the social fabric.”

Pope Francis venerates the Salus Populi Romani icon in the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Dec. 8, 2023. / Vatican Media

Pope Francis Changes Statutes of Papal Basilica, Emphasizing Work of Canons 

Mar 21, 2024

The new regulations place emphasis on spiritual work and pastoral care and appointing a coadjutor archpriest of the West’s oldest Marian shrine.

German bishops in Rome on Nov. 17, 2022. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

German Bishops to Discuss Synodal Way with Vatican amid Controversy

Mar 21, 2024

A delegation of German bishops is expected in Rome this Friday for talks with the Vatican about the German Synodal Way. 

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on March 20, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Highlights Importance of Prudence, Calls for End to War

Mar 20, 2024

“War is always a defeat. You can’t go on in war. We must make all efforts to negotiate, to negotiate, to end the war. Let’s pray for this,” the pope said Wednesday.

Pope Francis addresses the faithful at his Wednesday general audience on Feb. 28, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis’ Message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations Stresses Fraternity, Hope

Mar 19, 2024

The theme for the this year’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations is “Called to Sow Seeds ofHope and to Build Peace.”

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Vatican Observatory publishes new method to better understand the Big Bang theory

Mar 18, 2024

Two priests from the Vatican Observatory have made further progress in developing a new mathematical method to understand the Big Bang theory.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square during his Sunday Angelus on March 17, 2024. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: God’s glory does not correspond to human success

Mar 17, 2024

Pope Francis said Sunday that God’s glory and our true happiness are not found in success, fame, or popularity but in loving and forgiving others.

Pope Francis meets with participants of the conference “Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and the Sciences,” sponsored by the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, held at the Vatican from March 14–15, 2024. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: Indigenous "ancestral wisdom" a Vital Tool in Fight against Climate Change

Mar 15, 2024

Pope Francis addressed his remarks to participants of the conference “Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and the Sciences” at the Vatican on March 14.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Takes on Critics in Forthcoming Memoir, Says He Won’t be Resigning

Mar 14, 2024

Pope Francis has no plans to resign from office according to excerpts from his forthcoming memoir — though he says some in the Church wish he would.