Cindy Wooden

Highlighting the importance of the Bible in the life of faith and the role of lay women and men in sharing the Gospel, Pope Francis formally installed eight men and women in the ministry of lector and eight others in the ministry of catechist.

While the church's prayer should not be a battlefield, Archbishop Roche told Catholic News Service it is understandable that people are passionate about it.

The pope told the Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox pilgrims that “we need to press forward with humility and patience, and always together, in order to encourage and support one another, for this is what Christ desires.”

With dozens of people reported dead and thousands detained in Kazakhstan, Pope Francis prayed for the victims and for a return of peace in the former Soviet republic.

Competition, the market system and need to answer to stockholders can and do challenge business owners and leaders who want to put the needs of employees and the common good first, Pope Francis said.

As many Catholics try to understand what Pope Francis might mean by a "synodal church," he highlighted humility and trust. 

The attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, "represented a direct blow to the heart of American democracy," the Vatican newspaper said.

As Catholics begin a new year contemplating the motherhood of Mary, they should be inspired not to let problems weaken their faith or prevent them from helping others grow, Pope Francis said.

The Taizé community's annual end-of-year ecumenical prayer gathering, which moved online Dec. 28-31 and was supported by prayers and messages from Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and other leaders.

Christians cannot close their eyes to the fact that too many people in the world today also feel forced to flee their homelands, Pope Francis said.

Preparations for the Holy Year 2025 have already begun, and Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization to take charge of the efforts.

From a vaccination clinic in the Vatican to a visit to the ancient Iraqi city of Ur and later to a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, Pope Francis demonstrated throughout 2021 what he means by seeing all people as brothers or sisters.

The Francis Chronicles: The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on families, but with extra patience and faith, bonds can grow stronger, Pope Francis wrote in a letter released on the feast of the Holy Family.

Cardinal Peter Turkson said he offered Pope Francis his resignation because he was at the end of his five-year appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Pope Francis told children that Christmas is a sign of how much God loves them, and they are called to share that love.

A group of Catholic and Anglican theologians has called on the Vatican to review and overturn a papal document that declared Anglican ordinations "absolutely null and utterly void."

Bishops' conferences will be responsible for translating the rite into their local languages and seeking Vatican approval for local adaptations.

The best way to overcome indifference to the suffering of migrants and refugees is to look in their faces, Pope Francis said.

Celebrating Mass Dec. 5 in Athens' Megaron concert hall, Pope Francis spoke of the blessing and spiritual advantage of being a small community without power and without pretenses.

In a meeting with Archbishop Chrysostomos II, head of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, Pope Francis assured him that "your sorrows and your joys are also ours."