Cindy Wooden

Pope Francis once again will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper in a prison and will wash the feet of 12 inmates, the Vatican announced March 20.

The Catholic Church and Catholic agencies that work with migrants and refugees around the world are called to educate, advocate and seek alternative host countries in the face of a growing "refusal to welcome" newcomers, as the Vatican secretary of state defined the situation.

Listening, playing and having an afternoon snack, Pope Francis spent time March 2 at a group home for women prisoners with small children.

Pope Francis has decreed that Latin-rite Catholics around the world will mark the feast of "the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church" on the Monday after Pentecost each year.

If people listen to Jesus and do as he urges them, they can be certain that he will see them through even the darkest times, Pope Francis told members of a Rome parish.

Pope Francis announced at the end of a question-and-answer sessions with pastors in the Diocese of Rome that Blessed Paul VI would be canonized this year.

No physician should be forced to choose between violating his or her conscience and facing professional sanctions, said the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations.

While it is true that the world is full of sin and sinful behavior, priests must learn to scrutinize the "signs of the times" for new trends and attitudes that are good and healthy and holy, Pope Francis told pastors from the Diocese of Rome.

Lent is a time for Christians to get their hearts in sync with the heart of Jesus, Pope Francis said.

Formalizing their unity in the intimate setting of the chapel of the papal residence, Pope Francis and Melkite Patriarch Joseph Absi concelebrated Mass together.

Waiting for a verdict on allegations that he sexually abused several boys, Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana, Guam, attended one of Pope Francis' weekly general audiences in February.

Prosperous nations where foreign women are forced into prostitution need to drop their hypocrisy and "face the idea that they are part of the problem, rather than turning away, proclaiming their innocence," Pope Francis said.

A devotion to and meditation on the five wounds of Christ "may sound a bit medieval," but anyone who recognizes he or she is wounded will find mercy and healing in the passion of Christ, Pope Francis said.

"I am on a pilgrimage toward Home," retired Pope Benedict XVI wrote in a letter to a journalist, five years after announcing his intention to be the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign.

Lift up your eyes from your smartphones and see those who share your journey of faith and those who are longing for the Word of life, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women.

Multiple news reports indicate the Vatican has made substantial progress in reaching an agreement with China's communist government on the naming of bishops for several dioceses.

Catholics who have accused top members of the Roman Curia of making overtures to China's communist government without the knowledge of Pope Francis are "fostering confusion and controversy," said the director of the Vatican press office.

Pope Francis' visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Basilica of Santa Sophia in Rome combined elements of his parish visits with elements of his visits to centers for migrants and refugees.

In the apostolic constitution Veritatis Gaudium ("The Joy of Truth"), the pope issued revised norms for what are known as "ecclesiastical universities and faculties." 

When different Christian churches recognize the validity of one another's baptisms, they are recognizing that God's grace is at work in them, Pope Francis said.