Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with President Alar Karis of Estonia at the Vatican on April 3, 2025, to discuss local and regional issues including prospects of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with President Alar Karis of Estonia at the Vatican on Thursday morning to discuss local and regional issues including prospects of ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

During the April 3 audience, Parolin and Karis expressed appreciation for “good bilateral relations” between their two states as well as the “positive contribution” of local Catholic communities in the northern European nation.

Approximately 6,700 Catholics live in Estonia, accounting for 0.5% of the country’s total population. According to Statistics Estonia, the country’s 2022 census showed the Catholic population grew from 0.4% in 2011 to 0.8% in 2021.

The Vatican erected the Diocese of Tallinn, which is immediately subject to the Holy See and not a metropolitan archdiocese, in September 2024. The diocese replaced the Apostolic Administration of Estonia that was founded 100 years prior in 1924.

In 2018, Pope Francis visited Estonia during his apostolic journey to the Baltic States and, in 2024, appointed French-born Bishop Philippe Jourdan as the first local bishop of the country. Jourdan had served as apostolic administrator since 2005. 

The Holy See Press Office said that during the Thursday meeting, “satisfaction was also expressed regarding the imminent beatification of Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, a Jesuit martyr and Estonia’s first blessed.”

Profittlich, who served as the apostolic administrator for Estonia from 1931 to 1942, died in Kirov prison in Serbia after being captured and deported by Soviet authorities. The Soviet Union invaded and occupied the country in 1940.

The Vatican reported “bilateral, regional, and international issues were also discussed” during the audience with “particular reference to the prospects for an end to the war in Ukraine.”

Last year, Statistics Estonia reported the country’s population is increasing due to Ukrainian immigration. Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022, approximately 44,480 Ukrainians migrated to Estonia, accounting for 73% of Ukrainian nationals living in the country.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, was also present at the April 3 meeting.

More than 60 men died after a mosque collapsed in Sagaing Township aftera 7.7-magmitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of the Action Against Hunger team in Sagaing

ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 2, 2025 / 18:36 pm (CNA).

Rescue teams have been working against the clock in Myanmar searching for survivors under the rubble after last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake. But the battle hasn’t just been against time or the high temperatures of over 100 degrees.

“The army isn’t allowing relief teams to operate freely,” a priest from the Diocese of Loikaw in eastern Myanmar told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“The Church is also trying to help, but we encounter countless obstacles. We can’t freely access the affected areas because there are military checkpoints everywhere. Supplies are confiscated, volunteers are prevented from entering, and in some areas the army doesn’t even allow victims to receive the assistance they need,” said the priest, who requested anonymity.

He said he fears reprisals from the military regime that seized power in a coup in February 2021 and overthrew the democratically-elected government of the National League for Democracy party.

So far, the official death toll from the March 28 earthquake stands at 2,886, while the number of injured is approaching 4,639, according to the latest figures shared by the military junta. This number is expected to continue to rise.

The devastation is particularly widespread in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, just 11 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, as well as in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, which is more than 150 miles away, and in the Sagaing region in the northwest of the country.

Catholic Church ‘one of the first to respond’

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble, but time passes and the chances of finding survivors are diminishing. Furthermore, those who managed to escape alive are in deplorable conditions: without food, without drinking water, and without shelter. There is a great need for medical assistance, but there is also no access to adequate hospitals,” the priest related.

“People are desperate. This morning I heard someone say: ‘If you can’t give us anything else, at least give us clean water.’ That shows the gravity of the situation,” he added.

From the very beginning, the Catholic Church has tried to mobilize to assist the victims. Through Caritas Myanmar, teams have been coordinated to distribute drinking water, food, and medicine.

“The Church has been one of the first to respond to the emergency, but we encounter barriers in every attempt to help. There are military checkpoints on the roads, we are required to obtain permission to transport supplies, and in many cases, the soldiers simply confiscate the aid or block its passage,” the priest explained.

The nation, one of the poorest in Asia, has been mired in a civil war for four years, triggered by the 2021 coup by the current military junta in power. The conflict has displaced 3.5 million people, according to the U.N., and has exacerbated poverty and food insecurity.

Despite the humanitarian crisis unleashed after the powerful earthquake, the spiral of violence has not abated.

“The conflict makes it almost impossible to move aid from one region to another. The military junta controls access to main roads, there are checkpoints everywhere, and anyone trying to bring supplies risks arrest or having everything confiscated,” the priest recounted.

The archbishop of Rangoon and president of the Myanmar Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, has called for a ceasefire in his country to facilitate rescue efforts, but his appeal has been unsuccessful.

Sagaing Township is one of the hardest hit. Credit: Courtesy of Action Against Hunger

“We have received reports of fighting in some areas, but communications are damaged, making it difficult to assess the full impact,” said Lisette Suárez, head of the Mental Health and Protection Department of Action Against Hunger in Myanmar, one of the organizations responsible for collecting foreign humanitarian aid and distributing it throughout the country.

“It’s essential to ensure safe and unrestricted access to all affected communities, regardless whose control they’re under,” she emphasized.

The distribution of humanitarian aid has also been hampered because many roads and main thoroughfares “have been completely destroyed” by the earthquake.

“Furthermore, some local airports are still working to restore operations, limiting the air transport of humanitarian aid,” Suárez added.

Without food, water, or electricity

Added to this infrastructure paralysis are administrative problems, as many government offices have also suffered damage and some of their staff are directly affected by the tragedy, Suárez noted.

“The country was already experiencing a humanitarian crisis before the disaster, with a conflict limiting mobility and safe access to many areas,” she pointed out.

The electricity and running water supply remains disrupted, hampering access to health services and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks spreading through water and food. Furthermore, hospitals are operating at half capacity.

“They are treating patients on the streets, with limited resources and without electricity. The few remaining care centers are overwhelmed,” said the worker for Action Against Hunger, an organization that has been operating in the country for 30 years.

Supply problems also affect food. “Markets have collapsed, and there is no access to basic foodstuffs. Thousands of families have lost their livelihoods.”

The earthquake has not only worsened the conditions of those internally displaced by the conflict. “It has affected everyone, without distinction. Displaced communities, those who lived in conflict zones, and those who did not,” explained Suárez, who also emphasized the incalculable psychological impact on a population already traumatized by the war.

“The earthquake has left a profound mark on the mental health of the population. Not only have the communities suffered human and material losses, but also the response teams are working in extremely difficult conditions,” she explained.

Despite the difficulties, international aid has begun to arrive. “Many organizations are using supplies that had been reserved for the monsoon season [June-October], but they probably won’t be enough,” Suárez pointed out.

In any case, despite the devastation, the small Catholic community in Myanmar continues to show great resilience. “Our faith remains strong. Despite the difficulties, we remain united, praying, and helping one another. We cannot lose hope that better days will come,” the priest from the Diocese of Loikaw said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Participants speak at the conference “Jews and Catholics on Ethics: A Light to the Nations” at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome on April 1, 2025. / Credit: Kristina Millare/CNA

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2025 / 14:38 pm (CNA).

The Vatican in collaboration with the Camille and Sandy Kress Project launched the first in a series of conferences titled “Jews and Catholics on Ethics: A Light to the Nations” this week, highlighting the significance of faith traditions in the world today.

The April 1–2 conference in Rome brought together Catholic and Jewish scholars from around the world to the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also known as the “Angelicum,” to deepen the theological foundations of Jewish-Catholic dialogue as proposed by Pope Paul VI in his 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate.

In a message to conference participants, Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, said joint reflection on ethics is more urgent now than in the past as both religions — “which have their common origins in revelation” — face being undermined in societies that “marginalize our moral values.”

“As Pope Francis stated: ‘Jews and Christians share a rich spiritual heritage which allows us to do much together. At a time when the West is exposed to a depersonalizing secularism, it falls to believers to seek out each other and cooperate in making divine love more visible for humanity,’” Koch said in his April 1 message.  

Both conference guest speakers — Shira Billet, assistant professor of Jewish thought and ethics at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and Judith Wolfe, professor of philosophical theology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland — said the shared belief that each person is made in the “image of God” provides Catholics and Jews a foundation for common ethics, norms, and values.     

“Beloved is the human being who was created in the image of God,” Billet said, commenting on the writings of Rabbi Akiva, a first-century Jewish scholar and martyr. “God loves human beings insofar as human beings are created in the image of God.” 

“When God said to Noah and his sons, ‘In the image of God, the human being was created,’ the verse is a prohibition against murder,” Billet added, citing Genesis 9:6. 

“God also spoke the moral norm that follows from it, which is, you cannot destroy the image of God in another human being,” she continued.

Describing the love of a trinitarian God that “already defines the divine life in itself; the love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” that draws human beings to participate in “that divine life of love,” Wolfe said Christians are called to express “the plenitude and generosity of God” toward others.

“The entire ethic propounded in the Sermon on the Mount speaks to this directly … [of] holding the other cheek, of going the extra mile, of giving your tunic,” Wolfe said, commenting on Chapter 5 of St. Matthew’s Gospel.

“All of those actions, in a sense, can only be performed out of a profound conviction that there is enough [and] that we can give all those things away and yet God’s love and plenitude will suffice.” 

Having received the command by God to be a “light for the nations,” both Billet and Wolfe said Jews and Christians hold a responsibility to be witnesses of their religious beliefs, particularly in a world in which scarcity, competition, and conflict are dominant forces.

As part of the Vatican’s three-year collaborative project with the Camille and Sandy Kress Project, the Angelicum will host two additional conferences in 2026 and 2027 to foster Jewish-Catholic dialogue on theology, anthropology, and ethics.

null / Credi: cinemavision/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2025 / 13:28 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday said Jesus continues to go out in search of those who are lost or without hope in a catechesis titled “Jesus Christ Our Hope.” 

In his written catechesis, released by the Vatican on April 2, the Holy Father described Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus — a man “who seems irredeemably lost” — as having a “special place” in his own spiritual journey.  

“Perhaps we too feel this way at times: without hope,” he wrote, reflecting on the scene in St. Luke’s Gospel. “Instead, Zacchaeus will discover that the Lord was already looking for him.”

Like Zacchaeus, the pope said Jesus continues to go out in search of those who seek God even when faced with personal limitations, struggles, or uncertain circumstances.

“When he comes to know that Jesus is passing through the city, Zacchaeus feels the desire to see him,” he said. “But when you have a strong desire, you do not lose heart. You find a solution.” 

While commending Zacchaeus’ courage and simplicity for not being intimidated by those who excluded him because he was the chief publican “who collects taxes from his fellow citizens for the Roman invaders,” the Holy Father noted that it is Jesus who takes the first step to start a conversation with the man “despised by everyone.”

“Jesus asks Zacchaeus to come down immediately, almost surprised to see him in the tree, and says to him, ‘Today I must stay at your house!’ (Lk 19:5),” he wrote. “God does not pass by without looking for those who are lost.”

Reflecting on Zacchaeus’ reaction to Jesus’ openness toward him, the pope said: “It is the joy of one who feels that he has been seen, acknowledged, and above all forgiven.”

After welcoming Jesus into his home, the Holy Father remarked that it is the merciful gaze of God that inspired Zacchaeus to transform his life and “imitate the One by whom he felt loved.”  

“He gets up to make a commitment: to return four times what he has stolen,” he said. “He does so because he understands that this is his way of loving.” 

Concluding his catechesis with an invitation to take “practical steps” forward so as to welcome Jesus and his forgiveness into our own lives, the Holy Father said: “Let us allow ourselves to be found by the mercy of God, who always comes in search of us, in whatever situation we may be lost.”

In 1984, Pope John Paul II met in Rome with 300,000 young people from all over the world in a meeting that laid the foundations for today’s World Youth Day. / Credit: Gregorini Demetrio, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Now 20 years since Pope John Paul II’s death on April 2, 2005, one of his closest collaborators says the Polish pontiff lives on in the hearts and memories of the many people who still feel connected to him today.

Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, John Paul II’s personal secretary for nearly four decades, told EWTN News during an interview in Krakow that visitors to the saint’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica “don’t go to the dead pope, they go to the living pope. He lives in hearts, he lives in memories.”

“There is still this dialogue between the pope and the people and the people with him. This is how I feel,” the 85-year-old cardinal and former archbishop of Krakow said. “He departed but at the same time remained with us. … People cling to him, study him again.”

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, who has Polish parents, said John Paul II changed Poland and the world.

“The world that we live in today is in the shape it’s in, at least in some aspects, because of John Paul’s witness,” Wenski told EWTN News in Miami, “especially when he went to Poland in 1979 and inspired the people by saying ‘Be not afraid’ and asking the Holy Spirit … to change the face of this land, this Polish land.”

Dziwisz echoed this sentiment, noting that “many things changed in the Church and in the world under the influence of John Paul II and his activities. … In Rome itself and in the Church, there was a belief that the future belonged to Marxism. And the pope said that the future belongs to human rights, to the human person, to human freedom, and not to the enslavement that Marx gave.”

‘We want to be with him’

“I also remember his departure wasn’t a departure to history, to the archives,” Dziwisz said. “He works and you can see it. People run to God thanks to him and receive different graces.”

The cardinal remembered how emotional everyone was when they said goodbye to the Polish pope in the days leading to his final breath on Saturday, April 2, 2005: “How they approached the pope, crying, to kiss his hand and say goodbye.”

“It was only in the afternoon, on Saturday, the day of his departure and death, that the pope asked to have the holy Scripture read to him,” Dziwisz said, recalling that a priest there in his room “read the Gospel of St. John, nine chapters. And [the pope] followed, he didn’t say anything, he just followed and listened to the Gospel. He prepared [for death] simply, by reading the holy Scripture, consciously knowing he’s leaving.”

Then a priest, Dziwisz had been at John Paul II’s side as his personal secretary since 1966, when the future pope was the new archbishop of Krakow. He said he and others “opened the window discretely” of John Paul II’s apartment where he lay dying so he could hear the voices of the thousands keeping vigil in St. Peter’s Square outside.

“So that he could have the satisfaction [of knowing] that there are people with him,” Dziwisz explained. “There was this big, quite large youth group who had been camping for the second day [in St. Peter’s Square]. I said to them: ‘You are going home.’ They said: ‘He was with us, so now we want to be with him.’ And indeed, they were. The youth did not abandon him to the end.”

Umberto Civitarese, a longtime employee of Vatican Radio (now Vatican News) who covered up close John Paul II’s papacy, including many of his international trips, said the pope “never gave up, he didn’t give up, he managed everything until the end and he was trying in every way to be present.”

Civitarese told EWTN News he remembered an Angelus one Sunday in which John Paul went to the window but he couldn’t speak, but “that was enough” for his flock waiting below. People “didn’t expect anything else, it was enough just to see him,” he added.

Even when he was sick, he was active, Dziwisz said. “He had perfect awareness until the end, until the last day and hour.”

The retired Polish cardinal emphasized that even in suffering, John Paul II never complained: “What I know is what he said, that suffering has meaning. That’s how he approached it.”

‘A man united with God in prayer’

“Very early on, we, not only me, had the impression that we were dealing with a saint,” Civitarese said about his and his colleagues’ experience with the pontiff. “Because the example he set on a daily basis, in my opinion, remained inimitable.”

“So many times one asks but what does one have to do to become a saint? And I know, I understood — seeing him, yes, from following the example that he set … the commitment he put into his role, putting the meaning of being pope first,” he noted.

Dziwisz said John Paul II’s “holiness was because he was a man united with God in prayer.”

Civitarese saw this commitment to prayer in action on the pope’s many international trips, when, after a very long day, the first thing he would do is go to the chapel of the nunciature he was staying at to pray.

“While the others [traveling with him] maybe were refreshing, there were those who were eating, those who were phoning, those who were resting, he instead put prayer first,” the radio technician said, adding that these are the memories that have stuck with him and left a lasting impression.

“The thing I remember most strongly about him was this magnetism that he had,” he said. “When you are in contact with a personality like that I think it changes your life a little bit.”

The “Caravaggio 2025” exhibition revives the legend of the baroque genius in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/ EWTN News

Vatican City, Apr 1, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).

The adventures of Michelangelo Merisi (1571–1610), known as Caravaggio, were linked to the religious context in Rome from his earliest days as a painter.

The Ordinary Jubilee of 1600, under the papacy of Clement VIII, was a brilliant boost to his career.

That year, he received his first public commission for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi (St. Louis of the French in Rome), where he painted the famous series on St. Matthew: “The Calling of St. Matthew,” “St. Matthew and the Angel,” and “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew.”

Thomas Clement Salomon is one of the three curators of the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, organized by the Barberini Palace, of which he is director, and the National Galleries of Classical Art. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“It was a pivotal moment for Caravaggio. From that commission onward, his success grew exponentially, and his style began to influence an entire generation of artists,” Thomas Clement Salomon told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

Clement Salomon is one of the three curators of the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, organized by the Palazzo Barberini, of which he is director, and the National Galleries of Classical Art.

The extraordinary retrospective exhibit, which runs until July 6, will feature 24 of Caravaggio’s works, including two previously unseen paintings, “Portrait of Maffeo Barberini” and “Ecce Homo” — which was exhibited at the Prado Museum in Madrid and discovered only a few years ago — and is in a sense a kind of homage to the holy year.

Among the 24 works brought together for the historic exhibition is the “Ecce Homo” from Madrid. Credit: Courtesy of the Barberini Palace

“The jubilee is a special moment for Rome, and Caravaggio is an artist who has a very strong connection with the city,” Clement Salomon explained.

In fact, the exhibition also represents a symbolic return for the artist to the city that shaped his destiny. “Although he was born in Milan, Rome was his true home. Here he achieved success, here he had his most important patrons, and here he left an indelible mark,” the director emphasized.

The exhibition will be open until July 6 and was created to mark the 2025 Jubilee. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

The exhibition is divided into four sections covering Caravaggio’s entire artistic life, spanning approximately 15 years, from his arrival in Rome around 1595, through Naples, Sicily, and Malta, until his return to Rome and death in Porto Ercole in 1610.

Conceived as part of the cultural events of the Jubilee of Hope, the exhibition is also a unique opportunity to appreciate Caravaggio’s predilection for reality, which made him one of the Catholic Church’s favorites for depicting biblical events.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, covering his entire artistic life, spanning approximately 15 years. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“He was the first painter to paint things as they are, not beauty. He rejected Renaissance idealism and chose to paint real models: friends, lovers, common people,” the curator explained.

This extreme realism, however, was not without controversy. On several occasions, his works were rejected by patrons or the Catholic Church itself for their crudeness. “When he painted ‘The Death of the Virgin’ for Santa Maria della Scala church, they refused to accept it because, it was said, he had used a deceased prostitute as a model,” the director related.

In any case, the religious genre takes on a special intensity in his work. A stroll through the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (St. Louis of the French in Rome) and a pause in front of the three canvases of St. Matthew painted by the artist is enough to understand the mystery of the Christian faith.

“He is an artist who, through his painting, allows us to enter the scene he depicts. He is a bridge between sacred history and the viewer. His way of illuminating Gospel episodes allows us to experience them intensely,” the expert noted. An example of this is the work “St. Francis in Ecstasy,” the first example of the artist’s religious work in Rome.

“St. Francis in Ecstasy” is the first example of the artist's religious work in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN New

The works created specifically for this church and those of Santa Maria del Popolo church are not part of the exhibition. “We haven’t asked for loans from the churches because that would distort their purpose,” explained Clement Salomon, who added that, in any case, there is a guide within the exhibition that shows pilgrims the ideal itinerary to discover the profound spirituality of Caravaggio’s works.

In “Judith Beheading Holofernes,” Caravaggio recreated a biblical story transformed into an allegory of good conquering evil. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Caravaggio’s turbulent personal life has contributed to his image as a tormented artist. Impulsive in nature, he was involved in numerous disputes, the most serious of which was the murder of Ranuccio Tomassoni in 1606, which forced him to flee Rome. “After that episode, his painting changed. It became darker, more introspective, as if his own personal torment were reflected in his works,” Clement Salomon explained.

An example is “The Capture of Christ,” on loan for the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition from the National Gallery in Dublin. “It’s a stunning painting. You feel as if you’re inside the scene, watching Judas betray Jesus. Caravaggio even paints a self-portrait in the work, depicting himself illuminating the scene with a lantern. It’s a testament to his narrative genius,” Clement Salomon commented.

“The Capture of Christ” on loan for the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition from the National Gallery of Dublin. Credit: Courtesy of Palacio Barberini

Although Caravaggio spent most of his life in Rome, his works are now scattered all over the world, from New York to London. Thus getting galleries to loan paintings for the current exhibition has been a challenge.

“Getting a Caravaggio is like getting someone extradited,” Clement Salomon joked. “Each painting is worth hundreds of millions of euros, and they are the jewels of the collections that house them. Museums don’t want to part with them, even temporarily.”

Despite these difficulties, the exhibition features works from important institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Detroit Museum, the Kansas City Museum, and private collections that rarely allow access to their works.

The final part of the exhibition features Caravaggio last paintings in Naples, including “The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula.”. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“It’s a unique opportunity to see these paintings together and make unprecedented comparisons,” the curator noted.

New discoveries and scientific debate

Another objective of Caravaggio 2025 is to update knowledge about the artist.

“The dating of his paintings remains a matter of debate,” Clement Salomon explained. “For example, ‘Ecce Homo,’ which was believed to have been painted in Rome, could have been done during his Neapolitan period. The exhibition will allow us to analyze his style and technique in detail.”

The painting, discovered in Madrid, was actually painted in Naples (1606–1609), and in the exhibition it has been placed alongside one of Caravaggio’s masterpieces, “The Scourging.”

“The Scourging” at the back of the Palazzo Barberini gallery. Credit: Daniel Iabñez/EWTN News

Another recent discovery is the “Portrait of Maffeo Barberini,” the future Pope Urban VIII, which is being exhibited to the public for the first time.

“It’s an indisputable masterpiece, but we’ve also included another portrait attributed to Caravaggio that continues to generate controversy among experts. We want the exhibition to serve as a forum for scientific discussion,” the expert said.

Tickets to see the April exhibition are now sold out. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

In addition, Caravaggio 2025 features other exceptional works such as “The Conversion of Saint Paul,”an earlier version of the famous Santa Maria del Popolo painting, which comes from the Odescalchi collection.

“It’s a unique opportunity to see this masterpiece, which is not normally accessible to the public,” Clement Salomon said.

The "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition also features other exceptional works, such as “The Conversion of Saint Paul.”. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience on Feb. 5, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Apr 1, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of April is for the use of new technologies. 

“How I would like for us to look less at screens and look each other in the eyes more,” the pope said in a prerecorded video released April 1. “Something’s wrong if we spend more time on our cellphones than with people. The screen makes us forget that there are real people behind it who breathe, laugh, and cry.”

He added: “It’s true, technology is the fruit of the intelligence God gave us. But we need to use it well. It can’t benefit only a few while excluding others.”

Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to “use technology to unite, not to divide. To help the poor. To improve the lives of the sick and persons with different abilities. Use technology to care for our common home. To connect as brothers and sisters.”

“It’s when we look at each other in the eyes that we discover what really matters: that we are brothers, sisters, children of the same Father,” he said.

He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times.”

Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

Pope Francis gives a thumbs up gesture from his window at Gemelli Hospital in Rome during his first public appearance in weeks on Sunday, March 23, 2025. / Credit: Screenshot/Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 1, 2025 / 09:44 am (CNA).

Pope Francis shared on Monday that he has experienced the gift of Christian joy during the challenges of his current illness, as the Vatican says the pope’s condition has continued to improve after his monthlong stay in the hospital.

In a message to an Italian synodal assembly March 31, the pontiff said joy “is God’s gift — let us always remember it; it is not an easy joy, it does not come from convenient solutions to problems, it does not avoid the cross, but it springs from the certainty that the Lord never leaves us alone.”

“I have experienced this myself in hospitalization, and now in this time of convalescence,” he added. “Christian joy is reliance on God in every situation in life.”

In an April 1 update about the 88-year-old pontiff’s continued recovery from double pneumonia and other lung infections, the Holy See Press Office said Pope Francis’ lung infection, mobility, and voice continue to improve, with the pontiff concelebrating daily Mass every morning and working from his desk.

The pope’s clinical outlook remains “stable,” the Vatican said, with a recent chest X-ray showing small improvements in the lung infection. He continues to receive oxygen support via nasal tubes during the day, including high-flow oxygen at night and as needed, and can go short periods without the tubes.

Francis has received no visitors since his March 23 return to his Vatican apartment in the Santa Marta Guesthouse, where he receives 24-hour assistance from medical personnel.

The pontiff is expected to spend at least two months recuperating after passing 38 days inside the 10th-floor papal suite of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital — by far the longest hospitalization of his pontificate.

While the pope’s engagements with the public are canceled during his convalescence, he continues to release written missives, including the text for what was previously his weekly Wednesday morning audience, and a message to the participants in a synodal assembly of the Church in Italy.

Reflecting on Christian joy, the pope in his message emphasized joy’s accompanying and welcoming style, stating that “it is fulfilled in the folds of everyday life and in sharing.”

Italian Catholics are gathered in Rome from March 31 to April 3 for the second synodal assembly, the last part of a five-year process for the Church in Italy. Pope Francis asked the assembly’s participants to “continue to pray for me.”

On Tuesday, the pontiff named Cardinal Fabio Baggio, CS, the newest member of APSA, the office that oversees the real estate and financial portfolios of the Holy See.

He also appointed Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, as his special envoy to a May 25 ceremony in Luxembourg for the closing celebrations of a Marian jubilee commemorating 400 years of devotion to the country’s patroness, Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted.

Pope Francis himself opened the year during a one-day visit to the country, the European Union’s second-smallest, on Sept. 26, 2024.

Father José Luis Quijano is one of the 500 priests who participated in the March 28-30, 2025, Jubilee of Priests Instituted as Missionaries of Mercy. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Apr 1, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In 2016, when Pope Francis instituted the ministry of the Missionaries of Mercy during the extraordinary holy year, Argentine priest José Luis Quijano never imagined that the pope’s initiative would renew his priestly zeal. With more than three decades of ministry, he thought he’d already learned everything.

“I wasn’t a priest just going through the motions; I was always very pastoral, but this meant an authentic renewal in the inner fiber of my ministry,” he explained to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, nine years after having personally received from the pontiff the task of imparting God the Father’s infinite forgiveness on a daily basis.

“Mercy is not for those who are squeaky clean, for those who are good or just. That’s easy. The recipient of mercy is the evil person, the one who has committed horrible deeds, the one who doesn’t deserve it,” he explained.

Those are not empty words. Even before receiving this mission of mercy, the priest of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires had made a radical decision: to accompany a former priest in prison who was convicted of pedophilia.

Those were 20 years in which, despite the difficulties, he never doubted that his mission was to remain by the side of that man forever tainted by a terrible crime.

“When you visit a prisoner with these characteristics, the person doesn’t speak. We spent hours and hours in silence. Afterward, every so often, he was transferred to another prison. Sometimes I had to drive 185 miles to see him, and once there, they would deny me entry,” he recounted, noting that his only motivation was the words of the Gospel: “I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Quijano had met the priest in the early 1990s, and although he was never aware of the abuse, he had perceived in him certain worrying attitudes that denoted a life that was “hardly in order,” he noted, without wishing to go into detail. In 1997, the scandal came to light. The priest involved, who was later laicized, admitted his guilt, was prosecuted, convicted, and served two decades in prison.

“When I saw Pope Francis’ call to the Missionaries of Mercy, I asked myself: When in my life was I truly merciful? Because being good, being tolerant, being cordial, is easy with those we like. But true mercy is loving those who don’t deserve it,” Quijano reflected. He was also quite aware that the harm inflicted by the former priest on the victims is irreparable and that divine forgiveness does not erase the consequences of human actions.

“Here we must note the difference between two things. One is forgiveness and the experience of God’s mercy in the heart. And the other is experiencing the world’s rejection. Even if a person repents, society’s condemnation remains,” he explained.

When the former priest finished serving his sentence and was released, he encountered the wall of exclusion. He couldn’t get a new start in life. It was impossible for him to find work or reintegrate into society. He ended up changing his name and moving to a city where no one knew him.

“Even though he may have repented internally in his intimate dialogue with God, that doesn’t exempt him from the harshness of life and the resistance of a world that will always continue to condemn him. In a certain way, the perpetrator is also a victim,” Quijano commented, not seeking to downplay the crimes but rather to highlight the complexity of forgiveness.

In this sense, for him, mercy must encompass “both the victims and the perpetrators.”

“Being a Missionary of Mercy doesn’t just mean administering the sacrament of confession but also living out mercy with others, even when it’s difficult, when it hurts, when it seems impossible,” he explained.

A broader vision of the priesthood

During these nine years as a Missionary of Mercy priest, Quijano participated in several meetings at the Vatican as part of his formation. In these meetings fundamental topics related to legal issues were discussed, such as how far the missionary authority goes and how they should exercise their ministry in relation to local ecclesiastical authorities, the bishops.

“In Rome, Pope Francis broadened our vision of the ministry. He reminded us that mercy is not just an act but a way of living the priesthood. It’s not just absolving sins; it’s bringing God’s forgiveness to all, without exception,” he recounted.

Quijano remains convinced that mercy is the greatest legacy Pope Francis has left within the Catholic Church.

“Everyone should look in the mirror and ask themselves: When did I truly exercise mercy? Not just forgive in words, but love someone who didn’t deserve it,” he emphasized. 

Quijano is one of the 500 priests who participated this past weekend in the Jubilee of Priests Instituted as “Missionaries of Mercy,” the sixth major event in the 2025 Jubilee.

Pope Francis was not able to accompany them due to his ongoing convalescence at St. Martha’s House after spending 38 days in Gemelli Hospital.

However, he sent a written message to impart his blessing to the priests, who came from countries such as Italy, the United States, Poland, Brazil, Spain, France, Mexico, Germany, Slovakia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Colombia, and India, among others.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pilgrims gather in St. Peter's Square for a Mass and canonization of 14 new saints on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 31, 2025 / 13:17 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has advanced five people’s paths to sainthood after approving decrees promulgated by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on March 28.

Blessed Peter To Rot of Papua New Guinea, Blessed Ignatius Shoukrallah Maloyan of Turkey, and Blessed María Carmen of Venezuela will be proclaimed saints of the Church. 

The pope also approved the beatification of Italian diocesan priest Carmelo De Palma and declared Brazilian priest José Antônio de Maria Ibiapina a “venerable” of the Church. 

The canonization ceremonies of both To Rot and Maloyan are to be discussed in a future customary consistory, according to a Holy See Press Office announcement.   

To Rot, a lay catechist born on March 5, 1912, and martyred for his faith during World War II, will be the first canonized saint from Papua New Guinea. 

Beatified by St. John Paul II during his apostolic journey to the Oceania nation on Jan. 17, 1995, To Rot is recognized by the Church as a defender of Christian marriage and a faithful catechist who continued his ministry until his death in prison.

Two children, one of them holding a statue of Blessed Peter To Rot, await the visit of Pope Francis at the Caritas Technical Secondary School in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 7, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Fame of To Rot’s sanctity spread throughout Papua New Guinea and to other countries in the Pacific Ocean — including the Solomon Islands and Australia — following his 1995 beatification.

Maloyan was born on April 19, 1869, and died a martyr in Turkey in 1915 after refusing to convert to Islam. He was beatified by St. John Paul II on Oct. 7, 2001, alongside six other servants of God.

Ordained in Lebanon in 1883, Maloyan was known as an intelligent and exemplary priest with a deep understanding of Scripture. He was later elected archbishop of Mardine during the Synod of Armenian Bishops held in Rome in 1911. 

Following the great persecution of Armenians in the country with the outbreak of World War I, Maloyan alongside other priests and Christian faithful were executed by Turkish officers in June 1915 after refusing to convert to Islam.

Blessed María Carmen (née Carmen Elena Rendíles Martínez) will become the first canonized saint of Venezuela after the Holy Father approved the miracle — the healing of a woman diagnosed with idiopathic triventricular hydrocephalus — attributed to her intercession.

Born in the country’s capital, Caracas, on Aug. 11, 1903, she became a religious sister of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament in 1927 and later became one of the founders of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus in Venezuela in 1946.

Serving the Catholic faithful in schools and parishes alongside her sisters who founded the new Latin American congregation, Blessed María Carmen was known for her love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

Priests designated as "Missionaries of Mercy" gather for a special Mass in Rome on March 30, 2025. To date, approximately 1,250 priests have been commissioned by the Vatican to embrace the call in Misericordiae Vultus to be “living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon.” / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

The Holy Mass for the Jubilee of Priests instituted as Missionaries of Mercy was celebrated on Sunday at the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome.

Hundreds of “Missionaries of Mercy” — priests with the authority to “pardon sins reserved to the Holy See” (Misericordiae Vultus, 18) — gathered in Rome’s basilica dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle to concelebrate Mass with Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, presided over a special Mass for hundreds of “Missionaries of Mercy”on March 30, 2025, in the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

In his homily, Fisichella reminded missionaries of mercy priests that they are “special instruments of reconciliation” who offer God’s great love to those who come to the sacrament of confession in search of forgiveness for their sins.

Fisichella encouraged the priests to be confessors who open their hearts and minds to “welcome those who approach us" but to also go out in search of those who are still far from the Church.

Recalling the example of the merciful father who restores dignity to his prodigal son in St. Luke’s Gospel, Fisichella said: “Love forgets sin, and forgiveness forces us to look directly to the future.”

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, presided over a special Mass for hundreds of “Missionaries of Mercy”on March 30, 2025, in the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

The number of Missionaries of Mercy priests continues to grow worldwide. To date, approximately 1,250 priests have been commissioned by the Vatican to embrace the call in Misericordiae Vultus to be “living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon.” 

Approximately 500 priests from around the world — commissioned as missionaries of mercy during the 2016 Jubilee of Mercy — participated in a variety of spiritual and cultural activities as part of the 2025 holy year dedicated to hope, including training sessions held inside the Vatican and a pilgrimage through the holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica.     

The March 28-30 special jubilee concluded Sunday with a free symphonic concert of “Missa Papae Francisci,” composed by Enni Morricone, in Rome’s Basilica of Sts. Ambrose and Charles on the Corso.

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience on Feb. 5, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Mar 30, 2025 / 09:18 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday encouraged Christians to continue their Lenten journey as a time of healing and faith in Jesus Christ. 

The Vatican released the Holy Father’s Sunday Angelus message while the 88-year-old pontiff continues his convalescence in his Casa Santa Marta home after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital a week ago.

In his written reflection on the parable of the merciful father with two sons recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel, the Holy Father said the Pharisees were “scandalized” by Jesus and would “murmur behind his back” because he welcomed sinners.

“Jesus reveals the heart of God: He is always merciful toward all; he heals our wounds so that we can love each other as brothers,” he wrote in his March 30 message.

Encouraging Christians — who are united in God as brothers and sisters — the Holy Father said people should especially “live this Lent as a time of healing” in the Jubilee Year of Hope, adding: “I too am experiencing it this way, in my soul and in my body.”

“Frailty and illness are experiences we all have in common; all the more, however, we are brothers in the salvation Christ has given us,” he wrote. 

In his message, released on the March 28-30 weekend of the special Jubilee of Missionaries of Mercy, the pope also expressed his heartfelt thanks to all who reflect the “image of the Savior” and work as “instruments of healing” through their prayers and action.

Petitions for peace and healing

The Holy Father concluded his Angelus address with petitions for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, South Sudan, and Sudan.

“Trusting in the mercy of God the Father, we continue to pray for peace,” he wrote.

Speaking about his concern about the political unrest in South Sudan and Sudan, the Holy Father insisted that the international community work together to bring about peace in the two African nations.

“Only in this way will it be possible to alleviate the suffering of the beloved South Sudanese people and to build a future of peace and stability,” he said.

“And in Sudan, the war continues to claim innocent victims, I urge the parties concerned in the conflict to put the safeguarding of the lives of their civilian brothers and sisters first,” he continued.

Turning to “positive events” in Central Asia, the Holy Father thanked God for the ratification of the March 13 country border agreement between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, describing the deal as “an excellent diplomatic achievement.”

The Holy Father concluded his message with a prayer asking the Blessed Virgin Mary — the “Mother of Mercy” — to “help the human family to be reconciled in peace.” 

Pope Francis looks out at the crowd gathered below his hospital window at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on March 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media/Screenshot

CNA Newsroom, Mar 29, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

As hundreds of Missionaries of Mercy gathered in Rome this weekend, Pope Francis commended their distinctive ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation that continues to flourish worldwide.

Approximately 500 priests are participating in a special jubilee dedicated to their role as part of the broader 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

In a message addressed to these priests, and written while still in the hospital, Pope Francis expressed his “gratitude and encouragement” for their work as special confessors who possess faculties to absolve certain sins typically reserved to the Holy See.

“Through your service,” the pontiff wrote, “you bear witness to the paternal face of God, infinitely great in love, who calls everyone to conversion and constantly renews us with his forgiveness.”

The missonaries’ March 28–30 gathering included training sessions, communal prayer, and a pilgrimage through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Francis reflected on the profound connection between mercy and hope in his message. “Conversion and forgiveness are the two caresses with which the Lord wipes every tear from our eyes,” he stated. “They are the hands with which the Church embraces us sinners; they are the feet on which we walk in our earthly pilgrimage.”

The Holy Father encouraged these priests to maintain a compassionate approach in their ministry, urging them to be “attentive in listening, ready in welcoming, and steadfast in accompanying those who desire to renew their lives and return to the Lord.”

First commissioned during the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, these priests have seen their mandate extended twice by Pope Francis. Their numbers have grown substantially, now surpassing 1,250 worldwide, with approximately 100 serving in the United States.

In Spes Non Confundit, the papal bull of indiction for the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pope Francis wrote that Missionaries of Mercy should “exercise their ministry by reviving hope and offering forgiveness whenever a sinner comes to them with an open heart and a penitent spirit.”

The pontiff concluded his message to the missionaries with a blessing and his customary request: “Please, do not forget to pray for me.”

People stand past the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 28, 2025, after a powerful earthquake killed more than 150 people across Myanmar and Thailand on March 28, toppling buildings and bridges and trapping over 80 workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok. / Credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 13:15 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis sent his condolences to Church and civil authorities in Myanmar and Thailand after a powerful earthquake killed more than 150 people and caused widespread devastation in the region.

“Deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation caused by the earthquake in Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar and Thailand, His Holiness Pope Francis offers heartfelt prayers for the souls of the deceased and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected by this tragedy,” said the message sent on the pope’s behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

“His Holiness likewise prays that the emergency personnel will be sustained in their care of the injured and displaced by the divine gifts of fortitude and perseverance.”

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, on March 28 at 12:50 p.m. local time. It was followed by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock. 

Myanmar’s government has reported at least 144 deaths and more than 700 injuries. In neighboring Thailand, at least eight people were killed in Bangkok, where a 33-story building under construction collapsed. Officials fear the death toll could rise, as at least 90 people remain missing in the Thai capital, according to Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.

The disaster comes amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war and a worsening humanitarian crisis. The country’s military junta has declared a state of emergency in the capital, Naypyidaw, and five other regions, while appealing to the international community for humanitarian assistance.

Catholic communities in Myanmar were also affected by the quake. Several churches in Mandalay sustained damage, according to the Pontifical Mission Societies’ Fides News Agency. St. Michael’s Catholic Parish was reportedly the hardest hit, while St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, was also damaged. Local Church leaders have urged Catholics to support those left homeless.

Rescue operations are ongoing as emergency teams search for survivors amid widespread destruction. Authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand are assessing the full extent of the damage while coordinating relief efforts.

Father Augustine Deji Dada, a Missionary of Mercy priest, is seen at the Vatican in Rome, Thursday, March 27, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Mar 28, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

Around 500 priests instituted as Missionaries of Mercy are in Rome March 28–30 to take part in events for a special jubilee dedicated to their role, part of the wider 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

Pope Francis commissioned the Missionaries of Mercy in 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Missionaries of Mercy are priests with faculties to hear confessions all over the world and to absolve certain sins previously reserved to the Holy See.

The pontiff has twice extended their original mandate and the number of Missionary of Mercy priests continues to grow, now numbering more than 1,200 around the world.

There are about 100 Missionaries of Mercy in the U.S., and one of these said it has been “life-changing” to have this ministry of mercy be part of his priesthood.

“The life of a priest is a life going in all directions, different directions, all at the same time. Being a Missionary of Mercy has given my life so much focus,” Father Augustine Deji Dada of the Archdiocese of New York told CNA in Rome.

Dada, who is from Nigeria, has been serving at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Elmsford, New York, since 2017. 

“That is also the theme that draws me to the priesthood in the first place, to be able to help people, to be able to be there for those who need me, whether for the sacraments or just for support in their lives,” Dada added. 

“And now you have the Holy Father giving you the mandate to go … put this into the context of every other thing you do.”

The Jubilee for Priests Instituted as Missionaries of Mercy began on Friday with morning and afternoon training sessions, which Dada said are lectures on theology, canon law, and best practices regarding the sacrament of confession. 

The sessions are also an opportunity for the priests to share with one another about what it is like to be a Missionary of Mercy in different parts of the world or in different contexts, like a parish or school.

“More or less it’s training on really how not to be the judge, but to be the kind father who … through the sacrament of reconciliation welcomes … the lost child back in the name of the Church and the name of God the Father, through the authority of Christ,” Dada explained.

This year’s edition of “24 Hours for the Lord,” taking place March 28-29, is part of the program for the Jubilee of Missionaries of Mercy. The night- and daylong event of confessions and Eucharistic adoration was started by Pope Francis during the Lenten season of 2013.

In Rome, the worldwide initiative will begin with a liturgy with the Missionaries of Mercy in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle.

The following morning, on March 29, the priests will make a pilgrimage through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica before praying a rosary in the Lourdes Grotto of the Vatican Gardens. The weekend will close with Mass on March 30 in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle.

“Mercy and hope share a very important link,” Dada said. He noted that hope is connected to waiting and expectation, while jubilees are about being freed from sin.

“I believe that’s part of the reason the celebration of the Jubilee of Priests instituted as Missionaries of Mercy is also included in the Jubilee of Hope,” Dada said. “So that we can go out there and remind everyone of this connection: that while we wait, we must embrace God’s mercy.”

Pope Francis in Spes Non Confundit, his bull of indiction for the jubilee year, wrote that “during the coming jubilee, may [Missionaries of Mercy] exercise their ministry by reviving hope and offering forgiveness whenever a sinner comes to them with an open heart and a penitent spirit.”

“May they remain a source of reconciliation and an encouragement to look to the future with heartfelt hope inspired by the Father’s mercy,” the Holy Father said.

Cardinal George Pell. / Credit: Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney this week credited the apparently miraculous survival of an Arizona toddler to the intercession of Cardinal George Pell.

According to the newspaper The Australian, Fisher said at a book event on March 26 that he had learned that an 18-month-old boy had been discharged from a hospital in Phoenix after going 52 minutes without breathing following a fall into a pool.

The boy, named Vincent, “stopped breathing for 52 minutes,” Fisher said at the Australian launch of a new biography about Cardinal George Pell at Campion College near Parramatta.

“His parents prayed for the intercession of Cardinal Pell,” he continued. “The boy survived and came off life support free of any damage to brain or lungs or heart. He’s fine now and his doctors are calling it a miracle.”

The boy’s uncle, a Catholic priest, contacted Father Joseph Hamilton, Pell’s former secretary in Rome, to ask for prayers during the approximate 10-day hospitalization.

Hamilton told The Australian that the family had met the late cardinal when he visited Phoenix in December 2021 to promote his three-volume “Prison Journal,” written during his 13-month imprisonment for historic child sexual abuse, a conviction later unanimously overturned by Australia’s highest court. 

Pell had also celebrated a White Mass for medical professionals in Phoenix.

The cardinal died from cardiac arrest following a hip replacement surgery in Rome on Jan. 10, 2023. He was 81.

The Catholic Church usually waits a minimum of five years after death to consider opening a cause for beatification. Once a process — which can take years, decades, or longer — is open, one verified miracle is needed to declare a person “blessed,” the last step before he or she can be declared a canonized saint.

The Church subjects miracles submitted in a beatification cause to rigorous scrutiny and examination by medical professionals to exclude any natural or scientific reasons for healings before pronouncing them to be miracles received through the prayerful intercession of a virtuous man or woman.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin (right) meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda on March 28, 2025, at the Vatican.  / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 09:40 am (CNA).

Pope Francis continues to show gradual improvement as he recovers from bilateral pneumonia at his residence in Casa Santa Marta, according to an update provided Friday by Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni.

The pontiff’s health remains stable, and his respiratory function, mobility, and speech have improved.

While still requiring supplemental oxygen, he has been able to reduce the high-flow oxygen therapy during daytime hours with a slight reduction also occurring overnight.

Blood tests conducted Wednesday indicate all hematological parameters are within normal range.

“The pope’s daily schedule includes physiotherapy sessions, which are helping improve his voice usage, along with periods of prayer, rest, and limited work,” Bruni said.

All dicasteries of the Roman Curia continue to send documents to inform him of ongoing activities.

ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, reported that Pope Francis concelebrates Mass daily in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta.

As with previous Sundays during his recovery, the Holy See Press Office will release this weekend’s Angelus reflection in writing.

The Holy Father has been informed about the recent earthquake in Myanmar and is praying for the victims.

In a sign that Vatican business continues despite the pope’s convalescence, the Holy See announced Friday that Pope Francis had appointed Archbishop Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi as the new archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church.

Pagazzi, elevated to archbishop of Belcastro in November 2023, previously served as secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

The 58-year-old prelate holds a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and has taught at numerous theological institutions across Italy.

Polish president meets Cardinal Parolin

In diplomatic developments, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, received Polish President Andrzej Duda in a cordial meeting Friday morning. 

Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks with members of the press on March 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

The talks, which included Monsignor Mirosław Wachowski, undersecretary for Relations with States, took place on the eve of the 20th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s death and near the millennium of the coronation of Poland’s first king, Bolesław Chrobry.

According to the Vatican press office, the Friday discussion covered topics of mutual interest before focusing on international affairs, particularly the ongoing war in Ukraine and broader concerns about European security and peace.

Parolin will also be celebrating the anniversary Mass for St. John Paul II on the date of the anniversary, April 2.

No decisions have been announced regarding the pope’s participation in upcoming Easter celebrations or the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis. The next official update on the pope’s condition is expected Tuesday morning.

Pope Francis gives an extraordianry urbi et orbi blessing in St. Peter's Square, March 27, 2020. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 19:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ historic “Statio Orbis” blessing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic remains relevant for the Church as it did five years ago. Before an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis held Eucharistic adoration and gave an extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Holy Hour on March 27, 2020, included a reading from the Gospel and a meditation by Pope Francis, who spoke about faith and trust in God during a time when people fear for their lives, as did the disciples when their boat was caught in a violent storm.

Pope Francis gives an extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing from the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica on March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media

During the special moment of prayer on March 27, 2020, the Holy Father spoke about faith amid crisis — “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

These powerful words were a papal refrain throughout his 2020 address before an empty St. Peter’s Square.

“‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’ Lord, your word this evening strikes us and regards us, all of us. In this world, that you love more than we do, we have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything. Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things and lured away by haste,” he prayed.

Pope Francis implored people to believe in God’s presence during the time of COVID-19 when he spoke of Jesus’ reaction to the cry of the disciples: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” recorded in chapter 4 of St. Mark’s Gospel.

Pope Francis speaks in an empty St. Peter's Square during a Holy Hour and extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media

The pandemic’s impact on the life of the Church is yet to be fully researched and understood.

Recent studies from around the world suggest a decline in Church attendance in some regions. A new Pew study shows thousands of people have chosen to leave behind the religion of their childhood in some of the traditionally Catholic countries such as Italy and Spain.

At the same time, the study acknowledges the report’s figures “are not necessarily representative of the entire world’s population.”

A growing Church

While religious belief and practice may seem to be weakening in some parts of the world, the Holy Father’s “Statio Orbis” prayer five years ago can still resonate with millions of people of faith who trust and hope in God’s presence in times of world suffering and hardship.

According to the Vatican’s 2025 Annuario Pontificio, the Catholic Church has grown worldwide after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the highest growth recorded in Africa.

Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter's Square during his urbi et orbi blessing on March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media

Between 2022 and 2023, the global Catholic population has grown from approximately 1.39 billion Catholics to 1.406 billion in the last two years. In Africa alone, the Catholic population increased by 3.31%, from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023. 

As Pope Francis said on this day five years ago: “You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: ‘Do not be afraid’ (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, ‘cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us’ (cf. 1 Pt 5:7).”

Pope Francis presides at Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican on March 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has published the official calendar of liturgical celebrations planned for Holy Week, but it has not clarified whether Pope Francis will preside.

The pontiff was discharged on Sunday after spending 38 days in the hospital with double pneumonia, but doctors have prescribed complete rest for at least two months. It is expected that he will be able to resume his full schedule by the end of May.

The Holy See Press Office indicated that it will be necessary to monitor “the improvement of the pope’s health in the coming weeks to assess his possible presence, and under what conditions, at the Holy Week rites.”

Archbishop Diego Ravelli, papal master of ceremonies, announced the planned Holy Week schedule, which will begin on Palm Sunday, April 13, with Mass in St. Peter’s Square at 10 a.m. local time, commemorating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

On Thursday, April 17, the chrism Mass is scheduled in St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m., during which the holy oils will be blessed and priests will renew their priestly vows. In previous years, Pope Francis has traveled from the Vatican to a prison in Rome to commemorate the Lord’s Supper, in remembrance of the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, during which he would wash the feet of 12 people.

The following day, Good Friday, the Catholic Church celebrates the passion of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica at 5 p.m. In previous years, Pope Francis has participated in the services at St. Peter’s Basilica, but the homily has typically been given by the preacher of the papal household, currently Franciscan Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini. This is the only day of the year on which there is no consecration as a sign of mourning for the passion of Jesus.

At 9:15 p.m., the traditional Way of the Cross will take place in Rome’s Colosseum, where the 14 stations of the Passion are meditated upon, from Jesus’ condemnation to death to his burial, in one of the most widely followed ceremonies by the faithful in Rome. Last year, the Holy Father, suffering from bronchitis, was unable to attend this event, whose tradition reflects the persecution suffered by early Christians under the Roman Empire.

On Holy Saturday, April 19, the Easter Vigil will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica. In the past, St. John Paul II usually celebrated the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday in the Vatican around 10 p.m., but in the final years of his pontificate, it began to be celebrated a few hours earlier. This year, the ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica with the brief ceremony of lighting the fire and blessing the paschal candle.

The following day, Easter Sunday, April 20, the Catholic Church will celebrate the day of the Lord’s resurrection with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square at 10:30 a.m. Following this, the solemn urbi et orbi blessing will be imparted to the city of Rome and the entire world.

One week after Easter, on the second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, a special Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Square at 10:30 a.m. During this ceremony, the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the young Italian millennial known as the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” is scheduled to take place.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

A relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a fragment of his pericardium, visits the U.S. at Holy Family Parish in Queens, New York, on April 6, 2022. / Credit: Photo courtesy DeSales Media

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 16:25 pm (CNA).

Italian prosecutors are investigating the illegal online sale of alleged relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will be declared the first millennial saint next month. 

The investigation by the Perugia Public Prosecutor’s Office was prompted by a complaint by the bishop of Assisi, the city where Acutis’ tomb is located for public veneration.

“On the internet, there is a marketplace for relics concerning various saints, such as our St. Francis, complete with a price list. Something impossible to accept,” Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino said in a statement on March 26.

Sorrentino filed a formal complaint with Italian authorities after learning of an internet auction of an alleged first-class relic of Acutis’ hair, which sold online for 2,000 euros by an anonymous user.

“We do not know whether the relics are real or fake,” the bishop said. “But if it were also all fabricated, if there was deception, we would be not only in the midst of a fraud but also of an insult to religious belief.”

According to canon law of the Catholic Church, the sale of first- and second-class relics is strictly forbidden. Relics can only be given away by their owners, and some very significant relics, such as a heart, arm, etc., cannot be given away without the permission of the Vatican. 

Acutis’ canonization Mass is scheduled to take place in St. Peter’s Square on April 27 during the Church’s Jubilee of Teenagers.