Pope Francis raises his glass at the start of a lunch with poor and economically disadvantaged people in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Nov. 19, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 12, 2024 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis will have lunch on Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Vatican with 1,300 people “who hold a privileged place in God’s heart” as part of celebrations to mark the eighth World Day of the Poor.

This year’s lunch, organized by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity in collaboration with the Italian Red Cross, will be held inside the Paul VI Hall as a sign of the Holy Father’s desire to be close with “those who are most in need: the poor, the marginalized, the suffering, and the forgotten.” 

In anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Francis’ message for the eighth World Day of the Poor stressed the importance for the Catholic faithful to be aware of the presence and needs of the “poor whom we encounter daily.”

“As we journey toward the holy year, I urge everyone to become pilgrims of hope, setting tangible goals for a better future. Let us not forget to keep ‘the little details of love’ (Gaudete et Exsultate, 145): stopping, drawing near, giving a little attention, a smile, a caress, a word of comfort,” he wrote.

Since establishing the World Day of the Poor in 2016, which is celebrated each year one week before the solemn feast of Christ the King, the pope has held the annual tradition of welcoming Rome’s poor into the Vatican to dine with him and be served lunch.

Last year, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity worked alongside Hilton Hotels and the Community of Sant’Egidio to provide approximately 1,200 lunches — which included cannelloni, meatballs with tomato sauce, cauliflower purée, tiramisu, and small pastries — for refugees, the homeless, and men and women who are suffering economic disadvantage.

Other services provided by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity in the lead-up to the Nov. 17 celebration of the World Day of the Poor include free health care services at the Vatican. 

From Nov. 11–16, the Madre di Misericordia clinic offers those in need with emergency services, internal medicine, flu vaccines, blood tests, swabs, and dressings as well as specialized medical visits including dentistry, surgery, and cardiology.

Reflecting on the theme of this year’s World Day of the Poor, “The Prayer of the Poor Rises Up to God (cf. Sir 21:5),” the Holy Father insisted that care for those in need must not stop at providing material aid only. 

“We need to make the prayer of the poor our own and pray together with them,” he said. “The worst discrimination that the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care.”

“The great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith. Our preferential option for the poor must mainly translate into a privileged and preferential religious care,” he continued, citing his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.

The Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library, the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City, is one of the oldest libraries in the world. / Credit: Checco2/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Nov 12, 2024 / 10:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has called for the expansion of the Vatican library and archives to a building outside Vatican City to make more “available this precious patrimony.”

In a letter dated Oct. 29 and issued on Tuesday, the pope declared that part of the archives and library be moved to a building on extraterritorial Vatican property at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

The building where the documents and books will be housed in the future is also used for Rome’s major seminary.

“The centuries-old care for the custody of the acts and documents concerning the government of the universal Church, combined with a commitment to the development and dissemination of culture, are the characteristic features of the activity of the Vatican Archives and Library,” Pope Francis wrote in a papal chirograph.

According to the letter, renovations will be undertaken to prepare the space. Francis has also asked for the creation of a commission of representatives from the Secretariat of State, the Vatican Apostolic Archives, and the Vatican Library to decide what categories of documents should be transferred to the new location.

In July, Pope Francis appointed Augustinian Father Rocco Ronzani as the new prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive.

Previously known as the Vatican’s “secret archive,” it contains 53 miles of underground shelving preserving documentation from historic papacies, ecumenical councils, conclaves, and Vatican nunciatures, or embassies, around the world.

The Vatican Library, according to its website, “preserves over 180,000 manuscripts (including archival units), 1,600,000 printed books, about 9,000 incunabula, over 300,000 coins and medals, more than 150,000 prints, thousands of drawings and engravings, and over 200,000 photographs.”

In its current form the library dates to the 14th century, though there is evidence the Catholic Church has had a library and archive from as early as the 300s.

Pope Leo XIII opened the archive to scholars in 1881. Qualified researchers can request permission to visit and view specific documents in both the archive and the library.

Father Roberto Pasolini, who was appointed Nov. 9, 2024, as the new preacher of the Papal Household, earned a doctorate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and has been a professor of biblical languages ​​and sacred Scripture at the Laurentianum Interprovincial Theological Institute of the Capuchins in Milan and Venice. / Credit: Courtesy of Festival Bíblico

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 11, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Nov. 9 appointed Father Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap, as the new preacher of the Papal Household, replacing Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, 90, who held that position for 44 years.

Cantalamessa, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis in 2020, has been preacher of the Papal Household since 1980, when he was appointed by St. John Paul II.

His successor is a professor of biblical exegesis at the Theological University of Northern Italy in Milan and is now tasked with giving the Friday meditations of Advent and Lent, among other tasks, as Cantalamessa did for years, serving three popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis) and the Vatican Curia.

Pasolini was born on Nov. 5, 1971, in Milan and just turned 53. According to the Vatican Press Office, he made his perpetual vows in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on Sept. 7, 2002, and was ordained a priest on Sept. 23, 2006.

The Franciscan earned a doctorate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and has been a professor of biblical languages ​​and sacred Scripture at the Laurentianum Interprovincial Theological Institute of the Capuchins in Milan and Venice. He works with the Archdiocese of Milan in the formation of religion teachers and with the Italian Conference of Major Superiors.

Pasolini is the author of various articles and books on biblical spirituality and dedicates himself to the preaching of spiritual retreats and exercises.

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

Inside the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary in Pompeii, Italy. / Credit: Marco Rubino/Shutterstock

Vatican City, Nov 11, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

To mark the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the image of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii on Nov. 13, Pope Francis has encouraged Catholics to contemplate the life of Christ “through the gaze of Mary” during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

“It is providential that the jubilee of the image of Our Lady of Pompeii coincides with the imminent jubilee year, focused on Jesus our hope,” the pope said in a message to Archbishop Tommaso Caputo of Pompeii. 

“The rosary, a simple instrument within everyone’s reach, can support the renewed evangelization to which the Church is called today,” the Holy Father asserted. 

“We are aware of how it is necessary to rediscover the beauty of the rosary in families and in homes. This prayer is of aid in building peace, and it is important to propose it to the young so that they do not hear it as repetitive and monotonous but as an act of love that never tires of being poured out.” 

A close-up of the image of Our Lady of Pompeii inside the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary in Pompeii, Italy. Credit: DyziO/Shutterstock

In addition to the 150th anniversary of the arrival and veneration of the image of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, this year also marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea.

“With the 17th centenary of the Council of Nicaea (325), which gave particular prominence to the divine-human mystery of Christ in the light of the Trinity, it is good to rediscover the rosary, in this perspective, in order to assimilate the mysteries of the Savior’s life,” the pope shared with Caputo.

In an interview with EWTN Vaticano, Caputo, who is also the pontifical delegate for Pompeii’s Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary, emphasized that the rosary is “a prayer rooted in the Gospel [and] in the word of God.” 

Approximately 3 million pilgrims travel to the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary each year to venerate the image of Our Lady of Pompeii, which depicts the Mother of God and the Child Jesus giving rosaries to St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena.

Calling the shrine’s founder, Blessed Bartolo Longo, “an apostle of the rosary” whose faith was reinvigorated by the motto “If you seek salvation, spread the rosary,” Pope Francis said he hopes Catholics will continue his “most beautiful spiritual legacy” throughout the world.

According to Caputo, the mission of Blessed Bartolo Longo to spread devotion to Our Lady and the rosary is known worldwide, “as there are many churches dedicated to Our Lady of Pompeii across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and even Africa and in the Middle East.”

In his message, the pope highlighted the need for people to “find comfort and hope in the gentle face of the heavenly mother.”

“May the Lord speak again today, to humanity in need of rediscovering the path of concord and fraternity, through the message of Our Lady of Pompeii,” the Holy Father shared.

“It is my hope that her numerous devotees scattered throughout the world will adhere ever more faithfully to the Lord, bearing witness to their brothers and sisters, especially those most in need.”

Pope Francis meets with the delegations of the Diocese of Aosta, Italy, and the Congregation of the Canons of Great Saint Bernard on Nov. 11, 2024, in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 11, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).

At the Vatican on Monday, Pope Francis recalled the hospitality and peacemaking of St. Bernard of Aosta, the patron saint of mountaineers and Alpine travelers who lived one millennium ago and gave his name to the St. Bernard dog breed.

Bernard, also known as St. Bernard of Menthon, lived from about 1020–1081 in what are now the countries of France, Switzerland, and Italy. 

A priest and missionary to mountain villages, he created the Great St. Bernard Hospice to help pilgrims crossing the treacherous Pennine Alps and founded the institute of consecrated life known as the Canons Regular of the Hospitaller Congregation of Great Saint Bernard.

Addressing members of the Canons Regular of Great Saint Bernard in the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 11, Pope Francis said he was happy to celebrate the end of the group’s “jubilee year dedicated to the centenary of the proclamation of St. Bernard of Aosta as patron saint of mountaineers, travelers, and inhabitants of the Alps, as well as the ninth centenary since his canonization and the first millennium since his birth.”

Pope Francis meets with the delegations of the Diocese of Aosta, Italy, and the Congregation of the Canons of Great Saint Bernard on Nov. 11, 2024, in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The pontiff recalled St. Bernard’s gifts of preaching and hospitality, in particular the “charitable adventure” for which he is best known: “taking care of pilgrims and wayfarers who were crossing the Alpine passes near Mont Blanc — passes that still bear his name today — to enter Italy from France and Switzerland, and vice versa, on international journeys.”

Noting that some of the consecrated canons regular are ski instructors and guides in the Alps, the pope drew on the symbolism of a mountain climber’s tools — the pickaxe and the rope — in his speech.

“St. Bernard’s pickaxe was the word of God, with which he was able to break into the coldest and most hardened hearts; his rope was the community, with whom he walked — and helped others to walk — even along risky paths, to reach the destination,” he said.

Pope Francis is presented with a pickaxe, a symbol of a mountain climber’s tools, during a meeting with the delegations of the Diocese of Aosta, Italy, and the Congregation of the Canons of Great Saint Bernard on Nov. 11, 2024, in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope also recalled another important story in the life of St. Bernard: when he tried to encourage peace by convincing Emperor Henry IV to not wage war against Pope Gregory VII.

Already sick, the saint ultimately died soon after his return from the unsuccessful journey to Pavia to speak with the emperor. 

The fact that St. Bernard did not manage to keep the peace “makes him even more noble in our eyes,” Francis said, “because it shows him engaged in a delicate and uncertain undertaking, with no guarantee of success.” 

“To promote peace, without being discouraged, even in the face of defeat — and how much we need this courage even now,” the pope said. 

St. Martin of Tours. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 11, the Catholic Church honors St. Martin of Tours, who left his post in the Roman army to become a “soldier of Christ.”

Martin was born around the year 316 in modern-day Hungary. His family left that region for Italy when his father, a military official of the Roman Empire, was transferred there. Martin’s parents were pagans, but he felt an attraction to the Catholic faith, which had become legal throughout the empire in 313. He received religious instruction at age 10 and even considered becoming a hermit in the desert.

Circumstances, however, forced him to join the Roman army at age 15, when he had not even received baptism. Martin strove to live a humble and upright life in the military, giving away much of his pay to the poor. His generosity led to a life-changing incident, when he encountered a man freezing without warm clothing near a gate at the city of Amiens in Gaul.

As his fellow soldiers passed by the man, Martin stopped and cut his own cloak into two halves with his sword, giving one half to the freezing beggar. That night, the unbaptized soldier saw Christ in a dream, wearing the half-cloak he had given to the poor man. Jesus declared: “Martin, a catechumen, has clothed me with this garment.”

Martin knew that the time for him to join the Church had arrived. After his baptism, he remained in the army for two years but desired to give his life to God more fully than the profession would allow. But when he finally asked for permission to leave the Roman army, during an invasion by the Germans, Martin was accused of cowardice.

He responded by offering to stand before the enemy forces unarmed. “In the name of the Lord Jesus, and protected not by a helmet and buckler, but by the sign of the cross, I will thrust myself into the thickest squadrons of the enemy without fear.”

But this display of faith became unnecessary when the Germans sought peace instead, and Martin received his discharge.

After living as a Catholic for some time, Martin traveled to meet Bishop Hilary of Poitiers, a skilled theologian and later canonized saint. Martin’s dedication to the faith impressed the bishop, who asked the former soldier to return to his diocese after he had undertaken a journey back to Hungary to visit his parents. While there, Martin persuaded his mother, though not his father, to join the Church.

In the meantime, however, Hilary had provoked the anger of the Arians, a group that denied Jesus was God. This resulted in the bishop’s banishment, so Martin could not return to his diocese as intended. Instead he spent some time living a life of severe asceticism, which almost resulted in his death. The two met up again in 360, when Hilary’s banishment from Poitiers ended.

After their reunion, Hilary granted Martin a piece of land to build what may have been the first monastery in the region of Gaul. During the resulting decade as a monk, Martin became renowned for raising two people from the dead through his prayers. This evidence of his holiness led to his appointment as the third bishop of Tours in the middle of present-day France.

Martin had not wanted to become a bishop and had actually been tricked into leaving his monastery in the first place by those who wanted him to the lead the local Church. Once appointed, he continued to live as a monk, dressing plainly and owning no personal possessions. In this same spirit of sacrifice, he traveled throughout his diocese, from which he is said to have driven out pagan practices.

Both the Church and the Roman Empire passed through a time of upheaval during Martin’s tenure as bishop. Priscillianism, a heresy involving salvation through a system of secret knowledge, caused such serious problems in Spain and Gaul that civil authorities sentenced the heretics to death. But Martin, along with the pope and St. Ambrose of Milan, opposed this death sentence for the Priscillianists.

Even in old age, Martin continued to live an austere life focused on the care of souls. His disciple and biographer, St. Sulpicius Severus, noted that the bishop helped all people with their moral, intellectual, and spiritual problems. He also helped many discover their calling to the consecrated life.

Martin foresaw his own death and told his disciples of it. But when his last illness came upon him during a pastoral journey, he felt uncertain about leaving his people.

“Lord, if I am still necessary to thy people, I refuse no labor. Thy holy will be done,” he prayed. He developed a fever but did not sleep, passing his last several nights in the presence of God in prayer.

“Allow me, my brethren, to look rather toward heaven than upon the earth, that my soul may be directed to take its flight to the Lord to whom it is going,” he told his followers, shortly before he died in November 397.

St. Martin of Tours has historically been among the most beloved saints in the history of Europe. In a 2007 Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his hope “that all Christians may be like St. Martin, generous witnesses of the Gospel of love and tireless builders of jointly responsible sharing.”

This story was first published on Oct. 6, 2011, and has been updated.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for his Angelus address on Nov. 10. 2024. / Credit: Vatican Meda

Vatican City, Nov 10, 2024 / 11:34 am (CNA).

During his Angelus address Sunday, Pope Francis asked his listeners to consider the qualities necessary for good leadership.

“Brothers and sisters, can we ask ourselves: How do I behave in my fields of responsibility? Do I act with humility, or do I vaunt my position? Am I generous and respectful with people, or do I treat them in a rude and authoritarian way?” he asked pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. 

Reflecting on Sunday’s Gospel reading from St. Mark, Pope Francis said that Jesus denounced people esteemed in the temple, including scribes, who possessed a “hypocritical attitude” and “feigned piety” to attract attention and gain approval from people.

“People revered them beyond appearances, however their behavior often did not correspond to what they said. They were not coherent.” 

In contrast to the “corrupt” behavior of some temple officials, the Holy Father highlighted the qualities of Jesus’ leadership that should be imitated by all Christians, particularly those who hold positions of responsibility.

“Indeed with his word and example, as we know, he taught very different things about authority. He spoke about it in terms of self-sacrifice, humble service, maternal and paternal tenderness toward people, especially [toward] those most in need,” the pope elaborated.  

During his Nov.10 Angelus address, the Holy Father also encouraged Christians to turn to Our Lady and seek her intercession to overcome the temptation of imposing one’s will, might, and authority over others who are weaker than ourselves.

“May the Virgin Mary help us fight the temptation of hypocrisy in ourselves,” he prayed from the window of the Apostolic Palace.

Pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis' Angelus address on Nov. 10, 2024. Credit: Vatican MediaPrayers for the world

Following the Angelus prayer in Latin, Pope Francis continued to ask people to pray for the victims of flash floods in Valencia, Spain, and asked them to consider contributing toward charitable and disaster relief efforts in the country to assist families.   

The Holy Father also prayed for communities in Flores, Indonesia, following recent volcanic eruptions that have forced thousands to flee their homes. 

He also expressed his concern and hope for the people of Mozambique to not “lose trust in justice and in democracy” after weeks of deadly violence following the country’s Oct. 9 general elections.

The ongoing conflicts affecting Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Sudan were also included in the prayers of the Holy Father on Sunday.

“Let us pray for peace throughout the world today,” he said.

Pope John Paul II. / Credit: Gregorini Demetrio, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Rome Newsroom, Nov 9, 2024 / 11:00 am (CNA).

As Germany marks the 35th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall this year, key witnesses are highlighting the crucial role played by St. John Paul II in bringing about the peaceful revolution that transformed Europe.

“I am absolutely convinced that without Pope John Paul II, German reunification would not have been possible,” Martin Rothweiler, director of EWTN Germany, told CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

Rothweiler was in Rome on the historic night of Nov. 9, 1989, when East German citizens began crossing freely through the Berlin Wall for the first time in nearly three decades.

“It seemed surreal,” Rothweiler recalled. “Watching people climb over the wall, seeing masses streaming from East to West Berlin — it was simply incredible. We had grown up accepting the division as unchangeable: the Eastern Bloc, the West, the Warsaw Pact on one side, NATO on the other. It all seemed set in concrete — literally.”

The late Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne, who died in 2017 and was a close friend of John Paul II, offered similar testimony in a 2016 EWTN interview: “Without him, there would have been no Solidarity movement in Poland. I seriously doubt whether communism would have fallen without John Paul II. His contribution to communism’s collapse cannot be overestimated.”

A pope’s mission

Even after becoming pope in 1978, John Paul II continued supporting opposition movements behind the Iron Curtain. After surviving an assassination attempt in 1981 — widely believed to have been orchestrated by Soviet-bloc security services — he decided to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, fulfilling a request made by Our Lady at Fátima.

Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who served as John Paul II’s personal secretary for decades, emphasized the spiritual dimension of these historical events. In a 2016 interview with EWTN, he explained: “From the moment of that consecration, a process began that culminated in freedom for nations oppressed by communism and Marxism. Our Lady had both requested this consecration and promised that freedom would follow.”

“After this event, the world became different,” Dziwisz added. “Not only did the Iron Curtain fall, but also Marxism in the world, which was especially rooted in universities and circles worldwide.”

Witness to history

The impact of John Paul II’s role was acknowledged even by secular leaders. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl recalled a decisive moment during the pope’s 1996 visit to reunified Berlin. Walking through the Brandenburg Gate — once a symbol of division — the pope turned to Kohl and said: “Mr. Chancellor, this is a profound moment in my life. That I, a pope from Poland, stand here with you, the German chancellor, at the Brandenburg Gate — and the gate stands open, the Wall is gone, Berlin and Germany are united, and Poland is free.”

Perhaps the most striking testimony came from an unexpected source: Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, who acknowledged that without John Paul II’s influence, the peaceful revolution of 1989 might never have occurred.

Today’s echoes

The legacy of those events resonates today as Europe again faces conflict. On March 25, 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Pope Francis chose to renew John Paul II’s consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“We have strayed from the path of peace,” Francis said during the ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica. “We have forgotten the lessons of the last century’s tragedies and the sacrifice of millions who fell in the World Wars.”

As war continues in Ukraine two years later, John Paul II’s example offers a reminder that transformative change often comes unexpectedly. The Polish pope, canonized by Francis in 2014, demonstrated throughout his life that faith and peaceful resistance could overcome seemingly immovable obstacles — even walls that divided nations.

Historical context

The Berlin Wall stood from 1961 to 1989 as the most visible symbol of the Cold War division of Europe. The communist East German regime called it the “Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart,” but for most of the world, it represented the Iron Curtain that Winston Churchill had warned about.

More than 100 people died trying to cross from East to West Berlin before the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989.

Rothweiler, who later brought EWTN to Germany in 2000, sees John Paul II’s influence continuing today through Catholic media. “His legacy reminds us that spiritual power can transform political realities,” he told CNA Deutsch.

“The fall of the Berlin Wall wasn’t just about politics — it was about the triumph of human dignity and faith over oppression.”

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

Pope Francis meets with Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, at the Vatican on Nov. 9, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Nov 9, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis announced on Saturday that St. Isaac of Nineveh, a seventh-century Assyrian bishop venerated across Christian traditions, will be added to the Roman Martyrology.

The pope made the announcement on the occasion of a Vatican meeting with Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.

The gathering on Nov. 9 commemorated two milestones: Almost 30 years since the Common Christological Declaration was signed, ending a 1,500-year doctrinal dispute, and 40 years since the first historic meeting between a pope and an Assyrian patriarch.

Quoting from the Second Vatican Council’s Unitatis Redintegratio, the pope emphasized that both Churches share “the same faith, handed down by the apostles,” even if expressed differently.

Francis pointed to recent achievements in Catholic-Assyrian dialogue, such as the 2001 agreement on the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, an ancient Eucharistic prayer recognized for its apostolic roots, and the 2017 joint statement on sacramental life.

A 2022 document titled “The Images of the Church in the Syriac and Latin Patristic Traditions” laid further groundwork for mutual understanding.

“Theological dialogue is indispensable in our journey toward unity,” Francis said. “The unity we yearn for is unity in faith,” he added, stressing that such dialogue must be grounded in truth and charity.

Pope Francis’ decision to add St. Isaac to the Martyrology follows a recommendation from the recent Synod on Synodality to recognize saints from other Christian traditions in the Catholic liturgical calendar.

Turning to the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, Pope Francis prayed for their continued witness in a region scarred by conflict. “Through the intercession of St. Isaac of Nineveh, united to that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, Our God and Savior, may the Christians of the Middle East always bear witness to the risen Christ in those war-torn lands,” he said.

St. Isaac of Nineveh, also known as Isaac the Syrian, was a revered Christian mystic, monk, and bishop. He was celebrated for his profound writings on asceticism, compassion, and interior spiritual life, profoundly influencing Christian spirituality across Eastern and Western traditions.

Francis closed the meeting by inviting all present to pray the Our Father in their own languages and traditions, underscoring the shared spiritual heritage that binds these ancient Churches.

Adding St. Isaac of Nineveh to the Catholic Martyrology, Francis noted, is a reminder of the common roots and shared faith of both Churches, one that has endured through centuries of separation.

Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín is one of the key figures of the Synod on Synodality. Pope Francis appointed him its undersecretary. / Credit: Courtesy of Bishop Marín

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín is one of the key figures of the Synod on Synodality. Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the event, which the Spanish prelate says he has experienced as “an offer of grace” and a call “to personal conversion.”

With the recent meeting in Rome already concluded and the final document issued, the bishop emphasized in a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, that synodality “is a constitutive dimension of the Church,” so that, despite the fact that the assembly is over, “the process continues.”

The prelate noted that this dimension “is not an achievement” or something that is acquired, but “it exists and has always existed.” He affirmed that “the Church ‘is’ synodal” and that in this stage of “implementation” it is therefore intended to develop this dimension, “to draw out consequences and to make it concrete in the life of the Church.”

For the Augustinian, the final document “is not a recipe book for measures or a code of laws,” but rather “it opens doors, indicates paths to travel, and encourages processes” with “diverse speeds, developments, and concrete expressions, because there are geographical and cultural differences,” although with the same “deposit of faith: one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

During these four years, he explained, he has tried to “listen to the voice of the Spirit to discern how to be faithful to the Lord and how to live and bear witness to the Gospel in today’s world.” 

He also envisages it as an opportunity for profound renewal, which “comes from the experience of the risen Christ” and is also oriented toward the mission in today’s world, taking up cultural diversity and different challenges, “but always in communion.”

Revision of canon law in a ‘synodal key’

Regarding the proposal of the final document to revise canon law in a “synodal key,” Marín stated that “the Code of Canon Law is a practical instrument.” In this sense, he reiterated that “the deposit of faith does not change, but the laws of the Catholic Church are being renewed, so that they adapt better and are more helpful in the salvific mission that has been entrusted to her.”

“A revision of the 1983 code is requested, taking into account current ecclesiological development, so that it can provide forms, structures, and procedures in a synodal key,” he explained.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, the bishop said “there is a commission of canon lawyers that is working” to review the existing structures and processes so that they are more effective.

Among the topics reviewed, Marín mentioned “the obligatory nature of diocesan and parish pastoral councils; developing ways for the collaboration of laypeople, thus integrating the variety of ministries; expanding the possibilities of laypeople exercising ministries,” or establishing “new regional or continental structures, such as ecclesial assemblies,” as well as “determining the way to carry out transparency, accountability, and evaluations.”

Greater participation ‘without laicizing clergy or clericalizing laity’

Another consequence of the Synod on Synodality is the request for greater participation of the laity in the “decision-making processes” and that this be done through new synodal structures and institutions.

For the prelate, the participation of the laity is not a concession “but a consequence of baptism,” so that “they must assume all the responsibility that corresponds to them, without laicizing the clergy or clericalizing the laity.”

The synod undersecretary emphasized that every baptized person “must feel involved in the life and mission of the Church and participate in the discernment for decision-making, seeking her good.” A co-responsibility that, he pointed out, is differentiated, since “each person participates in accordance with his or her different ministries and functions.”

Authority as service

Referring to the words of Pope Francis, he pointed out that “the model is not the pyramid, nor the sphere, but the polyhedron.”

“The bishop and the parish priest, in order to make decisions, have the duty to consult and listen in order to discern, such that that the participating bodies have to exist and function. They will then make the decisions that correspond to them by their ministry and they will explain the decisions taken.”

Marín insisted on the need to clarify the decision-making processes and co-responsibility, since there are issues “in which the decision corresponds only to the bishop or the parish priest and others that can be taken in other instances.”

However, “there is a need to clarify the decision-making processes and co-responsibility,” the bishop added.

“Authority in the Church must always be understood and exercised as a service. Likewise, it is important to keep in mind the principle of subsidiarity; matters must be resolved at the level closest to those concerned,” the synod undersecretary explained.

‘Nothing prevents women from holding office in the Roman Curia’

With regard to the participation of women in the Church, according to Marín, the document proposes, above all, “the need for women to assume their proper role in the Church, including participation in ministries,” noting that until recently, “surprisingly, lay ministries were open only to men.”

Marín clarified that the same applies to positions of responsibility, “which can be occupied by laypeople, whether men or women.”

“In the Roman Curia there are already women in the secretariat of some dicasteries and nothing prevents them from presiding over others in the future, as laymen already do today.”

The prelate said that in some places “women perform many pastoral and administrative tasks, as well as governance, and it is appropriate to pursue this direction further.”

Regarding paragraph 60 of the synod’s final document, he said it “also raises the issue of the diaconate, which is an ordained ministry and not a lay one. It is clear that there were deaconesses in the early Church. But was it an ordained ministry? What were their functions? Was it the same in all the local Churches? To further explore the issue, Pope Francis appointed two commissions. The work of studying it continues,” he noted.

In this regard, Marín emphasized that “it’s important to note that this does not mean access to the priesthood and the episcopate; only the topic of the diaconate is being studied, which is a degree of the sacrament of holy orders, but which, as the [Second Vatican] Council recalls, is not oriented toward the priesthood but toward the ministry (deacons are not priests, as are priests and bishops). The synod asks for further clarification,” he pointed out.

Liturgical celebrations as an expression of synodality

One of the paragraphs that received the most votes against it was No. 27 on “studying how to make liturgical celebrations an expression of synodality.” The proposal received 312 votes in favor (87.8%) and 43 against (12.1%).

“Given the importance of the relationship between liturgy and synodality,” Marín continued, “it is suggested that a study group be entrusted with the task of making liturgical celebrations more expressive of synodality.”

“In my view,” he continued, ”it refers above all to three lines of further study: how to strengthen communion, so that those celebrating are the community united in the risen Christ and not a sum of disconnected, unknown and solitary individuals; how to promote differentiated participation, avoiding considering ourselves mere spectators; how to involve all of us in the shared mission, in evangelization. In short, I believe that the key is in how to live and make present the love (caritas), which identifies us as Christians.”

‘Overcome the mentality of power and develop that of service’

The undersecretary also noted that the assembly asked for “clarification on what the criteria are for the selection of bishops and how the local Church should enter into the selection process.”

Along these lines, he indicated that it is “necessary to overcome the mentality of ‘power’ and develop that of ‘service.’ There is no doubt that the more closed in a group is, the greater the risk of elitism, which is why a greater involvement of the people of God is requested.”

However, he emphasized that there are practical difficulties, especially in large dioceses, where knowledge of possible candidates is limited. “Other difficulties we find in participation: only believers? Those who practice [the faith]? Everyone? Also in the way of conducting the consultation, avoiding election campaigns and pressure from organized groups.”

“The principle is clear: to broaden the consultation and allow for greater participation. But an in-depth study, proceeding calmly, is required. That’s why the pope has created a working group on this subject. Let us await its conclusions,” Marín indicated.

‘The deposit of faith doesn’t change and cannot change’

As for those who, “with goodwill, feared a change in doctrine, they have already seen that this is not the case. The deposit of faith does not change and cannot change. It’s a matter of going deeper into it, formulating its expression and developing it in the time at hand, as the Church has done throughout its history,” Marín affirmed.

“The synodal process arises from the action of the Holy Spirit and necessarily requires conversion of the heart. If not, we will understand nothing. The common thread that links the different parts of the document is, in fact, an invitation to conversion: called by the Spirit to conversion; conversion in relationships; conversion in processes; conversion in interconnectivity; conversion for the mission. For this, it is necessary that love be, truly, the common thread,” he concluded.

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

Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, where Bernini's gorgeous bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massive bronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

For the first time in over a century, the historic Chair of St. Peter, a wooden throne symbolizing the pope’s magisterial authority, has been removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St. Peter’s Basilica to be displayed for public veneration. 

Pilgrims and visitors can now behold this storied relic directly in front of the basilica’s main altar, just above the tomb of St. Peter, where it will remain on display until Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

The last major public viewing of the chair occurred in 1867, when Pope Pius IX exposed the Chair of Peter for the veneration of the faithful for 12 days on the 1,800th anniversary of the martyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Paul, according to Pietro Zander, head of the Necropolis and Artistic Heritage Section of the Vatican. 

It was the first time that the centuries-old wooden throne had been exhibited to the public since 1666 when it was first encased within Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s monumental bronze sculpture under the stained-glass Dove of the Holy Spirit window at the basilica’s apse.

The historic wooden Chair of St. Peter as it is currently on display in St. Peter's Basilica. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Formally known as the Cathedra Sancti Petri Apostoli, or more simply as Cathedra Petri, the chair has held a revered place in Catholic tradition over the centuries, representing papal authority from St. Peter to the present.

“The chair is meant to be understood as the teacher’s ‘cathedra,’” art historian Elizabeth Lev told CNA. “It symbolizes the pope’s duty to hand down the teaching of Christ from generation to generation.”

“It’s antiquity [ninth century] speaks to a papacy that has endured through the ages — from St. Peter who governed a church on the run trying to evangelize with the might of the Roman Empire trying to shut him down, to the establishment of the Catholic Church and its setting down of roots in the Eternal City, to our 266th successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis,” she explained.

Pope Francis venerates the Chair of St. Peter at the end of the closing Mass of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 27, 2024, the first day the chair was displayed for public veneration. Credit: Vatican MediaA storied history

The wooden chair itself is steeped in history. According to the Vatican, the wooden seat was likely given by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in A.D. 875 for the emperor’s Christmas coronation in the old St. Peter’s Basilica. A depiction of the emperor appears on the crossbeam of the chair, and its ivory panels illustrate the labors of Hercules along with other scenes from Greek mythology.

The informational sign near the chair in St. Peter’s Basilica informs visitors that “shortly after the year 1000, the Cathedra Petri began to be venerated as a relic of the seat used by the apostle Peter when he preached the Gospel first in Antioch and then in Rome.”

The Fabric of St. Peter, the organization responsible for the basilica’s upkeep, maintains that “it cannot be ruled out that this ninth-century imperial seat may have later incorporated the panel depicting the labors of Hercules, which perhaps originally belonged to an earlier and more ancient papal seat.”

Before returning the chair to its place within Bernini’s monumental reliquary, Vatican experts will conduct a series of diagnostic tests with the Vatican Museums’ Cabinet of Scientific Research. The ancient seat was last removed and studied from 1969 to 1974 under Pope Paul VI but was not shown to the public.

Closer details can be seen of the historic relic of the Chair of St. Peter. For the first time in over a century, the wooden throne symbolizing the pope’s magisterial authority has been removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St. Peter’s Basilica to be displayed for public veneration. Credit: Daniel Ibanez

The recent restoration of Bernini’s works in the basilica, funded by the Knights of Columbus in preparation for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, made it possible for the chair to be moved from the bronze sculpture in August.

Pope Francis got a sneak peak of the relic in early October and a photo of the moment — showing him sitting in a wheelchair before the Chair of St. Peter — quickly went viral. Afterward, the pope requested that the relic be displayed for public veneration.

Francis ultimately decided that the Chair of St. Peter — a symbol of the Church’s unity under the instruction of Christ — would be unveiled for the public at the closing Mass for the Synod on Synodality.

“Pope Francis has been exceptionally generous to the faithful about displaying relics,” Lev said. “He brought out the bones of St. Peter shortly after his election, he had the Shroud of Turin on view in 2015, and now he has taken the Chair of Peter out for veneration in the basilica.” 

“In our virtual age, where much confusion reigns between what is real and what is not, Pope Francis has encouraged us to come face to face with these ancient witnesses of our faith and our traditions.”

Pope Francis venerates the Chair of St. Peter at the end of the closing Mass of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 27, 2024, in Rome. Credit: Vatican MediaFeast of the Chair of St. Peter

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, celebrated each year on Feb. 22, dates back to the fourth century. St. Jerome (A.D. 347–420) spoke of his respect for the “Chair of Peter,” writing in a letter: “I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with … the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built.”

As Pope Benedict XVI explained in a 2006 catechesis: “‘Cathedra’ literally means the established seat of the bishop, placed in the mother church of a diocese, which for this reason is known as a ‘cathedral.”

“It is the symbol of the bishop’s authority and in particular, of his ‘magisterium,’ that is, the evangelical teaching which, as a successor of the apostles, he is called to safeguard and to transmit to the Christian community,” he said.

When a bishop takes possession of the particular Church that has been entrusted to him, he sits on the cathedra, Benedict explained: “From this seat, as teacher and pastor, he will guide the journey of the faithful in faith, hope, and charity.”

“The Church’s first ‘seat’ was the upper room, and it is likely that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples,” he added.

Benedict XVI described Peter’s ministry as a journey from Jerusalem to Antioch, where he served as bishop, and ultimately to Rome. He noted that the See of Rome, where Peter ultimately “ended his race at the service of the Gospel with martyrdom,” became recognized as the seat of his successors, with the cathedra representing the mission entrusted to Peter by Christ.

“So it is that the See of Rome, which had received the greatest of honors, also has the honor that Christ entrusted to Peter of being at the service of all the particular Churches for the edification and unity of the entire people of God,” he said.

The Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica, where Bernini's bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massive bronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. Credit: Vatican MediaBernini’s Baroque masterpiece

Bernini’s monumental reliquary for the chair, commissioned by Pope Alexander VII and completed in 1666, is one of the most iconic artworks in St. Peter’s Basilica. Bernini encased the wooden relic within a bronze-gilded throne, dramatically raised and crowned by a stained-glass depiction of the Holy Spirit, symbolized as a dove, surrounded by sculpted angels.

The bronze throne is supported by massive statues of four doctors of the Church — two from the West, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, and two from the East, St. John Chrysostom and St. Athanasius — symbolizing the unity of the Church through the ages, bringing together the teachings of both the Latin and Greek Church Fathers. And at the top of the throne, cherubs hold up a papal tiara and keys symbolizing papal authority.

On the chair itself, there are three gold bas-reliefs representing the Gospel episodes of the consignment of the keys (Matthew 16:19), “feed my sheep” (John 21:17), and the washing of the feet (John 13:1-17).

The ongoing restoration of Bernini’s monument at the Altar of the Chair, along with the recently finished restoration of the baldacchino, is significant not only in light of the 2025 Jubilee Year but also the upcoming 400th anniversary of the consecration of the current St. Peter’s Basilica in 2026.

“Celebrating the ‘Chair’ of Peter,” Benedict XVI said, “means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.”

Pope Francis addresses participants in a training course promoted by the Roman Rota at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, Sept. 27, 2018. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

The most important church in Rome, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, is celebrating its 1,700th anniversary on Nov. 9.

The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the seat of the bishop of Rome, the pope. The adjoining palace served as the papal residence until the 14th century.

The anniversary of the dedication has been commemorated as a feast day by the whole Catholic Church since 1565 due to its importance as the “mother and head of all churches of the city and the world.”

A Latin inscription in the basilica proclaims this point in Latin: “Omnium ecclesiarum urbis et orbis mater et caput.”

“By honoring the basilica, one intends to express love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch affirms, ‘presides over the charity’ of the entire Catholic communion,” Pope Benedict XVI said in 2008.

The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran was built after the promulgation of Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan, which in 313 granted Christians freedom to practice their religion. 

Pope Sylvester I dedicated the archbasilica on Nov. 9 in the year 324. St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist became the church’s patrons in the sixth century, but it is called St. John Lateran because it was built on property donated by the Plautii Laterani family during the Roman Empire.

The Diocese of Rome celebrated the 1,700th anniversary with a full year of special festivities, including concerts, Masses, and religious-cultural talks about the history of the archbasilica and the adjoining Lateran Palace.

The jubilee will conclude on Saturday with a Mass celebrated by the diocese’s new vicar general, Cardinal-designate Baldassare Reina.

In 2008, the now-deceased Pope Benedict XVI commented on the feast of the Dedication of Rome’s Lateran Basilica in his Sunday Angelus address.

The Emperor Constantine, Benedict XVI recalled, “gave Pope Miltiades the old property of the family of the Laterans and built the basilica, baptistery, and the residence of the bishop of Rome, where the popes lived until the Avignon period.”

Pope Benedict noted the importance of the material building in which communities gather to praise God, and said, “every community has the duty to guard with care its own sacred building, which constitutes a precious religious and historical patrimony.”

“Let us invoke the intercession of Most Holy Mary to help us become, like her, a ‘house of God,’ a living temple of love,” he said.

St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 8, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Microsoft President Brad Smith is set to unveil an artificial intelligence-enhanced project focusing on St. Peter’s Basilica during a press conference at the Vatican on Nov. 11.

This initiative, titled “The Basilica of St. Peter’s: AI-Enhanced Experience,” is a collaboration between Microsoft and the Fabric of St. Peter, the organization responsible for the conservation and maintenance of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Since Smith launched Microsoft’s AI for Cultural Heritage program in 2019, the tech company has worked on a number of projects that provided digitally enriched ways to explore art, architecture, and historical sites through artificial intelligence.

Microsoft developed the Ancient Olympia project in Greece, which used AI to digitally reconstruct the birthplace of the Olympic Games, offering an immersive exploration of the ruins.

Similarly, Microsoft partnered with Iconem to create digital models of Mont-Saint-Michel in France using AI and 3D modeling to capture the intricate details of the 1,000-year-old Catholic pilgrimage site.

Other companies have also provided virtual reality experiences of historically significant churches in past years, including a 3D immersive exhibition of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre called the “Tomb of Christ” in the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently spoke in Rome on Oct. 23 after the company announced a 4.3 billion euro (about $4.64 billion) investment in Italy over the next two years to expand its hyperscale cloud data center and artificial intelligence infrastructure, which will make the Italian cloud region one of Microsoft’s largest data center regions in Europe and a strategic hub in the spread of AI innovation in the Mediterranean.

Microsoft also announced a collaboration with the municipality of Rome to develop “Julia,” an AI-based virtual assistant that will help the over 35 million visitors expected in the Italian capital for the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year.

Jubilee pilgrims will be able to ask Julia, a virtual city guide, questions via WhatsApp about cultural heritage sites as well as suggestions for accommodations and restaurants to taste typical Roman and Italian cuisine.

The Vatican and AI ethics

The St. Peter’s Basilica project will not be the first time that the Vatican has partnered with Microsoft on matters of artificial intelligence.

Years before the widely popular release of the GPT-4 chatbot system, developed by the San Francisco startup OpenAI, the Vatican was already heavily involved in the conversation of artificial intelligence ethics, hosting multiple high-level discussions with scientists and tech executives on the ethics of artificial intelligence since 2016.

In February 2020, Smith took part in a Vatican event called “renAIssance: For a Humanistic Artificial Intelligence,” where he signed the Vatican’s artificial intelligence ethics pledge, the Rome Call for AI Ethics, along with IBM Executive Vice President John Kelly III.

Since then the pope has hosted other tech leaders, including Chief Executive of Cisco Systems Chuck Robbins, who also signed the Vatican’s artificial intelligence ethics pledge, in April in Rome.

The Rome Call, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life, underlines the need for the ethical use of AI according to the principles of transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy.

Pope Francis chose artificial intelligence as the theme of his 2024 peace message, which recommended that global leaders adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of AI. Francis became the first pope to address the G7 summit in June when he was invited to speak to world leaders about AI ethics.

In July, Father Paolo Benanti, a member of the United Nations’ advisory body on AI and adviser to Pope Francis on ethics and technology, visited the Microsoft headquarters in Washington to speak with Smith.

In an interview with GeekWire following the Vatican’s AI conference in 2023, Smith reflected on how having religious leaders in the room at a technology conference “adds an extraordinary dimension to the conversation.”

“You can ask whether this was having religious leaders in a technology meeting or technology leaders in religious conversation; both are true. … It forces one to think about and talk about the need to put humanity at the center of everything we do,” Smith said.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrates Mass for peace in Ukraine in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, Nov. 17, 2022. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2024 / 11:25 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and other Holy See leaders have shared their well wishes for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump following his resounding election victory this week, conveying their hopes for wise leadership on both domestic and international affairs.

“We wish him great wisdom, because this is the main virtue of rulers according to the Bible,” Parolin said at an event in Rome.

“I believe that, above all, he has to work to be the president of the whole country and so overcome the polarization that has occurred, which can be very, very clearly felt at the moment,” he indicated.

Trump obtained a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential vote, surpassing the 270 electoral votes needed to return for a second term to the White House.

Called to be a peacemaker

In addition to working toward unity among people within the U.S., Parolin also expressed his hope for Trump to “be an element of détente and pacification in the current conflicts that are bleeding the world.”

“Let’s hope, let’s hope. I believe that not even he has a magic wand,” Parolin said. 

“To end wars, a lot of humility is needed, a lot of willingness is needed. It really is necessary to seek the general interests of humanity rather than concentrate on particular interests.”

While Pope Francis and Donald Trump have not seen eye to eye on issues including migrants or the environment, Vatican Undersecretary for the Dicastery for Culture and Education Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ, told Italian journalists Nov. 6 that the Vatican intends to “seek dialogue” with the U.S. leader. 

“Catholics don’t have homogenous party affiliations or political convictions in the United States or anywhere else,” he said. “It’s held the compass of values steady, but without taking sides, precisely to avoid a spurious mixing of religion with politics.”

“The perspective of the Holy See is always broad, international, recognizing that the United States has an important role in avoiding [so] that the conflicts currently under way in the world, from martyred Ukraine to martyred Palestine, don’t get worse,” Spadaro said. “It’s necessary to find solutions.”

Following Trump’s election, speculation around his foreign policy measures have been in the media spotlight again, with particular attention being given to his pledge to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

In the run-up to the election, the American leader repeatedly stated that he would end the conflict in “24 hours.”

Pope Francis addresses journalists aboard the papal plane heading to Mongolia, with Cardinal-elect George Jacob Koovakad at left, on Aug. 31, 2023. / Credit: Alberto PIZZOLI/POOL/AFP

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis’ personal travel agent — the priest who organizes his trips around the world — is one of the 21 clerics who will be made a cardinal at a consistory at the Vatican in December.

The pontiff introduced Father George Jacob Koovakad to the world in 2021 as someone who is “always smiling.”

In late 2021, Koovakad, a Vatican diplomat, became the coordinator for papal travels, working in the section for general affairs of the Secretariat of State to arrange Francis’ trips, including his recent historic visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. 

The 51-year-old cardinal-designate is from Chethipuzha in the southern Indian state of Kerala. He is part of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the Catholic faith’s Eastern-rite Churches.

Koovakad explained in an Oct. 25 interview with Vatican News that the Syro-Malabar Church originates with the apostle St. Thomas, who brought the Christian faith to India in the first century.

“I come from this vibrant community where the faith is passed down through generations as a family treasure,” he said.

The cardinal-designate noted that he was brought up in a Catholic environment where daily Mass was encouraged and he prayed evening prayers daily with his parents and grandparents.

“It was this life of faith in my family that helped me discover my vocation to the priesthood,” Koovakad said. He was also inspired by an uncle who is a priest and religious and by his former archbishop, Mar Joseph Powathil, who instilled in him “a deep love for the Church,” the priest said.

The soon-to-be cardinal was ordained a priest in 2004. Soon after, he moved to Rome, where he received a doctorate in canon law in 2006 from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross with a doctoral thesis on “The Obligation of Poverty for Secular Clerics in the Codes of Canon Law.”

The topic of Koovakad’s thesis reflects his personal dedication to the poor, according to the priest and diplomat’s brother-in-law, Mathew M. Scaria, who told UCA News last month that Koovakad “is compassionate to the poor.”

“Pope Francis’ love for the poor and marginalized has always resonated with me, and we share this common outlook,” Koovakad told Vatican News. “I also entered the seminary with a desire to help the poor, in whom we encounter the privileged presence of Jesus Christ.”

The cardinal-designate entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 2006, holding various positions in nunciatures in Algeria, South Korea, Iran, Costa Rica, and Venezuela until 2020.

After joining the Vatican’s Secretariat of State in the summer of 2020, in the fall of 2021 Koovakad, who had been given the honorary title of “monsignor,” took over the job of planning trips for Pope Francis.

The role includes visiting countries to study their safety and to set up logistical details, such as the pope’s agenda.

“As a Christian, my joy knows no bounds, and it is this joy that helps me overcome any difficulties that arise [in this job],” Koovakad said in the Vatican News interview. “Personally, I like to view the papal visits as pilgrimages of the successor of Peter. Seen in this way, the great responsibilities are managed through prayer and close and harmonious cooperation with all the individuals involved.”

He said being a cardinal will bring additional responsibilities, but “I believe I can do all things through him who strengthens me, even in my weaknesses.”

Being a cardinal will also help him as papal travel agent by giving him “more authority in dealing with high-ranking ecclesiastical and civil authorities,” he noted.

Pope Francis while aboard the papal plane from Rome to Budapest, Hungary, in September 2021 announced that Koovakad would be replacing Bishop Dieudonné Datonou as trip organizer. Noting Datonou’s nickname as “the sheriff on duty,” Francis said Koovakad would be “a sheriff with a smile.”

Father Robinson Rodrigues, spokesperson of India’s bishops’ conference, told UCA News Koovakad’s nomination as cardinal “is a great recognition for the Indian Church to have one more cardinal, especially based in the Vatican.”

Koovakad can play “a vital role” in protecting the interests of the Indian Church, he said.

Prior to receiving a red hat at a Vatican ceremony on Dec. 7, Koovakad will be consecrated a titular archbishop in Changanassery Cathedral on Nov. 24. He is the first Syro-Malabar priest to be elevated to cardinal directly from the priesthood, according to the Church’s spokesperson.

Pope Francis shakes hands with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 6, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Julia Cassell/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 6, 2024 / 11:15 am (CNA).

Opening his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square with a prayer to Our Lady of the Forsaken (Virgen de los Desamparados), the patroness of Valencia, Spain, Pope Francis asked people to pray for the victims of flash floods in Spain.

“I wished to greet the Virgen de los Desamparados,” the pope told the crowds of pilgrims at the Vatican after placing a white rose before her statue. “Today, in a special way, let us pray for Valencia and for the other areas of Spain that are suffering because of the water,” the Holy Father said.

More than 200 people have been confirmed dead in Valencia since heavy rains hit the eastern province of Spain last week. An additional 90 people were reported missing after severe floods swept through the city, destroying homes and personal property, businesses, roads, and other public infrastructure.

Pope Francis venerates a statue of the Virgen de los Desamparados, “Our Lady who takes care of the poor, patroness of Valencia, [Spain],” in St. Peter’s Square during his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 6, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Julia Cassell/CNA

Following his prayer to the Virgin Mary for the people of Spain, the pope continued his catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church, focusing on the theme of Christian prayer: “We pray to receive the Holy Spirit, and we receive the Holy Spirit in order to truly pray; that is, as children of God, not as slaves.” 

Asking his listeners to reflect on St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, which highlighted the need to learn from the Holy Spirit to “pray as we ought,” the Holy Father emphasized that prayer should not come from a place of fear and punishment but from the freedom and spontaneity of a child who trusts in God.

“Each one of us have little ones — children [who are either] nephews, nieces, or [sons and daughters] of friends — and they always receive good things from us,” he said. “And as [God] the father, will he not give good things to us?”

Pope Francis blesses pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 6, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Julia Cassell/CNA

According to the Holy Father, the only “power” people have with God is prayer, as “he does not resist prayers.” He said it is the Holy Spirit who teaches the Church and each Christian how to pray.

“He testifies to us that we are children of God and puts on our lips the cry ‘Abba, Father!’” the pope said. “It is God who prays within us.”

“True prayer,” according to the Holy Father, is when one allows the Holy Spirit to come to the aid of our weakness and intercede for us “according to God’s will.”

“Jesus says first seek the kingdom of God and all these things will be given you besides,” the pope said. “Instead, we seek something above and beyond — namely our own interests — and we completely forget to ask for the kingdom of God.”

Pray for peace, sustained by faith and hope

Turning his attention to the needs of those suffering around the world, including the sick and elderly, Pope Francis asked his listeners to pray for those in war-torn countries at the conclusion of his Nov. 6 general audience.

Pope Francis arrives to a crowded St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 6, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Julia Cassell/CNA

“We must not forget martyred Ukraine that suffers so much. We must not forget Palestine and Israel. The other day 153 civilians were killed. It’s very sad. We must not forget Myanmar, and we must not forget Valencia in Spain,” he said.

The Vatican on Oct. 31, 2024, inaugurated a center to welcome pilgrims and tourists before they visit St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2024 / 11:40 am (CNA).

The Vatican last week opened a center to welcome pilgrims and tourists before they visit St. Peter’s Basilica. 

The space, which was inaugurated Oct. 31, is intended to provide practical, artistic, and spiritual information to visitors of the Vatican basilica — especially during moments of higher than usual influx, as expected during the 2025 Jubilee Year.

Pope Francis said in a recent meeting with priests who hear confessions at St. Peter’s Basilica that the church has over 40,000 visitors a day. 

The Vatican on Oct. 31, 2024, inaugurated a center to welcome pilgrims and tourists before they visit St. Peter’s Basilica. The welcome center will also offer support for visitors with physical disabilities and sell official St. Peter’s Basilica-branded objects. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

The welcome center will also offer support for visitors with physical disabilities and sell official St. Peter’s Basilica-branded objects. 

The “Official Area,” as the Vatican is calling the center, is located about a five-minute walk from St. Peter’s Square at the far end of the main thoroughfare leading to the basilica — at the address Via della Conciliazione 3a.

The Vatican has partnered with two Italian organizations, the nonprofit BeHuman and the for-profit company Civita Mostre e Musei, to create the welcome center, which will also have priests, religious, and laypeople available for spiritual discussions, “listening, and empathy,” a press release said.

The Vatican on Oct. 31, 2024, inaugurated a center to welcome pilgrims and tourists before they visit St. Peter’s Basilica. The welcome center will also offer support for visitors with physical disabilities and sell official St. Peter’s Basilica branded objects. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

The Vatican also plans to use the visitor center to provide educational opportunities for children and teenagers, and will host school visits during the 2025 holy year.

In his Oct. 24 audience with Franciscan priests of the Friars Minor Conventual, who are entrusted with hearing confessions in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis said that while many people come to the Vatican “to pray at the tomb of the first of the apostles, to confirm their faith and their communion with the Church, to entrust dear intentions to the Lord… Others, even of different faiths, enter it as ‘tourists,’ attracted by the beauty, the history, the charm of the art.”

“But in everyone there is one great quest, conscious or unconscious: the quest for God, beauty, and eternal goodness,” he said.

Pope Francis speaks to the academic community at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Nov 5, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).

Pope Francis warned against “Coca-Cola spirituality” at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome on Tuesday, where minutes earlier the rector had highlighted the witness of imprisoned-then-exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez as an example of authentic Christian courage.

Speaking at the university’s Dies Academicus celebration, the pope told faculty and students to avoid becoming “disciples of Coca-Cola spirituality,” using the metaphor to warn against superficial approaches to faith formation.

“Have you asked yourselves where you are going and why you are doing the things you are doing?” the pope challenged his audience on Nov. 4.

“It is necessary to know where one is going without losing sight of the horizon that unites each one’s path with the current and ultimate end.”

Jesuit Father Mark A. Lewis, rector of the Gregorian University, opened the event by noting that Álvarez, who studied at the university, “preaches the Gospel with courage and remains in solidarity with his priests, his flock, and all those who are deprived of their human rights.”

Father Mark Lewis, SJ. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Drawing on the example of St. Francis Xavier, the pope emphasized the need to “be missionaries out of love for our brothers and sisters and to be available to the Lord’s call.”

He urged the academic community to avoid “pretensions that turn God’s project into something bureaucratic, rigid, and without warmth, superimposing agendas and ambitions over the plans of providence.”

The pope called for putting “heart” into formation work, warning that without it, education becomes either “arid intellectualism or perverse narcissism.”

“When the heart is missing, you can see it,” Francis emphasized.

The pope called for a university with “the smell of the people” that promotes imagination and reveals God’s love, “who always takes the first step in a world that seems to have lost its heart.”

He lamented that the “world is in flames” due to the “madness of war, which covers every hope with the shadow of death.”

Francis urged the community to “open the gaze of the heart” and seek unity in diversity through exchanging gifts, calling for greater study of Eastern traditions. He urged avoiding abstract ideas born in offices and promoting “contact with the life of peoples, the symbols of cultures, and the cries of suffering of the poor.”

“Touch this flesh, walk in the mud, and get your hands dirty,” he emphasized.

The visit marked a significant development in the university’s history, coinciding with the recent integration of three institutions — the Collegium Maximum, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the Pontifical Oriental Institute — under papal directive.

Pope Francis speaks to the academic community at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome on Nov. 5, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Founded in 1551 as the Roman College by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Gregorian University currently serves 2,952 students from 121 countries studying theology, philosophy, canon law, psychology, and anthropology, among other disciplines.

After leaving the university, the pope privately visited Italian political figure Emma Bonino at her Rome apartment. Bonino, 76, who was recently hospitalized for respiratory and heart issues, is known as a leading voice in Italy’s pro-abortion movement. Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned abortion in the strongest terms. The Vatican press office confirmed the visit took place but offered no additional information.

The blood of St. Januarius liquefied on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, before a Mass in Naples, Italy, where Archbishop Domenico Battaglia said that the blood of the fourth-century martyr is a powerful reminder that “love is stronger than death.” / Credit: Archdiocese of Naples

Vatican City, Nov 5, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has added the Italian archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, to the list of new cardinals he will create at a consistory at the Vatican on Dec. 7.

The Vatican said Monday afternoon that Francis had added the Naples archbishop to the list of 20 other new cardinals. The announcement comes almost two weeks after one of the pope’s original picks, announced at the Angelus at the beginning of October, declined the honor of the red hat.

Pope Francis accepted the request of Indonesian Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur, OFM, to not be made a cardinal in order to “continue growing in priestly life and in service to the Church and the people of God,” according to an Oct. 22 message from the Holy See Press Office.

With the inclusion of Battaglia, there will again be 21 new members added to the College of Cardinals at the December consistory.

The 61-year-old Battaglia became archbishop of Naples in December 2020. Prior to the appointment, he was bishop of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant’Agata de’ Goti, a diocese in Italy’s southern Campania region, from 2016-2020.

Before that, Battaglia was a parish priest in another southern Italian archdiocese, Catanzaro-Squillace, where he was called “Don Mimmo” and known as a “street priest” who cared for the marginalized.

During his tenure in Naples, the archbishop has spoken out strongly against the violence of organized crime in the southern Italian city.

As archbishop of Naples, Battaglia also celebrates the twice annual Mass in the Naples cathedral at which an ampoule containing the relic of the blood of the third-century martyr St. Januarius is examined to confirm if the miracle of liquefaction has taken place.

Battaglia will be one of five Italian bishops to be made a cardinal at the next consistory; four of the five Italians are under 80 and can participate as cardinal-electors in a future conclave to choose the next pope.

The ceremony to create the new cardinals will take place in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 7.

The following day, on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, Francis and the entire College of Cardinals will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving together in the Vatican basilica.

Pope Francis on Nov. 4, 2024, named Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Grob as archbishop of Milwaukee. / Credit: Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Vatican City, Nov 4, 2024 / 14:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Monday accepted the resignation of Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki and named Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Grob to be his successor.

With the Nov. 4 appointment, the 63-year-old Grob will be returning to his birth state of Wisconsin. The prelate was born to dairy farmers in the town of Cross Plains in 1961.

Listecki, who has served as Milwaukee’s archbishop since 2010, submitted his resignation to the pope on his 75th birthday, March 12, as required by canon law.

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milwaukee spans 10 counties in southeastern Wisconsin. The territory has approximately 550,000 Catholics — about 23% of the population — and 184 parishes.

After growing up in rural Wisconsin, Grob was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1992. He also served as a judge in the archdiocesan tribunal after receiving a licentiate — and later a doctorate — in canon law.

He also holds a licentiate in sacred theology and a doctorate in philosophy.

Grob served as judicial vicar for the Chicago Archdiocese for two years before he was named its chancellor in 2017.

Pope Francis appointed Grob an auxiliary bishop of Chicago in September 2020.