Pope Francis prays during a Mass of suffrage for deceased cardinals and bishops in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 4, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Nov 4, 2024 / 11:35 am (CNA).

Pope Francis celebrated a Mass for deceased cardinals and bishops in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday morning, saying they were “shepherds and models for the Lord’s flock” who loved the Church in their own way.

Seven Catholic cardinals and 123 Catholic bishops died within the last 12 months. 

“Our remembrance becomes a prayer of intercession for our dear brothers, elect members of the people of God. They were baptized into the death of Christ in order to rise with him,” the pope said in his homily at the Mass. It is the pope’s custom to offer a Mass in November for the prelates who passed away during the past year.

Pope Francis delivers his homily during a Mass of suffrage for deceased cardinals and bishops in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 4, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“Having broken the bread of life on earth may they now enjoy a seat at his table,” he continued. “Let us pray that they may exult in eternal communion with the saints and we, with firm hope, let us look forward to rejoicing with them in heaven.”

During the homily, the Holy Father invited more than 200 people present at the Monday Mass — including cardinals, bishops, priests, men and women religious, and laypeople — to meditate on the word “remember” in the account of Christ’s crucifixion recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel.

“‘Ricordare’ in Italian means to lead back to the heart [or] to carry in the heart,” the pope shared. “That man crucified alongside with Jesus transformed his dire pain into a prayer: ‘Carry me in your heart, Jesus.’”

Religious sisters pray during a Mass of suffrage for deceased cardinals and bishops celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 4, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Emphasizing the significance of Our Lord’s heart, the Holy Father said Jesus always listens to the prayers of defenseless sinners.

“This criminal who dies as a ‘disciple of the last hour’ desired only one thing: to find a welcome heart,” he said. “Christ’s heart, pierced by pain, was laid open to save the world. [He has] an open heart, not a closed heart. Dying himself, he was open to the voice of a dying man.”

“Jesus dies with us because he died for us,” Pope Francis repeated to the congregation.

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass of suffrage for deceased cardinals and bishops celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 4, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Sitting in front of a covered Altar of the Chair of St. Peter, the Holy Father implored his listeners to have a merciful and compassionate heart like Jesus.

“How do we carry people in our hearts? How do we remember those right at our side throughout our lives? Do you judge? Do you divide? Or do [you] welcome?” the pope asked. 

“Dear brothers and sisters, by turning to the heart of God, men and women of today and of every age can find hope for salvation,” the Holy Father insisted. “The Lord is close to us.” 

“Jesus, remember us! Jesus, remember us!”

Six U.S. bishops were among the deceased clergy remembered during the Mass held in the Vatican: Bishop Raymond Emil Goedert of Chicago; Bishop Francisco González Valer of Washington, D.C.; Bishop Thomas John Gumbleton of Detroit; Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly of Worcester, Massachusetts; Bishop Edward James Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Bishop Basil Harry Losten of Stamford, Connecticut, of the Ukrainians.

At the Angelus on Nov. 3, 2024, Pope Francis asked for prayers for Valencia, a region in southeast Spain that was hit by devastating flash flooding in late October. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 3, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Sunday spoke about Jesus’ teaching that “all things must be done with love,” something, he said, that is essential for the faith of each person.

Every Sunday at noon, the pope appears at a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to give a brief spiritual reflection before leading the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, in Latin.

Speaking to thousands of people gathered in the sunny Vatican square on Nov. 3, Francis commented on the day’s Gospel passage, which recounts one of Jesus’ many discussions in the temple of Jerusalem. In the scene, a scribe asks Jesus: “Which is the first of all the commandments?”

The question, the pontiff said, is a good one, and “essential for us too, for our life and for the journey of our faith.”

“Indeed, we too at times feel lost among so many things and ask ourselves: But, in the end, what is the most important thing of all? Where can I find the center of my life, of my faith?” he said. “Jesus gives us the answer, putting together two commandments that are the primary ones: the love of God and the love of neighbor. And this is the heart of our faith.”

The pope underlined that when the Lord comes again, he will first and foremost ask us how we loved.

Crowds in a sunny St. Peter's Square watch Pope Francis as he leads the Angelus prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 3, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“It is important, then, to fix in our hearts the most important commandment,” he continued. “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself. And to carry out every day an examination of conscience and ask ourselves: Is love for God and neighbor the center of my life? Does my prayer to God impel me to go out to my brothers and sisters and love them gratuitously? Do I recognize the presence of the Lord in the faces of others?”

Pope Francis quoted from his newest encyclical, Dilexit Nos, which is on the Sacred Heart: “We all — as we know — need to return to the heart of life and faith, because the heart is ‘the radical source of their strengths, convictions.’”

“And Jesus tells us that the source of everything is love, that we must never separate God from man,” he said. “The Lord says to the disciple of every time: In your journey, what counts are not the exterior practices, such as burnt offerings and sacrifices, but the readiness of heart with which you open yourself to God and to brethren in love.”

“We can do many things, but do them only for ourselves and without love, and this will not do; we do them with a distracted heart or even with a closed heart, and this will not do. All things must be done with love,” he emphasized.

After the Angelus, Pope Francis asked for prayers for Valencia, a region in southeast Spain that was hit by devastating flash flooding on Oct. 29. Caused by a torrential downpour, the worst flooding the country has seen in decades has killed at least 214 people, while dozens are still missing, according to authorities.

The pope also praised the Italian group “Emergency,” which promotes Article 11 of the Italian Constitution and says: “Italy rejects war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for the settlement of international disputes.”

“May this principle be implemented all over the world: May war be banished and issues be addressed through law and negotiations. Let weapons be silenced and space be made for dialogue. Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and South Sudan,” Francis said.

Pope Francis prays at the “Garden of Angels” section of the Laurentino Cemetery in Rome on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Nov 2, 2024 / 08:34 am (CNA).

Pope Francis marked All Souls’ Day with a Mass at a Roman cemetery on Saturday, making a special visit to the “Garden of Angels.”

More than 100 faithful gathered with Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri at the Laurentino Cemetery, the city’s third-largest burial ground, to welcome the pope.

Upon arrival, Francis laid white roses on a memorial stone marking the Garden of Angels and silently prayed for several moments.

The garden, established in 2012, provides a dedicated space for families grieving the loss of children, including those lost to miscarriage.

Pope Francis prays silently after laying white roses on a memorial stone marking the “Garden of Angels” at Rome’s Laurentino Cemetery on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope was also greeted by mothers from the “Sparks of Hope” association who have lost children. Each presented him with a white scarf as a symbolic embrace from them and their deceased children.

During his visit, he also met with Stefano, a father who lost his daughter Sara during pregnancy in 2021, Vatican News reported.

The pope‘s prayer intention for the month of November is for those who have lost a child.

This marked Francis’ second visit to the Laurentino Cemetery’s Garden of Angels, having previously celebrated All Souls’ Day Mass there in 2018.

Pope Francis presides over Mass celebrated on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2024, at Laurentino Cemetery in Rome. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope did not deliver a homily during Mass, instead observing moments of silent prayer. Before the final blessing, he offered a special prayer for the deceased, asking God to “open the arms of your mercy and receive them into the glorious assembly of the holy Jerusalem.”

After Mass, the pope performed the traditional blessing of the graves.

Pope Francis visits the “Garden of Angels” section of the Laurentino Cemetery, including recent graves, marked with colorful stuffed animals and personal memorials from grieving families, on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis’ choice of the Laurentino Cemetery continues his tradition of celebrating All Souls’ Day in different Roman cemeteries.

For All Souls’ Day in 2023, Mass was offered at the small Rome War Cemetery, which contains 426 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the pope opted to stay in Vatican City and celebrate Mass for the faithful departed in the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, which is surrounded by the Teutonic Cemetery — the burial place of people of German, Austrian, and Swiss descent, and particularly members of the Archconfraternity to the Sorrowful Mother of God of the Germans and Flemings.

In 2019, the pope celebrated Mass at the Catacombs of Priscilla, while in 2022 he privately visited the Teutonic Cemetery again but offered Mass for deceased bishops and cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica — another papal custom during the week of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, Pope Francis will again lead the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, as he does every Sunday at noon.

The following morning, on Nov. 4, he will preside at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the repose of the souls of the bishops and cardinals who died during the previous year. It is the pope’s practice to always offer this Mass sometime during the first week of November.

Pope Francis prays during the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of November is for those who have lost a child.

“What can we say to parents who have lost a child? How can we console them? There are no words,” the Holy Father said in a video released Oct. 31.

He pointed out that “when one spouse loses the other, they are a widower or a widow. A child who loses a parent is an orphan. There’s a word for that. But when a parent loses a child, there’s no word. The pain is so great that there’s no word.”

“And it’s not natural to outlive your child. The pain caused by this loss is especially intense,” he said. “Words of encouragement are at times banal or sentimental, they’re not helpful. Spoken with the best intention, of course, they can end up aggravating the wound.”

The pope explained that in order to comfort parents who have lost a child, “we need to listen to them, to be close to them with love, to care responsibly for the pain they feel, imitating how Jesus Christ consoled those who were afflicted.”

“And those parents who are sustained by their faith can certainly find comfort in other families who, by suffering such a terrible tragedy as this, have been reborn in hope.”

He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community and may receive peace of heart from the Spirit of Consolation.”

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

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square from his window in the Apostolic Palace during his Angelus address on the solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).

In his Angelus address on Friday on the solemnity of All Saints, Pope Francis spoke about the “identity card” of the Christian.

Referring to the Gospel passage for the day, the beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew, the Holy Father posed the question: “And what is the identity card of the Christian? The beatitudes. It is our identity card, and also the way of holiness.”

The pope pointed out that “Jesus shows us a path, that of love,” and this serves as “both a gift from God and our response.”

Referencing St. Paul, the pope explained that this is a gift from God because “it is he who sanctifies. And this is why the Lord is the first we ask to make us holy, to make our heart similar to his.”

Pilgrims scatter throughout a sunny St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Angelus address on the solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The Holy Father reminded the faithful that God does not impose his holiness upon us, rather “he sows it in us, he makes us taste its flavor and see its beauty, but then he awaits our response.”

The pope tied this explanation back to the saints of the Church and how we see these traits lived out in each of them. He highlighted the lives of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who took the place of a father condemned to death in Auschwitz; St. Teresa of Calcutta, who lived her life serving the poorest of the poor; and St. Oscar Romero, a bishop who while celebrating Mass was killed for speaking out against social injustices.

Pope Francis pointed out the saints he likes to call “the saints ‘next door,’ the everyday ones, hidden, who go forward in their daily Christian life.”

“Brothers and sisters, how much hidden saintliness there is in the Church!  We recognize so many brothers and sisters formed by the beatitudes: poor, meek, merciful, hungry and thirsty for justice, workers for peace,” he said. “They are people ‘filled with God,’ incapable of remaining indifferent to the needs of their neighbor; they are witnesses of shining paths, possible for us too.”

He concluded by asking the faithful to ponder these questions: “Do I ask God, in prayer, for the gift of a holy life? Do I let myself be guided by the good impulses that his Spirit inspires in me? And do I commit myself personally to practicing the beatitudes of the Gospel, in the environments in which I live?”

Faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square pray during Pope Francis’ Angelus address on the solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaPrayers for those affected by war and natural disasters 

Following the Angelus, Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of Chad, especially the families of the victims of the recent terrorist attack that left 40 soldiers dead on a military base, as well as those affected by severe flooding in Spain, considered one of the worst natural disasters in that country’s modern history.

The Holy Father also asked the faithful to continue to pray for Ukraine as well as for the people of Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and all those suffering because of war, which he reminded listeners “is always a defeat, always!”

Top, left to right: St. Catherine of Siena, St. John Paul II, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Francis de Sales. Bottom, left to right: St. John Henry Newman, St. Gertrude of Helfta, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Thomas Aquinas. / Credit: Brooklyn Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Gov.pl, CC BY 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons; Leiloeira São Domingos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Corrado Giaquinto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Giovanni Battista Lucini, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Herbert Rose Barraud, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Public domain via Wikimedia Commons; Céline Martin, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Carlo Crivelli, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Vatican City, Nov 1, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus is packed with testimonies from the saints of prayer and devotion to the heart of Christ throughout the centuries.

Dilexit Nos, meaning “He Loved Us,” describes how devotion to the heart of Christ “reappears in the spiritual journey of many saints” and how in each one the devotion takes on new hues. The most frequently quoted saints in the encyclical are St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. John Paul II, but more than two dozen saints are quoted in all.

The encyclical explains how the Church Fathers’ descriptions of the wounded side of Christ as the wellspring of the life of grace later began to be associated with his heart, especially in monastic life.

It adds that “devotion to the heart of Christ slowly passed beyond the walls of the monasteries to enrich the spirituality of saintly teachers, preachers, and founders of religious congregations, who then spread it to the farthest reaches of the earth.”

Here are 20 saints devoted to the Sacred Heart as described by the pope’s new encyclical:

St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622)

St. Francis de Sales was deeply moved by Jesus’ words “Learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29). He writes in the “Introduction to the Devout Life” that the ordinary trials of life — such as “the tiresome peculiarities of a husband or wife” or a headache or toothache — when accepted lovingly, “are most pleasing to God’s goodness.” In his letters, Francis wrote about Christ’s open heart, seeing it as an invitation to dwell within and trust completely in God’s grace, describing it as “a heart on which all our names are written.”

“Surely it is a source of profound consolation to know that we are loved so deeply by Our Lord, who constantly carries us in his heart,” he said in a Lenten homily on Feb. 20, 1622.

St. John Henry Newman (1801–1890)

St. John Henry Newman chose “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“Heart speaks to heart”) as his motto, a phrase drawn from a letter by St. Francis de Sales. He experienced Christ’s Sacred Heart most powerfully in the Eucharist, where he sensed Jesus’ heart “beat[ing] for us still” and prayed: “O make my heart beat with thy heart. Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it, but that in thy love and thy fear it may have peace.”

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690)

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is perhaps the saint most associated with the Sacred Heart of Jesus because of a series of apparitions of Christ in Paray-le-Monial, France. In the first message Alacoque received, she described how the Lord “asked for my heart, which I asked him to take, which he did and then placed myself in his own adorable heart, from which he made me see mine like a little atom consumed in the fiery furnace of his own.” In subsequent messages, “he revealed to me the ineffable wonders of his pure love and to what extremes it had led him to love mankind” and how “ his pure love, with which he loves men to the utmost” is met with “only ingratitude and indifference.”

Alacoque wrote in one of her letters: “It is necessary that the divine heart of Jesus in some way replace our own; that he alone live and work in us and for us; that his will … work absolutely and without any resistance on our part; and finally that its affections, thoughts, and desires take the place of our own, especially his love, so that he is loved in himself and for our sakes. And so, this lovable heart being our all in all, we can say with St. Paul that we no longer live our own lives, but it is he who lives within us.”

St. Claude de La Colombière (1641–1682)

St. Claude de La Colombière was a French Jesuit priest and confessor of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. He helped develop devotion to the Sacred Heart, combining the experiences of St. Margaret Mary with the contemplative approach of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Claude meditated on the attitude of Christ toward those who sought to arrest and put him to death: “His heart is full of bitter sorrow; every violent passion is unleashed against him and all nature is in turmoil, yet amid all this confusion, all these temptations, his heart remains firmly directed to God.”

St. Gertrude of Helfta (1256–1302)

St. Gertrude of Helfta, a Cistercian mystic, writes of a time in prayer in which she leaned her head on the heart of Christ and heard his heart beating. She reflected that the “sweet sound of those heartbeats has been reserved for modern times, so that hearing them, our aging and lukewarm world may be renewed in the love of God.”

St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1241–1298)

St. Mechtilde, another Cistercian mystic, shared St. Gertrude’s intimate devotion to the heart of Jesus. The encyclical lists her as among “a number of holy women, [who] in recounting their experiences of encounter with Christ, have spoken of resting in the heart of the Lord as the source of life and interior peace.”

St. Vincent de Paul (1581–1660)

St. Vincent de Paul emphasized that “God asks primarily for our heart,” teaching that the poor can have more merit by giving with “greater love” than those with wealth who can give more. He urged his confreres to “find in the heart of Our Lord a word of consolation for the poor sick person.” The constitutions of his congregation underline that “by gentleness we inherit the earth. If we act on this, we will win people over so that they will turn to the Lord. That will not happen if we treat people harshly or sharply.” For him, embodying the “heart of the Son of God” meant going everywhere in mission and bringing the warmth of Christ’s love to the suffering and poor.

St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380)

St. Catherine of Siena wrote that the Lord’s sufferings are impossible for us to comprehend, but the open heart of Christ enables us to have a lively personal encounter with his boundless love. Catherine’s “Dialogue on Divine Providence” records a conversation she had with God in which he said to her: “I wished to reveal to you the secret of my heart, allowing you to see it open, so that you can understand that I have loved you so much more than I could have proved to you by the suffering that I once endured.”

St. John Paul II (1920–2005)

St. John Paul II described Christ’s heart as “the Holy Spirit’s masterpiece” and saw it as foundational for building a “civilization of love.” In a general audience in the first year of his papacy, John Paul II spoke about “the mystery of the heart of Christ” and shared that “it has spoken to me ever since my youth.” Throughout his pontificate, he taught that “the Savior’s heart invites us to return to the Father’s love, which is the source of every authentic love.”

“The men and women of the third millennium need the heart of Christ in order to know God and to know themselves; they need it to build the civilization of love,” John Paul II said in 1994.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153)

St. Bernard preached on the importance of loving Jesus with “the full and deep affection of all your heart.” He described Christ’s pierced side as a revelation of the outpouring of the Lord’s love from his compassionate heart. In the year 1072, he preached: “Those who crucified him pierced his hands and feet … A lance passed through his soul even to the region of his heart. No longer is he unable to take pity on my weakness. The wounds inflicted on his body have disclosed to us the secrets of his heart; they enable us to contemplate the great mystery of his compassion.”

St. Bonaventure (1221–1274)

St. Bonaventure presents the heart of Christ as the source of the sacraments and of grace. In his treatise “Lignum Vitae,” Bonaventure wrote that in the blood and water flowing from the wounded side of Christ, the price of our salvation flows “from the hidden wellspring of his heart, enabling the Church’s sacraments to confer the life of grace and thus to be, for those who live in Christ, like a cup filled from the living fount springing up to life eternal.”

St. John Eudes (1601–1680)

St. John Eudes wrote the propers for the Mass of the Sacred Heart and was an ardent proponent of the devotion. Dilexit Nos describes how St. John Eudes convinced the bishop of the Rennes Diocese in France to approve the celebration of the feast of the “Adorable Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” the first time that such a feast was officially authorized in the Church. The following year, five more bishops in France authorized the celebration of the feast in their dioceses.

St. Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916)

St. Charles de Foucauld made it his mission to console the Sacred Heart of Jesus, adopting an image of the cross planted in the heart of Christ as his emblem. He consecrated himself to Christ’s heart, believing that he must “embrace all men and women” like the heart of Jesus. He made a promise in 1906 to “let the heart of Jesus live in me, so that it is no longer I who live, but the heart of Jesus that lives in me, as he lived in Nazareth.”

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the phrase “heart of Christ” can refer to sacred Scripture, “which makes known his heart.” The encyclical quotes St. Thomas Aquinas’ theological exposition of the Gospel of St. John in which he wrote that whenever someone “hastens to share various gifts of grace received from God, living water flows from his heart.”

St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897)

St. Thérèse of Lisieux felt an intimate bond with Jesus’ heart. At age 15, she could speak of Jesus as the one “whose heart beats in unison with my own.” One of her sisters took as her religious name “Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart,” and the monastery that Thérèse entered was dedicated to the Sacred Heart. She wrote in a letter to a priest: “Ever since I have been given the grace to understand also the love of the heart of Jesus, I admit that it has expelled all fear from my heart. The remembrance of my faults humbles me, draws me never to depend on my strength, which is only weakness, but this remembrance speaks to me of mercy and love even more.”

St. John of the Cross (1542–1591)

St. John of the Cross viewed the image of Christ’s pierced side as an invitation to full union with the Lord. In his poetry, he portrayed Christ as a wounded stag, comforted by the soul that turns to him. John sought to explain that in mystical experience, the infinite love of the risen Christ “condescends” to enable us, through the open heart of Christ, to experience an encounter of truly reciprocal love. 

St. Ambrose (340–397)

The encyclical repeatedly quotes St. Ambrose, who offered a reflection on Jesus as the source of “living water.” He wrote: “Drink of Christ, for he is the rock that pours forth a flood of water. Drink of Christ, for he is the source of life. Drink of Christ, for he is the river whose streams gladden the city of God. Drink of Christ, for he is our peace. Drink of Christ, for from his side flows living water.”

St. Augustine (354–430)

St. Augustine “opened the way to devotion to the Sacred Heart as the locus of our personal encounter with the Lord,” according to Dilexit Nos. “For Augustine, Christ’s wounded side is not only the source of grace and the sacraments but also the symbol of our intimate union with Christ, the setting of an encounter of love.” In his “Tractates on the Gospel of John,” Augustine reflects on how when John, the beloved disciple, reclined on Jesus’ bosom at the Last Supper, he drew near to the secret place of wisdom.

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556)

In his “Spiritual Exercises,” St. Ignatius encourages retreatants to contemplate the wounded side of the crucified Lord to enter into the heart of Christ. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, which has promoted devotion to Jesus’ divine heart for more than a century. The society was consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1871.

St. Daniel Comboni (1831–1881)

St. Daniel Comboni saw the heart of Jesus as the source of strength for his missionary work in Africa. He founded the Sons of the Sacred Heart Jesus, which today are known as the Comboni Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as the Comboni Missionary Sisters. The saintly missionary once said: “This divine heart, which let itself be pierced by an enemy’s lance in order to pour forth through that sacred wound the sacraments by which the Church was formed, has never ceased to love.”

Pope Francis with members of “Project Hope,” a program of accompaniment for the spiritual and emotional healing of women and men who suffer the consequences of having chosen abortion, on Oct. 30, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2024 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis received in audience on Wednesday members of “Project Hope,” a program of accompaniment for the spiritual and emotional healing of women and men who suffer the consequences of having chosen abortion.

The members of the initiative, which has spread to most Latin American countries, aim to help those who seek “reconciliation and forgiveness” and experience God’s mercy.

Since 1999, these “companions” — whom the Holy Father referred to as “angels” — have been caring for the “other victims of abortion,” those who have decided to end the lives of their children.

Project Hope came about from women and also men asking for help “with tears in their eyes and expressing the need to know how to cope with unbearable pain.”

The goal of the project is to help the parents work out their grief “with the help of trained professionals and through an approach of acceptance, understanding, and confidentiality, which seeks to facilitate the encounter of the mother and father with their child who was the victim of an abortion.”

Suffering is ‘indescribable’

During the Oct. 30 audience at the apostolic palace in the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed his joy at receiving those who for 25 years have been accompanying women whose suffering, according to the pontiff, “is indescribable.”

For the Holy Father, “the arrival of each newborn is often synonymous with a joy that overwhelms us in a mysterious way and that renews hope.”

“It’s as if we perceived, without knowing how to explain it, that every child announces the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, of God’s desire to make his dwelling in our hearts,” he added.

Looking at the Scriptures, Pope Francis said the Lord “wanted us to share in a pain that, because it is the antithesis of that joy, shocks us brutally.”

“A cry is heard in Ramah, sobbing and bitter weeping: Rachel is weeping for her children, and she refuses to be consoled for her children — they are no more!” the Holy Father read. 

The first cry, Pope Francis said, quoting an ancient author, “referred to children, the holy innocents, and their pain ceased with death, while the bitter weeping was the lament of mothers that is always renewed when they remember.”

He also referred to the flight to Egypt of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph due to Herod’s order to kill newborns to explain “that such a great evil drives Jesus away from us, prevents him from entering our home, from having a place in our inn.”

‘Evil doesn’t have the last word’

“But we must not lose hope,” the pope reminded. “Evil does not have the last word; it is never definitive. Like the angel in St. Joseph’s dream, God announces to us that, after this desert, the Lord will return to take possession of his house.”

The pontiff also commented that the people who are part of Project Hope are like “that angel.”

“I truly thank you for it,” he said.

He also invited them to trust “in the firm hand of St. Joseph so that these sisters of ours can find Jesus in their desolation.”

“With him they will reach the warm and safe home of Nazareth, where they will experience inner silence and the peaceful joy of seeing themselves welcomed and forgiven in the bosom of the Holy Family,” he concluded.

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

Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy’s Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2024 / 10:55 am (CNA).

Pope Francis encouraged members of Italy’s Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) on Thursday to not be afraid to propose high Christian ideals to young people in a secularized society.

“Christian education crosses unexplored terrain, marked by anthropological and cultural changes, on which we are still seeking answers in the light of the Word of God,” the Holy Father said to participants of MIEAC’s national congress at a private audience held in the Vatican.

MIEAC is an educational project connected to Italy’s Catholic Action that was established in 1990 with the aim of fostering the integral development of young people in all its dimensions: existential, spiritual, affective, cultural, social, and political.

During the Thursday audience, the pope praised MIEAC members for their dedication amid the “labyrinths of complexities” affecting human relationships in today’s society and encouraged them to “carry forward an idea and a practice of education that effectively puts the person at the center.”

“The educational service that defines your movement brings with it, today perhaps even more than in the past, the challenge of operating on a human and Christian level,” he said. “This is precisely the right perspective in which to continue the journey of your movement. Go forward!”

Pope Francis meets with participants of Italy’s Educational Commitment Movement of Catholic Action (MIEAC) national congress on Oct. 31, 2024, at a private audience held in the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

Looking to the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, the Holy Father said it is necessary for teachers to sow hope in the world by paying “special attention to children, adolescents, [and] young people.”

“We must look at them with trust, with empathy, I would like to say with the gaze and heart of Jesus. They are the present and the future of the world and of the Church,” he shared.

“Ours is the task — entirely educational — to accompany them, support them, encourage them and, with testimony, to show them the good path that leads to being ‘fratelli tutti’ [all brothers].”

The Holy Father also insisted that the education of children is a task and process that needs the initiative and support of different people from church-related and secular institutions.

“It is important not to remain alone but to build and strengthen fruitful relationships with the various subjects of the educational process: families, teachers, social workers, managers and sports trainers, catechists, priests, religious men and women, without neglecting collaboration with public institutions,” the pope said.

The pope’s last message to MIEAC members was to “educators with a big heart” to follow the example of their founder, Venerable Giuseppe Lazzati, “a credible teacher and witness, a model of a Christian educator” who was foremost moved by love of God and others.

“Through educational processes we express our love for others, for those who are close to us or entrusted to us; and, at the same time, it is essential that education be founded, in its method and its aims, on love. Always educate with love!”

An academic congress — “From the Council to the Synod: Rereading a Church’s Journey, 60 Years on Since Lumen Gentium (1964–2024)” — was hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–30, 2024. / Credit: Pontifical Gregorian University

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).

Theologians and others involved in the October gathering of the Synod on Synodality met this week to offer their expert opinions on the synodal process as it moves into the “reception” or implementation phase.

The academic congress — “From the Council to the Synod: Rereading a Church’s Journey, 60 Years on Since Lumen Gentium (1964–2024)” — was hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–30.

“We are still in this synodal process, and with the approval of the final document, in fact, the third phase of the synod opens, which is that of reception,” said Father Dario Vitali, a theology professor and theological coordinator at the Synod on Synodality assemblies.

Speaking during the conference’s opening Oct. 28, Vitali said: “It will be the Churches above all that will do the work [of implementation], but it also becomes important to have an event like this in which theological experts and canonists who participated in the synod sessions can offer their reflection after having served in the assembly, a reflection based on expertise.”

The congress, which immediately followed the monthlong gathering of the second session of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican, featured many of the experts who presented at four theological forums during the synodal assembly.

Those included theologians Father Gilles Routhier, Father Carlos Galli, Cardinal-designate Archbishop Roberto Repole, Thomas Söding, and canonists Myriam Wijlens and Father José San José Prisco.

Synod leadership also participated in the three-day academic event, including the synod’s general secretary, Cardinal Mario Grech, and the synod’s special secretaries Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa and Father Riccardo Battochio.

“It is urgent to foster dialogue between pastors and those engaged in theological research,” Grech said in his opening remarks Oct. 28.

“We could say that for something that closes, there is something else that opens,” he continued. “The final document that is the mature fruit of the consensus reached is now returned to the holy people of God, because there is circularity between the universal Church and local Churches.” 

“The stage of celebration ends and the stage of reception begins,” he said.

On the second day of the conference, which was focused on the theme of synodality and the role of the bishop, French Canadian theologian Routhier highlighted how “bishops’ conferences are not simply a grouping of hierarchs,” that is, bishops, “but express the ‘communio ecclesiarum,’” the communion of Churches.

Wijlens said in her presentation that “with this synod, Pope Francis has invited us to enter into a process of reconfiguration of the active principles of the Church,” and “the people of God have entered into this new path,” which represents a “Church on the move where canonical norms must provide for the implementation of this path and not stifle it.”

The third day of the conference was titled “The Church and Her Institutions: A Reinterpretation from a Synodal Perspective.” 

Grech spoke at length about the connections between the Second Vatican Council and the Synod on Synodality and said he was joyful that Pope Francis chose to approve the synod’s final document, allowing it to participate “in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter.”

“It seems to me that I can say that Vatican II has been the inspirational model, the certain horizon for the path accomplished until today, a sort of compass to orient the path of the Church, our path,” the synod leader said.

“It is not out of place,” he continued, “to speak of the synod as a moment of mature, or at least more mature, reception of the council.”

“It could be said that the final document re-proposes the ecclesiological doctrine of the council. In fact, one catches here an advance in line with the council but one that significantly advances the council’s doctrine,” Grech said.

“But the final document does not just take up the council: It rethinks it, translates it, embodies it in processes,” he added. “As in the case of the third part, devoted to the conversion of processes, here participation in decision-making processes is a matter that the council had not intended to touch.”

Veronica Giacometti, Antonio Tarallo, and Marco Mancini of CNA’s Italian-language news partner ACI Stampa contributed to this report.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims as he enters St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 10:40 am (CNA).

Pope Francis addressed thousands of international pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, urging them not to turn the sacrament of confirmation into their “last rites” as Catholics but to use it as “the beginning of an active participation in the Church.”

Continuing his catechetical series on the Holy Spirit and the Church, the Holy Father during his Wednesday general audience said confirmation is a “gift of God” and a “milestone” that should not mark a departure from the Church for Catholics.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he enters St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“People say that it is the ‘sacrament of goodbye’ because once young people have done it they leave,” he said. “They come back for weddings. That’s what people say.”

The pope suggested that lay faithful “who have had a personal encounter with Christ and have had some experience of the Spirit” could reignite their own faith by helping other Catholics to better prepare for confirmation, which is the sacrament of the Holy Spirit “par excellence.”  

Reflecting on the accounts of the confirmation of the first Christians, recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and in St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Pope Francis said it is God himself who anoints believers.

“He has put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts,” he told the crowds present in St. Peter’s Square. “The theme of the Holy Spirit as the royal seal with which Christ marks his sheep is at the basis of the doctrine of the indelible character conferred by this rite.”

Pope Francis receives a youngster for a blessing during his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024, in St. Peter’ Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“Confirmation is for all the faithful what Pentacost was for the entire Church. It strengthens the baptismal incorporation into Christ and the Church, and the royal consecration to the prophetic, royal, and priestly mission,” he added.

During the Wednesday audience, the Holy Father expressed his desire that Catholics will “remove the ashes of habit and disengagement” to become “bearers of the flame of the Spirit” in the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

Drawing attention to the solemnity of All Saints’ Day, celebrated on Nov. 1, the pope reminded his listeners that those who have gone before, who now enjoy “heavenly glory” and are “by the Father’s side,” wish to also be in communion with us and to guide us in our journey toward heaven.

Prayers for the Spirit’s gift of peace in the world

After greeting pilgrims belonging to different language groups — including Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish — and expressing his closeness with the young, sick, elderly, and newlyweds, the pope exhorted all people to continue to pray for peace in the world.

Pope Francis addresses pilgrims gathered for his Wednesday general audience on Oct. 30, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“We pray for peace. War is continuing to grow,” he said. “Let us think of the countries that are suffering so much: tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, North Kivu [in Congo], and so many other countries that are suffering from war.”

“Peace is a gift of the Spirit and war is always a defeat. Nobody wins in war, everybody loses. Let’s pray for peace, brothers and sisters.”

Pope Francis says Mass for All Souls' Day at the Laurentino Cemetery outside Rome, Nov. 2, 2018. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 10:10 am (CNA).

After an October full of activity due to the Synod on Synodality, in November Pope Francis will once again mark the beginning of the month of the dead with special prayers and Masses for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. 

On the solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1, Pope Francis will lead the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at noon Rome time, as he does on every holy day of obligation.

Before the Angelus, the pope will deliver a short reflection; often it is based on the day’s Gospel or feast. Afterward, he may greet some of the groups present in St. Peter’s Square and draw attention to current social issues affecting the world, especially war.

For All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2, Francis will continue his custom of holding a Mass in a local cemetery to pray for the dead, especially the holy souls in purgatory.

The Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. in part of the nearly 52-acre Laurentino Cemetery — Rome’s third largest. Pope Francis usually gives a brief, spontaneous homily on this occasion.

This will be the pope’s second All Souls’ Day Mass in Laurentino Cemetery. In 2018, he offered Mass in an area of the cemetery reserved for deceased children and unborn babies called the “Garden of Angels.”

Since 2016, Pope Francis has celebrated or presided at a Mass in six different cemeteries in or near Rome. For All Souls’ Day in 2023, Mass was offered at the small Rome War Cemetery, which contains 426 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the pope opted to stay in Vatican City and celebrate Mass for the faithful departed in the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, which is surrounded by the Teutonic Cemetery — the burial place of people of German, Austrian, and Swiss descent, and particularly members of the Archconfraternity to the Sorrowful Mother of God of the Germans and Flemings.

In 2019, the pope celebrated Mass at the Catacombs of Priscilla, while in 2022 he privately visited the Teutonic Cemetery again but offered Mass for deceased bishops and cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica — another papal custom during the week of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, Pope Francis will again lead the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, as he does every Sunday at noon.

The following morning, on Nov. 4, he will preside at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the repose of the souls of the bishops and cardinals who died during the previous year. It is the pope’s practice to always offer this Mass sometime during the first week of November.

Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley attends a press conference to present the first report of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Oct. 29, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Oct 29, 2024 / 15:45 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, archbishop of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, stressed that “celibacy is not the cause of pedophilia” but highlighted the need for more reforms within the Church to adopt a victim-centered approach to better safeguard children.

Following the presentation of the first annual report on safeguarding released by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Tuesday, O’Malley stated that he has “never seen any serious studies that have indicated that celibacy and sexual abuse is related.”

“Yes, we are aware of the incredible damage that [pedophilia] has done to the credibility of the Church and our ability to have a prophetic voice in society,” the cardinal said in response to a journalist’s question on a potential “link between celibacy and sex abuse” at the Oct. 29 press briefing.

“And that only underscores the urgency of the Church to reform itself so that we can carry on Christ’s mission and be a sign of his love. And the kingdom of God is about justice and truth, and these are the core values that we’re talking about here,” he added.

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, a jurist and international advocate for children’s rights who was appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2022, also stated that she did not see any relationship between celibacy and criminal sexual abuse against children.

“I don’t see any relationship,” she said. “Sexual relationships with children is a crime and the ones who commit this have a problem, which is related to their psychological state of mind.”

“There is no exception for this, no excuse for this crime. Children should be respected in their integrity — physical and moral. So whether celibate or not, it doesn’t matter. The children should be protected,” she said.

O’Malley stated that the goal of the pontifical commission, which he has headed since its establishment in 2014, is “to do everything possible” to address the lack of justice and recognition from people in the Church.

“Your suffering and wounds have opened our eyes to the fact that — as a Church — we have failed to care for victims, and that we didn’t defend you, and that we resisted understanding you when you needed us most,” he said at the Tuesday press briefing.

“We hope that this report — and those that will come — compiled with the help of victims and survivors at the center, will help to ensure the firm commitment that these events never happen again in the Church.”

According to O’Malley the annual safeguarding report — which outlines the Vatican’s policies and procedures for the protection of minors — is intended to complement the commission’s advocacy role as well as support the work of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).

“The work of the DDF is so central in the administration of justice in the area of sexual abuse, and our task is to try and bring a pastoral dimension to that and the voice of the victims,” the cardinal said.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors marks its 10th anniversary this year. It is now a permanent institution within the Vatican tasked with accompanying and assisting local Churches’ safeguarding ministries through formation and training.

Pope Francis joines the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in prayer at the Vatican on March 7, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 29, 2024 / 10:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican issued its first annual report Tuesday assessing the Catholic Church’s policies and procedures to prevent abuse in dioceses worldwide from Africa to Oceania.

The 50-page report by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is the first in an annual series that aims to provide analysis of safeguarding measures in dioceses, Catholic organizations, and religious orders globally over the next five to six years.

Released on Oct. 29, the inaugural report found that “a significant part of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia have inadequate dedicated resources” available for safeguarding efforts.

The pontifical commission also identified a “persistent concern regarding the transparency in the Roman Curia’s procedures and juridical processes,” noting that this lack of transparency is likely to “foment distrust among the faithful, especially the victim/survivor community.”

It pointed to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) in particular for its slow processing of cases and lengthy canonical proceedings, which it said can be a “source of re-traumatization for victims.”

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has been a part of the DDF since Pope Francis’ reform of the Roman Curia in 2022, yet the commission has frequently underlined its independence from the dicastery.

The commission also called for a dedicated advocate or ombudsman in the Vatican to assist victims and advocated for further study on compensation policies.

The report is not an audit of abuse incidents within the Church but rather a review of safeguarding policies and procedures. The commission indicated that future reports could evolve to include an audit function on the incidence of abuse, including measuring progress in reducing and preventing abuse.

The commission’s pilot report evaluated diocesan safeguarding practices in a dozen countries, including Mexico, Belgium, Cameroon, and Papua New Guinea, as well as two religious orders and across Caritas’ regional offices. 

The commission’s findings varied across regions. While parts of Europe displayed advanced safeguarding practices, including trauma-informed support, regions such as Central and South America, Africa, and parts of Asia face significant challenges due to limited resources and inadequate training. 

The commission cited critical obstacles, from cultural and financial barriers to shortages of trained personnel in areas like canon law and psychology.

In Papua New Guinea, funding constraints restrict training for safeguarding experts, and prohibitively expensive rape kits limit the ability to gather evidence for criminal investigations. A similar lack of trained experts in canon law and psychology impedes the work of Church safeguarding offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zambia, meanwhile, faces cultural obstacles, such as a “patriarchal society” and “a culture of silence,” which prevent survivors, particularly young girls, from reporting abuse. 

In Mexico, cultural barriers to reporting abuse also pose a significant hurdle to justice, according to the report. 

In response to gaps in safeguarding resources, particularly in developing regions, the commission introduced the “Memorare Initiative,” inspired by a traditional prayer to the Virgin Mary. This program aims to support the establishment of centers for abuse reporting and victim services in the Global South.

Other recommendations included streamlined procedures for removing Church leaders implicated in abuse or cover-ups, as well as policies promoting fair compensation for victims.

The report also suggested that the Vatican collaborate with pontifical universities to create specialized courses of study on safeguarding for clergy and Church workers.

Looking ahead, the commission plans to review between 15 and 20 bishops’ conferences per year during ad limina visits, with the goal of examining the entire Church over five to six years.

Pope Francis requested the commission to create the report in 2022. Cardinal Seán O’Malley, who has led the commission since it was established by Francis in 2014, emphasized that the annual reports are intended as both a tool for accountability and a step toward restoring trust in the Church’s commitment to safeguarding and transparency.

Cardinals outside the Paul VI Hall. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 28, 2024 / 18:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has decided to cut the salaries of the cardinals working at the Vatican again, a measure that will take effect Nov. 1.

According to the Italian ANSA news agency, layman Maximino Caballero Ledo, the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, informed the cardinals of the Holy Father’s decision in a letter dated Oct. 18, almost a month after another letter from Pope Francis on the subject.

Specifically, the cut in salaries or stipends will be in two areas: the “secretarial bonus” and the “office compensation,” two methods that were part of the monthly allowances and that will no longer be paid.

Although the Vatican does not specify how much a cardinal working in the Vatican receives, ANSA indicated that it is approximately 5,500 euros a month (about $65,000 a year). With the current cut, that amount would decrease by about 500 euros ($540). 

In his letter to the cardinals, Caballero also pointed out that there are “other measures, which are being studied by the competent bodies,” and that “will require the contribution of everyone.”

Caballero also indicated that he trusts that this measure “will be welcomed in the most authentic spirit of cooperation for the good of the Church.”

In a September letter, Pope Francis indicated to the cardinals that “further effort is needed, on the part of everyone, so that the ‘zero deficit’ is not just a theoretical objective but an actually achievable goal.”

The Italian daily Il Messagero notes that, together with the decrease in donations from Peter’s Pence, the cost to keep paying the salaries of the 4,000 Vatican employees amounts to about 10 million euros ($10.8 million) per month. (An average of about $32,400 a year per employee).

The Vatican’s latest budget put the deficit at 83 million euros ($89.7 million).

According to the Spanish newspaper Europa Press, this cut in the cardinals’ salaries will allow them to “save 180,000 euros ($194,000) a year, a symbolic figure and a gesture that lays the groundwork for being able to ask other senior Vatican officials to make sacrifices.”

The previous salary cut for cardinals

In March 2021, Pope Francis decided to reduce the salaries of cardinals serving in the Vatican by 10% in order to “safeguard current jobs” and guarantee “an economically sustainable future.”

At the time, the Holy Father explained that the salary reduction was justified “in view of the deficit that has characterized the financial management of the Holy See for several years” and “taking into account the worsening of this situation following the health emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19, which has negatively affected all sources of income of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.”

The measure went into effect on April 1, 2021.

In addition, in March 2023, Pope Francis decided to eliminate the possibility for cardinals and other senior Vatican officials to use free of charge or at advantageous rates housing owned by the Holy See.

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

Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, who served for 16 years as the top Vatican diplomat to the United Nations and headed up two key pontifical councils in Rome for several years, died Oct. 28, 2024, at age 91. / Credit: Ninocento at Italian Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, who served for 16 years as the top Vatican diplomat to the United Nations and headed up two key pontifical councils in Rome for several years, died on Monday at age 91.

The prelate died in Rome, according to Vatican News.

The president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 2002–2009 and of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People from 2006–2009, Martino held those titles emeriti at the time of his death.

He also served as cardinal protodeacon from 2014 until his death. The senior cardinal deacon in the College of Cardinals, the protodeacon is given the responsibility of the “habemus papam” (announcing the election of a new pope) and also bestows the papal pallium on the new pontiff at the papal inauguration.

Martino was born in Salerno, Italy, on Nov. 23, 1932, and was ordained a priest on June 20, 1957. He held a degree in canon law and spoke five languages.

The cardinal held the title of titular archbishop of Segermes from 1980–2003. Known for his lengthy and distinguished diplomatic career, he served as permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations from Dec. 3, 1986, to Oct. 1 — the longest any diplomat has held that position since its creation in 1964.

In addition to his work at the U.N., Martino held multiple nuncio positions in Asia, serving as a Vatican diplomat in Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam.

He was made a cardinal in 2003 by Pope John Paul II and participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Martino also served as honorary president of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute from 2010–2019.

The prelate was known at times for his outspoken defense of Catholic beliefs in the political sphere. He criticized the death sentence given to Saddam Hussein as “punishing a crime with another crime” and described a planned stretch of U.S. border wall by the George W. Bush administration as “inhumane.”

Martino was also known for helping to develop and promulgate the Vatican’s 2007 “Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road,” commonly called the “10 Commandments for Drivers,” issued by the pontifical migrant council when Martino was president. The document directs drivers to exhibit “courtesy, uprightness, and prudence” while driving and orders drivers to treat the road as a “means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.”

Martino’s funeral will be held on Oct. 30 at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. The liturgy will be celebrated by College of Cardinals Dean Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re.

At the funeral, Pope Francis will preside over the rites of Ultima Commendatio and Valedictio, according to Vatican News.

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door in L’Aquila, Italy. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 28, 2024 / 13:25 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis will open a Holy Door in Rome’s Rebibbia prison on Dec. 26, the feast day of St. Stephen. It will be the second of five Holy Doors the Holy Father will open during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope taking place from Dec. 24, 2024 — Christmas Eve — to Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of the Epiphany.

The opening of the Holy Door in the Roman prison will be a “symbol of all the prisons scattered around the world,” according to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

“In the jubilee year we are called to be tangible signs of hope for so many brothers and sisters who live in conditions of hardship,” Fisichella told journalists on Monday, directly quoting Pope Francis’ May 9 bull of indiction Spes Non Confundit (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”).

“I think of prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection, and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect,” he continued.

During the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Francis is calling on governments worldwide to undertake initiatives to restore dignity to prisoners that “go hand in hand with a concrete commitment to respect for the law.”

“I propose to the governments that during the jubilee year they take initiatives that restore hope, forms of amnesty or pardon that help people to regain confidence in themselves and in society, ways of reintegration into the community,” the papal bull reads.

According to Fisichella, Italy is the first country to have signed a Sept. 11 “amnesty” agreement with the Vatican, which will come into effect during the holy year.

“We signed an agreement with the minister of justice of the Republic of Italy, the Honorable Carlo Nordio, and the government commissioner, the Honorable Roberto Gualtieri, to implement during the jubilee year forms of reintegration for several convicts through their employment in social commitment activities,” he stated during the Oct. 28 press briefing.

While the Dec. 26 opening of the Holy Door in the Rebibbia prison is the first time a pope has opened a Holy Door in a prison in the history of jubilees in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis opened a “door of mercy” at a Roman prison during the Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015 as a sign of tangible sign of God’s forgiveness. 

The other four Holy Doors of the 2025 Jubilee will be located at the Basilica of St. Peter, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Basilica of St. Mary Major, and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The official mascot for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year is named “Luce,” which is Italian for “light.” / Credit: Simone Legno/tokidoki/Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 28, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).

Ahead of the 2025 Jubilee, the Vatican has launched a cartoon mascot unveiled Monday as the cheerful face of the Catholic Church’s upcoming holy year.

The mascot, named Luce — which means “light” in Italian — is intended to engage a younger audience and guide visitors through the holy year.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Vatican’s chief organizer for the jubilee, described the mascot as part of the Vatican’s goal to engage with “the pop culture so beloved by our young people.”

The mascot will debut this week at the Lucca Comics and Games, Italy’s celebrated convention for all things comics, video games, and fantasy, where the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization will host a space dedicated to “Luce and Friends.”

It will be the first time that a Vatican dicastery participates in a comics convention. Fisichella, who serves as the the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s section for the new evangelization, said he hopes taking part in the convention “will allow us to speak to younger generations about the theme of hope, which is more central than ever in the evangelical message.”

Clad in a yellow raincoat, mud-stained boots, and a pilgrim’s cross, Luce’s mission is to guide young pilgrims toward hope and faith with her trusty dog Santino at her side. Shells glimmer in her eyes, recalling the scallop shell of the Camino de Santiago, an emblem of the pilgrimage journey.

Speaking at a Vatican press conference on Oct. 28 next to a plastic figurine of Luce, Fisichella described Luce’s shining eyes as “a symbol of the hope of the heart.”

Luce, he said, will also be the face of the Holy See’s pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, where she will represent the Vatican’s pavilion theme, “Beauty Brings Hope,” alongside Caravaggio’s “The Entombment of Christ,” a painting that will be temporarily on loan from the Vatican Museums for the expo.

Simone Legno, the Italian co-founder of the pop culture brand tokidoki, designed Luce and her “pilgrim friends” — Fe, Xin, and Sky, each outfitted in brightly colored jackets.

The Vatican on Oct. 28, 2024, unveiled the official mascot for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year: “Luce,” which is Italian for “light.” Credit: Simone Legno/tokidoki/Vatican Media

Luce’s yellow sailor’s raincoat is a nod to both the Vatican flag and to journeying through life’s storms. The mascot’s muddy boots represent a long and difficult journey, while her staff symbolizes the pilgrimage toward eternity.

Legno, who admitted a lifelong love for Japanese pop culture, said he hopes that “Luce can represent the sentiments that resonate in the hearts of the younger generations.”

“I am extremely grateful to the Dicastery for Evangelization for opening its doors to pop culture as well,” he said.

A jubilee is a special holy year of grace and pilgrimage in the Catholic Church. It typically takes place once every 25 years, though the pope can call for extraordinary jubilee years more often, such as in the case of the 2016 Year of Mercy or the 2013 Year of Faith.

The Vatican has planned a range of cultural events to accompany the lead-up to the jubilee year, including a concert on Nov. 3 of Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5” and an art exhibit of Marc Chagall’s “White Crucifixion” painting, which will be on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago to be displayed in Rome’s Museo del Corso from Nov. 27 to Jan. 27. 

The jubilee year itself will begin with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024, welcoming an anticipated 30 million pilgrims into Rome by the time the Holy Year ends on Jan. 6, 2026.

A candle of St. Jude. / Credit: Francesca Pollio/CNA

CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Oct. 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Jude, also known as Thaddeus, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles.

He is believed to have written the Letter of Jude, one of the shortest books of the Bible, and is thought to have been martyred in Beirut around 65 A.D. He is typically depicted with a club or axe, symbolizing the way he died, as well as with a flame above his head, which refers to Pentecost. 

Although Jude is not mentioned much in the Bible and only had one quote attributed to him in the Gospel of John (14:22), this quiet apostle is extremely popular among Catholics today. His popularity probably stems from his patronage of lost causes. An experience Jude had while in the city of Edessa is said to be the reason why he is associated with “impossible” situations.

According to the ancient Church historian Eusebius, while Jesus was still alive, the ruler Abgar V of Edessa was afflicted with an incurable and painful disease. He had heard of the miracles of Jesus and wrote him a letter requesting a visit. Jesus responded that he would send one of his disciples.

After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Jude went to evangelize near the city of Edessa and went to visit Abgar. Jude laid his hands on the sick ruler, and he was reportedly instantly healed.

Many people choose to carry the image of St. Jude on a medal or as a pendant on a necklace for comfort and call on him in their time of need and healing. 

His feast is shared with St. Simon, who was also said to be a cousin of Jesus and is believed to have traveled to Persia with Jude, where they were both martyred.

Prayer to St. Jude

The following prayer can be prayed on the feast of St. Jude or at any time when his intercession is needed:

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me; I am so helpless and alone.

Intercede to God for me that he brings visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (make your request here), and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.

I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen. 

This article was first published on Oct. 27, 2021, and has been updated.

Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus message from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 27, 2024 / 11:40 am (CNA).

In his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis remembered Father Marcelo Pérez, a priest recently murdered in the violence-stricken region of Chiapas, Mexico.

The pope called the slain priest “a zealous servant of the Gospel and God’s faithful people” and said he joined the local diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, in mourning his loss.

“May his sacrifice, like that of other priests killed for fidelity to the ministry, be a seed of peace and Christian life,” Francis said.

Pérez was shot and killed on Oct. 20 after celebrating Mass. Described by his diocese as a “tireless apostle of peace,” Pérez’s murder came amid his ongoing efforts to defend local communities from violence and injustice.

Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus message from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 27, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

His work had drawn serious threats; the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) had issued precautionary measures for Pérez’s protection since 2015 due to “the constant risk to his life and personal safety” because of “his work in defense of human rights.”

Pérez’s murder marks the latest in a disturbing pattern of violence against clergy in Mexico. According to the Catholic Multimedia Center, 36 Catholic priests have been killed in Mexico since 2013.

Appeal for peace and human dignity

Speaking from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis asked people to continue praying for peace in the world, particularly in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon. He called for an end to escalation and urged “respect for human life, which is sacred.”

“The first victims are among the civilian population. We see it every day,” Francis said. “Too many innocent victims. We see every day images of slaughtered children — too many children! Let us pray for peace.”

Pilgrims hold umbrellas that say “pace,” or “peace,” during Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus address on Oct. 27, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope also pointed to the upcoming international conference hosted by the Red Cross in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. The pope expressed hope that the event will “awaken consciences” and reinforce the importance of respecting human dignity during times of conflict. He lamented the destruction of civilian facilities in war zones, including hospitals and schools, and urged adherence to international humanitarian law.

Catholic-Jewish relations

Pope Francis took the opportunity to reflect on the Church’s role in interfaith dialogue as he marked the 50th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism created by St. Paul VI. He also looked ahead to next year’s 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a Vatican II declaration that significantly advanced Catholic-Jewish relations.

“Especially in these times of great suffering and tension, I encourage those who are committed locally to dialogue and peace,” he said.

The importance of charity

In his reflection on Sunday’s Gospel, Pope Francis underlined the importance of charity. “When you approach a poor person and take action, it is Jesus who approaches you in the person of that poor person,” he said.

“The one who receives the most grace from almsgiving is the one who gives it because he is being watched by the eyes of the Lord,” he added.

Pilgrims gather for Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus prayer and address on Oct. 27, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaPrayer for the Philippines

The pope also offered prayers for the Philippines, where Tropical Storm Trami recently caused severe flooding, leaving at least 82 people dead, according to the Associated Press.

“I am close to the people of the Philippines affected by a very strong cyclone. May the Lord sustain that people so full of faith,” he said.

Synodality and the future of the Church

Pope Francis prayed the Angelus shortly after presiding over the closing Mass for the Synod on Synodality’s second assembly in St. Peter’s Basilica. The synod assembly, which began on Oct. 2, focused on the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”

The assembly represented a significant phase in the Church’s global synodal process, initiated three years ago. Over the last month, synod delegates produced a 52-page final document outlining recommendations for Church renewal, including proposals for expanded women’s leadership roles, greater lay participation in decision-making, and significant structural reforms.

“Today we have concluded the Synod of Bishops,” Pope Francis told the crowd in St. Peter’s Square. “Let us pray that everything we have acted on this month will go forward for the good of the Church.”

Pope Francis addresses bishops gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Oct 27, 2024 / 08:55 am (CNA).

Pope Francis closed the global Synod on Synodality’s final assembly on Sunday with a call for a Church that “hears the cry of the world” without being “blind” to the urgent issues facing our time.

At the synod’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis said that a synodal Church must be “on the move” following Christ in serving those in need.

“We do not need a sedentary and defeatist Church but a Church that hears the cry of the world …  and gets its hands dirty in serving the Lord,” the pope said in his homily on Oct. 27.

Pope Francis underlined that the Church cannot remain inert before “the questions raised by the women and men of today, the challenges of our time, the urgency of evangelization, and the many wounds that afflict humanity.”

“Brothers and sisters, not a sedentary Church, but a Church on her feet. Not a silent Church, but a Church that embraces the cry of humanity. Not a blind Church, but a Church, enlightened by Christ, that brings the light of the Gospel to others. Not a static Church, but a missionary Church that walks with her Lord through the streets of the world,” he said.

Pope Francis prays during the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The Mass marked the conclusion of the second assembly of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which began on Oct. 2 and focused on the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”

The assembly represented a significant phase in the Church’s global synodal process, initiated three years ago. Over the last month, synod delegates produced a 52-page final document outlining recommendations for Church renewal, including proposals for expanded women’s leadership roles, greater lay participation in decision-making, and significant structural reforms.

In a notable departure from tradition, Pope Francis announced that he will forgo issuing a postsynodal apostolic exhortation. Instead, he opted to ratify the synod’s final document, directly implementing the assembly’s conclusions. While the synod assembly has ended, 10 synod study groups will continue to examine the question of women deacons and other key topics through June 2025.

In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel of Mark’s account of Jesus healing a blind man named Bartimaeus. He said that “blind Bartimaeus … represents that inner blindness which restrains us, keeps us stuck in one place, holds us back from the dynamism of life, and destroys our hope.”

Bishops fill St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“So many things along the way can make us blind, incapable of perceiving the presence of the Lord, unprepared to face the challenges of reality, sometimes unable to offer adequate responses  to the questions of so many who cry out to us,” the pope said.

“A sedentary Church, that inadvertently withdraws from life and confines itself to the margins of reality, is a Church that risks remaining blind and becoming comfortable with its own unease,” he said. “If we remain stuck in our blindness, we will continuously fail to grasp the urgency of giving a pastoral response to the many problems of our world.”

Pope Francis, dressed in green vestments for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered his homily slowly, often pausing to speak off the cuff. He described an image of a “synodal Church” as one in which “the Lord is calling us, lifting us up when we are seated or fallen down, restoring our sight so that we can perceive the anxieties and sufferings of the world in the light of the Gospel.”

“Let us remember never to walk alone or according to worldly criteria,” he added, but instead to journey by “following Jesus along the road.”

At the altar, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, served as the principal celebrant.

More than 300 priests and bishops, 70 cardinals, and nine patriarchs concelebrated the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024, under the canopy of the recently restored 400-year-old intricate bronze canopy baldacchino designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which was revealed at the Mass for the first time since restoration. Credit: Vatican Media

More than 300 priests and bishops, 70 cardinals, and nine patriarchs concelebrated the synod’s closing Mass under the canopy of the recently restored baldacchino over the central altar.

The 400-year-old intricate bronze canopy designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini was revealed at the Mass for the first time since restoration, its twisted columns gleaming with intricately decorated Baroque angels, cherubs, bees, and golden laurel branches.

“As we admire Bernini’s majestic baldacchino, more sublime than ever, we can rediscover that it frames the true focal point of the entire basilica, namely the glory of the Holy Spirit,” the pope said. “This is the synodal Church: a community whose primacy lies in the gift of the Spirit, who makes us all brothers and sisters in Christ and raises us up to him.”

As the Mass concluded, Pope Francis, from his wheelchair, led the faithful in the veneration of a relic of St. Peter’s chair — a wooden throne symbolizing the papal primacy. This relic is expected to remain on display in St. Peter’s Basilica for public veneration until Dec. 8.

“Today, as we give thanks to the Lord for the journey we have made together, we will be able to see and venerate the relic of the carefully restored ancient chair of St. Peter,” Pope Francis said. “As we contemplate it with the wonder of faith, let us remember that this is the chair of love, the chair of unity, and the chair of mercy.”

Pope Francis venerates the chair of St. Peter at the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media