Church leaders affirm commitment to family as world meeting kicks off

PHILADELPHIA - Known as the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia will be "the city of family love" and the "world capital of families" during the four-day World Meeting of Families, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Pope tells Cubans that families are opportunities, not problems

SANTIAGO, Cuba - Pope Francis ended his trip to Cuba by blessing the city of Santiago de Cuba and telling Cubans to treat family as an "opportunity" rather than a problem.

Pope calls for 'revolution of tenderness' in Cuba

SANTIAGO, Cuba - Pope Francis called Cuban to a "revolution of tenderness" as he celebrated Mass in the Minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the country's patroness.

Visit to Cuban shrine gives pope quiet time for prayer

SANTIAGO, Cuba - In one of the calmer, more intimate moments of his visit to Cuba, Pope Francis and the country's bishops offered special prayers to the Cuba's patroness, Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre.

Pope to Cubans: Look to future with hope, but care for each other

SANTIAGO, Cuba - A key task of a traveling pope is to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. For Pope Francis in Cuba, that ministry took on added importance as Cuba and its people stand on the threshold of potentially epochal change.

Holguin Catholics experience the unimaginable: papal Mass in public

HOLGUIN, Cuba - The scene would have been unimaginable a few years ago: A Catholic Mass in Holguin's Revolution Plaza, where May Day parades and other patriotic events exalting the Cuban Revolution take place.

From throne to popemobile: The pope’s ride rolls with the times

VATICAN CITY - While cruising past cheering crowds in Naples, Italy, earlier this year, Pope Francis received an unexpected gift. A local pizzeria owner jogging alongside the papal car jumped over the barrier and handed Francis a pizza, which the smiling pope willingly accepted.

Pope urges Cuba's youths, consecrated people to love and hope

HAVANA - In a hot and steamy cathedral after listening to a Daughter of Charity talk about her work with people with severe disabilities, Pope Francis set aside his prepared homily and spoke about serving those the world considers "useless."

Pope sends greetings, prayers to newly elected Assyrian patriarch

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis expressed his joy and "prayerful solidarity" to the new head of the Assyrian Church of the East, 73-year-old Catholicos Gewargis III.

Pope visits Fidel Castro before formal meeting with Cuba's president

HAVANA - Although it was not part of his formal program, Pope Francis took time after Sunday Mass to visit Cuba's ailing former leader, Fidel Castro.

Holguin Catholics delighted their time has come for papal visit

HOLGUIN, Cuba - Popes have come and gone from Cuba, and this city of 300,000 or so always has prepared but never has been picked for a visit by a pope -- until now.