PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller believes Pope Francis' call for the church to serve immigrants and people on the move around the world will inspire the church to respond with love and care for people seeking a new home.
Published in Francis in America

PHILADELPHIA - A re-energized Pope Francis delighted tens of thousands of people crowded onto a thoroughfare in the city center on Saturday, delivering a folksy, off-the-cuff riff on family life that came late in the evening, and at the end of a long day of speeches and festivities that by any measure should have left the 78-year-old pontiff drained.

Published in Francis in America

Philadelphia, Penn. - American composer Aaron Copland’s stirring “Fanfare for the Common Man” greeted a most uncommon pope, who proceeded to speak to America’s better angels on behalf of common men and women, who thronged Independence Mall in their thousands hoping to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis.

Published in Francis in America

PHILADELPHIA - Not far from where the Liberty Bell is on display, Pope Francis urged the people of the United States to continue to "proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," as the bell's inscription says.

Published in Francis in America

PHILADELPHIA - Pope Francis encouraged Pennsylvania's Catholic clergy and women and men religious to challenge young people to develop "high ideals, generosity of spirit and love for Christ and the church."

Published in Francis in America
September 26, 2015

New York Pope

Perhaps the ultimate New York accolade for Pope Francis was on sale Friday at newsstands throughout the city. The gritty, often bombastic New York Post changed its name to the New York Pope for a day when the pope seemed to be all over the city.
Published in Francis in America

Homily given by Pope Francis at Mass at Madison Square Garden, Sept. 25, 2015

We are in Madison Square Garden, a place synonymous with this city. This is the site of important athletic, artistic and musical events attracting people not only from this city, but from the whole world. In this place, which represents both the variety and the common interests of so many different people, we have listened to the words: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”(IS 9:1).

Published in Reflections

NEW YORK - Seeing New York for the first time in his 78 years of life, Pope Francis said he knew Madison Square Garden was an important gathering place for sporting events and concerts. For him, it was transformed into a chapel in the heart of the Big Apple.

Published in Francis in America

NEW YORK - Pope Francis has come to the powerful to demand limits on power. He came to open a session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Sept. 25, to speak to the world’s diplomatic elite and the powerful forces they represent on behalf of the “victims of power badly exercised.”

Published in Francis in America

NEW YORK - Honoring both the pain and the strength of the families of those who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and drawing on the pools of water that are part of the site's memorial, Pope Francis spoke about tears and quenching the world's longing for peace."The water we see flowing toward that empty pit remind us of all those lives" lost in 2001, he said. "The flowing water is also a symbol of our tears. Tears at so much devastation and ruin, past and present."

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NEW YORK - The Pope’’s tour of the United States has the power to re-engage Catholics in a broad range of work for justice and to rediscover a broader, more Catholic perspective, Kate Bini said shortly after Pope Francis’ address to the United Nations.

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NEW YORK - In two days Pope Francis has spoken to some of the most powerful people on Earth —– U.S. senators and Congress representatives and the world diplomatic community at the United Nations.

Published in Francis in America

It’’s actually hard to gather a sense of how New Yorkers are responding to Pope Francis. Out on the street, it seems like there are no native New Yorkers. Everybody is either a tourist or part of a visiting TV crew, filing their own reports on how New Yorkers are greeting Pope Francis.

Published in Francis in America

NEW YORK - In a grand yet intimate prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Sept. 24, Pope Francis exhorted the priests and women religious who filled the sanctuary to redouble their sacrifices on behalf of the faithful, but he reserved his greatest praise for American nuns who have often been viewed by Rome with deep suspicion.

Published in Francis in America

Following the visit of Pope Francis having just finished his journey to Cuba and the United States, there is no doubt going to be some papal buzz circulating over the next few weeks. This will not be the first time he will be making headlines since his papacy began in March of 2013. We have all seen many articles pertaining to his words, actions and teachings. Some have included bold statements on subjects such as climate change, the economy and abortion.

Published in YSN: Speaking Out