Faith

Pope celebrates closing Mass of African Journey

November 30, 2015

Pope Francis on Monday celebrated Mass at Bangui's Barthélémy Boganda Stadium for thousands of the faithful from the Central African Republic.

Pope opens Holy Door at Mass in Bangui cathedral

November 29, 2015

Priests and religious, catechists and young people joined Pope Francis on Sunday evening for the celebration of Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Bangui, Central African Republic. During the ceremony, the Pope opened the Holy Door of the Cathedral for the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy. The Jubilee Year officially begins on 8 December. In his homily at the Mass the Pope spoke of the Christian vocation to love our enemies, saying it protects us "from the temptation to seek revenge and from the spiral of endless retaliation."

Mass at Sanctuary of Ugandan Martyrs: Homily

November 28, 2015

Pope Francis on Saturday morning celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the National Sanctuary of the Ugandan Martyrs at Namugongo. The Shrine commemorates the martyrdom of 22 young Catholic converts during an anti-Christian persecution that took place under Mwanga II, the king of Buganda.

Homily at the Mass on the campus of the University of Nairobi

November 26, 2015

Thursday, November 26, 2015 - Nairobi 10 a.m. Mass on the campus of the University of Nairobi. Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis Nairobi, Central Park Thursday, November 26, 2015 God’s word speaks to us in the depths of our heart. Today God tells us that we belong to him. He made us, we are his family, and he will always be there for us. “Fear not”, he says to us, “I have chosen you and I promise to give you my blessing” (cf. Is 44:2).

Widows are image of Church seeking to stay faithful

November 23, 2015

The Church remains faithful if she keeps her eyes fixed on Jesus, but she becomes lukewarm and mediocre if she seeks comfort in worldly things. That was Pope Francis’ message on Monday as he reflected on the Gospel reading at Mass in the Casa Santa Marta…

'Dei Verbum' at 50: Where have all the Bibles gone?

November 20, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Fifty years ago, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) urged the faithful to nourish their faith by reading the Bible, putting an end to centuries of seeing direct access to the Scriptures as something reserved to the clergy.

Proclaim Gospel, worry less about structures, Pope tells German bishops

November 20, 2015

VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church in Germany has strong institutions that contribute much to society and are extremely generous internationally, but Christianity must be more about proclaiming faith and less about maintaining impressive institutions, Pope Francis told the country's bishops.

The Church must not worship “holy bribery”

November 20, 2015

Pope Francis said that the Church must not be obsessed by money or power, nor worship “holy bribes”. Instead her strength and joy should come from the words of Christ. He was speaking at the morning mass at Casa Santa Marta on Friday.

The Lord weeps for the sins of a world at war

November 19, 2015

“The whole world is at war,” and the rejection of the “path of peace” means that God Himself, that Jesus Himself, weeps. This was the message of Pope Francis to the faithful following the readings of the day at Mass on Thursday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.

Pope warns against temptations of leading a double life

November 18, 2015

The importance of safeguarding our Christian identity and not living double lives: that was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning. The Pope based his words on the daily readings which focus on the need for coherence between our spiritual and our temporal lives.