In Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II, Baltimore-born papal biographer George Weigel reflects in a highly personal way on the 15 years he devoted to chronicling the life and times and impact of John Paul II in Witness to Hope (1999) and The End and the Beginning (2010). It is a story that emphasizes repeatedly and powerfully the idea of providence.

CZESTOCHOWA, Poland – Three hundred years ago this September the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa was crowned Queen and Protector of Poland by Clement XI.

WARSAW, Poland – A son of the Polish prime minister has been ordained a Catholic priest, and he celebrated his first Mass this last Sunday.

WARSAW, Poland – Poland's government has adopted multiple resolutions establishing 2017 as a Jubilee Year for the country, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

ROME – When it comes to the Christian life, too many seminaries teach students a rigid list of rules that make it difficult or impossible for them as priests to respond to the real-life situation of those who come to them seeking guidance, Pope Francis said.

If you did not feel empowered by Pope Francis' homily during the welcoming ceremonies at World Youth Day, then you weren't really listening. The Holy Father game a passioned speech about the hope that we carry for the Church as young people. 

There’s so much I could say about World Youth Day: I could probably write a short book about my experiences. There are so many themes I could pull from it, so many lessons I could draw out. But as I reflected, a hymn came to mind that tied together so many different threads it wouldn’t let go: “Jesus calls us here to meet him.”

In the short two weeks I spent in Poland for WYD, I underwent a profound spiritual revival, one which I had been searching for over the last few years.

KRAKOW, POLAND – From the outside, a church can look cold and dark. The stained glass windows don’t reveal much of what’s inside. But when you walk in, the sunlight streams through the multi-coloured glass and the church comes alive.

Two weeks ago I left my home in Mission, BC, about an hour outside of Vancouver, and embarked on my pilgrimage to Kraków, Poland. There I would meet with two million other Catholics, Pope Francis and Christ Himself in the Eucharist. The prospect of seeing old friends at Kraków Airport and spending the next two weeks with them in a foreign country was enough to get me excited and yet there was something else that was calling me there. I was going to Poland, and I would spend two weeks in hard core prayer mode with the big guy asking Him all the big questions I needed answers to. Yes, I was finally going to get it all figured out. But no. That didn’t happen. Not even close.

VATICAN CITY – As World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow wrapped up, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, the retired success to St. John Paul II as archbishop of the host city, died Aug. 2 at the age of 89.

Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass in Krakow, Poland, on Sunday - World Youth Day - for a crowd of pilgrim faithful estimated at upward of one million people. The theme of the Holy Father's remarks to the gathered youth was how to overcome obstacles to building a real relationship with Jesus - whether they be obstacles that arise in one's own soul or obstacles one will inevitably encounter in the world and in society.

“SDM Krakow 2016” flags flying from every street lamp, banners with Pope Francis’ picture above the doors of numerous churches, and groups of youth from all over the world singing hymns from every corner of Poland- this is just a small portion of the incredible transformation I had the pleasure of witnessing over my past month here.

KRAKOW, Poland – Pope Francis thanked World Youth Day organizers and volunteers and urged them to be "the hope of the future."