Arriving at the edge of the European continent for World Youth Day, Pope Francis urged Portuguese officials to return to their maritime roots by setting sail toward new horizons of hope and helping build a Europe "capable of recovering its youthful heart."

Destroying grain is a "grave offense to God," Pope Francis said, appealing to authorities in Russia as "my brothers" and urging them to resume cooperating with a United Nations' initiative to guarantee the safe transport of grain out of Ukraine.

One year after the historic papal visit to Canada, positive signs abound.

Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals, including U.S.-born Archbishop Robert F. Prevost, who took the helm at the Dicastery for Bishops in April, and French Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop Francis Leo of Toronto joined 31 other metropolitan archbishops appointed over the past year who received their pallium from Pope Francis after Mass for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29.

A Vatican meeting between Pope Francis and Cuban President and First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel on June 20 drew a small protest at the Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation), the boulevard leading to St. Peter’s Square.

Among the many messages Pope Francis has been getting over the course of his first full day recovering from abdominal surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital, his favorite, so far, was a large card from a Peruvian family he met during his last hospital stay.

Pope Francis was scheduled to undergo surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital June 7 to treat a hernia that had developed at an incision of a previous operation, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

The Catholic Church's current Synod of Bishops should not be a "parliament for demanding rights," but a "journey in accordance with the Spirit," Pope Francis said.

A forum on Pope Francis’ papacy from a Canadian context posed tough questions while also maintaining a celebratory mood as speakers from around the world gathered at St. Mark’s College to examine the significance of Francis’ pontificate.

Pope Francis prayed that Catholics in China would be free to share the Gospel and live their faith fully.

After literally hundreds of public prayers for peace in Ukraine and 443 days after Russia launched an all-out war on the Eastern European country, Pope Francis welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Vatican.

Pope Francis asked 23 new members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard to draw close to the sacraments, read Scripture and meditate on spiritual texts, including during calm shifts on guard.

When Pope Francis told reporters the Vatican had some kind of "mission" underway to promote an end to the war in Ukraine, journalists naturally were intrigued.