Vatican News

Christian marriage – it's 'demanding but magnificent,' Pope says

Vatican City, May 13, 2015 / 01:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In his audience closing out the Togolese bishops’ ad Limina visit to Rome, Pope Francis on Monday encouraged solid faith formation for the young, especially those preparing for marriage.

“I encourage you to persevere in your effort to support families in difficulty … and to prepare couples for the commitments, demanding but magnificent, of Christian marriage,” he said, according to a Vatican report.

When was the last time you said 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry?' Pope asks

Vatican City, May 13, 2015 / 09:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his general audience Pope Francis focused on the concrete challenges families face in daily life, and said that simply remembering to be grateful and to apologize can go a long way in avoiding conflict.

“Dear brothers and sisters, today's catechesis is the opening of the door to a series of reflections on family life, real life, daily life,” the Pope told pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square May 13.

You are not just aid workers – you are witnesses to Christ, Pope tells Caritas

Vatican City, May 12, 2015 / 03:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis told global representatives of Caritas International that true service is about welcoming God and others, and called them to continue their mission by going out to the peripheries.

“The Gospel, proclaimed and believed, urges us to wash the feet and the wounds of the suffering and to prepare the table for them,” the Pope said May 12.

Martyrdom serves Christian unity, Pope Francis tells Coptic Orthodox patriarch

Vatican City, May 12, 2015 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a message sent Sunday to the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Francis said advances toward reconciliation are strengthened by the martyrs and that Christians must unite to confront shared global challenges.

“Today more than ever we are united by the ecumenism of blood, which further encourages us on the path towards peace and reconciliation,” Pope Francis wrote May 10 to Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria.

On Monday, a little boy asked Pope Francis: 'What is peace?'

Vatican City, May 11, 2015 / 01:31 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This question was part of a special question and answer session with the Bishop of Rome touching on a wide range of themes – from the link between greed and war, to arguments with siblings, and the role of religion in promoting peace in the world.

“Religion helps us because it makes us walk in God's presence,” the Pope said: “it helps us because it gives us the Commandments, the Beatitudes.”

Dates of Pope's Cuba trip announced: Sept. 19-22

Vatican City, May 11, 2015 / 12:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ historic trip to Cuba will take place Sept. 19-22, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba has announced.

The dates of the trip were released in a May 11 statement from the Cuban bishops.

The announcement came one day after Pope Francis met privately with Cuban president Raul Castro at the Vatican. Castro said after the meeting that he “will start praying again and return to the Church” if the Pope continues what he has been doing.

Pope Francis: Get ready to be martyrs – even in the little things

Vatican City, May 11, 2015 / 11:31 am (Aid to the Church in Need).- Pope Francis centered his homily for Monday's daily Mass on the “scandal of the cross,” saying Christians should turn to the Holy Spirit in preparing for martyrdom – great or small.

“A Christian who does not take the dimension of martyrdom seriously in life does not understand the road that Jesus has indicated,” the Pope said May 11, according to Vatican Radio's translation.

Raul Castro to Pope: Thanks to you, I may come back to the Church

Vatican City, May 10, 2015 / 01:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Following a private meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis, who has helped to broker improved relations between Cuba and the United States, the president of the Caribbean nation suggested he could return to the Church in the future.

“I will start praying again and return to the Church” if the Pope continues what he has been doing, Raul Castro said on Sunday.

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