'I hope to be able to inspire': Meet Australia's 36-year-old ambassador to the Holy See

CNA Staff, Sep 3, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Australia’s new ambassador to the Holy See is a 36-year-old mother of two with a passion for youth outreach.

Ambassador Chiara Porro presented her credentials to Pope Francis last week and is now the only resident ambassador from the Pacific region in the Vatican diplomatic corps.

“I hope to be able to inspire and act as a bit of a bridge,” Porro told CNA Sept. 1.

Analysis: The art of China’s Vatican deal

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 2, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Next month, the 2018 Vatican-China deal expires. Those close to the negotiations, both in Rome and in Beijing, now confidently predict a one-year extension to the two-year deal to be agreed.

Pope Francis calls for day of prayer and fasting for Lebanon

Vatican City, Sep 2, 2020 / 08:00 am (CNA).- At the end of his general audience Wednesday, Pope Francis made a lengthy appeal for peace and harmony in Lebanon, asking people around the world to spend a day in prayer and fasting for the Middle Eastern country.

Tourists in Rome surprised by chance to see Pope Francis

Vatican City, Sep 2, 2020 / 05:50 am (CNA).- Tourists in Rome had an unexpected chance to see Pope Francis at his first public audience for more than six months.

Pope Francis calls for solidarity at first audience with pilgrims after lockdown

Vatican City, Sep 2, 2020 / 04:50 am (CNA).- In his first Wednesday audience with pilgrims since Italy’s lockdown, Pope Francis called for solidarity to reawaken unity and bring God’s love to a suffering world.

Cardinal Parolin stresses ‘spiritual consonance’ between Pope Francis and Benedict XVI

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Pietro Parolin has written an introduction to a book describing the continuity between Pope Francis and his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Pope Francis says pandemic is ‘a wake-up call’ to care for creation

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2020 / 04:40 am (CNA).- Pope Francis released a message Tuesday for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in which he called for repentance for humanity’s broken bonds with God’s creation and with others.

Family of nurses who treated coronavirus patients to meet Pope Francis

Vatican City, Aug 31, 2020 / 05:30 am (CNA).- Four adult siblings, all nurses who worked with coronavirus patients during the worst of the pandemic, will on Friday meet Pope Francis, together with their families.

The invitation for the private audience was extended after Pope Francis called the two brothers and two sisters, who have been working on the front line against COVID-19 in Italy and Switzerland.

Pope Francis: The cross reminds us of the sacrifices of the Christian life

Vatican City, Aug 30, 2020 / 05:35 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Sunday the crucifix we wear or hang on our wall is not supposed to be decorative, but a reminder of God’s love and the sacrifices involved in the Christian life.

“The cross is the holy sign of God’s Love and a sign of Jesus’ Sacrifice, and is not to be reduced to a superstitious object or an ornamental necklace,” the pope said in his Angelus address Aug. 30.

Book collects Pope Francis' words of encouragement to athletes

Vatican City, Aug 29, 2020 / 09:36 am (CNA).- The Vatican is publishing a new book collecting Pope Francis’ notable speeches to athletes of all kinds, and which includes the testimonies of three professional athletes.

An Aug. 29 press release describes the book as a collection of the pope’s “most significant speeches to athletes,” including great champions, men and women with physical or intellectual disabilities, children, and young people.

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