Vatican News

Pope Francis moves financial records office under Secretariat for Economy

Vatican City, May 20, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Wednesday moved the office of the Vatican’s financial records database under the management of the Secretariat for the Economy -- reversing a decision he made in 2016.

Pope Francis says prayer opens the door of hope

Vatican City, May 20, 2020 / 04:30 am (CNA).- Prayer opens the door of hope, Pope Francis said at the general audience Wednesday.

Speaking via livestream due to the coronavirus crisis, the pope said May 20 that throughout history prayer had helped people to see beyond their suffering.

Holy See donates to WHO fund for medics on pandemic front line

CNA Staff, May 19, 2020 / 08:00 pm (CNA).- The Holy See has pledged to contribute to the World Health Organization’s emergency fund supplying protective equipment to medics fighting the coronavirus, an archbishop has said.

Vatican to mark 5th anniversary of Laudato si’ with year-long celebration

Vatican City, May 19, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- The Vatican will on May 24 launch a year-long celebration of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato si’ to mark its fifth anniversary.

The “special Laudato si’ anniversary year” is an initiative of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and will include a wide range of events, starting with a global day of prayer and ending in the launch of multi-year sustainability action plans.

Pope Francis merges Alaskan dioceses to create Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau

Vatican City, May 19, 2020 / 07:45 am (CNA).- Pope Francis merged two dioceses in Alaska Tuesday, creating the new Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau which will cover a territory larger than Montana.

The pope appointed Bishop Andrew E. Bellisario as the metropolitan archbishop of the newly formed archdiocese in southern Alaska.

Pope Francis: St. John Paul II was an ‘extraordinary gift’ to the Church

CNA Staff, May 18, 2020 / 01:46 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis described St. John Paul II as “an extraordinary gift of God to the Church and to Poland” in a video message to young people in Kraków Monday.

In the message marking the 100th anniversary of the saint’s birth May 18, Francis recalled his visit to the Polish city for World Youth Day in 2016.

Pope Francis adds St. Faustina Kowalska’s feast day to Roman Calendar

Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 07:15 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has decreed that St. Faustina Kowalska’s feast day be added to the Roman Calendar as an optional memorial to be celebrated by all on October 5.

The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship issued the decree May 18, the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II, who canonized St. Faustina on April 13, 2000, making her the first saint of the new millennium.

Baking cookies for St. John Paul II and other memories for his 100th birthday

Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 05:00 am (CNA).- “Thirty-nine years ago today I was on my way into St. Peter’s Square when the pope was shot,” Joan Lewis said over the phone on May 13.

It is just one of many vivid memories Lewis has of the 65 years of her life that overlapped with St. John Paul II’s, including four decades in Rome, where she closely followed the pope as a journalist and later as a Vatican translator who worked on an apostolic exhortation and the pope’s last will and testament.

Pope Francis praises St. John Paul II as man of prayer and justice

Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 04:15 am (CNA).- St. John Paul II was a man of prayer who was close to the people and loved justice, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass Monday.

Celebrating Mass at the saint’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope noted that May 18 is the 100th anniversary of John Paul II’s birth.

Cardinal Czerny: Immigrants are essential, pandemic shows

Vatican City, May 17, 2020 / 12:30 pm (CNA).- The emergency caused by coronavirus has made the situation of many vulnerable people even more precarious; it has also highlighted that immigrants are essential to the fabric of our society, Cardinal Michael Czerny says.

The cardinal also urged local solutions to address the needs of immigrant and refugee families around the world.

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