Francis – Initiatives and Gestures Category

org/AICA. Lay Catholics in Argentina have urged the whole world to pray "one minute for peace" with Pope Francis, following his invitation to presidents Shimon Peres of Israel and Mahmud Abbas from Palestine to pray in the Vatican on Sunday, 8 June, on the Feast of Pentecost.  "Everyday but especially on Friday 6 June at 1.00 pm," they appealed.  They also call on the faithful to prepare Pope Francis' gesture with permanent prayer.  "Wherever you happen to be at 1.00p m, stop, bow your head and pray for peace, everyoneRead More
org. Once again the world looks towards the Vatican, simultaneously filled with hope and astonishment: Presidents Peres and Abbas will meet to pray in the Vatican on Pentecost Sunday, 8 June, following Pope Francis' invitation to them during his trip to the Holy Land from 24 to 26 May.    Read More
HOLY LAND/ROME, org. "In critical moments we need wise people who love us.  God himself counsels us in the depths of our hearts, in intimacy with him and through the voice of the testimony of our brothers," Pope Francis said recently during a Mass at Santa Marta.  He knows what friends and friendship mean.  The strong embrace of the three religious leaders - a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim - in front of the Wall of Lamentations in Jerusalem was the crowning moment of the last part of PopeRead More
HOLY LAND, org. It was a surprising gesture, and how, for the entourage that accompanied Pope Francis from the headquarters of the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority to the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem.  When the jeep that he was travelling in passed the wall that separates the outskirts of Jordan from Israel, Francis ordered the vehicle to stop and he got out.  The stop was unplanned and according to the journalists who accompanied the Pontiff, Francis remained in prayer for several minutes in front of the cementRead More
HOLY LAND, org. As children and youth give him their moving testimonies about their struggles as a result of disability and serious illness, testimonies filled with pain, hope and love, Francis takes his pectoral cross in his hands.  That cross that is a symbol of the Good Shepherd carrying the lamb on his shoulders.  The Shepherd of the world hands all of this pain that surrounds him in the beautiful Latin Church in Bethany beyond the Jordan to the Good Shepherd.  In the refugees and the disabled youngsters, Francis seesRead More
HOLY LAND, RD, José M. Vidal/org. Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Amman international stadium.  A stadium that previously welcomed Pope John Paul II in 2000 and Benedict XVI in 2009.  Before thousands of Palestinian, Syrian and Iraqi refugees, the Holy Father implored for the gift of peace "to be sought patiently and to be crafted."  There is joy, enthusiasm, hope, and 1,400 boys and girls will receive their first Holy Communion…There are some Schoenstatt members from Chile, Spain, Germany and the Holy Land at this Mass, or nearby…many ofRead More
ROME/JORDAN, VIS/org – On Saturday, April 24,  the Pope began his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the encounter between Pope Paul VI and the Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem. The aeroplane carrying the Holy Father departed at 8.15 from Rome's Fiumicino airport and landed at 1 p.m. local time, midday in Rome, in the “Queen Alia” airport of Amman, Jordan.  Before leaving the airport in Rome, he tweeted: "Dear friends, please pray for me during my pilgrimage to the Holy Land." During the flight to Amman,Read More
org. During the general audience preceding his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Jesus’ homeland, Pope Francis asked that he be accompanied with prayer, also for peace in that land that suffers so much. “Next Saturday, I begin the trip to the Holy Land, the land of Jesus. It will be a strictly religious trip.  First, to encounter my brother Bartolome I, in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Paul VI’s encounter with Atenágoras I.  Peter and Andrew will meet again and this is very beautiful.  The second reason isRead More
ROME, mda. A couple of days ago, Father Pedro Pergañeda, pastor of Arroyo Seco Assumption Parish in Argentina, along with Monsignor Mario Maulión, Bishop Emeritus of Paraná, had the immense gift of having a personal meeting with Pope Francis within the context of the canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II.      Read More
mda. Half a million people attended the ceremony held this morning in St. Peter's Square for the canonisation of the “two Pope saints”: John XXIII and John Paul II. Since it was opened to the public at 5 a.m., the square and its environs were filled with faithful from all over the world. See the complete text of the sermon given by Pope Francis at the end of the article.Read More