Pope Francis Tag

SOUTH AFRICA, Sarah-Leah Pimentel • “That Christians in Africa, in imitation of the Merciful Jesus, may give prophetic witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace” – this is the Holy Father`s universal prayer intention for the month of May 2017. In the monthly video spread and developed by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer), he says: “When we look at Africa, we see much more than its great natural richness. We see its joie de vivre, and above all, we see grounds for hope in Africa’s rich intellectual, culturalRead More
EASTER OF THE RESURRECTION • “Let us go back to proclaim, to share, to reveal that it is true: the Lord is alive!” With these words, Pope Francis urged those who attended the Easter Vigil not to remain closed in the tomb, but to resurrect like Jesus, and he warned that if we are not able to do this, we “are not Christians.” He encouraged everyone to be “driven to keep walking and not resign ourselves to the fact that things have to end this way.” This is the EasterRead More
FRANCIS on the periphery, by Maria Fischer with content from Vatican Radio and Aleteia • The washing of feet on Holy Thursday, calling to mind Jesus, reminds us that “God loves us to the ends of the earth” despite our sinfulness. Pope Francis reminded us of this during the Mass of the Last Supper, which he celebrated at Paliano prison. It is Italy’s only prison for “collaborators of justice”, former mafia members who turn state witness to testify against their former associates and require protection.  In 2013, a few daysRead More
FRANCIS IN ROME • At the end of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome, where the first Christians were martyred, Pope Francis turned to the people who were present and prayed a long and heartfelt prayer of reparation for the sins that humanity and the even the Church have committed against Jesus on the cross. Complete text of Pope Francis’ prayer: O Christ! Abandoned and betrayed even by your own and sold for next to nothing. O Christ! Judged by sinners, handed overRead More
PARAGUAY, Ani Souberlich and Maria Fischer • 12 February was the first anniversary of the blessing of Mother of Tupãrendá House’s (CMT) cornerstone, a center for the social re-insertion of teens, who have had a run-in with the law in Paraguay. The house was built in just six months, and the doors were immediately opened to welcome the participants; currently there are nineteen. Six months have passed where day to day we can witness the “small, great miracles” in the lives of each one of them, six months of importantRead More
POPE FRANCIS’ INTENTIONS • After the Angelus on Sunday 12 March, on the second Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis expressed his pain and closeness with the people of Guatemala after the fire at the Virgen de la Asunción children’s shelter on 8 March, which claimed the lives of 40 people, most of them minors who lived there, and left several people seriously injured. In light of this tragic accident, Pope Francis assured the people of Guatemala of his prayers, and also asked for prayers for all boys and girls whoRead More
BELMONTE ROME, Maria Fischer  • The “Shrine of all of us,” Belmonte Rome’s Shrine, is adorned for Lent – like all the world’s shrines. There are a few purple flowers… Holy Lent has begun that will lead us with our Lord to experience the sorrow and glory of the greatest love of him who gave his life for his friends, in extreme solidarity. “Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians areRead More
ITALY/EUROPEAN UNION, by Álvaro Real, vía Aleteia.org • 700 people have been taken in during the last year, thanks to the humanitarian corridor made possible by the San Egidio Community.  This is a record number if we take into account the statistics of refugees being taken into European Union countries. This initiative has made it possible to take in more refugees in 2016 than those taken in by the 15 countries of the European Union. This project has had unprecedented success after just one year in existence, and allows refugeesRead More
FRANCIS IN ROME • Pope Francis dedicated the catecheses in the General Audience on Wednesday 1 March to Lent, because it fell on Ash Wednesday. He highlighted that it is a time of hope that requires effort because “no one goes to heaven in a carriage.” Lent is a time characterised by “nothing without us” to use Schoenstatt terminology. It is a time to leave our comfort zones and to take a risk. It is a time to not conform with what we have. There is temptation, the temptation ofRead More
Interview with Fr. Angel Strada who was Postulator for the Cause of Beatification for Father Joseph Kentenich until January of 2017. The interview, first published on the German national website in December, and later in five languages on schoenstatt.org, had a strong reaction, and is among one of the most read articles on schoenstatt.org during the last twelve months. There are topics on Father Kentenich’s personality as a human being and on moments that imply doubts about his way of acting that are rarely shared in Schoenstatt.  What reactions resultedRead More