Pope Francis Tag

By Francisco Pistilli, Bishop of Encarnación, Paraguay •   When mercy is talked about, one begins to think about many things….. I would like to mention something concrete about this year:  since it was God himself who placed us into this since this past February, in tune with the Jubilee Year.  As a result of the Paraguay River flooding, and the communities flooded in the Pilar zone, here in Encarnación especially there was a team formed called “Itapúa Solidarity” with initiatives from the Government, the City, the Rotary Club, theRead More
by Ary Waldir Ramos Díaz, aleteia.org • Pope Francis, in the midst of reforming the curia and the structures of the Holy See, was seen this Wednesday morning, 13 July, inside a pearl-coloured Toyota Yaris on his way (after a dental appointment) to the fourth floor in Conciliacion 1 road.  This is where, among other offices, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (CAL) is located.  Surprise, the Pope is at the door! The CAL staff and their supervisors couldn’t believe it. “Incredible.” Pope Francis decided to “pop in” to theRead More
ROME/VATICAN, by Maria Fischer • “I never imagined being here,” said Mercedes MacDonough. “I still can’t believe I’m here at the Holy Father’s Mass in St. Peters on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.” With love and emotion, she raises her pilgrim mother and a small cross of the Lord of the Miracles of Salta, Argentina, which she would later take to Room 101 at the Fr. Kentenich House in Belmonte, the “Argentina” room. It is 29 June, a Wednesday, but her dream to attend Pope Francis’ general audienceRead More
TOGETHER FOR EUROPE – Impressions of 1 July 2016, morning • “That’s awesome that’s absolutely awesome!” Manuela Miller didn’t spend much time with the welcome. She and her husband, Peter, were collaborating in one of the nineteen forums on the first day of the Congress “Together for Europe”, but they didn’t have much to say about that. Their main concern was their experience of the openness for one another, the togetherness they had experienced from the first day of the congress in the countless people they met – old andRead More
TOGETHER FOR EUROPE – Press Release July 2, 2016 • “We won’t be able to separate these Christians again, they belong together.” Not only Cardinal Reinard Marx showed that he was moved by the atmosphere among the five thousand present at the final rally of “Together for Europe” in Munich. After two days with a filled programme in Circus Krone, the Christians from two hundred communities and Movements from thirty-two countries wanted to offer a public sign of reconciliation and togetherness of the confessions. “Your togetherness is a force forRead More
PARAGUAY, by María Fischer • “Holy Father, do you remember Orlando?” Fr. Tommy Nin Mitchell, the director for the Schoenstatt Movement in Paraguay asked the Holy Father during the audience with the General Chapter of the Schoenstatt Fathers in September 2015. “Yes, I remember Orlando,” said Pope Francis. Orlando is the young boy – interned at the minor penitentiary in Itaguá – who greeted the Pope in Asunción during his meeting with the youth, which resulted in the Holy Father changing his speech. “After having read the Gospel, Orlando cameRead More
Francis week by week (12) • The quotation this week is taken from Pope Francis’ homily during the Mass at Santa Marta on 20 May 2016. Let us read and listen this week to the message as if spoken to us, as a Schoenstatt that goes out, a Schoenstatt that feels called to apostolic work, that is, to helping people – concrete and real people – find the way to the Father. “We must walk with these two things that Jesus teaches us: truth and understanding. This cannot be resolved likeRead More
FRANCIS IN ROME – HOLY YEAR OF MERCY • Thousands of Catholics and pilgrims from many countries once again stood in St. Peter’s Square on 25 May to participate in Pope Francis’ general audience, continuing his series of catechesis on Mercy in the New Testament.  The Holy Father unpacked the theme of prayer based on the reading of a passage from St. Luke’s gospel (18:1-8). “Prayer does not work like a magic wand! It helps us keep faith in God, and to entrust ourselves to him even when we do notRead More
FRANCIS IN ROME – HOLY YEAR OF MERCY • Pope Francis presided over the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday 15 May. In his homily, he said that the essential aim of Jesus’ mission, culminating with the gift of the Holy Spirit was to “renew our relationship with the Father, a relationship severed by sin, to take us from our state of being orphaned children and to restore us as his sons and daughters.” The Spirit, given to us by the Father, leadsRead More
URUGUAY, by Matías Cerviño • Students of Pope Francis Providencia Institute participate in the Scholas Ocurrentes program motivated by the Pope. In April, a group of students from the Providencia Institute began to participate in the Citizenship program of the international Scholas Ocurrentes Foundation motivated by Pope Francis to promote changes in education through the experience of cultural encounter, promoting an integrated and peaceful world. “In particular, this program seeks to foster citizen commitment and the participation of youths departing from the concrete problem of food. To look from theRead More