From the Paul VI Hall, the appeal for the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime: "May the Syrian people live in peace and security in their beloved land," and may the religions "walk together in mutual respect". This morning, there was also a meeting with the non-profit organization ResQ - People Saving People: "Migrants should be welcomed and integrated". The cycle of catechesis on the Holy Spirit was concluded: "If the Church is a boat, the Spirit is the sail that drives it".
In this morning's Holy Mass in St Peter's, Pope Francis said that the 21 new cardinals created yesterday “have come from many parts of the world, bringing great wisdom”. In his homily dedicated to Mary’s beauty as daughter, wife and mother, and her yes, he said that she “appears before us as a beautiful flower that grew unnoticed until it finally blossomed”. At the Angelus, he renewed his call for peace, in Syria too, that it “may reach the feast of the Nativity with a ceasefire on all fronts of war.”
During today’s consistory in the Vatican basilica, the pontiff placed the biretta on 21 new cardinals. The College of Cardinals includes 37 from Asia, 25 electors. Archbishop Kikuchi of Tokyo, who chairs Caritas Internationalis, received the title of a suburban Roman church. Indian PM Modi sent an official delegation for the new Cardinal Koovakad. Francis will travel to India only after 2025, says Minister Kurian.
Pope Francis again expresses sorrow over conflicts: ‘So many dead children, so many dead innocents’. Thoughts for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and Myanmar. The catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church - for the first time translated into Chinese - dedicated to preaching: ‘Beyond 8 minutes no-one understands anything. Preach Jesus, not yourself’.
On the first Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis condemns war, calling for respects for Lebanese ceasefire and the appeal to elect a president; his attention for Syria, where Aleppo is under the control of jihadist groups and Ukraine where another tragic winter approaches. The Gospel commentary on hope: ‘God works even in dramatic events’.
A native of the same Indian metropolis, 57 year-old Msgr. John Rodrigues has led the diocese of Pune since last year after serving for ten years as auxiliary bishop to Card. Oswald Gracias, who will turn eighty on 20 December next. As of 25 January, he will be at his side with right of succession. He comes from a family in which the widowed mother accompanied all three of her sons to the priesthood.
Led by the Substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Peña Parra, the delegation joined the millions of pilgrims who will pay homage to the relics of Saint Francis Xavier until 5 January. Also present was the organiser of papal journeys, Cardinal-designate Koovakad. The pope has India and Asia “in his heart,” he said. Goa Governor Pillai pays tribute to Christian schools.
As of next week, a summary of the catechesis will be presented every Wednesday in St. Peter's Square in the most widely spoken language in the world. The announcement, personally made today by the pontiff, is part of the new climate between the Vatican and China. To the faithful, Francis, mentioned the harsh winter in Ukraine, and appealed for more peacemakers, not wars. In the catechesis on the "fruits of the Spirit", he said that the Gospel must be proclaimed without a long face.
On the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, the traditional relay of the symbols of the WYD, the cross and the Marian icon, took place. The Portuguese delegation met the Korean delegation in St Peter's, which consisted of about 100 young people accompanied by Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek. In his homily, the pope turned his thoughts to accusations, approval and truth. On Myanmar, he said, “may all weapons be silenced and may a sincere and inclusive dialogue be opened.”
Francis released a letter dedicated to the study of this subject in connection with the training of priests and pastoral workers. He warns against interested denialism that nowadays is used to “justify wars, persecutions”.
The pontiff read a letter from a young Ukrainian university student at the general audience. In it, the young man laments “too many deaths”, noting that “only love, faith, and hope give real meaning to our wounds.” The Vatican will host the World Meeting on Children's Rights on 3 February 2025. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati will be proclaimed saints in next year’s jubilee. The pontiff met with an Iranian delegation for interreligious dialogue. He said that the Church in the Mideastern country is “a small flock”, stressing that religious freedom is the “cornerstone of the entire edifice of human rights.”
Today, the 8th Day of the Poor, Bergoglio dedicated his homily from St Peter's Basilica to the weak and excluded. In the encounter with them, the risk is "not to notice the presence of God". Faith must not be "harmless devotion". Recalling the words of Card. Martini: 'Church is such to the extent that it serves the poor'. Today the Pontiff's lunch in the Aula Nervi alongside 1,300 poor people with the Italian Red Cross.
Yesterday Rome's Gregorian University hosted a conference on the great Jesuit missionary's legacy of ‘friendship, dialogue and peace’. Cardinal Parolin stressed the ‘continuity and specificity’ of the last three popes in the relationship between Beijing and Ricci. For Fr Lombardi, he embodied the model of inculturation. The mission is a grain sown in an endless field.
The 27 years the Spanish religious spent on the mission between Tokyo and Hiroshima were remembered during the closing ceremony of the diocesan phase of his beatification process. Head of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983, he loved the Japanese people and culture and provided heroic service among the thousands of injured in the atomic bomb blast of 6 August 1945.
In his speech at the UN Conference underway in Baku, the Vatican Secretary of State reiterated Pope Francis’s appeal for the 2025 Jubilee. “A new international financial architecture” is needed “that can truly ensure for all countries, especially the poorest and those most vulnerable to climate disasters, both low-carbon and high-sharing development pathways”.
At the general audience, the pontiff continued the cycle of catechesis on the Holy Spirit and his ‘bride’, the Church. The meditation dedicated to ‘Marian piety’: Our Lady is ‘a letter written with the Spirit of the living God’, which can be ‘read’ by all. The ‘yes’ to the Angel is an example of ‘availability combined with active readiness’, he said. At the end the invitation not to forget the countries at war.
Meeting in the Vatican with this confession from Kerala of Syriac origin but very close to the Reformed world, the pontiff expressed his desire for a common appointment among Christians of every denomination on the theme of mission: ‘Working together to bear witness to the Risen Christ is the best way to bring us closer together’.
At the Angelus, the pope mentioned the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, set to open tomorrow in Azerbaijan until 22 November. The pontiff cited two extreme weather events: the Valencia flood and the Lewotobi volcano eruption in Indonesia. He urged the faithful to pray for peace “in all the world”. In his commentary on today's Gospel, he stressed that authority is like “maternal and paternal tenderness towards people, especially those most in need.”
In Rome, the pope and the catholicos of the Assyrian Church of the East hold an historic meeting, following in the footsteps of the Common Christological Declaration signed on 11 November 1994 by Saint John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV. Isaac the Syrian, who stressed that holiness overcomes separations, is added to the Roman Martyrology. Speaking about Mideast Christians, the pontiff said: “may the Christians of the Middle East always bear witness to the Risen Christ in those war-torn lands.”
In Wednesday's general audience in St Peter's Square, Francis shared the pain for the civilians "gunned down" in Gaza and Valencia, invaded by mud. He laid a flower in front of the “Virgin of the Forsaken,” patroness of the Spanish city, reciting the Hail Mary with the faithful. Today’s catechesis was centred on prayer, "sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit", advocate before God.
From the window of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis greets a local group of Emergency supporting Article 11 of the Italian Constitution. ‘Let war be banished, let issues be addressed through the rule of law and negotiation’. A prayer addressed to countries at war: ‘Let there be a halt to arms, let there be space for dialogue’. Recalling the tragedy in Valencia: ‘What can I do? Think about this question'.
On a visit to Laurentino Cemetery, he paused at the "Garden of Angels," also meeting with a father who has lived through this tragedy. Thoughts to parents who have lost children in the video with the prayer intention for the month of November. "Visit to cemeteries renew our faith in Christ who died, was buried and rose again for our salvation."
On the Solemnity of All Saints and the proclamation of the Beatitudes as the "path of holiness", the pontiff stressed how war is "ignoble, because it is the triumph of the lie". He called on the faithful to pray for Chad hit by a grave terrorist attack and the Valencian community overwhelmed by storm Dana, a huge "environmental catastrophe". He also turned his thoughts to the "153 women and children massacred in Gaza in recent days.”
In its message to Hindu communities on the eve of the Festival of Lights, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue wishes their hearts be filled “with peace and joy.” Everyone should work against “Religious fundamentalism, extremism, fanaticism, racism and hyper nationalism” and break down “stereotypes, fostering empathy, sensitivity and respect”.
Today's general audience recalled the 150 innocent people ‘gunned down’ yesterday in northern Gaza by Israeli raids. Reiterated several times the appeal to pray for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and North Kivu: ‘In war nobody wins’. Catechesis on Confirmation: ‘Let it not be a sacrament of farewell, but of active participation in the Church’.
The annual document for Pope Francis on initiatives for the prevention of child abuse was presented today. The Commission calls on local Churches to overcome a “culture of silence, a reluctance to report abuse, and a general lack of education and awareness concerning safeguarding practices.”
The Holy See’s logo at the universal exhibition that will open on 13 April was unveiled. At the Vatican’s section, visitors will be able to admire "The Entombment of Christ" by Caravaggio, brought to Japan from the Vatican Museums. Manga artist Kan Takahama will be one of the "ambassadors" of the Vatican presence at the Expo. For the first time, the Holy Year in Rome will also have a manga-styled mascot.
The end of the Synod was marked with a Mass in the Vatican basilica. The Chair of Saint Peter was exposed, a sign of Church unity. The final document voted by the assembly has been released without an apostolic exhortation by the pontiff. Francis expressed closeness to the communities affected by a tropical storm in the Philippines.
Archbishop Li Shan led the ceremony in the Cathedral of the Saviour. Pope Francis approved the appointment on 28 August. The new prelate chose as his motto “All this I do for the sake of the gospel”. No official reason was given for the appointment of a prelate with the right of succession to the current pastor of the diocese of Beijing who is only 59 years old.
On the sidelines of the synod sessions, the wheelchair made in Phnom Pen, representing universal dignity, was gifted to the Pontiff. Named after the longest river in Indochina, it improves the existence of people affected by mines and cluster bombs. Jesuit Enrique Figaredo, apostolic prefect of Battambang: it is a ‘sacrament’ because it changes the inner life of those who receive it.
