Pope Francis continued meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on February 1. In his address to representatives of charitable organizations, he spoke about how the representatives embrace and encourage the poor.  Read the full text of the pope’s address below:  Meeting with representatives from charities Address of His Holiness ...read more

At the Apostolic Nunciature in Kinshasa on February 1, Pope Francis heard and responded to the stories of victims of violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He encouraged listeners to “say no to violence” and “no to resignation,” to “demilitarize their hearts,” and “say yes to peace” and “yes ...read more

On Wednesday, February 1, the second day of his visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pope Francis gave the homily at Holy Mass at Ndolo Airport in Kinshasa. Read the full text of his homily below:   Homily of His Holiness “Ndolo” Airport (Kinshasa) Wednesday, 1 February 2023   Bandeko, bobóto [Brothers and sisters, ...read more

On January 31, the first day of his apostolic visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pope Francis gave an address to the president, members of government, diplomatic corps, and religious and civil authorities.  Read the full text of his address below:   Meeting with Authorities and Diplomatic Corps Address of His Holiness ...read more

It was April 11, 2019, in a library at Casa Santa Marta – the Pope’s own home. Selva Kiir, the Catholic president of South Sudan, stood next to Riek Machar, his incoming vice president, as well as other South Sudanese civil leaders. They were surrounded by Catholic, Anglican, and Presbyterian leaders from their country and ...read more

Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo next week, landing in the capital Kinshasa on January 31. He plans to go as a “pilgrim of peace” to a country with a long history of conflict, but one in which the Church plays a critical peacebuilding role. To discover more, Marie Anne Torres, ...read more

About 15 years ago, I decided to read the Bible cover to cover. Not that I hadn’t read the Bible before: of course I had – in spurts. In fact, the Bible that my Mom gave me when I left home at 16 is almost all underlined, with scribbles on the margins and falling apart, ...read more

Read the full text of Pope Francis' homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the 55th World Day of Peace on January 1, 2022. ...read more

For the last two weeks (part 1 and part 2) I’ve been trying to imagine what our world would be like had Jesus never been born. It’s easy to say that The Church would not exist or that we would have no Pope. There would be no priests, deacons, religious sisters or brothers, nor there ...read more

Last week I was imagining a world without Christmas. That would mean no Christmas music and no Christmas movies. But a world without Jesus would mean much more to our popular culture. One of my favourite Broadway musicals is Les Miz. I never read the novel, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and wasn’t crazy about ...read more