Pope John Paul II (center, in red boots) prays with a group of skiers before heading down a slope in this 1984 file photo. The pontiff, who enjoyed skiing in his native Poland before his election, was able to slip away to ski only a few times as he led the worldwide church. (CNS photo ...read more

This week we have details on Pope Francis’ Holy Week schedule and his Holy Week schedule. Venezuela has officially asked the Vatican for help in talks between government and opposition leaders, and we look at one holy site in Rome that is being restored for the first time since the 15th century. *** In a ...read more

Pope John Paul II kisses a rain-soaked tarmac as he arrives in Jakarta, Indonesia, on a pastoral trip in 1989. (CNS file photo)  ...read more

Greeting of the Holy Father Conference on Combating Human TraffickingThursday, 10 April 2014 Your Eminences, Brother Bishops and Priests,Ladies and Gentlemen,I greet each of you participating in this Conference, the second such gathering held here in the Vatican to promote united efforts against human trafficking. I thank Cardinal Nichols and the Bishops’ Conference of England ...read more

Pope John Paul II delivers his “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and the world) message on Easter in 1993. (CNS photo from L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more

L-R:  UST Director of the Center for Faith & Culture Fr. Donald Nesti, CSSp, UST President Dr. Robert Ivany, Keynote speaker Fr. Michael Czerny S.J. with Dean of UST Cameron School of Business Dr. Beena George  By Marion Fernandez-Cueto U.S. business schools, and Catholic institutions in particular, have been doing some soul-searching since the economic ...read more

Pope John Paul II addresses the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York Oct. 2, 1979. (CNS file photo) ...read more

Pope John Paul II greets Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in this photo dated Oct. 22, 1978. Twenty-seven years later, this photo captured by a L’Osservatore Romano photographer would take on special significance with Cardinal Ratzinger’s election as Pope Benedict XVI. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more

Pope John Paul II stands on the threshold of a former slave-trade depot on Goree Island during his 1992 trip to Senegal. The Polish pontiff and Blessed John XXIII will become saints in a ceremony presided by Pope Francis April 27, 2014 at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Giancarlo Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo) ...read more

U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy greets Pope John Paul II, as Rosalyn Carter, wife U.S. President Jimmy Carter, looks on, during the pope’s arrival in Boston in 1979. (CNS file photo)  ...read more