On October 4, 2014, Pope Francis presided over a prayer vigil leading up the the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. Below is the full text of his address: Dear families, good evening! The evening falls on our assembly. It is the hour in which one willingly returns home to the same meal, in ...read more

Things are returning to a normal pace at the Vatican after the end of the extraordinary synod. Pope Francis kept a full schedule this week, which included his daily masses, a meeting with members of popular movements from around the world (non-religious movements that advocate for worker’s rights, indigenous land rights, fair wages, and access ...read more

Earlier this afternoon, Vatican released the full, official English language translation of the “Relatio Synodi” of the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization” (5-19 October 2014). Read the full text of the document below, dated October 18, 2014, the day the text was ...read more

Below you will find the full text of Pope Francis’ opening address of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: Your Eminences, Your Beatitudes, Your Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, I give you my warm welcome to this meeting and I thank you from my heart for your caring and qualified presence and assistance. ...read more

This morning at the Vatican, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of Synod of Bishops, addressed the British Ambassador to the Holy See, H.E. Nigel Baker, and a group of British Parliamentarians on the 2014 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops. The full text of his English language address is found below. It is a good summary of ...read more

With the Synod of Bishops wrapped up this week was rather quiet at the Vatican. One surprise did arrive: the Vatican announced that Pope Francis will be visiting Turkey at the end of November. He will fly to Ankara on November 28, where he will meet with government officials. From there he continues on to ...read more

Read the full text of Pope Francis' homily during the closing mass of the Synod and the beatification of Pope Paul VI on Oct. 19, 2014. ...read more

At the end of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, Pope Francis addressed the Synod Fathers and everyone involved with the Synod. Below is the full text of the Holy Father’s remarks. Dear Eminences, Beatitudes, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, With a heart full of appreciation and gratitude I want to thank, along with ...read more

The Synod Fathers released a short pastoral letter at the conclusion of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishop on the Family on Sunday, October 19, 2014. We, Synod Fathers, gathered in Rome together with Pope Francis in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, greet all families of the different continents and in particular ...read more

The Salt + Light team in Rome spoke with lay couple Jeff and Alice Heinzen from the Office of Marriage and Family Life and Natural Family Planning in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. Jeff and Alice share their hope and vision for renewing family life. ...read more