The following is the message of condolences for the victims of the terrorist attack that took place late yesterday evening in a mosque in Québec in Canada, sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on behalf of the Holy Father Francis to Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, archbishop of Québec. ...read more

The Spanish daily newspaper El País published last Sunday a long interview with Pope Francis, who spoke to the journalist Pablo Ordaz on January 20th. For more than one hour, inside a normal room in Casa Santa Marta, the pontiff explained that “in the Church there are saints and sinners, decent men and corrupt men” ...read more

Holiness is built on a continuous friendship with God. That’s why saints are known for their intense prayer life. They have come to know the One whom they desire to resemble most. As Trappist monk Dom Chautard once said: In order to sanctify the world, we must first sanctify ourselves. This begins with personal prayer. ...read more

On Wednesday, January 25, 2017, Pope Francis presided over the celebration of Vespers for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Please find the full text of his prepared homily below: Encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus radically transformed the life of ...read more

The theme for the Church’s 2017 World Day for Social Communications is: “Fear not, for I am with you” (Is 43.5). Communicating hope and trust in our time. The message is released on January 24 each year, feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists and communicators. The day is usually commemorated on ...read more

This week on Vatican Connections, the Church marks the Week of prayer for Christian Unity. In Rome, the Holy Father kicks it off with an ecumenical delegation from Finland and Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, shares with Vatican Radio what ecumenism looked like last year. The ...read more

The quest for the unity of all Christians depends above all on God’s grace. Peace, reconciliation, mutual understanding and forgiveness, communion in faith and love–are all gifts from the Father in the Son through the Holy Spirit. There is also the question of overcoming the theological controversies that divided the Churches in the first place. ...read more

This week Vatican Connections takes a look at Vatican diplomacy once again after Pope Francis delivered a traditional New Year’s address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. The Church gears up for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The Papal charities open their doors to the homeless as temperatures dropped in Rome and ...read more

Pope Francis has written a letter to young people as the Church prepares for a Synod of Bishops on the theme: “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”. The Pope’s letter was published on Friday ahead of a press conference at the Holy See Press Office to present the preparatory document for the Synod which ...read more

Pope Francis on Monday appealed to all religious authorities to join in “reaffirming unequivocally that one can never kill in God’s name,” saying the world is “dealing with a homicidal madness which misuses God’s name in order to disseminate death, in a play for domination and power.” The full speech by Pope Francis to the ...read more