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

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

At 10:00 am this morning, Solemnity of the Epiphany, Pope Francis presided over the Eucharistic celebration in the Vatican Basilica. Below are the texts of Proclamation of Easter, celebrated this year on April 16, and the Pope’s homily after the proclamation of the Holy Gospel: The Proclamation of Easter Know, dear brethren, that as we ...read more

Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For January 2017, we join the Holy Father in praying for: Christian Unity – That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.  ...read more

The letter of Pope Francis sent to the Bishops of the world on December 28, 2016, Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs Dear Brother, Today, on the feast of the Holy Innocents, as the words of the angel to the shepherds still resound in our hearts – “I bring you good news of a great ...read more