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The Pontifical Swiss Guard is one of the smallest armies in the world, and one of the oldest still in operation. Its main responsibility is to protect the Pope and the Apostolic Palace. Although they have mostly held a ceremonial role in recent years, their training now includes unarmed combat and firearms. Not surprisingly, to ...read more
The Pope’s agenda this week includes his apostolic and symbolic visit to Egypt. Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, affirmed the Pope Francis’ will to send out a positive message. “He is serene, and not naive, because he knows the situation in Egypt,” Burke told Vatican Radio. “He knows what happened to the Copts ...read more
On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis sent a letter to the bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, Domenico Sorrentino, offering his blessings and support for his decision to establish a shrine in memory of the “Spoliation” of St Francis on May 20, when he decided to renounce his wealth in favor of a life of poverty. “The new ...read more
It was April 8, 2016 when the post-synodal exhortation by Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia was first released at the Vatican. ...read more
French Biblical Scholar Anne-Marie Pelletier was asked by Pope Francis to compose the meditations for the Vatican’s Way of the Cross. ...read more
A statement released from the Holy See Press Office after the meeting said Pope Francis asked God's forgiveness for the failures of the Catholic Church during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and for the hatred and violence perpetrated by some priests and religious. ...read more
Last Monday, Pope Francis celebrated four years since his election as pontiff. During this week, the Holy Father received many messages and witnesses for this anniversary, words of profound admiration and encouragement to continue on this path, his ministry. Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said: “I believe that Amoris Laetitia has ...read more
Saturday, March 25, Pope Francis will travel to Milan for a one-day pastoral visit. Between 500 and 600 thousand people are expected in Milan and Monza. However, it will not be a heavily guarded event, because that is not what the Pope wants. In addition to the faithful, there will also be 3,700 volunteers, 350 ...read more
Last Sunday, Pope Francis visited the parish of Santa Maria Josefa del Cuore di Gesù in Ponte di Nona, in the eastern outskirts of Rome, an area of ??town that suffers problems such as poverty and unemployment. It was his thirteenth visit to a parish in his diocese. John Paul II had also visited that ...read more
Last Saturday the Pope appointed Henryk Hoser, Archbishop of Warsaw, as the special envoy to Medjugorje. In the official statement by the Holy See, it reads that: The mission has the aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation there, and above all, of the needs of the faithful who go there on pilgrimage, ...read more