Vatican City, Jan 30, 2019 / 04:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Everyone should pray the Stations of the Cross, Pope Francis said Wednesday, revealing that he always has with him a pocket-size book of “Via Crucis” meditations to pray with when he has a spare moment.
“Walking with Mary, behind Jesus carrying the cross, is the school of Christian life: there you learn patient, silent, and concrete love,” he said at the general audience Jan. 30.
Letting people in on a “secret,” the pope pulled out of his pocket a small Way of the Cross booklet, which he said was a gift from when he was in Buenos Aires that he always carries with him.
“And when I have time, I follow the Via Crucis. Pray the Via Crucis,” he encouraged, “because [it is] to follow Jesus with Mary on the way of the cross, where he gave his life for us…”
Via Crucis, or the Stations of the Cross, is always an important part of World Youth Day, the pope explained, as he reflected on his trip to Panama Jan. 23-28 for the international gathering, which takes place every 2-3 years.
He said that another aspect of the week which left an impression on him were the many parents and children he saw.
Whenever the popemobile would drive by the crowds, there were many parents proudly lifting their babies and small children up toward him, as if to say: “Behold my pride, here is my future!” he said.
Amid a “demographic winter” in Europe, he said he found that gesture to be one of dignity and eloquence. “The pride of those families is children, certainty for the future is children.”
Pope Francis also recalled the large numbers of young people present at the gathering, especially those from Central American countries in difficult periods.
“In Panama,” he said, “young people carried, with Jesus and Mary, the burden of the condition of so many suffering brothers and sisters in Central America and in the whole world.”
His message to young people at the event’s culminating Mass Jan. 27, was that young people are called to live the Gospel today, because they are not “‘tomorrow,’ they are not the ‘in the meantime,’ but they are the today of the Church and of the world.”
“And I have appealed to the responsibility of adults, so that new generations do not lack education, work, community and family,” he said.
Another significant moment of his trip to Panama, Francis said, was the consecration of the altar of the Cathedral of Santa Maria La Antigua.
He explained that the cathedral had been closed for seven years for restoration and that consecrating the altar with chrism oil – the same oil used to anoint the baptized, confirmed, priests, and bishops – had “a strong symbolic value.”
It was “a sign of rediscovered beauty, for the glory of God and for the faith and the feast of his people,” he said.
“May the family of the Church, in Panama and in the whole world, draw from the Holy Spirit ever new fruitfulness, so that the pilgrimage of the young missionary disciples of Jesus Christ may continue and spread on the earth.”
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Pope Francis meets with the community of the Pontifical German Institute of Santa Maria dell’Anima in Rome on April 7, 2022. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 7, 2022 / 10:55 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Thursday recalled the 500th anniversary of the election of Pope Adrian VI, who sought reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Martin Luther during his short pontificate.
“In his brief pontificate, which lasted only a little more than a year, he sought above all reconciliation in the Church and the world, putting into practice the words of St. Paul, according to which God entrusted precisely to the Apostles the ministry of reconciliation,” Pope Francis said on April 7.
For this reason, Adrian VI sent the nuncio to the Imperial Diets of Nuremberg “to reconcile Luther and his followers with the Church, and expressly asking forgiveness for the sins of the prelates of the Roman Curia,” he stated.
“Courageous,” Francis added. “He would have plenty of work today.”
Pope Francis spoke about Adrian VI, who was elected in 1522, during a meeting at the Vatican with the community of the Pontifical Teutonic Institute of Santa Maria dell’Anima, a college for German seminarians in Rome.
Adrian VI is buried in the Roman church Santa Maria dell’Anima, which is connected to the seminary.
Born in Utretcht, then part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Adrian was the last non-Italian pope before the election of the Polish Pope John Paul II in 1978.
Pope Francis noted that, “in the political sphere, overcoming much resistance, [Adrian VI] worked to reach an agreement between the two bordering powers, King Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V of Habsburg, also so that together they could stem the increasingly threatening designs of conquest by the Ottoman army.”
“Unfortunately, Pope Adrian, due to his premature death, was unable to conclude any of these projects. Nevertheless, his witness as a fearless and tireless worker for faith, justice and peace remains alive in the memory of the Church,” Francis said.
He urged the members of the college seminary to follow the example of Pope Adrian VI to grow in their vocation as servants of the Church.
“In particular, thinking of his solicitude for the promotion of concord and reconciliation, I urge you to follow in his footsteps above all in your role as ministers of the Sacrament of Penance. This is important: the task of the confessor is to forgive, not to torture. Be merciful, be great forgivers, that is what the Church wants you to be,” he said.
“This means giving time to listening to confessions, and doing it well, with love, with wisdom and with great mercy.”
The funeral for Pope Francis, pontiff from March 13, 2013, until his death on April 21, will be held on Saturday morning in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Saturday’s funeral will kick off the traditional “Novendiales,” nine consecutive days of mourning for the suffrage of the late pope. He will be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
When and where is the funeral and how can I watch it?
The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Rome time on Saturday, April 26, which is 4 a.m. Eastern Time, 3 a.m. Central Time, 2 a.m. Mountain Time, and 1 a.m. Pacific Time.
The Vatican has not announced how long the funeral will be, but Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral lasted about one and a half hours and St. John Paul II’s funeral was about three hours long.
Pope Francis’ funeral can be watched on the Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) and will be streamed live on EWTN’s YouTube channel.
The funeral will be held on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, which is outdoors in front of the basilica.
Who is presiding over the liturgy?
The primary celebrant of Pope Francis’ funeral will be Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, according to a statement from the Holy See.
Re, a native of Italy, was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001. He is 91 years old. He presided over the 2013 papal conclave that elected then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to the papacy.
The full list of concelebrants is unknown but will include patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests from around the world.
Most of the Mass will be said in Latin, but it will also include other languages, such as Italian, English, Polish, and Arabic.
Who will be attending?
The funeral is open to the general public and approximately 200,000 people are expected to attend the service. There will be a heavy security and police presence.
Numerous world leaders have announced they will attend Francis’ funeral, including United States President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
What will the readings be?
The Gospel reading for the pontiff’s Mass will be from the 21st chapter of John, when Jesus Christ asked Simon Peter — the first pope — whether he loved him three times and entrusted the faithful to his leadership:
“‘Simon, Son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, Son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’
“He said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ … He said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)
“And after saying this, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”
The first reading will be from Chapter 10 in the Acts of the Apostles, in which Peter said: “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The second reading will be from St. Paul’s Letter to Philippians, in which the apostle said “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
‘In Paradisum’ antiphon
After the Mass, the antiphon “In Paradisum” will be sung, which prays for the angels to guide the pope into heaven.
“May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, the poor man, may you have eternal rest.”
Sealing of the coffin
On the eve of the funeral, on Friday at 8 p.m. local time, Cardinal Kevin Farrell presided over the sealing of the coffin. The sealing of the coffin marked the end of the time in which the public could view the mortal remains of the Holy Father.
The pope is in a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc, and his face was covered in a silk veil, in accordance with the new papal funeral rite approved by him during his papacy. The previous standards called for three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead, and one of oak.
9 days of mourning and burial
The pope’s funeral marks the first day of the nine days of mourning, known as the “Novendiales.”
Over this period, a requiem Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica each night. A different cardinal will preside over each Mass. Those cardinals were chosen by Francis before his death or serve in key Vatican offices.
Each Mass will be focused on a specific subset of the faithful. The Holy See has confirmed that the Sunday Mass will be focused on the Jubilee of Teenagers, which will be celebrated by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Francis will be buried at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, which is a break from the recent papal tradition of being buried in the Vatican grottoes. The burial location is in accordance with the wishes the Holy Father publicized prior to his death.
Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Wednesday, June 25, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Aug 16, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
Saturday, Aug. 16, marks Pope Leo XIV’s 100th day as pope. Since his May 8 election as the first pope born and raised in the United States, the 69-year-old Chicago native has already left his mark on a jubilee year filled with papal liturgies and a surge in pilgrim enthusiasm.
Here are some of the highlights of the first 100 days of the new Holy Father:
Papal jubilee: Pope Leo offers 16 public Masses in 14 weeks
Pope Leo XIV began his papacy in the heart of the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, and he made the most of this opportunity to interact with Catholic pilgrims from across the globe by offering many Masses with the public.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass for the Jubilee of Sport on June 15, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Leo XIV offered 16 large public Masses in just 14 weeks — an average of more than one per week — including seven Masses in June alone. The pace marks a significant shift from the final years of Pope Francis’ pontificate when the aging pope was unable to offer Mass himself at the altar. Francis was present at only four Masses with the public in the same time period last year.
The papal Masses have drawn large crowds and significant attention, beginning with his first inaugural Mass, which brought 200 foreign delegations — including heads of state and royalty — to the Vatican. Since then, Leo has celebrated liturgies for the jubilees of Families, Priests, and Youth as well as on major solemnities and feasts including Pentecost, Corpus Christi, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Trinity, Sts. Peter and Paul, and Mary, Mother of the Church.
Leo XIV is the first pope elected during a jubilee year since 1700.
Pope Leo XIV on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul in Rome, June 29, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
A singing pope
One of Pope Leo’s most unexpected moments came during his first Regina Caeli address, when he stunned a crowd of 200,000 in St. Peter’s Square by singing the Marian hymn rather than reciting it in Latin like his recent predecessors. Since then, he has continued chanting during liturgies and leading crowds in sung versions of the Our Father in Latin.
The move inspired the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music to launch “Let’s Sing with the Pope,” an online series aimed at making Gregorian chant more accessible.
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First American pope on White Sox stadium jumbotron
In June, the first pope born and raised in the United States appeared on the jumbotron at a gathering of American Catholics at Chicago’s Rate Field — home of his beloved White Sox. In a video message delivered entirely in English, Pope Leo urged young people to be “beacons of hope” and invited all to see that “God is reaching out to you, calling you, inviting you to know his son, Jesus Christ.”
It was the pope’s first direct address to his hometown since his election and one of the earliest papal speeches given entirely in English.
Pope Leo XIV addresses Catholic faithful on the scoreboard at Rate Field, home to the Chicago White Sox, during a celebration and Mass to honor his election as pope on June 14, 2025, in Chicago. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The new pope’s love of sports has led to some memorable moments. He blessed 159 cyclists as they passed through Vatican City in the final leg of the Giro d’Italia.
A self-described “amateur tennis player,” Pope Leo XIV joked with tennis star Jannik Sinner, ranked the world’s No. 1, whether his white cassock would meet Wimbledon’s requirement for all white attire.
Pope Leo XIV meets with Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner on May 14, 2025, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
The pope has also been gifted White Sox and Bears jerseys and has signed baseballs for enthusiastic pilgrims.
A voice for peace in Gaza and Ukraine
Pope Leo XIV’s first words were “Peace be with you all,” recalling the first greeting of the risen Christ recorded in Scripture. As wars continued and at times intensified during Pope Leo’s first months, the pope has continued to be a voice for peace.
In June, after U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Pope Leo urged world leaders “to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss.” Following an Israeli strike that killed three people at Gaza’s only Catholic church in July, he appealed for “a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and full respect for humanitarian law.”
“Today more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace,” the pope said during an Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace.
Leo also met with bishops and pilgrims from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Castel Gandolfo in July, where the two discussed the urgency of “just and lasting paths of peace,” according to the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV greets Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Castel Gandolfo on July 9, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
Leo carries the Eucharist through the streets of Rome
Pope Leo personally carried the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Rome during a Corpus Christi procession from the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
“Together, as shepherds and flock, we will feed on the Blessed Sacrament, adore him, and carry him through the streets,” he said. “In doing so, we will present him before the eyes, the consciences, and the hearts of the people.”
More than 20,000 people turned out for Leo XIV’s first Eucharistic procession as pope.
Pope Leo XIV leads a Eucharistic procession in Rome on June 22, 2025, for the feast of Corpus Christi. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN
Return to Castel Gandolfo
Pope Leo revived the papal tradition of spending summer days at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. During his two-week stay in July, he led public Masses in local parishes, greeted pilgrims as he led the Angelus prayer in Liberty Square, and received visiting dignitaries. His stay marks the first papal summer retreat in the lakeside town since the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.
The sun burst through raindrops right as Pope Leo XIV appeared in front of the apostolic palace of Castel Gandolfo to give the Angelus address on July 13, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA
Pope Leo introduces the world to great quotes by St. Augustine
A member of the Augustinian order, Pope Leo has quoted St. Augustine in nearly every one of his homilies as pope. In his first public words on May 8, he said: “I am an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine, who once said, ‘With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.’”
Addressing 1 million young people at the Jubilee of Youth in August, he quoted Augustine’s “Confessions”: “You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness… I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more.”
Pope Leo XIV greets crowds at the Jubilee of Youth on Aug. 3, 2025, at Tor Vergata in Rome. Credit: Vatican Media
A focus on artificial intelligence
Pope Leo has frequently spoken about artificial intelligence (AI), which is already shaping up to be a topic of interest in his pontificate with many hoping that he will address it in an encyclical.
Early on in his pontificate, Leo drew parallels between his namesake Pope Leo XIII, who responded to the industrial revolution with Rerum Novarum, and today’s digital revolution, explaining that the rise of AI poses “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”
“Humanity is at a crossroads, facing the immense potential generated by the digital revolution driven by artificial intelligence,” he warned in a message to the Geneva-based AI for Good Summit. “The impact of this revolution is far-reaching, transforming areas such as education, work, art, health care, governance, the military, and communication.”
Pope Leo XIV smiles during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 13, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
The Vatican website received a revamp shortly after Leo’s election, and insiders noted Leo’s relatively tech-savvy background, including a personal Twitter account prior to his papacy.
The pope also expressed concern in a speech to another AI conference about the negative effects that AI can have on the “intellectual and neurological development” of rising generations and the “loss of the sense of the human” that societies are experiencing.
Leo declares a new doctor of the Church
In one of his most significant theological gestures, Pope Leo named St. John Henry Newman, a 19th-century English convert from Anglicanism, a doctor of the Church — a rare title given to just 37 other saints. The title is granted in recognition of an already canonized saint’s significant contribution to advancing the Church’s knowledge of doctrine, theology, or spirituality.
Pope Leo XIV greets hundreds of thousands of youth and pilgrims ahead of a vigil at Tor Vergata, Rome, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. Credit: Mateusz Opila
Leo also approved the upcoming canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati in September as the first saints of his pontificate. He greenlit seven additional causes for canonization, including that of Blessed Bartolo Longo, a former satanist turned founder of the Marian shrine in Pompeii.
Carrying the cross before a million young people at the Jubilee of Youth
Pope Leo addressed the largest crowd of his papacy to date at the Jubilee of Youth, where an estimated 1 million young adults camped out in fields in Tor Vergata, southeast of Rome.
He surprised them by walking through the crowd to the stage, personally carrying the jubilee cross. During the evening vigil, he answered youth questions in English, Italian, and Spanish, offering reflections on loneliness, discernment, and friendship with Christ.
Pope Leo XIV leads young people from around the world in a procession, carrying the Jubilee Year Cross during the Jubilee of Youth this evening in Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome. pic.twitter.com/XPjOnQg9p9
After Eucharistic adoration, chants of “Papa Leone!” echoed long into the night. Leo stayed past 10 p.m. — well beyond the scheduled end.
Earlier in the week, he made a surprise appearance at the opening Mass, joyfully proclaiming in English: “Jesus tells us: You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world!” and the crowd erupted in cheers.
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