The decrease of vocations to religious life, including in the Society of Jesus, is a lesson in humility and a reminder that a calling to religious life depends on God, Pope Francis told Jesuits in Greece.
The Christmas tree and Nativity crèche should evoke the joy and the peace of God’s love and not the selfish indulgence of consumerism and indifference, Pope Francis said.
Unlike more traditional depictions of the Magi, the Andean interpretation has them accompanied by llamas and bearing sacks of food from the region, including corn, quinoa and potatoes.
The pope “joins you in asking the Lord to bestow upon everyone the spiritual strength which triumphs over violence and overcomes evil with good,” said the message released Nov. 23.
At the trial’s fourth session Nov. 17, defense lawyer Luigi Panella argued that conversations between the prosecution and Pope Francis regarding the case should be included in the evidence.
The teachings and traditions of Christianity and Hinduism “can bring the light of hope in people’s lives,” wrote the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
In a statement released Oct. 11, the Diocese of Assisi said that since his beatification one year ago, an estimated 117,000 pilgrims visited the teen’s tomb in the Shrine of the Renunciation at the Church of St. Mary Major in Assisi.