"That is how one builds peace, saying 'no' to hatred and violence—with action—and 'yes' to fraternity and reconciliation," Pope Francis said on Jan. 1.

Each of the participants carried wooden crosses bearing the names of victims.

Are Trump and Putin about to begin a new nuclear arms race?

My son hates to sing. And the place Bobby hates to sing the most is in Mass.

Everything that she was, formed who he became.

The truce does not include the Islamic State group or al-Qaida's branch in Syria. Several previous ceasefires all collapsed, some of them in a matter of days.

Although the total was slightly higher from the 3.2 million visitors received by Pope Francis in 2015, for a jubilee year it still fell short of the 5.9 million pilgrims who visited in 2014.

The imbalance in the world, one Jesuit expert has said, reflects how years of papal pleas and Vatican mandates have not been received or implemented consistently everywhere.

Bishop Vásquez points out that there are more than 740,000 young people who have received and benefitted from DACA.