A woman holds a statuette of Mother Teresa outside the Missionaries of Charity building in Kolkata, India, Sept. 4. (CNS photo/Rupak De Chowdhuri, Reuters)

Faith, Vatican Dispatch

Why Pope Francis is making Asia a priority for the Catholic Church

by Gerard O’Connell October 19, 2016

Pope Francis has his eyes fixed on Asia, where he sees the possibility of a new springtime for the church.

(public domain image of the Philippines)

Faith, Pope Francis Homilies

Pope Francis: A good shepherd is never embittered, even if deserted by everyone.

by Pope Francis October 18, 2016

“When I go to visit the retirement homes for elderly priests I find so many of these great shepherds who have given their lives for the faithful. There they are, sick, paralyzed, in wheelchairs but you can see them smiling straight away.”

20161013t1339-5855-cns-pope-saints-biosx

Dispatches, Faith

Pope canonizes “gaucho priest” and six others in St. Peter’s Square

by Gerard O’Connell October 16, 2016

The new saints include Argentina’s first.

Gianni Crea, chief key keeper at the Vatican, in the Sistine Chapel with the bunch of keys he uses to access all rooms in the museum, on Oct. 6, 2016. Photograph by Chris Warde-Jones

Dispatches, Faith

The pope is not the only keeper of the keys in the Vatican

by Josephine McKenna - Religion News Service October 13, 2016

The key keepers are just some of the more than 3,000 lay people who perform unheralded jobs in a place that is known for pomp and circumstance.

20161013t1043-5849-cns-pope-migrants-message

Dispatches, Politics & Society

Pope Francis calls for greater efforts to protect and serve the world’s migrant children

by Gerard O’Connell October 13, 2016

The United Nations reports that more than 50 percent of the world’s 21.3 million refugees are children.

sotc-20161004t0701-158-cns-pope-earthquake-visit

Politics & Society, Signs Of the Times

News Briefs

by From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources October 13, 2016

Pope Francis made a surprise visit on Oct. 4 to the town of Amatrice in Italy, recently devastated by an earthquake, and told survivors there: “From the first moment” of the tremblor on Aug. 24, “I felt the need to be here.”

Pope Francis meets Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, England, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, at the Vatican Oct. 6. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)

Faith, Signs Of the Times

Ecumenical Send-Off

by From AP, CNS, RNS, Staff and other sources October 13, 2016

Pope Francis and the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, together charged 19 pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops to return to their home countries and work together to promote joint prayer, joint proclamation of the Gospel and especially joint works of charity and justice.