The emeritus pope Benedict XVI has suffered a decline in health, Pope Francis said today at the end of his general audience. He asked for prayers for the 95-year-old former pontiff.

In a candid account of his five decades in the Salvadoran church, the country’s first cardinal tells of calumnies against El Salvador’s St. Oscar Romero, but also of slights against him by other prelates.

In his Christmas message, he offered special greetings to “our soldiers at the front,” to civilians and soldiers who have been wounded and to all those mourning the loss of loved ones.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s message inviting people to pay less attention to presents and more to prayer,.

‘Why is the manger so important? Because it is the sign, and not by chance, of Christ’s coming into this world. It is how he announces his coming.’

A Reflection for the Third Day in the Octave of Christmas, by Rachel Lu