Since the establishment of the first Catholic newspapers in the United States, the pope said, local communities have relied on the ever-expanding forms of media "to share, to communicate, to inform and to unite."

In this article from the Dec. 5, 1931, issue of America, J. Desmond Gleeson laments the economic devastation of the Great Depression, noting that it came about without warning.

Peter and Paul, Pope Francis noted, provide valuable role models to encourage us toward unity and prophecy.

Bishop Weldon, a native of the Archdiocese of New York, was installed as the fourth bishop of the Springfield Diocese March 28, 1950, and served until his retirement in the fall of 1977.

Both prayers and economic assistance, Pope Francis stressed, are needed to ameliorate the ongoing humanitarian catastrophes in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

At the Church of the Gesú in Rome, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., ordained 18 deacons and two priests who have been studying in Rome.