Thousands line streets of Rome to bid final farewell to Pope Francis
ROME (CNS) -- The casket bearing the body of Pope Francis made its final journey through the streets of Rome accompanied by applause and shouts of gratitude...
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Pope spent pontificate going to peripheries; at funeral, they came to him
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Francis was elected as the first Latin American pontiff, he said his brother cardinals went out of their way to pick someone...
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Homily for the funeral Mass of Pope Francis
Editor's note: This is the English translation of the prepared text of the homily, delivered in Italian by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College...
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Poor and powerful pray for eternal repose of a pope 'with an open heart'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis was "a pope among the people, with an open heart toward everyone," said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College...
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As pope's casket is sealed, he is remembered for simplicity, humility
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After an estimated 250,000 people had passed by the body of Pope Francis, lying in an open casket in front of the main altar in St....
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Rome's needy bid farewell to pope who lifted them up from misery
ROME (OSV News) -- It was a busy morning April 25 at the Elemosineria Apostolica, or Apostolic Almsgiving Office, behind the Vatican walls. As Cardinal...
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Pope Francis said Mary picked his burial place, cardinal says
ROME (CNS) -- "The Virgin Mary told me, 'Prepare the tomb.'" That is what Pope Francis said Mary told him when he was discerning whether to be buried in...
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Pope Francis: A pope of surprises to the very end
(OSV News) -- From the moment of his election, Pope Francis made clear from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica that his first mandate was to serve as...
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Religious leaders remember Pope Francis as champion of dialogue
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Religious leaders from around the world mourned the death of Pope Francis April 21, hailing him as a tireless advocate for interreligious...
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World leaders remember Pope Francis as an important international player
(OSV News) -- World leaders offered condolences for Pope Francis almost immediately after the pontiff died April 21 -- a reflection of popes' importance...
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More than 19,000 people pay homage to pope in first nine hours
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the first nine hours that Pope Francis' body had lain in state in St. Peter's Basilica, more than 19,000 people stood in line...
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Pope Francis leaves complicated legacy on addressing the sexual abuse crisis
ROME (OSV News) -- Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of 88, faced the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, attempting...
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'All sons and daughters of God': Pope Francis' legacy with Jews and Muslims
(OSV News) -- "God," Pope Francis once said, "is God for all; and if God is God for all, then we are all sons and daughters of God." This credo, spoken...
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Vatican releases unpublished papal reflection on old age
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Growing old isn't something to be feared, but rather something to embrace as a time of grace in one's life, Pope Francis wrote in...
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Prayer, pilgrims accompany pope's body to basilica
VATICAN CITY -- To the chanting of Christ's promise, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live," the mortal...
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Pope thanks nurse for taking him to St. Peter's Square one last time
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' final moments were peaceful, and he managed to give one last farewell to his nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, before...
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Mass for Jubilee of Adolescents will be memorial Mass
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the death of Pope Francis, the April 27 canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis was postponed and the Mass scheduled for that day...
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Cardinals hold first meeting after pope's death
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinals already present in Rome and those who were able to get to the city after Pope Francis' death April 21 held their first...
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El funeral del Papa se celebrará el 26 de abril en la Plaza de San Pedro, su velorio público será del 23 al 25 de abril
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) -- La Misa funeral del Papa Francisco se celebrará el 26 de abril en la Plaza de San Pedro, anunció el Vaticano. El...
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Pope's funeral set for April 26, public viewing April 23-25
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican announced. Cardinal Giovanni Battista...
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He gave a face to the faceless: Francis is remembered as the pope of the poor
ROME (OSV News) -- In the last years of his papacy, the world saw the more serious, concerned and suffering face of Pope Francis. But with one group he...
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Special terms used during the period between popes
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here is an explanation of some of the terms and practices related to the time between the death of Pope Francis April 21 and the...
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Pope died of stroke, heart failure, coma, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis died April 21 after suffering a stroke and heart failure, said the director of Vatican City State's department of health...
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El Papa muere tras un derrame cerebral y un colapso cardiovascular, según el Vaticano
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) -- El Papa Francisco murió el 21 de abril tras sufrir un "ictus" (derrame) cerebral y un colapso cardiovascular, dijo el...
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In final testament, pope asks for simple burial, prayed for peace
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his brief final testament, Pope Francis asked to be buried at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major and said he had offered his suffering...
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Crowds gather to pray the rosary for repose of pope's soul
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as hundreds of people had gathered at the Vatican each night to recite the rosary when Pope Francis was hospitalized, throngs...
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Pope died of stroke, heart attack, coma, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis died April 21 after suffering a stroke and heart attack, said the director of Vatican City State's department of health...
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Vatican announces canonization of Blessed Acutis is postponed
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the death of Pope Francis, the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which was scheduled for April 27, has been postponed. "Following...
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U.S. cardinal to play key role until a new pope is elected
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the death of Pope Francis April 21, the practical aspects of overseeing the day-to-day needs of the church and organizing a...
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Pastor mundial: De palabra y obra, el Papa predicó la misericordia y la solidaridad
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) -- El Papa Francisco, quien falleció el 21 de abril a la edad de 88 años, energizó a millones de católicos...
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Vatican announces pope's death to the world
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the "camerlengo" or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced to the world that Pope Francis...
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Global pastor: In word and deed, pope preached mercy, outreach
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis, who died April 21 at the age of at age 88, gave new energy to millions of Catholics -- and caused concern for some...
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Christians in the Holy Land celebrate Easter with 'no illusions,' but believing God is 'guiding history'
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (OSV News) -- The pews of the St. Catherine Church in Bethlehem were full and it was standing room only, as parishioners dressed in...
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Pope on Easter: Jesus' resurrection makes Christians pilgrims of hope
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The hope Christians have is not a sign of avoiding reality but of trusting in the power of God to defeat sin and death as the resurrection...
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Christ's light breaks through world's darkness, pope says in vigil message
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the lights of St. Peter's Basilica were extinguished and silence settled through the sprawling interior, a single flame -- the...
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Religious freedom, migration on agenda as Vance meets Cardinal Parolin
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Against the backdrop of deep differences with the Trump administration over migration and foreign aid as well as concerns for Ukraine...
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Dutch flower growers, volunteers take care of Vatican Easter decor
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Easter morning Mass in St. Peter's Square is celebrated each year amid thousands of flowers, trees and bushes thanks to a coalition...
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Changing the world demands changing direction, pope writes for Way of Cross
ROME (CNS) -- Today's "builders of Babel" are constructing a hell on earth, rejecting everyone they decide are "losers," Pope Francis wrote in the meditations...
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Love, not power, saves the world, papal preacher says at service with Vance
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus, who redeemed humanity by giving up his life on the cross, shows that it is not strength that saves the world, but the "weakness"...
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Holy Land Christians have a duty to celebrate Easter despite suffering, patriarch says
JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- Christians in the Holy Land not only have the right but also the duty to celebrate Easter despite all the difficulties and conflicts...
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Bishop welcomes the UK Supreme Court's ruling: Women are defined solely by biological sex
LIVERPOOL, England (OSV News) -- A British Catholic bishop has welcomed a ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court that a woman is defined solely by biological...
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'Why them and not me,' pope asks after Holy Thursday visit to prison
ROME (CNS) -- While he did not celebrate Mass or wash the feet of inmates, Pope Francis made his customary Holy Thursday visit to a detention facility,...
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New miracle confirmed from Lourdes sanctuary
(OSV News) -- In a joyful moment after the rosary on St. Bernadette Soubirous' feast day April 16 at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, the...
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Sudan needs world's attention, funding, peace, faith-based groups say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Sudan, which is experiencing the world's largest and most serious hunger and displacement crises, needs urgent and consistent attention...
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Barcelona rejoices as famed architect Antoni Gaudí is declared venerable
MADRID (OSV News) -- In a a joyful milestone for the church and lovers of sacred art, Pope Francis declared famed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí venerable...
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Pope prays for victims of Dominican nightclub disaster
(OSV News) -- Pope Francis prayed for the victims of a nightclub disaster in the Dominican Republic that claimed more than 200 lives and has provoked mourning...
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Be 'heralds of hope,' pope asks priests in homily for chrism Mass
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Especially in a Jubilee Year, but also every day, priests are called to continual conversion so that they can authentically preach...
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Church accompanies scarred Cambodians 50 years into the Khmer Rouge genocide
(OSV News) -- On the 50th anniversary of when the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia and left close to 2 million people dead, the Catholic Church there,...
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Pope thanks medical team that cared for him during hospitalization
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis personally thanked the health care workers and medical staff who cared for him in Rome's Gemelli hospital for 38 days...
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God always waits, goes looking for those who are lost, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Gospel contains a great message of hope, "because it tells us that wherever we are lost and however we are lost, God always comes...
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Peru-based Catholic movement formally suppressed by the Vatican
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has ordered the suppression of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a Peru-based lay movement active across Latin America...
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Despite improved health, pope picks cardinals to lead Holy Week liturgies
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis is going without supplemental oxygen for longer periods and is continuing therapy to recover his voice and to recover...
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Pope advances sainthood cause of famed Spanish architect, five others
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and five men, including Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect who designed...
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'Nothing is sacred': Religious leaders condemn Russia's Palm Sunday attack on Ukraine
(OSV News) -- Catholic and other religious leaders are condemning a Palm Sunday attack by Russia on a Ukrainian city that killed 34 -- including two children...
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Vatican updates norms on donations for special Mass intentions
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic faithful do not "buy" Masses, but when a priest accepts an offering and promises to celebrate a Mass for that person's loved...
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On Palm Sunday, recovering pope says to carry the cross with compassion
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Carrying the cross means more than bearing personal suffering -- it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them,...
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Spanish bishops under scrutiny for church-government accord over Valley of the Fallen
(OSV News) -- Catholic groups have criticized Spain's bishops for consenting to government redevelopment of a key national memorial complex near Madrid,...
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Aiding migrants 'goes against the tide' today, top Jesuit says
ROME (CNS) -- Using forced deportations and detainment to deal with migration is "a scandal," said Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits. The...
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Papal preacher: Faith in Resurrection means not clinging to the past
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The temptation to cling to the past -- to hold on to what was, including something sacred -- can keep believers from truly embracing...
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Pope's visit to basilica is sign of improved health, press office says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' surprise visit to St. Peter's Basilica to pray and see ongoing restoration work is a clear sign that his condition...
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Britain's royal couple meet Pope Francis at the Vatican
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although they postponed their official state visit to the Vatican because of Pope Francis' health, Britain's King Charles and Queen...
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The Little Flower and the Great Doctor: Àvila, Lisieux to hold events commemorating Carmelite saints
(OSV News) -- While millions of pilgrims hope to make their way to Rome for the Jubilee Year, Catholics in France and Spain will also have reason to stay...
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Vatican reports progress in flagging suspicious financial activity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican bank and other Vatican offices with financial dealings are getting more adept at identifying and stopping suspicious...
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Riches can be burdens, preventing people from following Jesus, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus loves people as they are, not based on their merit or righteousness, said the text for Pope Francis' weekly general audience. "Precisely...
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Franciscans in the Holy Land ask support through Good Friday collection
ROME (CNS) -- While pilgrimages to the Holy Land have been few and far between in the past 18 months, hundreds of Franciscan friars celebrate Mass at the...
Read MoreTallest cross in the world will remain despite Spanish 'resignification' project
The spokesman for the Spanish Bishops' Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), Bishop Francisco César GarcÍa Magán, stated Friday...
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British woman prosecuted for silently holding a sign by abortion clinic gets a backup from US State Department
LIVERPOOL, England (OSV News) -- The U.S. State Department has expressed concern over the prosecution of a British woman for holding up a sign outside...
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Ailing pope surprises pilgrims during Jubilee of the sick
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With thousands of infirmed people and those who care for them gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair...
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Disgraced former cardinal McCarrick dies at 94
(OSV News) -- The disgraced former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, removed from the clerical state in 2019 after revelations of credible allegations of...
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British church steps up opposition to 'deeply flawed' assisted suicide bill
OXFORD, England (OSV News) -- The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has urged renewed opposition to a draft law on assisted suicide, amid...
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Two women religious murdered in Haiti amid that nation's 'way of the Cross'
(OSV News) -- Two women religious were murdered March 31 by armed gangs in the city of Mirebalais, Haiti, as long-standing violence continues to further...
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Fatima shrine will not remove Rupnik mosaic, but suspends promotional use, spokesperson says
(OSV News) -- A representative of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal said it is not considering the removal of artwork by Father Marko Rupnik...
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Nicaea anniversary inspires faith, strengthens mission, theologians say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians should not see the Nicene Creed simply as a list of things they believe, but they should look at it with awe because it...
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Greenland's only Catholic priest calls his 'rewarding, demanding' mission a 'dream job'
(OSV News) -- Father Tomaž Majcen, a Conventual Franciscan, is the only Catholic parish priest in Greenland, working alongside two fellow Franciscan...
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St. Josemaría Escrivá tops the charts, a century after his priestly ordination
(OSV News) -- On the 100th anniversary of his priestly ordination, St. Josemaría Escrivá is topping the Amazon charts. The Spanish saint's book...
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Pope is following doctors’ orders for his convalescence, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During his second week back at the Vatican after a long hospitalization, Pope Francis continued to follow his doctors' orders to...
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Holy Spirit is source of peace, harmony, fraternity, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church is a new and reconciled humanity thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the source of communion, harmony...
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Lord always goes in search of the lost, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even when a person seems totally lost and unable to find a way back to God, the Lord is already looking for him or her, said the...
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Pope prays people stare less at screens, connect more face-to-face
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Technology should be used to improve people's lives and to connect people as members of one human family, Pope Francis said. However,...
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Tragic earthquake hits war-torn Myanmar, with massive death toll and little aid
(OSV News) -- On March 28, a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the Mandalay-Sagaing region in southwestern Myanmar, causing multistory buildings to...
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Pope continues to govern the church, says Vatican secretary of state
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even on his worst days in Rome's Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis was governing the Catholic Church, although on some days, he did...
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Pope clears way for three new saints, including first woman from Venezuela
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of three blesseds: an Armenian Catholic archbishop martyred during the Armenian...
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Myanmar death toll surpasses 2,000; cardinal calls for immediate ceasefire amid tragedy
(OSV News) -- People in Myanmar are in desperate need of humanitarian supplies and medical support as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that...
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Pope stable; his lung infection slightly improved, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' condition remains stable, and an X-ray showed there has been a slight improvement regarding his lingering lung infection,...
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Churches East and West celebrate Easter the same day in 2025; could it be a step to unity?
(OSV News) -- Does Easter belong to Jesus Christ, or to a calendar? For Pope Francis, the answer is clear: "Easter belongs to Christ!" the pontiff declared...
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