Pope Francis

[grace-land]

Video, with English text, at the link...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-01/pope-february-prayer-intention-for-the-terminally-ill.html
Pope's February prayer intention: For the terminally ill
30 January 2024, 16:00

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of February 2024, and invites everyone to pray for the terminally ill and their families.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Francis' monthly prayer intention this February is for the terminally ill and their families.

The Pope invited the Church to pray for this intention in this month's The Pope Video, which is entrusted to the entire Catholic Church through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

This month's Video comes during the month in which the Church observes the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 February, on which the World Day of the Sick takes place.

Pope Francis explains that “when some people talk about terminal illnesses, there are two words they often confuse: incurable and un-'carable.' But they are not the same.”
 

[grace-land]

Video, with English commentary, at the link...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-01/pope-at-audience-wrath-wreaks-havoc.html
Pope at Audience: Reconcile, let go of anger before the sun sets
31 January 2024, 09:15

At the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis reflects on the sin of wrath and invites us to guard against channelling our anger unjustly, insisting that we follow the Lord's example of forgiveness.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Wrath and anger have a tendency to grow out of control, and thus we are called to actively seek peace and reconciliation.

Pope Francis gave this reminder during his Wednesday General Audience held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

Continuing his catechesis series on virtues and vices, the Pope focused this week on the sin of wrath, calling it a particularly "dark vice."

Wrath, the Pope said, is perhaps the easiest to detect from a physical point of view. "The person dominated by wrath can hardly conceal this impetus; you recognise it by the movements of their body, their aggressiveness, their laboured breathing, their grim and frowning gaze."
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-01/pope-francis-peace-israel-palestine-middle-east-ukraine.html
Pope: May sorrow of war victims touch world leaders' hearts
31 January 2024, 10:18

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2024.index.html
Audiences 2024
General Audience of 31 January 2024 - Cycle of Catechesis. Vices and Virtues. 6. Wrath

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-01/vatican-conference-priest-formation-rekindle-gift-god.html

Vatican to host international conference on priestly formation
31 January 2024, 16:49

"Rekindle the Gift of God That Is Within You" is the title of a conference taking place in Rome in early February, aimed at studying the ways priests are formed for ministry.
Vatican News

Around a thousand individuals from around the world will gather in Rome in February for a conference on clerical formation. 

Brazil will be the most represented nation, followed by Mexico, Italy, Poland, and the Philippines. Priests, consecrated individuals, and laity from Iceland, Burundi, El Salvador, China, Guatemala, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, and over 60 other countries will also be present.

The conference – which will have the theme "Rekindle the Gift of God That Is Within You" – is being sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicasteries for the Clergy, Evangelisation, and Eastern Churches.

Collaboration with local Churches

The International Conference, aimed at diocesan, regional, and national coordinators for priestly formation, as well as those interested in the field, aims to initiate a process of collaboration with local Churches around the world.

The conference will take as its starting point a survey sent to all Episcopal Conferences in recent months, and the contributions made by participants before and during the conference.

A key text will be Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, "The Gift of the Priestly Vocation," a foundational document on priestly formation from 2016.
 

https://www.clerus.va/content/dam/clerus/Ratio%20Fundamentalis/The%20Gift%20of%20the%20Priestly%20Vocation.pdf
The Gift of the Priestly Vocation

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-francis-notre-dame-university-usa-audience-education.html

Pope to Notre Dame University: Help students dream with head, heart, hands
01 February 2024, 10:03

Pope Francis meets with the Board of Trustees of Notre Dame University in the US state of Indiana, and invites Catholic educators to help students reach for their dreams through intellectually rigorous, faith-filled formation.
By Devin Watkins

“This is the secret of education: that we think what we feel and do; that we feel what we think and do; and, that we do what we feel and think.”

Pope Francis offered that summary of his vision of the mission of educators as he met on Thursday in the Vatican with the President and Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana.

As he spoke to the men and women responsible for the university of the “Fighting Irish,” the Pope reflected in depth on what he calls the “three languages of education: the head, the heart, and the hands.”

These three elements of the human person, he said, form the core of Catholic education and its goal of assisting young people to arrive at maturity and completeness.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/february.index.html
Speeches 2024 February
To a Delegation from the "University of Notre Dame" (Indiana, U.S.A.) (1st February 2024)

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-02/sao-tome-e-principe-meeting-pope-francis-communique-press-office.html

Pope meets with Prime Minister of São Tomé and Principe
01 February 2024, 12:02

Pope Francis holds a private audience with Mr. Patrice Émery Trovoada, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe, to discuss education, healthcare, and security on the African continent.
By Vatican News

On Thursday, 1 February 2024, Pope Francis received in audience the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe, Patrice Émery Trovoada, at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

In a statement, the Holy See Press Office said the Prime Minister then met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, accompanied by the Reverend Msgr. Mirosław Wachowski, Under-Secretary for Relations with States.

"During the cordial discussions," read the statement, "the good relations between the Holy See and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe were highlighted, and some aspects of the political and socioeconomic situation of the country were noted, especially collaboration in the fields of education and healthcare."
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-02/benjamin-estevez-cominges-secretariat-for-economy.html

Pope names Benjamín Estévez de Cominges as Secretary of Economy Secretariat
01 February 2024, 12:07

Pope Francis appoints Benjamín Estévez de Cominges, currently Delegate for the Administration of the Second Section of the Dicastery for Evangelization, as Secretary of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy.
By Vatican News

On Thursday, 1 February, two years after his appointment as Delegate for the Administration of Propaganda Fide (now the Second Section of the Dicastery for Evangelization), Benjamín Estévez de Cominges has been appointed as the number two at the Secretariat for the Economy.

Born in Vigo (Spain) in 1974, married, and the father of three children, Mr. Estévez de Cominges is a senior telecommunications engineer with degrees in Economics and Business Administration. Additionally, he holds a Master's in Management Sciences from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-francis-lent-is-a-time-of-conversion-and-freedom.html

Pope Francis: Lent is a time of conversion and freedom
01 February 2024, 11:40

In his message for Lent 2024, Pope Francis invites the faithful to “pause” for prayer and to assist our brothers and sisters in need, in order to change our own lives and the lives of our communities.
By Christopher Wells

“When our God reveals Himself, His message is always one of freedom,” Pope Francis says in the opening of his Message to the faithful for Lent 2024.

Recalling the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt, the Holy Father explains that our journey through the desert can be a season of grace – not an abstract journey, but a concrete path that involves seeing the world as it is and hearing the cries of our oppressed brothers and sisters.
 
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/02/01/240201c.html
Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2024, 01.02.2024
The following is the text of the Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2024, on the theme: “Through the desert God leads us to freedom”:

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-world-mission-day-message-2024-king-banquet.html

Pope's Mission Day message: Mission is a tireless going out
02 February 2024, 10:47

In his 2024 World Mission Day Message, Pope Francis says that the Church's mission is directed towards all peoples and requires the participation of every baptised Christian.
By Joseph Tulloch

Pope Francis has released his message for World Mission Day 2024.

In the text, the Pope reflects on the Gospel parable of the Wedding Banquet, where the king tells his servants “Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find”.
 
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2024/02/02/0109/00213.html#inglese
Messaggio del Santo Padre Francesco per la Giornata Missionaria Mondiale 2024, 02.02.2024
Go and invite everyone to the banquet (cf. Mt 22:9)

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-02/pope-francis-national-federation-italy-china-audience.html

Pope Francis encourages Italy-China cultural dialogue
02 February 2024, 11:59

Pope Francis meets with members of the National Federation Italy-China, and praises efforts to foster cultural dialogue and help people become “acrobats of peace and fraternity.”
By Devin Watkins

As the National Federation Italy-China marks its 10th anniversary, Pope Francis has expressed his support for cultural initiatives that seek to foster dialogue between the two nations.

At an audience in the Vatican on Friday, the Pope said their efforts help overcome the challenges “posed by cultural integration, education, and the promotion of shared values.”

He also thanked the organization for its generous commitment.

“As the Italian and Chinese communities come to know each other better, this can lead to greater mutual acceptance and fraternal spirit,” he said.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/february.index.html
Speeches 2024 February
To the National Federation Italy-China (2 febbraio 2024)

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-02/vatican-presents-the-first-world-children-day.html

First World Children's Day: celebration of faith, 'hearing from world's future'
02 February 2024, 13:03

Ahead of the Church's first World Children's Day on 25-26 May, several Vatican and Church officials describe the celebration in Rome that will see Pope Francis meet with children from all over the world for a moment of prayer, friendship, and formation.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

The first World Children’s Day will be held on 25-26 May 2024, and will involve the participation of Pope Francis and children from all over the world at an event in Rome.

The recently-instituted Day, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, was presented at a press conference in the Holy See Press Office on Friday.

Among those speaking were Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education; Fr. Enzo Fortunato, coordinator of World Children’s Day and communications spokesperson of St. Peter's Basilica; and, Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Sant’Egidio Community.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2024-02/zayed-award-2024-human-fraternity-chile-award-winners.html

Human Fraternity: 2024 Zayed Award goes to Chilean ‘mother of detainees’ nun
02 February 2024, 09:21

The 2024 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has been given to Sister Nelly León Correa, a Chilean nun working with prisoners; Sir Magdi Yacoub, an Egyptian cardiothoracic surgeon; and, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, two leading Indonesian Islamic organizations.
By Alessandro Di Bussolo – Abu Dhabi

On Friday, in Abu Dhabi, the winners of the fifth edition of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity were announced, which recognizes contributions of individuals and organizations to humanity's progress and peaceful coexistence.

The Award celebrates the Document on Human Fraternity, signed on February 4, 2019, by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.

Award winners were Sister Nelly León Correa, Sir Magdi Yacoub, and two Indonesian Islamic organizations: Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.

The announcement was made on Friday morning in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, during a press conference by the award's Secretary-General, Egyptian judge Mohamed Abdelsalam.
 

[grace-land]

full video, with English commentary, at the link...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-mass-world-day-consecrated-life-homily.html
Pope urges Consecrated men and women to make room for God’s action
02 February 2024, 18:40

Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the World Day for Consecrated Life highlighting the importance of perseverance and asking for the courage to make room for God’s action.
By Linda Bordoni

As the Church marks the 28th World Day for Consecrated Life on Friday, Pope Francis has encouraged the world’s religious men and women to always be open to be moved by the Spirit, and in conformity with the Gospel to nourish the reawakening of a longing for God.

The annual observance was instituted in 1997 by Pope Saint John Paul II and is celebrated on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 2 February. The theme chosen this year is: "Pilgrims of Hope on the Path of Peace".

In his homily during Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica with members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life as well as participants in an International Meeting in preparation for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis invited those present to “await patiently, vigilant in spirit and persevering in prayer” as by “safeguarding our interior life and in conformity with the Gospel, we will embrace Jesus, the light and hope of life.”
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2024.index.html
Homilies 2024
Holy Mass on the 28th World Day For Consecrated Life (2 February 2024)

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-to-students-always-seek-truth-and-be-open-to-changes.html

Pope to Italian students: Be lovers of the truth and open to changes
03 February 2024, 11:40

Pope Francis meets with Italian students, parents and teachers from the Collegio Rotondi in Gorla Minore (Milan), and encourages them to be open to changes and dialogue with others, while always seeking the truth.
By Lisa Zengarini

Pope Francis on Saturday encouraged a group of Italian students from the oldest state-recognized Catholic school in the country to be open to changes and different ideas, while remaining faithful to their Catholic identity.

“We must know how to change to remain faithful to our identity and mission,” the Pope remarked, as he met in the Vatican with some 3,000 Italian students, teachers and families of the prestigious Collegio Rotondi in Gorla Minore, near Milan, on the occasion of the 425th anniversary of its foundation in 1599.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/february.index.html
Speeches 2024 February
To the teachers and students of the Rotondi College, Gorla Minore (Varese) (3rd February 2024)

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-francis-spain-madrid-seminary-audience.html

Pope to seminarians: Cling to Christ and serve His people
03 February 2024, 12:04

Pope Francis meets with Spanish seminarians from Madrid, and encourages men preparing for the priesthood to draw their inspiration from Christ in prayer.
By Devin Watkins

“From Jesus we do not learn things. We welcome Him; we cling to Him, to be able to bring Him to others.”

Pope Francis offered that reminder to men studying at the Archdiocesan Seminary of Madrid, Spain, on Saturday.

In his prepared remarks, the Pope noted that Cardinal José Cobo Cano has come to Rome to take possession of his titular church of Santiago and Montserrat.

He said the church’s patron saints—St. James and the Blessed Virgin Mary—combine the “apostolic faith and love for Mary that characterizes all of Spain.”
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/february.index.html
Speeches 2024 February
To the Community of the Seminary of Madrid (3rd February 2024)

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-francis-letter-jews-holy-land-peace-karma-ben-johanan.html

Pope: ‘Let's work together for peace in the Holy Land’
03 February 2024, 15:00

Pope Francis sends a letter to “my Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel", addressed to Karma Ben Johanan, a theologian of Jewish-Christian dialogue, and invites everyone to work for peace in the Holy Land.
By Roberto Cetera – Jerusalem

"My heart is close to you, to the Holy Land, to all the peoples who inhabit it, Israelis and Palestinians, and I pray that the desire for peace may prevail in all. I want you to know that you are close to my heart and to the heart of the Church."

Pope Francis sent those words to "my Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel" in a letter sent to Karma Ben Johanan.

The theologian of Jewish-Christian dialogue was among the promoters in recent weeks of an appeal to the Pope that was signed by about 400 rabbis and scholars, calling for the strengthening of Jewish-Christian friendship after the tragedy of October 7.

"We are deeply grateful for the trust and spirit of friendship with which the Pope, and with him the entire Church, has sought to reaffirm the special relationship that unites our communities, Catholic and Jewish.”

These were the Israeli theologian’s words of sincere appreciation for the Pope's letter, expressed to L'Osservatore Romano on Saturday in Jerusalem.
 
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2024/02/03/0117/00232.html#en
Lettera del Santo Padre ai fratelli e alle sorelle ebrei in Israele, 03.02.2024
My Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-02/dicastery-doctrine-faith-validity-sacraments-gestis-verbisque.html

‘For validity of Sacraments, formulas and matter cannot be modified’
03 February 2024, 12:00

In the face of continued liturgical abuses, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith releases a doctrinal Note entitled “Gestis verbisque,” reiterating that the words and elements established in the essential rite of each Sacrament cannot be changed because such changes render the Sacrament invalid.
By Vatican News

The Note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, entitled “Gestis verbisque,” was published on Saturday, February 3.

The Note was discussed and approved unanimously by the Cardinals and Bishops who are Members of the Dicastery and were present at the recent Plenary Assembly. Pope Francis then approved the text of the Note.

It reaffirms that the formulas and material elements established in the essential rite of each Sacrament cannot be changed at will in the name of creativity.

Doing so, in fact, renders the Sacrament itself invalid; therefore, it never existed and no Sacramental grace was conferred.
 
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20240202_gestis-verbisque_it.html
NOTA
GESTIS VERBISQUE
SULLA VALIDITÁ DEI SACRAMENTI

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256732/vatican-doctrine-office-releases-note-on-the-validity-of-the-sacraments
Vatican doctrine office releases note on discerning the validity of the sacraments
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Feb 3, 2024 / 09:21 am

[grace-land]

Update: Synod on Synodality

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256733/synod-on-synodality-organizers-invite-300-parish-priests-to-a-listening-session-in-rome
Synod on Synodality organizers invite 300 parish priests to a listening session in Rome
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Feb 3, 2024 / 10:30 am

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Synod on Synodality organizers are inviting 300 parish priests to come to Rome for a meeting of “listening, prayer, and discernment” that will help shape the next Synod assembly discussions.

The international meeting of priests will take place from April 28 to May 2 with the goal of “listening to and valuing the experience of parish priests”and providing them with “an opportunity to experience the dynamism of synodal work at a universal level.”

The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops said that the meeting is being organized in response to the first Synod assembly’s Synthesis Report, which identified a need to "develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year.”
 

Hmmm...

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256718/cardinal-zen-agenda-same-sex-blessings-and-synod-on-synodality
Cardinal Zen discusses his new book for Lent and concerns for the Church
By Joe Bukuras
CNA Staff, Feb 2, 2024 / 16:22 pm
 
Asked to comment on the first session of the Synod on Synodality in Rome, Zen said that in his view, the synod organizers want “absolute democracy.”

Before the start of the synod last year, Zen voiced his concerns to his brother bishops and cardinals in a letter that was leaked to the media.

“The synod secretariat is very efficient at the art of manipulation,” Zen wrote in the letter, adding that “often they claim not to have any agenda. This is truly an offense to our intelligence. Anybody can see which conclusions they are aiming at.”

Speaking to Arroyo, Zen said: “Now, the word synodality is a new word in the Church, so you need a clear explanation of what is our understanding of synodality, not just from the etymological source of the word, because the Church is using the word synod for so many centuries and synodality comes from synod.”

Zen said that “our people, they were simply taking [it] to mean more participation, more communion. But now we realize that they understand something different. And so they have another understanding, which I think, in simple words, this new synodality means democracy, just as they are talking about in Germany, or even at the very beginning, after Vatican [II], in the Netherlands,” he said.

“And so they want absolute democracy. Then if that is approved, anything can be changed, and the doctrine of faith and about morality,” Zen indicated.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-francis-message-human-fraternity-zayed-award-abu-dhabi.html

Pope: May human fraternity guide us beyond hatred and war
04 February 2024, 08:52

Marking the 5th anniversary of the Document on Human Fraternity Pope Francis highlights how the absence of fraternal solidarity in today’s world causes environmental destruction and social degradation and he calls on society to spread the values of social friendship embodied by the three winners of the Zayed Prize 2024, all "inspired by religious beliefs."
By Alessandro Di Bussolo and Felipe Herrera-Espaliat - Abu Dhabi

"If it is encouraging to see that the path of dialogue, friendship, and mutual esteem which began in Abu Dhabi five years ago continues to bear fruit," in many parts of the world, the effects of "lack of fraternal solidarity" cause "environmental destruction" and "social degradation" that lead to "immense suffering for a large number of our brothers and sisters." It is essential, therefore, to "draw attention to the principles that can guide humanity through the dark shadows of injustice, hatred, and war into the brightness of a world community marked by those values that we see manifest in the varied efforts of this year’s awardees.“

These words are at the core of Pope Francis‘ message marking the fifth anniversary of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed on February 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi, together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayyib.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2019/outside/documents/papa-francesco_20190204_documento-fratellanza-umana.html
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(3-5 FEBRUARY 2019)

A DOCUMENT ON
HUMAN FRATERNITY
FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER
[Multimedia]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-peace-requires-knowing-others-listening-and-flexibility.html
Pope: peace requires knowing others, listening and intellectual flexibility
04 February 2024, 15:00

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-at-angelus-like-jesus-set-forth-and-transmit-hope.html

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-at-angelus-like-jesus-set-forth-and-transmit-hope.html
Pope at Angelus: Set forth transmitting faith in our loving God
04 February 2024, 12:20

During his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis urges the faithful to embrace their "first spiritual task" of "abandoning the God we think we know," and "converting every day" to the "loving, compassionate God that Jesus presents to us in the Gospel."
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"Follow the Lord's example and set forth, transmitting faith and hope in our loving God..."

Pope Francis gave this encouragement during his Sunday Angelus address in the Vatican, as he drew inspiration from tthe Gospel passage according to St. Mark which shows Jesus continually in motion, doing good and proclaiming God.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-angelus-prayers-war-lunar-new-year-chile-fires-life-consecr.html
Pope says peace is the responsibility of the entire human family
04 February 2024, 12:57

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2024.index.html
Angelus - Regina Cæli 2024
Angelus, 4 February 2024

Video at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15nt7iIFkGs
February 4 2024 Angelus prayer Pope Francis

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-02/pope-francis-telephones-sister-paesie-in-haiti.html

Pope Francis calls Sister Paësie in Haiti to offer his support
05 February 2024, 09:05

Pope Francis phones Sister Paësie, a nun and 'mother' to 2,500 Haitian children in the slums of Cité Soleil, both to inquire about the situation in Haiti and to encourage her commitment and closeness to children enduring poverty.
By Jean-Charles Putzolu

Pope Francis made a phone call on Saturday afternoon to Sister Paësie, a French-born nun who has been in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since 1999 to devote herself to the children of Cité Soleil, an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

The Holy Father, who has made various appeals for Haiti, had wished to speak to the religious sister, who has dedicated her life to caring for her "little flock" in the slums, after having founded the 'Kizito Family' religious community there, which looks after some 2,500 children.
In an interview with Vatican News after the papal phone call, Sister Paësie offered a few details about her conversation with Pope Francis and the reality facing people in Haiti.