Doctors say Pope Francis shows ‘slight improvement’ while in hospital

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 7, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 8, 2024 / 15:46 pm (CNA).
The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has announced the theme chose… […]

Vatican City, Apr 23, 2018 / 04:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- I-scream, you-scream, Pope Francis screamed… ‘gelato!’ on the feast of his patron saint, George, offering some 3,000 ice creams to homeless served in Caritas soup kitchens and shelters around Rome.

Every year the pope’s “onomastico,” or name-day, is celebrated as an official holiday in the Vatican. Under Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the feast is that of St. George, since Jorge is the Spanish equivalent.

And with temperatures in Rome finally starting to warm up, Francis decided to cool things down for Monday’s feast, asking the papal almoner’s office to provide the gelato to the poor and needy served by Catholic charitable organization, Caritas.

The papal almoner is Polish Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, who can often be seen mingling with the poor around St. Peter’s Basilica.

However, the pope himself is also known to be a gelato lover, his favorite flavor being dolce de leche, according to the Vatican cookbook. An Argentine classic, dolce de leche is essentially the Latin American version of caramel, but richer.

In the past, other papal gelato favorites included classic Italian flavor ‘cassata Siciliana’ for retired pontiff Benedict XVI, which is made with chocolate, strawberry and mango ice cream. John Paul II, on the other hand, reportedly indulged in ‘marron glacé’ gelato from Rome’s Gelateria Giolitti, which is ice cream flavored with candied chestnuts.

In addition to Monday’s sweet treat, Pope Francis often makes similar gestures for Rome’s poor, whether it’s a trip to the circus, a tour of the Vatican museums or a pizza party lunch on his birthday.

In the past he has also taken homeless to the beach during the hot summer months, and with temperatures this year expected to exceed the burning weather of 2017, it’s possible another outing will take place in the coming months.

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Pope Francis announced the start of a Year of Prayer in his Angelus address from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Jan. 21, 2024. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 21, 2024 / 10:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis announced the start of a Year of Prayer on Sunday in preparation for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

In his Angelus address, the pope said that a Year of Prayer starting on Jan. 21 will be “a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, the coming months will lead us to the opening of the Holy Door, with which we will begin the jubilee,” Pope Francis said from the window of the Apostolic Palace.

“I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare us to live this event of grace well and to experience the power of God’s hope. That is why today we begin a Year of Prayer.”

The pope said that the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization will publish resources to help Catholic communities to more fully participate in the Year of Prayer. The Holy See Press Office has also announced that a press conference on the Year of Prayer will take place on Jan. 23.

The Vatican and the city of Rome are expecting an estimated 35 million people to flock to the Eternal City for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope — the first ordinary jubilee since the Great Jubilee of 2000.

A jubilee is a special holy year of grace and pilgrimage in the Catholic Church. It typically takes place once every 25 years, though the pope can call for extraordinary jubilee years more often, such as in the case of the 2016 Year of Mercy or the 2013 Year of Faith.

Jubilees have biblical roots. The Book of Leviticus called for jubilee years to be held every 50 years for the freeing of slaves and forgiveness of debts as manifestations of God’s mercy. The practice was reestablished by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300.

The 2025 Jubilee Year begins on Dec. 24, 2024 (Christmas Eve), and concludes on Jan. 6, 2026.

The Holy Doors are a central part of any jubilee. These doors, found at St. Peter’s Basilica and Rome’s other major basilicas, are sealed from the inside and opened during a jubilee year.

The opening of the Holy Door symbolizes the offering of an “extraordinary path” toward salvation for Catholics during a jubilee. Pilgrims who walk through a Holy Door can receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions.

Pope Francis announced the Year of Prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace after presiding over Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Sunday of the Word of God.

In his reflection on Sunday’s Gospel in his Angelus address, Pope Francis said that “the Lord loves to involve us in his work of salvation.”

“Bringing God’s salvation to everyone was for Jesus the greatest joy, his mission, the meaning of his existence … And in every word and deed with which we join with him in the beautiful adventure of giving love, light, and joy multiply not only around us but also within us,” he said.

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