Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience on Feb. 5, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2025 / 09:18 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday encouraged Christians to continu… […]
Catholic Charities USA President Kerry Alys Robinson / Credit: Catholic Charities USA
CNA Newsroom, Mar 30, 2025 / 09:02 am (CNA).
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A monumental cross towers above the Valley of the Fallen complex. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Madrid, Spain, Mar 30, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
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The proposed restoration of the frontage of the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Détroit. / Credit: Pulte Family Charitable Foundation
CNA Staff, Mar 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
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Pope Francis looks out at the crowd gathered below his hospital window at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media / Screenshot
CNA Newsroom, Mar 29, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).
As hundreds of Missionaries of Mercy gathered in Rome this weekend, Pope Francis commended their distinctive ministry of forgiveness and reconciliation that continues to flourish worldwide.
Approximately 500 priests are participating in a special jubilee dedicated to their role as part of the broader 2025 Jubilee of Hope.
In a message addressed to these priests, and written while still in hospital, Pope Francis expressed his “gratitude and encouragement” for their work as special confessors who possess faculties to absolve certain sins typically reserved to the Holy See.
“Through your service,” the pontiff wrote, “you bear witness to the paternal face of God, infinitely great in love, who calls everyone to conversion and constantly renews us with His forgiveness.”
The missonaries’ March 28-30 gathering included training sessions, communal prayer, and a pilgrimage through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis reflected on the profound connection between mercy and hope in his message. “Conversion and forgiveness are the two caresses with which the Lord wipes every tear from our eyes,” he stated. “They are the hands with which the Church embraces us sinners; they are the feet on which we walk in our earthly pilgrimage.”
The Holy Father encouraged these priests to maintain a compassionate approach in their ministry, urging them to be “attentive in listening, ready in welcoming, and steadfast in accompanying those who desire to renew their lives and return to the Lord.”
First commissioned during the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, these priests have seen their mandate extended twice by Pope Francis. Their numbers have grown substantially, now surpassing 1,250 worldwide, with approximately 100 serving in the United States.
In Spes Non Confundit, the papal bull of indiction for the 2025 jubilee year, Pope Francis wrote that Missionaries of Mercy should “exercise their ministry by reviving hope and offering forgiveness whenever a sinner comes to them with an open heart and a penitent spirit.”
The pontiff concluded his message to the missionaries with a blessing and his customary request: “Please, do not forget to pray for me.”
Speakers present at the briefing presenting the report “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” by the Rossing Center on March 27, 2025. From left to right: Hana Bendcowsky, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relat… […]
Mural of Archbishop Oscar Romero, / Credit: Douglas Radamez Barahona, Giovani Ascencio Ardón and Raul Lemus- Grupo Cinteupiltzin CENAR El Salvador (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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Bishop Christian Carlassare (center), President Salva Kiir (left), and Dr. Riek Machar (right). / Credit: Catholic Diocese of Rumbek/Office of the President – Republic of South Sudan
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Launched in March 2025, St. Claret Maternity Center in the Nyabwina village serves the local region in the Sheema/Mbarara District of Uganda. / Credit: MaterCare International
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