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Missionaries of Mercy gather in Rome as Pope Francis praises their ‘ministry of forgiveness’

March 29, 2025 Catholic News Agency 1
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.”

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Pope Francis’ pandemic prayer 5 years later: ‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’

March 27, 2025 Catholic News Agency 6
Pope Francis gives an extraordianry urbi et orbi blessing in St. Peter’s Square, March 27, 2020. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Mar 27, 2025 / 19:00 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ historic “Statio Orbis” blessing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic remains relevant for the Church as it did five years ago. Before an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis held Eucharistic adoration and gave an extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Holy Hour on March 27, 2020, included a reading from the Gospel and a meditation by Pope Francis, who spoke about faith and trust in God during a time when people fear for their lives, as did the disciples when their boat was caught in a violent storm.

Pope Francis gives an extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing from the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica on March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis gives an extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing from the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica on March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media

During the special moment of prayer on March 27, 2020, the Holy Father spoke about faith amid crisis — “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

These powerful words were a papal refrain throughout his 2020 address before an empty St. Peter’s Square.

“‘Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?’ Lord, your word this evening strikes us and regards us, all of us. In this world, that you love more than we do, we have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything. Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things and lured away by haste,” he prayed.

Pope Francis implored people to believe in God’s presence during the time of COVID-19 when he spoke of Jesus’ reaction to the cry of the disciples: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” recorded in chapter 4 of St. Mark’s Gospel.

Pope Francis speaks in an empty St. Peter's Square during a Holy Hour and extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis speaks in an empty St. Peter’s Square during a Holy Hour and extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media

The pandemic’s impact on the life of the Church is yet to be fully researched and understood.

Recent studies from around the world suggest a decline in Church attendance in some regions. A new Pew study shows thousands of people have chosen to leave behind the religion of their childhood in some of the traditionally Catholic countries such as Italy and Spain.

At the same time, the study acknowledges the report’s figures “are not necessarily representative of the entire world’s population.”

A growing Church

While religious belief and practice may seem to be weakening in some parts of the world, the Holy Father’s “Statio Orbis” prayer five years ago can still resonate with millions of people of faith who trust and hope in God’s presence in times of world suffering and hardship.

According to the Vatican’s 2025 Annuario Pontificio, the Catholic Church has grown worldwide after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the highest growth recorded in Africa.

Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter's Square during his urbi et orbi blessing on March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his urbi et orbi blessing on March 27, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media

Between 2022 and 2023, the global Catholic population has grown from approximately 1.39 billion Catholics to 1.406 billion in the last two years. In Africa alone, the Catholic population increased by 3.31%, from 272 million in 2022 to 281 million in 2023. 

As Pope Francis said on this day five years ago: “You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: ‘Do not be afraid’ (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, ‘cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us’ (cf. 1 Pt 5:7).”

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