(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis reached out to over a million young people gathered at Krakow's Blonia Park on Thursday urging them to share God's merciful love.He was speaking during a welcome ceremony for young people attending the 31st World Youth Day in a giant park near Krakow.Vatican Radio's Lydia O'Kane is in Krakow with Pope Francis and sent us this report: Despite persistent rain at Blonia meadows, nothing could dampen the spirits of the over 1 million World Youth Day pilgrims who had gathered to be with Pope Francis.The Pope arrived to this welcome ceremony by tram which had been especially customised for the occasion in the Vatican colours of yellow and white.His final stop was at Blonia and as he entered these grounds the party really got started. Taking to the podium the Pope was welcomed by a group of young people in a number of languages.Then the Holy Father was treated to an evening which included traditional Polish dance, vibrant songs and the p...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis reached out to over a million young people gathered at Krakow's Blonia Park on Thursday urging them to share God's merciful love.
He was speaking during a welcome ceremony for young people attending the 31st World Youth Day in a giant park near Krakow.
Vatican Radio's Lydia O'Kane is in Krakow with Pope Francis and sent us this report:
Despite persistent rain at Blonia meadows, nothing could dampen the spirits of the over 1 million World Youth Day pilgrims who had gathered to be with Pope Francis.
The Pope arrived to this welcome ceremony by tram which had been especially customised for the occasion in the Vatican colours of yellow and white.
His final stop was at Blonia and as he entered these grounds the party really got started. Taking to the podium the Pope was welcomed by a group of young people in a number of languages.
Then the Holy Father was treated to an evening which included traditional Polish dance, vibrant songs and the presentation of the images of a number of saints from the continents represented at this youth event
Against the backdrop of Jesus, Divine Mercy and drawings of the patrons of this World Youth Day, St John Paul II and St Faustina Kowalska, Pope Francis told the youth of the world gathered that, “mercy has a youthful face” adding, “we are going to make this World Youth Day an authentic Jubilee celebration.”
The Pope then told them that in his years as a bishop, he learned one thing. “Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the enthusiasm, dedication, zeal and energy with which so many young people live their lives.”
He also underlined that it pained him to meet young people who seemed to have “thrown in the towel”.
To find fulfilment, to gain new strength, there is a way, Pope Francis said. “His name is Jesus Christ.”
As this welcome ceremony drew to a close it seemed that the youth here where determined to take Pope Francis at his words from the night before, to do what young people do, to go out during these nights and make noise.
A Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish procession honoring the patroness of Cuba on Sept. 7, 2023. / Credit: Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Havana, CubaACI Prensa Staff, Mar 28, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).The regime of President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba has prohibited several Holy Week processions in different cities of the country, including the El Vedado area of Havana as well as in Bayamo, a town that was the scene of major protests earlier this month.Last week, ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, reported on the prohibition of processions in the Diocese of the Most Holy Savior located in the Bayamo-Manzanillo area in the province of Granma, due to the regime's fear that new protests would break out. The prohibition has been extended to the capital, Havana, according to a Catholic priest.In a March 25 Facebook post, Father Lester Zayas, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the El Vedado business district of Havana, reported that the day before he had been notifie...
The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord's Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David's tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. / Credit: Marinella BandiniJerusalem, Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. In this "Upper Room," called the Cenacle in the Holy Land, Jesus had his Last Supper, washed his apostles' feet, and instituted the Eucharist. It was here that the Franciscans celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper, reenacting those same gestures. (At the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher,...
The Oregon State Capitol in Salem. / Credit: Zack Frank/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is reporting a significant rise in assisted suicide prescriptions and deaths in the state, a move that comes after authorities in 2022 began allowing out-of-state residents to access the lethal services.Since the state's passage of the "Death with Dignity Act" in 1997, assisted suicide numbers have been generally rising there, with a markedly sharp uptick since 2013. OHA on March 20 released its 2023 assisted suicide data summary that reported a considerable increase in suicide prescriptions in 2023. The study found that assisted suicide prescriptions in the state rose from 433 in 2022 to 560 last year.Of those 560 prescriptions, 367 people are known to have died from ingesting the suicide "medications." This is up from the 304 who died from assisted suicide drugs in Oregon in 2022.Over half, or 56%, of the assisted ...