September 9, 2019

Tomorrow, September 10, Pope Francis returns to Rome after a six-day apostolic trip to the east African nation of Mozambique and the nearby island nations of Madagascar and Mauritius—the “Three M’s” of the Indian Ocean. Apostolic is another word for papal or having to do with the pope. Throughout the trip, enthusiastic crowds turned out to welcome the pope, who travelled to the three nations as “a pilgrim of peace, hope, and reconciliation.” Francis has been leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.

Pope Francis is concluding a trip to Mozambique, Madagascar, and Mauritius. Credit: © Giulio Napolitano, Shutterstock

On September 4, Francis arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, where about 40 percent of the people are Catholic. (Madagascar and Mauritius have Catholic populations of roughly 30 percent.) On September 5, the pope visited Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi at the Palácio da Ponta Vermelha (Palace of the Red Point), the president’s official residence. Francis then met with civil and religious authorities and members of the diplomatic corps. He hosted an interreligious prayer meeting with young people before paying a private visit to the “Matthew 25″ House, which helps homeless and impoverished children. On September 6, Francis visited Zimpeto Hospital and celebrated Mass before some 60,000 people at Zimpeto Stadium. (Zimpeto is an area of Maputo.) He then departed for Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.

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Maputo is at the southern tip of Mozambique. Madagascar lies across the Mozambique Channel. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

On September 7, Francis visited President Andry Rajoelina at the Iavoloha Palace just outside Antananarivo. Formal meetings then preceded a prayer service at the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites and a visit to the tomb of the Blessed Victoire Rasoamanarivo (1848-1894), a Malagasy woman who dedicated her life to helping the poor of Madagascar. Pope John Paul II beatified Rasoamanarivo (declared her among the blessed in heaven) in 1989. On Sept. 8, 2019, Pope Francis celebrated Mass before visiting the Akamasoa City of Friendship foundation for the poor. He led a prayer for workers and met with religious officials before leaving for Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, on September 9.

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Port Louis lies on the west coast of Mauritius. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Francis began his day (today) in Mauritius with a Mass at the Monument of Mary Queen of Peace in Port Louis. The pope then visited the shrine of the French Catholic priest and missionary Père Jacques-Désiré Laval (1803-1864). Laval (also beatified by John Paul II) dedicated his life to helping the poor and sick of Mauritius, and his shrine is said to have miraculous qualities. The day of Laval’s death, September 9—the day of the pope’s visit—is a special day of celebration and reverence for Catholics of the region. Francis then met with Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and acting President Barlen Vyapoory before returning by plane to Antananarivo. Tomorrow, September 10, a final ceremony at Ivato International Airport precedes his scheduled return flight to the Vatican in Rome.

Francis is from Argentina. He is the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. Jesuits are members of a religious order called the Society of Jesus. Francis is known for his commitment to social justice, especially for the poor; his humble lifestyle; and his conservative religious beliefs. Francis visited Panama for World Youth Day in January 2019, and in February he became the first pope to visit the United Arab Emirates. Francis travelled to Morocco in March and to the Balkan states of Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Romania in May and June.

September 5, 2018

On Sunday, August 26, Pope Francis concluded a weekend apostolic trip to Dublin, Ireland, where he attended the triennial World Meet of Families. Apostolic is another word for papal or having to do with the pope. Throughout the weekend, enthusiastic crowds turned out to welcome the pope, who is popular in traditionally Roman Catholic Ireland.

Pope Francis greets worshippers before delivering a Mass at Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 26, 2018. Credit: © Stephen McCarthy, Getty Images

The World Meeting of Families brings together Catholics to celebrate the roles of marriage and the family “as the cornerstone of our lives, of society, and of the Church.” The first such meeting was hosted by Pope John Paul II in Rome in 1994. The meetings have since taken place every three years, and each has included the sitting pope. Pope Francis attended his first World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in 2015. This year’s event in Dublin was themed “The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World.”

On Saturday, August 25, Francis flew to Dublin, the Irish capital, and met with President Michael Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin, the official presidential residence. The pope then met with dignitaries at Dublin Castle, visited St. Mary’s Church, spoke with the poor at the Day Centre of the Capuchin Fathers, and delivered a speech for the Festival of Families at Croke Park Stadium.

On Sunday morning, Francis flew to the small town of Knock in northwest Ireland. He visited the Knock Shrine where, in 1879, some children claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary. Knock has been a place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics ever since. The pope returned to Dublin, then, where he delivered a Mass before some 200,000 people—far fewer than expected—at Phoenix Park. He then met with bishops at the Convent of the Dominican Sisters before boarding a plane and returning to the Vatican in Rome. 

Francis is from Argentina and has been leader of the church since 2013. He is the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. Jesuits are members of a religious order called the Society of Jesus. Francis is known for his commitment to social justice, especially for the poor; his humble lifestyle; and his conservative religious beliefs. Francis visited Chile and Peru in January 2018, and he stopped briefly in Switzerland in June. He will visit the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia later in September. The only other papal visit to Ireland was made by John Paul II in 1979.

January 23, 2018

On Sunday, January 21, Pope Francis (Papa Francisco in Spanish) departed Lima, Peru, concluding an apostolic journey that began in Santiago, Chile, on January 15. Apostolic is another word for papal or having to do with the pope. Throughout the journey, enthusiastic crowds turned out to welcome the pope, who is particularly popular in the traditionally Roman Catholic nations of Latin America. Francis is from Argentina and has been leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.

Pope Francis smiles and waves from the popemobile as he leaves the Señor de los Milagros Sanctuary in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 21, 2018. Credit: © Luka Gonzales, Getty Images

The Chile portion of the trip was themed “Mi paz les doy” (“I give you my peace”); the Peru theme was “Unidos por la esperanza” (“United by hope”). In both countries, the Pope addressed recent sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Francis also stressed the importance of protecting the environment, and discouraged the increasing tide of secularization (the removal of religion from people’s everyday lives). In Chile, the number of people calling themselves Catholics fell to 45 percent in 2017, a drop from 74 percent in 1995. In Peru, only about 5 percent of Catholics regularly attend weekly church services.

On Tuesday, January 16, Francis met with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet at La Moneda, the presidential palace in Santiago, the capital, and held an outdoor Mass at the city’s O’Higgins Park. The next day, the pope flew to the southern city of Temuco, where he celebrated Mass and lunched with indigenous Mapuche leaders before returning to Santiago. On January 18, Francis held a Mass at Lobito beach in the northern port city of Iquique before flying north to Lima, the Peruvian capital. On Friday, the pope met with indigenous leaders in the the southeastern Amazon city of Puerto Maldonado before returning to Lima, where he met with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

On Saturday, January 20, Francis flew to the northwestern coastal city of Trujillo for a Mass at Huanchaco beach and a city tour in the popemobile. In Trujillo’s Plaza de Armas, he hosted a celebration of Our Lady of La Puerta and delivered a speech before returning to Lima. On Sunday, January 21, the pope met with local dignitaries at Lima Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace. After a Mass before more than 1 million people at Las Palmas Air Base, Francis boarded a plane and returned to the Vatican in Rome.

Francis is the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. Jesuits are members of a religious order called the Society of Jesus. Francis is known for his commitment to social justice, especially for the poor; his humble lifestyle; and his conservative religious beliefs. This was his sixth visit to Latin America since becoming pope. His previous stops were in Brazil; Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay; Cuba; Mexico; and Colombia. The last pope to visit Chile and Peru was St. John Paul II, who made trips to Peru in 1985 and 1988 and to Chile in 1987.

September 8, 2017

On Wednesday, September 6, Pope Francis (Papa Francisco in Spanish) arrived in Bogotá, Colombia, for a five-day apostolic journey to the South American nation. Apostolic is another word for papal or having to do with the pope. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to welcome the pope, who is particularly popular in the mostly Roman Catholic nations of Latin America. Francis is from Argentina and has been leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.

Pope Francis and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos talk during ceremonies at Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace in Bogotá, Colombia, on Sept.7, 2017. Credit: © Raul Arboleda, AFP/Getty Images

Yesterday, September 7, Francis met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace in Bogotá, where he congratulated the Nobel Peace Prize winner on ending a decades-long civil war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The FARC formed in the mid-1960′s as a guerrilla group with Communist ideals. Santos oversaw a peace process that culminated in a historic treaty with the FARC in November 2016. A month later, Santos accepted an invitation from Francis and visited the pope at Vatican City. The pope then promised to go to Colombia in return.

The theme of Francis’s Colombian journey is Demos el primer paso (Take the first step), a reference to the peacemaking process in Colombia—which is not yet complete. Violent drug cartels still reign in pockets of the country, and a second revolutionary group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), is still conducting peace talks with the government.

Yesterday afternoon, Francis visited the Catedral Primada (Primary Cathedral) in Bogotá’s teeming Bolívar Square, and he delivered a blessing from the the Cardinal’s Palace next door. Francis then held an outdoor Mass before more than 1 million worshipers at the city’s Simon Bolívar Park. Today, September 8, Pope Francis is in the central city of Villavicencio for a Mass and the beatification of Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve and Pedro María Ramírez Ramos, priests who were both assassinated during times of violence in Colombia. Beatification is the declaration by papal decree that a dead person is among the blessed in heaven and deserves religious honor.

Tomorrow, Francis’s visit to the northwestern city of Medellín will include a Mass and a stop at the Hogar San José orphanage. Francis will wrap up the apostolic journey on Sunday in the Caribbean coast city of Cartagena, where events will include services at the church and plaza of San Pedro Claver. The church contains the preserved remains of San Pedro Claver (1581-1654), a priest who dedicated his life to helping enslaved peoples of Spanish America. He is the patron saint of slaves and also a patron saint of the nation of Colombia.

Francis is the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. Jesuits are members of a religious order called the Society of Jesus. Francis is known for his commitment to social justice, especially for the poor; his humble lifestyle; and his conservative religious beliefs. This was his fifth visit to Latin America since becoming pope. His previous stops were in Brazil; Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay; Cuba; and Mexico.

December 9, 2015

Pope Francis yesterday marked the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy by opening the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The door usually is bricked over between Jubilees, holy years when the consequences for sinning are thought to be lessened or cancelled. The current Jubilee, which began on December 8 and will end Nov. 20, 2016, is dedicated to the themes of mercy and forgiveness. Its start coincided with the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, as well as the 50th anniversary of the end of Vatican Council II, a council of bishops that enacted progressive reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Holy Door is the northern entrance at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It is bricked over and only opened for Jubilee years in Vatican City. Credit: © Alexander Mazurkevich, Shutterstock

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Saint Peter’s Square to mark the event, which followed a Roman Catholic Mass. Prominent attendees included Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and members of Belgium’s royal family. The event took place in an atmosphere of extra security, including a no-fly zone, in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015.

Opening the Holy Doors of Rome’s cathedrals during Jubilees has been a Roman Catholic tradition for hundreds of years. Passing through the doors gives a person an indulgence, a freeing from punishment for sin. Jubilee years historically have drawn many pilgrims to Rome. In 2015, Pope Francis introduced a new practice. Cathedrals and other places of worship outside Rome were allowed to designate Holy Doors so that more Catholics could participate in the Jubilee at home. During the December 8 Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis said of the Holy Door: “To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them.”

Since being elected pope in 2013, Francis has fostered the idea of a church that is less judgmental and more forgiving, open, and understanding. For the Jubilee, Francis planned to send specially chosen priests throughout the world as “missionaries of mercy” to forgive even serious sins ordinarily forgivable only by the Holy See (office of the pope). Francis also authorized parish priests to absolve (declare free from sin) women who have had an abortion, though the church still considers abortion a serious sin.

Jubilees have their origin in Jewish tradition from Biblical times. The Christian tradition of Jubilees dates back to 1300. The last Roman Catholic Jubilee was held in 2000.

Additional World Book articles:

• Religion (1933) – A Back in Time article
• Religion (1934) – A Back in Time article
• Roman Catholic Church (2001) – A Back in Time article
• Roman Catholic Church (2014) – A Back in Time article

September 28, 2015

Pope Francis, shown here greeting the crowd from a balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City in 2013, made his first visit to the United States last week. AP Photo

Last week, the pope arrived in New York City on Thursday evening, September 24, and held evening prayers at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan. The next day, September 25, Francis began his day at the United Nations, where he spoke to the General Assembly. Much of the pope’s UN speech concerned the environment and social justice. Francis remarked to the General Assembly:

“The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species. The baneful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the global economy, guided only by ambition for wealth and power, must serve as a summons to a forthright reflection on man….”

After leaving the UN, Francis held an ecumenical service at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and visited a Roman Catholic grade school in East Harlem before saying Mass at Madison Square Garden for a crowd of some 20,000 people. The pope’s message in his sermon was again about the forgotten and marginalized of society and the need for justice for all.

On Saturday, September 26, Francis arrived in Philadelphia. After holding a Mass for clergy at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, he spoke at Independence Hall, the scene of some of the most important events in American history, on religious freedom and immigration. He reminded Americans that the principles on which their nation was founded must be “constantly reaffirmed.” To Hispanic Americans in the crowd, Francis, himself the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, remarked, “I ask you not to forget that, like those who came before you, you bring many gifts to your new nation.” 

On his final day in the United States, September 27, Francis visited a seminary (school for future priests) just outside of Philadelphia and a prison in Philadelphia. Afterward, one million people lined Benjamin Franklin Parkway to cheer for the pontiff as he traveled by popemobile to his last public event. At this open-air Mass outside the Philadelphia Art Museum, Francis called on everyone to see their families and homes as “domestic churches” and to act with tenderness and compassion in this personal setting.

Sunday evening, Francis ended his historic visit and returned to Rome.

Other Behind the headline article:

• Francis in Cuba (Sept. 22, 2015)
• Francis in Washington, D.C. (Sept. 25, 2015)

September 24, 2015

After meeting with Cuba’s President Raul Castro in the Revolution Palace in Havana, Cuba, on September 20, Pope Francis is now in the United States, making stops in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia. Credit: © Tony Gentile, AP Photo

In his first visit to the United States, Pope Francis arrived at an Air Force base outside Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, September 22. There he was met by U.S. President Barack Obama and the First Family, Vice President Joe Biden and his family, Roman Catholic schoolchildren, and many clergy members of the Roman Catholic Church. After a brief meeting with President Obama, the pope climbed into a small Fiat hatchback (instead of a limousine) and traveled to his place of residence during his time in the capital, the home of the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States.

Yesterday, September 23, President Obama held a welcoming ceremony for the pontiff (pope) on the South Lawn of the White House. He then appeared in a parade and met with Catholic bishops. The largest event of the day was a Mass said by the pope at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. During this service, Francis canonized Junípero Serra (1713-1784), a Franciscan missionary who in 1769 founded the first mission in present-day California. This was the first canonization (proclaiming a person to be a saint in the Church) ever held in the United States. It was not without controversy. American Indian groups protested that Serra and the missions he helped found were responsible for the deaths of many Native American peoples.

Today, the pope addressed a joint meeting of Congress. The event filled the House of Representatives and thousands watched it on huge televisions set up on the lawn of the Capitol. Francis spoke on such topics as climate change and the environment, poverty and income inequality, and immigration. About the latter, he stated:

“In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.”

This evening, the pope leaves for New York City where we will address the UN General Assembly and say Mass at Madison Square Garden.

Other Behind the headline article

• Francis in Cuba (September 22, 2015)

September 22, 2015

Pope Francis stands with Cuba’s president, Raúl Castro, in the Revolution Palace in Havana, Cuba, on September 20, 2015. Francis and Castro met in Cuba’s seat of government for a state meeting. Credit: © Tony Gentile, AP Photo

Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Monday, September 21, before more than 100,000 people in the eastern Cuban city of Holguín. Francis arrived in the Caribbean nation on Saturday, September 19, meeting with President Raúl Castro and his famous older brother, Fidel. Francis held Mass on Sunday in Havana’s Revolution Square, the scene of many blustery Castro speeches in the past. The Pope’s visit came at a time of political change between Cuba and the United States—change brought on largely by Francis himself. The Pope played an important intermediary role in the rapprochement (renewal of friendly relations) between the two countries earlier this year. For the first time since 1961, Cuba and the United States have open embassies in each other’s capital cities—Havana and Washington, D.C., respectively.

A native of Argentina, Francis and his words carry tremendous weight throughout largely Catholic Latin America. Huge crowds of people attended his spiritual sermons, but—to the disappointment of some anti-Castro dissidents—Francis was careful not to directly criticize the Cuban government. He did, however, get in a few veiled shots. Francis targeted the Communist—rather than “Christian”—ideals that have dominated Cuba since 1959.  “Service is never ideological,” he said, “for we do not serve ideas. We serve people.” He also offered an embrace to all “those who, for various reasons, I will not be able to meet,” a reference to political prisoners, exiles, and others unable to freely attend the papal gatherings. Today, Pope Francis leaves Cuba for the United States.

Other World Book articles and Behind the headlines

• Cuba In From the Cold-July 21, 2015
• The Cold War’s Last Front: The United States and Cuba (2000-a Special report)
• Cuba (1958-a Back in time article)
• Cuba (1959-a Back in time article)
• Cuba (1962-a Back in time article)

April 1, 2015

The Vatican announced this week that Pope Francis is sending his personal envoy to Iraq for Holy Week. (In 2015, Holy Week for Western Christians began last Sunday, Palm Sunday, on March 29, and will end on Easter Sunday, April 5.)  The pope’s envoy carries with him a gift from the diocese of Rome, Easter cake for refugees. This special cake, known as Colomba cake, is a traditional Italian sweet formed into the shape of a dove that symbolizes peace.

Colomba cake is a traditional Italian sweet served at Easter. (Credit: © Enzo De Bernardo, Shutter-stock)

Cardinal Fernanado Filoni traveled to Iraq last August as the personal envoy of Francis. He is traveling to Iraq again, to Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, to convey the pope’s concern for the plight of the region’s Christians and people of other minorities.

Since the summer of 2014, when the militant group Islamic State (ISIS) overran large areas of Iraq, some 125,000 Iraqi Christians have been forced to flee their homes. The city of Arbil forms a safe zone for both Christians and Yazidis, both groups that ISIS would like to remove from the area they consider a part of their caliphate. Christians and Yazidis have inhabited areas of Iraq for thousands of years. However, ISIS’s treatment of religious minorities—including killings by burning and beheading, torture, and enslavement—has instilled fear and may have permanently emptied many areas of such minorities.

Other World Book article:

• Iraq (2014-a Back in time article)

December 18, 2014

The United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century, U.S. President Barack Obama announced yesterday in a nationally televised statement from the White House. The agreement to set aside more than 50 years of hostility and forge a new relationship between the United States and Cuba was negotiated during 18 months of secret talks fostered by Pope Francis and largely hosted by Canada.

Pope Francis (AP Photo)

On December 16, President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro of Cuba spoke for more than 45 minutes by telephone. “We agreed to end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries,” stated President Obama. [The deal will] “begin a new a chapter among the nations of the Americas” [and move beyond] “rigid policy that’s rooted in events that took place before most of us were born.” The warming between the two countries came with the release of an American contractor, Alan P. Gross, who has held in a Cuban prison for five years. Cuba exchanged the contractor for three Cuban spies who had been in an American prison since 2001.

U.S. President Barack Obama (White House photo)

Raúl Castro, left, with his brother Fidel Castro. © Reuters/Landov

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961 after the government of Fidel Castro had seized various U.S.-owned assets in Cuba and nationalized them. The United States had placed an economic embargo on Cuba three months earlier. The embargo banned nearly all U.S. exports to the island nation. It has been in place for 53 years. Before the boycott, Cuba–which is only 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Key West, Florida–was a favorite destination of American tourists.

Additional World Book articles:

• Bay of Pigs Invasion
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Cold War’s Last Front: The United States and Cuba
• Cuba 1960 (a Back in Time article)
• Cuba 1961 (a Back in Time article)
• Cuba 1962 (a Back in Time article)