Pope Francis

In this image released by the Vatican Media news service, Pope Francis touches the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI after his funeral mass in St.

The last time a sitting pope had led a funeral for an earlier pope was in 1802. Francis used many biblical references and Church writings in the service. Lowering his head in prayer, Francis briefly touched the casket. He only named Benedict once at the service attended by 50,000 people. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has led the funeral of former leader, Pope Benedict XVI. That includes three of the last five popes.

Benedict XVI, the theologian who became the first pope to resign in nearly six centuries, is being buried on Thursday after a funeral on the steps of St.

The service, with a sitting pope presiding over his predecessor’s funeral, marks the end of an unusual arrangement. Peter’s Basilica presided over by Pope Francis. Pope Francis, his successor is the first pope to preside over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has been laid to rest in Vatican City in the first funeral ever conducted by a sitting pope for his predecessor.

Peter’s Basilica, where he was buried, concluding the somber funeral and the nearly decade-long chapter during which there were two men in white robes at the Vatican. Peter’s Square for the Mass, which was conducted in a manner similar to how it would be for a sitting pope. The body of Pope Emeritus Benedict was carried before crowds in a traditional cypress wood coffin Thursday morning and placed before the ancient St.

Pope Francis will preside Thursday over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI at the Vatican, an unprecedented event in modern times expected to draw tens ...

His successor had his remains exhumed and brought back to Italy, before he was treated to a papal funeral at St Peter’s. The only official delegations are from Germany and Italy. He was made a saint in 2014. to learn his faith,” said Cristina Grisanti, a 59-year-old from Milan who arrived at 5:30 am. When he quit, Benedict said he longer had the “strength of mind and body” necessary for the task, retiring to a quiet life in a monastery in the Vatican gardens. Almost a decade after Benedict became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign, his successor will deliver the homily in the vast St Peter’s Square before his body is laid in the papal tombs beneath St Peter’s Basilica.

In his short Angelus catechesis, the Argentine Pontiff turned the story of the Magi's arrival to Bethlehem on its head.

He urged Christians to “never tire” of asking for the gift of discernment. Peter’s Basilica on the feast of the Epiphany, Pope Francis came to the window of the Apostolic Palace to recite the Marian prayer with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, many of whom were in costumes for the feast day.

The Pope quoted an Epiphany homily by the late Benedict XVI, whose funeral he presided over yesterday.

“The purpose of everything is not to achieve a personal goal or to receive glory for ourselves, but to encounter God. Catholics will celebrate the Epiphany this year on Jan. What hidden opportunities are present in the midst of my crises and my sufferings?” 6, but Catholic dioceses in the United States mark the feast on the Sunday that falls between Jan. In his homily for the Church’s celebration of the Three Kings on Jan. The solemnity is traditionally celebrated on Jan.

The Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi — also known as the Three Wise Men or Three Kings — who came with gifts to worship the ...

We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. The pope also asked people to pray for “the battered population of Ukraine.” let us love God and not bow down before passing things and evil thoughts, seductive yet hollow and empty,” he said. For God calls every day, here and now, in our world.” The Solemnity of the Epiphany is traditionally celebrated on Jan. Peter's Square for the Angelus.

Ahead of the Angelus prayer on the feast of the Epiphany, Pope Francis reflects on the gifts God gives the Magi as they persevere in seeking His Son ...

We, too, he added, must learn how to “renounce what seduces” and choose God’s ways through the gift of discernment. “They knew how to distinguish between the goal of their journey and the temptations they found along the way,” said the Pope. God’s first gift to the Magi was “the call”, in which He employed their search and study of the stars to invite them to set out on a journey toward God’s Son.

Pope Francis publishes the new Apostolic Constitution 'In Ecclesiarum Communione', which reorganizes the Vicariate of Rome by strengthening the role ...

The Episcopal Council must also give its approval for the appointment of chaplains, church rectors and those responsible for pastoral services. New and very detailed rules also apply to procedures for choosing new parish priests, whose "spiritual, psychological, intellectual, pastoral characteristics and experience in previous service, if any, must also be evaluated." In detailing the 45 articles of the Constitution, the Pope dwells on the hierarchical figures of the Vicariate: Cardinal Vicar, Vicegerent and auxiliary bishops. The Pope will preside over it when it meets at least three times a month: "The agenda for each meeting must be sent to me as soon as possible," Francis stipulates. "In Ecclesiarum Communione" strengthens the role of the Episcopal Council, which becomes the "primary agent of Synodality" and "the high-level place for discernment and pastoral and administrative decisions". The new Apostolic Constitution features greater collegiality and a increased presence of the Pope, as Bishop of Rome, in every important pastoral, administrative and economic decision of regarding the Diocese of Rome.

'The Magi in fact did not simply study the heavens and contemplate the light of the star; they set out on a journey full of risks, without safe roads and ...

Brothers and sisters, let us open our hearts to restlessness, let us ask for the courage to continue our journey, and let us finish in worship! Let us not be afraid, for this is the path of the Magi, the path of all the saints throughout history: to welcome our restlessness, to set out and to worship. We have lost the sense of worship because we have lost our restless questioning and have lost the courage to continue on our journey with all its risks. Like the Magi, let us fall down and entrust ourselves to God in the wonder of worship. Finally, after restless questioning and the risk of journeying, the third place where we encounter the Lord is in the wonder of worship. Let us remind ourselves that a static faith does not grow; we cannot enclose faith in some personal devotion or confine it within the four walls of our churches; we need to bring it outside and to live it in a constant journey towards God and towards our brothers and sisters. We need to become disciples, following Jesus and his Gospel, bringing everything to him in prayer, seeking him in the events of our daily lives and in the faces of our brothers and sisters. He is present in the silence that troubles us in the face of death and the end of all human grandeur. The danger is that we sedate our hearts, sedate our souls in order to quell our inner restlessness. The Magi in fact did not simply study the heavens and contemplate the light of the star; they set out on a journey full of risks, without safe roads and clear maps. Where do I find a love that does not fade away, a love that endures even in the face of frailty, failure and betrayal? For the Magi, that was the beginning: the restlessness of those willing to ask questions.

By Devin Watkins. As the Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord on Friday, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, ...

Personal devotion and even consistent Mass attendance are not enough to allow our faith to grow. Peter’s Basilica, and reflected on the journey of the Magi. “Questioning, including spiritual questioning, can lead to frustration and desolation,” he said, “unless we embark upon a journey, unless we turn ourselves, in the depths of our being, to the face of God and the beauty of His word.”

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was laid to rest just before noon (Rome time) on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in the crypt underneath St. Peter's Basilica at the ...

They also address the criticism that Pope Francis’ homily did not sufficiently eulogize and recognize the legacy of the former pope. From the time of his resignation until his death, Benedict had led a life of relative quiet and contemplation at a monastery inside the Vatican. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, where the mortal remains of many pontiffs reside.