On Sunday, January 18, Pope Francis met with the young people of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. Below you will find the full text of his address, along with the Welcome Message of the Encounter with Youth, given by Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian, Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Youth. Welcome Message to ...read more

For the last couple of weeks we’ve been talking about Vocations. We’ve looked at what it means to be called and how to discern that call. We also looked at the Church’s four Vocations: Ordained Life, Religious Life, Single Life and Married Life. Last week we concluded by seeing some of the more complex teachings ...read more

On Saturday, January 17, Pope Francis met with Priests, Religious, Seminarians and Families at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of our Lord in Palo, Leyte. Below you can the full text of the Holy Father’s address, along with Archbishop John Du’s Presentation of the Delegates address. Presentation of the Delegates by Archbishop John Du January 17, ...read more

Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the grounds of the airport in Tacloban City, Philippines, on Saturday morning. An estimated 500 thousand people braved wind and often driving rain to take part in the liturgy. Putting aside his prepared text for the homily, the Holy Father spoke to the gathered faithful in his native Spanish. Below, ...read more

badassery [MASS NOUN] North American informal Behaviour, characteristics, or actions regarded as formidably impressive: few of us can attain her level of badassery The other day I read an article that used the word ‘badassery’. I couldn’t believe it: had the word finally crossed the Rubicon and become a legitimate word? I checked the Oxford dictionary. Yup, there it was. That got me thinking: ...read more

It is not unheard of for non-Catholics to visit Catholic churches and shrines. It is less common to have non-Catholics visit those sites, pray alongside the faithful and claim to have received graces through the experience. Sri Lanka’s Madhu Shrine is such a site, and it had a profound effect on Pope Francis. The shrine ...read more

Welcome message of Bishop Gabriel Reyes, Bishop of Antipolo and President of the Episcopal Commission for the Family, during the Encounter of Pope Francis with Filipino families on January 16, 2015. Most Holy Father, Welcome home! This is your home. We are your children and you are our father. The families of the Philippines are ...read more

On Friday, January 16, 2015, Pope Francis arrived at the Manila Cathedral in Manila, Philippines for Mass with Bishops, Priests and Religious. Before Mass, Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, welcomed Pope Francis to the Philippines. Below you can find the full text of his address, along with the full text of Pope Francis’ homily during ...read more

  On Friday, January 16, Pope Francis me with the Authorities and Diplomatic Corps of Manila in Malacañang Palace. Below you will the full text of his address: Dear Colleagues and Friends, Address of His Holiness Pope Francis Meeting with Authorities and the Diplomatic Corps Manila, Malacañang Palace January 16, 2015 Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank ...read more

Before departing for Sri Lanka on Monday, Pope Francis delivered his annual address to the diplomatic corps, providing an occasion for reflection on the matter of politics and the Church and more specifically—in light of the recent revelation of Vatican involvement in the easing of USA-Cuba relations—on the Catholic Church’s role in global politics. 2014 ...read more