VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Being ordained is not an ascent but a descent, whereby we make ourselves small, lower ourselves and divest ourselves,” Pope Francis said in a message to 23 men from eight countries, including three from the United States, who were ordained permanent deacons in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Feb. 23 ordination Mass…
Reading 1 1 Peter 5:1-4 Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis experienced “an asthmatic respiratory crisis of prolonged magnitude, which also required the use of oxygen at high flows” Feb. 22, said the daily medical bulletin released by the Vatican. In addition to needing more oxygen, which was administered through a nasal cannula, the bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope…
Reading 1 Genesis 11:1-9 The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words. While the people were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While Pope Francis’ life is not in immediate danger, the level of multiple infections in his lungs means he is not completely “out of danger,” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, director of medical and surgical sciences at Rome’s Gemelli hospital. The biggest risk he faces is sepsis, that is, if the infection…
WASHINGTON – Pope Francis has appointed Reverend Gregg M. Caggianelli as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Bishop-elect Caggianelli is a priest of the Diocese of Venice, Florida and currently serves as the vice-rector of Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. The appointment was publicized in Washington,…