“What is Christmas? Is it a tree? A statue of a baby with a woman and a man nearby? Yes, it is Jesus, the birth of Jesus,” he said, so “stop for a bit and think of Christmas as a message, a message of peace.”

Anyone who has followed the pontificate of Pope Francis will know that he consistently encourages the young to learn from their elders and to remember their roots.

Pope Francis greets people as he leaves an ecumenical prayer with migrants in the Church of the Holy Cross in Nicosia, Cyprus, Dec. 3, 2021. During his trip, Pope Francis continued to hone his teaching on migration, appealing for action but also acknowledging that not every country can accept all newcomers. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) Spending a bit of time with young people before leaving Gre...

Palms Australia volunteers viewing an Indigenous map. Over 1550 Australians, at 103 Orientation Courses, have been prepared to engage in these challenging cross-cultural relationships to build understanding, acceptance, and care, and provide the assistance requested, across 41 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Photo: Supplied. A concept of Pope Francis expressed in “Fratelli Tutti...

By Carol Glatz Pope Francis is pictured with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during a meeting at the Vatican in this 26 May 2018, file photo. The Holy Father sent a message to Patriarch Bartholomew on the feast of St Andrew, patron saint of the church of Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring) Catholics and Orthodox Christians must incre...

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Pope Francis speaks in this still frame from a video message to the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture at the Vatican Nov. 23, 2021. The pope encouraged the council in its exploration of the question, "What does it mean to be human?" (CNS/Vatican Media) The classical Christian understanding of what it means to be human provides a ...

By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service Pope Francis gives the homily as he celebrates Mass marking World Day of the Poor in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Sunday 14 November, 2021. Photo: CNS/Remo Casilli, Reuters. The gift of hope becomes tangible in people's lives through concrete actions that seek to relieve the suffering of the poor and console the downtrodden, Pope Fr...

Divine Word priest Fr Tim Norton will become an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Fr Norton, who is currently in ministry in Italy, will early next year join Auxiliary Bishop Ken Howell in supporting Archbishop Mark Coleridge in serving the Catholics of Brisbane Archdiocese.

Blessed Charles de Foucauld will finally be canonised 15 May 2022, the Vatican announced on 9 November. Along with Blessed de Foucauld, the spring ceremony will see the canonisation of the Indian martyr Devasahayam Pillai and five founders of religious orders.

Pope Francis left the Vatican in the morning to attend the general chapter, which was held in Rome from 11 Sept to 24 Oct. The theme of the assembly was “Generative Communities of Life in the Heart of Contemporaneity.”