A Japanese visit is a possibility for Pope Francis next year. If he goes, it will be only the second time a Catholic pontiff has visited visit Japan. St Pope John Paul II visited Japan in 1981. Francis made the announcement of his proposed visit to members of the “Tensho Kenoh Shisetsu Kenshokai” association he Read more
Ireland’s Catholics are being asked to dig into their pockets to help pay for this year’s papal visit. The Church is trying to persuade wealthy followers to donate millions of euro to cover the costs of the visit. The World Meeting of Families, which will take place from August 21 to 26, is estimated to Read more
A chair was especially constructed for St John Paul to use during his visit to New Zealand in 1986. The fact that a Protestant was the first person to use it is a source of quiet amusement for the man who constructed it. Upholsterer Colin Loach tells how he put the very large chair in Read more
Although no date has been set, a Vatican spokesman confirmed Pope Francis is considering a trip to Armenia during the second half of June, a year after causing a diplomatic incident by calling the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians in the early 1900s a genocide. Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope’s itinerary hasn’t been Read more
Pope Francis will visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in July. He will visit the former Nazi death camp in southern Poland on July 29, on the third day of his visit to the country. Two of his predecessors have also visited the camp, John Paul II – himself Polish – in 1979 and retired pope Read more
Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan this year, said a Pakistan media report. The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that the pontiff has accepted the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The invitation was extended by Pakistan’s Ports and Shipping Minister Kamran Michael, a Catholic, and Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yusuf Read more
The blood of St Januarius liquefied on September 19, his feast day, in the repetition of a familiar miracle in Naples in Italy. The saint and martyr is the patron of Naples. A vial of his blood, preserved by the faithful since the 4th century, regularly turns into liquid form on his feast day. Cardinal Read more
North Korea says its firing of three rockets shortly before Pope Francis arrived in the south Korean capital had nothing to do with the papal visit The short range rockets were fired from multiple launchers from North Korea and travelled 220 km, before landing in waters east of the Korean peninsula on August 14. The Read more
During a meeting with the Pope in Rome, New Zealand’s Governor General, Sir Jerry Mateparae has invited Pope Francis to visit New Zealand. Mateparae wrote on his Facebook page: “Our audience with Pope Francis was a very special occasion for us today.” “Pope Francis was well informed about New Zealand. He was most interested in Read more
Pope Benedict XVI called for unity and reconciliation in the Middle East during his visit to Lebanon over the weekend. “May God grant to your country, to Syria and to the Middle East, the gift of peaceful hearts, the silencing of weapons and the cessation of all violence,” the pope said in a prayer at Read more