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Zimbabwe: Arts festival for Catholic Schools empowers young people to be agents of evangelization.

Twelve Catholic Secondary Schools under the Diocese of Gweru including the recently acquired St. Xavier Sibangani and St. Kizito Musilahobe participated in the Inter Catholic Secondary Schools Arts festival hosted at Serima Mision where the overall winner was Shungu High School.

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Brazil: Church's experience strengthens migration policies

The extensive networking efforts carried out by Catholic institutions with civil society organizations and the Brazilian state ensure that their contributions and opinions are highly valued when addressing the challenges posed by the arrival of migrants.

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Young people are the living hope of a missionary church, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Young people need to understand how much Christ loves them unconditionally and how much the church needs their voices and presence, Pope Francis said.

"Dear young people, you are the living hope of a Church on the move! For this reason, I thank you for your presence and for your contribution to the life of the Body of Christ," the pope told the world's young people in a written message.

The pope's message was released by the Vatican March 25 to mark the fifth anniversary of his apostolic exhortation "Christus Vivit" ("Christ is Alive"), published in 2019 and reflecting on the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment.

Pope Francis said he wanted to reach out again to young people with a message that could be "a source of renewed hope for you."

Christ is alive, he said in his message, and "his love for you is unaffected by your failings or your mistakes. He gave his life for you, so in his love for you he does not wait for you to be perfect."

"Walk with him as with a friend, welcome him into your life and let him share all the joys and hopes, the problems and struggles of this time in your lives," the pope wrote. "You will see that the path ahead will become clearer and that your difficulties will be much less burdensome, because he will be carrying them with you."

Pope Francis at World Youth Day 2023
Pope Francis, accompanied by an international group of World Youth Day pilgrims, waves to the crowd before beginning the WYD prayer vigil at Tejo Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 5, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

"In today's world, marked by so many conflicts and so much suffering, I suspect that many of you feel disheartened. So together with you, I would like to set out from the proclamation that is the basis of our hope and that of all humanity: 'Christ is alive!'" he wrote, and "he loves you with an infinite love."

"How greatly I want this proclamation to reach every one of you, for you to accept it as living and true in your own lives, and feel the desire to share it with your friends!" the pope wrote.

Pope Francis noted that April 14 will mark the 40th anniversary of the first great gathering of young people that, during St. John Paul II's Holy Year of the Redemption, "was the seed of the future World Youth Days."

Pope Francis recalled his first World Youth Day as pope in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, and how "I urged you to make your voices heard! 'Hagan lio!' Make a mess!"

"Today, once again, I ask you: make your voices heard! Proclaim, not so much in words but by your life and your heart, the truth that Christ is alive! And in this way, help the whole Church to get up and set out ever anew to bring his message to the entire world," he wrote.

He encouraged young people to never "leave us without your good way of 'making a mess,' your drive, like that of a clean and well-tuned engine, and your own particular way of living and proclaiming the joy of the risen Jesus!"

 

Pope Francis’ schedule released for pastoral visit to Venice

The Vatican releases the programme for Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to the Italian city of Venice, on April 28, to explore the Holy See Pavilion of the Venice Art Biennale.

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Synod: Pacific dioceses invite Catholics to ‘get into the boat’

As the Church journeys toward the second Synod session in October, Catholics across the Pacific islands are trying to keep up the momentum of synodality by inviting everyone to “get into the boat,” according to Bishop Ryan Jimenez.

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Zambia: Ecumenical Palm Sunday procession unites Catholics and United Church of Zambia Communities.

In a heartwarming display of unity for a shared faith, the town of Mongu in Zambia’s Western Provice on Palm Sunday, witnessed a historic event as Protestant members of the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) and two Catholic parishes came together for an ecumenical Palm Sunday Procession.

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Pope to Rome’s Nigerian community: Embrace unity, reject division

Pope Francis meets with Nigerians resident in Rome, thanking them for their witness to the Gospel, and stressing that "the diversity of ethnicities, cultural traditions, and languages in your nation is not a problem, but a gift."

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Pope Francis: Youth are living hope of a Church on the move

On the fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation ‘Christus vivit’, Pope Francis invites young people to “make their voices heard” as they “bear witness before everyone to the joy born of friendship with Christ.”

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Religious institutions call for end to harassment of Haitians in Dominican Republic

Over a hundred religious and social organisations from around the globe publicly denounce the “illegal and unjust treatment” of people of Haitian descent in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

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Poland marks 80 years since Ulma family’s martyrdom for sheltering Jews

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, celebrates Mass, attended by Poland’s president, to mark the 80th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Blessed Ulma family, who were murdered by Nazi German troops for sheltering Jews.

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