By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Riad Sargi and his family are glad to know that Pope Francis has not forgotten the suffering of the people of Syria. “I met Pope Francis two years ago in Rome. When I met him I asked him to do everything possible …

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis encouraged Pennsylvania’s Catholic clergy and women and men religious to challenge young people to develop “high ideals, generosity of spirit and love for Christ and the church.” In his first Mass in Philadelphia, Pope Francis recalled St. Katherine Drexel, a …

By David Agren Catholic News Service NEW YORK  — Pope Francis encouraged an audience of Catholic school students and immigrants to live with joy and dare to dream. He also highlighted the immigrant experience — in a way children could understand, comparing it to seeking acceptance and making friends in …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service NEW YORK  — Seeing New York for the first time in his 78 years of life, Pope Francis said he knew Madison Square Garden was an important gathering place for sporting events and concerts. For him, it was transformed into a chapel in the …

By Beth Griffin Catholic News Service NEW YORK  — Maryknoll Sister Noel Devine was determined to see Pope Francis. She is confined to a wheelchair and can’t speak because she has primary lateral sclerosis, a rare disease affecting the movement of her arms, legs and face. But her spirit and …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service NEW YORK — Honoring both the pain and the strength of the families of those who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and drawing on the pools of water that are part of the site’s memorial, Pope Francis spoke about tears and quenching …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Dealing with war, development, the economy or environmental concerns, bureaucrats and diplomats always must remember that the lives of real children, women and men are at stake, Pope Francis told the United Nations. Helping to celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary, Pope Francis visited its …

Catholic News Service NEW YORK — During an evening prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Pope Francis thanked the nation’s priests, brothers and women religious for their service and gave particular thanks to women religious saying, “Where would the church be without you?” The pope began with unscripted …

Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis made a previously unannounced 15-minute stop Sept. 23 at a Washington residence operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, where he met with about 45 sisters. Sister Constance Veit, communications director for the Little Sisters, said the pope talked individually with …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The past, the promise and the potential of the United States must not be smothered by bickering and even hatred at a time when the U.S. people and indeed the world need a helping hand, Pope Francis told the U.S. Congress. Making history …