By AC Wimmer Despite health challenges that led to a canceled trip to Dubai for COP28, Pope Francis maintained an ambitious travel schedule in 2024 that saw him draw large crowds in Asia and make his first-ever visit to Corsica as well as visiting Belgium and Luxembourg. Asia-Pacific journey draws historic crowds

Pope Francis’ one-day visit to the French island of Corsica on Sunday will put a dual focus on the Mediterranean, highlighting local traditions of popular piety on the one hand and migrant deaths and wars on the other. The visit to Corsica’s capital ...

Pope Francis gestures near the Notre Dame of the Assumption cathedral Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 in Ajaccio, Corsica island. Pope Francis' one-day visit to the French island of Corsica puts a dual ...

Asia, like Africa, is a growth area for the Catholic church. In Georgetown University’s ranking of attendance at mass, Lebanon (69%) and the Philippines (56%) placed third and fourth. Although the number of Asian candidates for the priesthood fell by 9% from 2013 to 2022, this was less than the dizzying 31% drop in Europe.

Pope Francis lights a candle at the small statue of the Madonuccia (Ajaccio's patron saint) in Ajaccio, as part of his trip on the French island of Corsica, on December 15, 2024. [AFP] Pope ...

Unusually for a papal trip to France, especially in the Mediterranean, Francis made no mention of migrants. Further reading: Pope's visit to Corsica: An island where 'one is born Catholic and ...

On December 15, Pope Francis became the first pope to set foot in Corsica. Yet 72 years earlier, in May 1952, the future Pope John XXIII, then-Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, spent a week on the ...

Pope Francis, in Corsica, warns against religion that stokes divisions Pope Francis called on Thursday for new international agreements to reduce the debt burden faced by low-income countries and ...

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis said the story of Jesus' birth as a poor carpenter's son should instil hope that all people can make an impact on the world, as the pontiff on Tuesday (Dec 24 ...

Pope Francis’ Christmas message was a plea for reconciliation, peace and care for others. By Elisabetta Povoledo Elisabetta Povoledo is a reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and ...

Pope Francis recalled the witness of persecuted Christians around the world on Thursday as he celebrated the feast of St. Stephen, the Church’s first martyr. In his Angelus address on Dec. 26 ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis kicked off the 2025 Holy Year on Tuesday, inaugurating a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in a test of the pope’s stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them.