Only a few more hours remain before the start of the 36th Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis, a two-day journey taking place Saturday and Sunday. Welcoming and faith are the themes of this visit “in the footsteps of St Paul,” while at the same time the journey will inevitably be marked by the war in Ukraine.

Continuing his catechesis on the elderly at the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis draws inspiration from the biblical figure of Job, who witnesses a God of tenderness behind His silence.

Pope Francis has proposed this Wednesday, 26 January, as a day of prayer for peace for Ukraine, and has expressed his concern over the increasing tensions that threaten peace and security in Ukraine and in the rest of Europe. In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, speaks of the crisis in the country, over which the spectre of conflict is hovering.

What is the Rosary, and where does it come from? Answers to some common questions about this Marian prayer. “Dear young people, learn to pray to Mary with the simple and effective prayer of the Rosary; dear sick people, may our Lady be your support in the trial of pain” (Pope Francis, General Audience of May 3, 2017)

On Holy Thursday, the Catholic Church remembers the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. On that same evening, Jesus gave a  Mandatum Novum (new commandment).  In the Middle Ages, this day became known as  Maundy Thursday from the word, mandatum. St. John Henry Newman teaches us the relationship between Faith and Love in a sermon which bears this title. 

“Early on February 24 we heard the news that Putin had invaded Ukraine. I spoke with Vova, my foster son, and heard these words on the other end that made me tremble: ‘Mother, I don’t want to die.’” Thus María José begins her story, from Seville.

Mark Wahlberg’s new film Father Stu is one of the most theologically interesting films to come out in a long time.