By David Agren Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis ended his trip to the United States with a call for Catholics to keep the enthusiasm of the visit, while continuing to welcome newcomers and care for creation. “Do not let your enthusiasm for Jesus, his church, our families, and …

By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Irish pilgrims in Philadelphia shared their excitement after Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, announced the 2018 World Meeting of Families would be held in Dublin. Irish pilgrim Mary Fitzgibbon’s reaction was raw when she spoke with …

By Mark Pattison Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Among the pilgrims gathered for Pope Francis’ Mass on Benjamin Franklin Parkway Sept. 27 was Nga Bich Tham, who was wearing a traditional hat of her native Vietnam. The hat bore the words, “I came here for Jesus and Pope Francis.” “I …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis speaks often about memory and motion, the importance of remembering where you came from and setting off without fear to share the Gospel. That’s what he did in the United States. He circled the Statue of Liberty in a helicopter …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PHILADELPHIA — As the American Airlines plane taking him to Rome from Philadelphia took off, Pope Francis said he pictured the faces of all the people he met, and he prayed for them. At the end of his first-ever …

By Menachem Wecker For The Catholic Telegraph Washington, D.C. — Two months ago, Benjamin Garcia, a Chilean native studying to become a priest at Catholic University of America, learned he’d play a role in Pope Francis’ Sept. 23 canonization of Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of …

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis urged the hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families to serve and care for each other as freely as God loves the human family. The pope called upon the faithful to …

By David Sedeno Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis met with a group of survivors of sexual abuse Sept. 27 and later told bishops that he was overwhelmed by a sense of embarrassment and was committed to holding accountable those who harmed children. In a meeting with cardinals, bishops, …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — While pilgrims in Philadelphia put up with a long weekend of lines and security checks at the papal venues, the pope reached out to a group of people whose lives are lines and security checks for years at a time. Pope Francis …

By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service PHILADELPHIA — Pope Francis threw away a prepared text and, to the delight of tens of thousands of people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, spoke from the heart about the challenges and love that come with being part of a family. After listening to …