Juarez, Mexico, Feb 17, 2016 / 10:00 am (CNA).- Watch LIVE coverage of Pope Francis' visit to a prison in Juárez, Mexico at 12:30 pm EST. Read more

Juarez, Mexico, Feb 17, 2016 / 03:45 pm (CNA).- Watch LIVE coverage of the final Mass of Pope Francis in Mexico from the Ciudad Juárez fairgrounds at 6:00 pm EST. Read more

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 17, 2016 / 06:11 am (CNA).- When Pope Francis made a surprise stop at a cloistered monastery Sunday morning, he received a gift from the nuns who live there: a large bouquet of white roses. But was there more to this gesture t... Read more

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 06:50 pm (CNA).- On Feb. 15, Pope Francis visited Chiapas State in southeast Mexico. Spending the day in San Cristóbal de las Casas and Tuxtla Gutiérrez, he showed his affection for the native communities and for the weakest among them. Here are some great moments you might have missed: 1. A crown and necklace of flowers for the Pope A group of indigenous people welcomed Pope Francis at the airport in Tuxla. They gave him three gifts of great symbolic value: a “staff of office” with three points representing the Holy Trinity, a crown and a necklace of flowers with the Vatican colors of yellow and white. According to their custom, these gifts are given to very beloved persons. 2. An impressive altar The colorful altarpiece for the papal Mass reflected the art of Chiapas. The altar’s lower section was decorated with beautiful pictures of flowers. 3. Chiapan Marimbas A group of musicians played large xylophone-like instruments called marimbas to accompany the orchestra during the Mass Pope Francis celebrated at San Cristóbal de las Casas. 4. Ritual dance At end of Communion, the faithful performed a traditional ritual dance permitted in the liturgy. The dance was a simple and joyful moment, and its origins go back to pre-Columbian times. 5. The wooden crosier Pope Francis used a wooden crosier made from cedar during the Mass at San Cristóbal de las Casas. The inspiration for its design comes from the staff that shepherds use with their sheep. The staff’s upper part features a cross tilted forward and carved roses representing Our Lady of Guadalupe. 6. A flying skullcap The wind lifted off the Pope's white zucchetto during his homily. Msgr. Guido Marini, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, took action as soon as he saw it happen. He retrieved the zucchetto and held on to it for a few moments. 7. The song “Pescador de Hombres,” Fishers of Men When the Holy Father was at the cathedral in San Cristóbal de las Casas, he met with the sick and elderly. The congregation welcomed him with the song “Pescadores de Hombres.” The song is also found in some American hymnals in Spanish and English. This song was one of Saint John Paul II's favorites. He heard it for the first time in Polish and thought it had been composed in his native language. However, he later learned that the song was originally composed in Spanish. Its composer, Cesáreo Gabarain, wrote the song more than 35 years ago. 8. A shower of gifts At the cathedral of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Pope Francis approached the faithful to greet them and bless them. He received various gifts such as baskets, bags embroidered with indigenous designs and many letters. 9. A giant welcome sign At the heliport annex at the “Victor Manuel Reyna” stadium in Tuxtla Gutiérrez there was a massive welcome sign for Pope Francis. It read: “Chiapas welcomes you with open arms and heart.” 10. A blessing of solidarity During the Pope’s meeting with families at the Victor Manuel Reyna Stadium, a group of people brought over to the stage a boy in a wheelchair. The Pope went over to the edge of the stage and with the help of the papal guards he blessed the boy.   Read more

Morelia, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 04:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In his visit to Morelia – one of Mexico's most violent cities – Pope Francis had a strong message for the country's youth: rather than allowing themselves to be used and trampled on, he told them to recognize their value and to place their hope in Jesus. One of Mexico's greatest treasures “is that it has a youthful face: its young people...you are the wealth of this land,” the Pope told them Feb. 16. However, “I did not say the hope of this land, but its wealth,” he added. This, he said, is because “you cannot live in hope, or look to the future if you do not first know how to value yourselves, if you do not feel that your life, your hands, your history, is worth the effort.” Hope is born when a person is able to experience “that all is not lost,” he said, explaining that in order for this to happen, it’s necessary “to begin with yourself.” Pope Francis traveled to the city of Morelia on his fourth full day of his Feb. 12-17 visit to Mexico. Located in the north central part of Mexico's Michoacán state, Morelia is a hotbed of drug-related violence and organized crime that is greatly in need of the Pope’s message of peace. Francis met with an estimated 50,000 young people after celebrating Mass for priests, religious and seminarians in Morelia’s Venustiano Carranza Stadium and visiting the city’s cathedral earlier that morning. Before speaking, the Pope listened to testimonies from the youth, who recounted the difficulties of trying to build strong families amid a society overcome with corruption and violence, and which lacks the opportunity for adequate education and work. In his address, Francis told the youth that the biggest threat to their hope are “those words which devalue you, which make you feel second-rate.” “The biggest threat to hope is when you feel that you do not matter to anybody or that you have been left aside. The biggest threat to hope is when you feel that, either being present or absent, you make no difference,” he said. Francis told the youth that hope is also threatened when they start to believe their value is measured by money, prestige and material possessions, while in the depths of their heart they believe they are really not worthy of either kindness or love. However, the Pope also acknowledged that it’s hard to understand or feel valued “when you are continually exposed to the loss of friends or relatives at the hands of the drug trade, of drugs themselves, of criminal organizations that sow terror.” It’s hard to feel like the wealth of the nation when there are no opportunities for decent work or study, he noted, adding that the difficulty is exacerbated when, as youth, “you feel that your rights are being trampled on” or that “you are used for selfish purposes, seduced by promises that end up being untrue,” which leads to extreme situations. But despite all this, “I will never tire of saying, you are the wealth of Mexico,” Francis said, and clarified that he’s not saying this because he’s nice, but because he’s convinced that it’s the truth. He said that Jesus Christ is the one who renews this hope in him, and that if we take the Lord’s hand and walk with him, we can move forward and begin again. With Jesus, “we find the strength to say: it is a lie to believe that the only way to live, or to be young, is to entrust oneself to drug dealers or others who do nothing but sow destruction and death,” Pope Francis explained. It’s Jesus Christ who shows us that poverty and exclusion are not the only paths available for young people, he said, adding that the Lord is the one who “refutes all attempts to render you useless or to be mere mercenaries of other people’s ambitions.” Francis told the youth that when life seems too heavy and they feel like the world “is crashing down around you,” to run to Jesus and to embrace his Cross. “Draw close to him and please, never let go of his hand; please, never leave him,” Francis pleaded, and asked the youth to not allow themselves to be excluded, devalued or treated like a commodity. “You may not be able to have the latest car model at the door, you will not have pockets filled with money, but you will have something that no one can take away from you, which is the experience of being loved, embraced and accompanied,” he said. The Pope closed telling the youth that they are being called by the Lord just as St. Juan Diego was, to build a shrine. This shrine, he said, is not a physical place, but rather a community and a nation. “Being a community, a family, and knowing that we are citizens is one of the best antidotes to all that threatens us, because it makes us feel that we are a part of the great family of God,” he said. He stressed that “Jesus would never ask us to be assassins; rather, he calls us to be disciples. He would never send us out to death, but rather everything in him speaks of life,” and encouraged the youth to remember that they are the wealth of their nation. “And when you doubt this, look to Jesus, he who destroys all efforts to make you useless or mere instruments of other people’s ambitions.” Read more

Morelia, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- Watch LIVE coverage of Pope Francis' meeting with young people in the “José María Morelos y Pavón” stadium in Morelia, Mexico at 5:30pm EST. Read more

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the face of corruption, violence, and atrocities against the human person, resignation becomes the “devil's favorite weapon,” Pope Francis told priests, religious, and seminarians on the fourth day of his journey to Mexico.   “What temptation can come to us from places often dominated by violence, corruption, drug trafficking, disregard for human dignity, and indifference in the face of suffering and vulnerability?” the Pope asked. Centering his homily on the day's Gospel account of Jesus teaching his disciples the Our Father, the pontiff reflected on the line, “Lead us not into temptation,” and decried the temptation toward resignation. “What temptation might we suffer over and over again when faced with this reality which seems to have become a permanent system?” “Faced with this reality, the devil can overcome us with one of his favorite weapons: resignation,” the Pope said, explaining that resignation provokes fear, entrenches us in “false securities,” and prevents us from enacting change. Pope Francis made these remarks during Mass in the city of Morelia, a central Mexican city rife with violence and corruption. He stressed the importance of learning from the past in confronting temptation. “How good it is for us to tap into our memories when we are tempted,” the pontiff reflected. “How much it helps us to look at the “stuff” of which we are made.” “It did not all begin with us, nor will it all end with us, and so it does us good to look back at our past experiences which have brought us to where we are today.” Pope Francis' visit to Mexico's Michoacán State comes on the second to last day of his Feb. 12-17 trip to Mexico, his first since his election to the papacy. Throughout his homily, the Pope stressed the balance between prayer and the way we live our lives. “For our life speaks of prayer and prayer speaks of our life,” he said; “our life speaks through our prayer and our prayer speaks through our life.” Praying is something to be learned, the Pope explained. “The school of prayer is the school of life and in the school of life we progress in the school of prayer.” Jesus sought to introduce his companions “into the mystery of His Life,” he said. “He showed them by eating, sleeping, curing, preaching and praying, what it means to be Son of God.” Inviting his companions into “his interiority,” Jesus introduced them to the “newness of saying 'Our Father,'” the pontiff explained, an expression which “contains a sense of life, of experience, of authenticity.” With these words, Jesus “knew how to live praying and to pray living,” the Pope said, and he “invites us to do the same.” “Our first call is to experience this merciful love of the Father in our lives, in our experiences,” and then share the Gospel with others, he added. “He has invited us to share in his life, his divine life, and woe to us if we do not share it, woe to us if we are not witnesses to what we have seen and heard, woe to us.” “We are not and do not want to be 'administrators of the divine',” or “God's employees,” Pope Francis said. Rather, “we are invited to share in his life,” and “enter into his heart.” In turn, we are called to live out the words: “Our Father.” Pope Francis recalled the legacy of 16th century Bishop Vasco Vázquez de Quiroga, the first bishop of Michoacán. The bishop did not respond to the dire situation experienced by the indigenous Purhépechas Indians with “listless resignation,” the Pope said. Rather, it “succeeded in kindling his faith, strengthening his compassion and inspiring him to carry out plans that were a “breath of fresh air” in the midst of so much paralyzing injustice.” “The pain and suffering of his brothers and sisters became his prayer, and his prayer led to his response,” the Pope said of the bishop, who came to be known as “Tata Vasco,” meaning “Father, dad, daddy.” “It is to this prayer, to this expression, that Jesus calls us,” Pope Francis concluded: “lead us not into the temptation of resignation, lead us not into the temptation of losing our memory, lead us not into the temptation of forgetting our elders who taught us by their lives to say, 'Our Father'.”   Read more

Morelia, Mexico, Feb 16, 2016 / 08:30 am (CNA).- Watch LIVE coverage of Pope Francis celebrating Holy Mass with priests, men and women religious, consecrated people and seminarians at “Venustiano Carranza” Stadium in Morelia, Mexico at 11:0... Read more