I wanted to share a quick post and Father Roderick’s video from today’s Angelus, Pope Francis’ visit with all of us globally today to remind us of the theme of God’s unfailing forgiveness for his people. In his video, Father Roderick captures both the sense of love the throngs in St. Peter’s Square have for the new Holy Father, as well as the effectiveness of the Pope’s communications with his flock. From the Vatican website, we have this summary of... Read more
I’ve spent the past few days falling in love with our new Holy Father, Pope Francis. As a saint fangirl, I joined many in those first few hours of speculation over “which Francis” our new Pope was honoring with his name selection. While we now know that he took his name for St. Francis of Assisi, I found his words on the topic today in this Rome Reports video to be magnetic: The Pope then departed from his prepared speech... Read more
This video from Fr. Roderick Vonhogen of SQPN is seriously MUST WATCH. Along with being a great capture of the actual moment of the white smoke from the ground in St. Peter’s Square, you’ll experience the sense of awe of Pope Francis’ first few moments, and the incredible joy of a terrific crowd of young men and women who were present for the big moment. I can’t watch this without tearing up – the emotions relate both to the sense... Read more
From the Founder and Publisher of Ignatius Press, Father Joseph Fessio — himself a Jesuit — comes the following commentary: “It is a brilliant stroke of the Holy Spirit that completely faked out the media (and me too, I have to say). A son of Ignatius takes the name of Francis. A man of Old World heritage who is part of the New World. Truly a Pontifex Maximus (which means “the greatest builder of bridges”). He’s solidly orthodox with a... Read more
Per the Vatican’s News Facebook presence: There had also been initial speculation regarding “for which St. Francis?” Pope Francis took his name. Also from the Vatican News Facebook page we learn: The 265th Successor of Peter (and 266th Pope) has taken the name Francis after Saint Francis who was born in Assisi, an Umbrian hilltop town in 1181. Saint Francis is “the one saint whom all generations have succeeded in canonising” and is probably the best known saint in the whole... Read more
Take a few moments this morning and enjoy this video of Cardinal Dolan’s press conference yesterday, unpacking the Conclave and sharing his impressions of Pope Francis. In this Reuters article, I love Cardinal Dolan’s summation: “There is a sense of relief in all of us because we now have a good new shepherd,” Dolan said. “He is an extraordinarily down-to-earth man … a man of confiden ce and poise, a beautiful sincerity and simplicity.” I was keenly interested in Cardinal... Read more
I have loved the Brothers in Black for quite some time, but now I’m even more enamored after sharing today’s excitement with them via this firsthand video of the smoke, the waiting, the prayer, the announcement and the great joy of welcoming Pope Francis. Enjoy — and share! This video needs to go viral! Read more
Although I find it unlikely that our new Pope Francis immediately rounded up his iPhone and tweeted personally, I was happy today to see a quick tweet from the official @Pontifex account: It’s terrific to know that the Vatican’s embracing of social media in the New Evangelization will continue. During these busy days ahead, it’s great to know that the Good News of the Gospel will continue to be proclaimed in new and exciting ways. Read more
The smoke has cleared and we were just introduced to our new Holy Father, Pope Francis. Cardinal Bergolio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 77 year old Jesuit, has just been introduced to the crowd. Prior to giving his first blessing, Pope Francis prayed together with the crowds in St. Peter’s Square (and virtually around the world) for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He then asked the crowd to pray for him and proffered the urbi et orbi blessing. From Vatican Radio: The man elected... Read more
Just a quick note for my own memory that on the fourth round of voting today, we saw white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney and are now waiting to meet our new Holy Father. Read more
Lisa Hendey
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