On his Twitter account, Feb. 27, the pope reiterated his invitation for everyone to take part in a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday, March 2, “in order to be near to the suffering Ukrainian people, to be aware that we are all brothers and sisters, and to implore God for an end to the war.”
People sometimes forget life’s ultimate purpose is to prepare for the kingdom of heaven, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis urged young people to show grandparents and the elderly tenderness.
In response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis said he will give an extraordinary blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) at 6 p.m. Rome time (12 p.m. Central Time) Friday, March 27.
The Vatican had announced the day before that the Angelus prayer and the pope’s weekly general audience March 11 would be livestreamed from the papal library “to avoid the risk of spreading the COVID-19 (coronavirus),” especially given the crowding that occurs at the security checkpoints on entering the square.
