As Christian churches prepare to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will focus on affirming the Nicene Creed and its expression of the faith Christians share.

“Rezo por todos vosotros”, dijo el Papa Francisco, utilizando su discurso televisado del Ángelus del domingo para hablar directamente a las personas afectadas por los incendios forestales en el sur de California.

In its annual report on pastoral workers killed, Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies, listed eight priests and five laymen. Six were killed in Africa, five in Central or South America, and two were killed in Europe.

Marking the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the start of the new year, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for a “firm commitment” to respect all human life worldwide.

Wearing red vestments for the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis knocked on the door of the church in Rome’s Rebibbia prison complex and walked over its threshold.

Prior to offering his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world), the pope prayed for various countries grappling with conflict and crisis.

A Christmas creche conveys the “message of peace and love that Jesus left us,” the pope said Dec. 7 during a meeting with the artisans, volunteers and government representatives responsible for the Christmas decorations in the Paul VI Audience Hall and in St. Peter’s Square.

La Virgen María es un modelo del tipo de apertura al Espíritu Santo que todos los cristianos deberían tener, una apertura que le permitió decir “sí” al plan de Dios para la salvación del mundo, dijo el Papa Francisco.