Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of three blesseds: an Armenian Catholic archbishop martyred during the Armenian genocide, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea killed during World War II and a Venezuelan religious sister who dedicated her life to education and the poor.
"Hallelujah!" That's what countless Catholics exclaimed as Pope Francis left the hospital Sunday after more than a month fighting pneumonia. It's also the name of a new gelato flavor.
The same day Pope Francis was discharged from Rome's Gemelli hospital after a five-week stay for treatment for double pneumonia, a group of Vatican doctors took their Lenten alms initiative a step further and helped provide medical care to a group of migrants.
Over 12 years, Francis has sought to impose a kind of normality on the papacy with his informal style and disdain for pomp. During his five-week hospitalization for pneumonia, he has followed that same playbook.
Gemelli Hospital medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri said Saturday (March 22) that Francis will require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues recovering at the Vatican.
The Catholic Church needs to expand its safeguarding efforts to include the new threats and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence, top organizers of a Vatican conference said.
