Although the total was slightly higher from the 3.2 million visitors received by Pope Francis in 2015, for a jubilee year it still fell short of the 5.9 million pilgrims who visited in 2014.

The imbalance in the world, one Jesuit expert has said, reflects how years of papal pleas and Vatican mandates have not been received or implemented consistently everywhere.

The ruling Communist Party has long feared that opposition to its rule could be spread by religious and other civic groups outside its control.

Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, appealed to the international community to work to end terrorism "that is killing and displacing families and depriving them of their rights and dignities."

Archbishop Wester: "Countless nonprofits and civic organizations work to fill food baskets, but some legislators want to take food out of another basket, the grocery basket, with their proposed food tax."

"The week serves as both a time for prayer and action to highlight the contributions of immigrants and vulnerable populations coming to the United States."