“Blessed is the bishop who makes poverty and sharing his lifestyle because with his witness he is building the kingdom of heaven.”

Pope Francis to young people: “You have been entrusted with an exciting but also challenging task: to stand tall while everything around us seems to be collapsing; to be sentinels prepared to see the light...to be builders amid the many ruins of today’s world; to be capable of dreaming.”

The Vatican issued a statement insisting that it is “absolutely necessary to reactivate direct dialogue” between Israelis and Palestinians “to achieve a two-state solution.”

Meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended an invitation to Francis to become the third pope in history to visit India.

Pope Francis and President Joe Biden talked together in private for 75 minutes, an unusually long time by Vatican standards, a sign that the two leaders had a more in-depth discussion than observers had expected.

President Joe Biden and Pope Francis are expected to focus on the pandemic, migration, crises in the Middle East and climate change.