To be a creature is to have an origin, one we neither fashioned nor chose. To be a child of God is to have a destiny, one we freely choose, a gift we are given to cherish.

Pope Francis is dialoguing with college students from across the Americas. Watch it here.

Dr. Paul Farmer was world-renowned for his medical achievements, but he also had a profound impact on friends and colleagues who saw him as a person of great holiness.

Members of one of his former communities said they doubt that he used incorrect formulas for sacraments while he worked there, and many of them recall him fondly as one of the most important priests in their lives.

In his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis spoke against a “culture of waste” that relegates the elderly to the sidelines and discourages young people from learning the wisdom of older generations.

“Jesus taught us that the diabolical senselessness of violence is answered with God's weapons, with prayer and fasting,” the pope said as the situation continued to deteriorate between Russia and Ukraine.