Both prayers and economic assistance, Pope Francis stressed, are needed to ameliorate the ongoing humanitarian catastrophes in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

At the Church of the Gesú in Rome, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., ordained 18 deacons and two priests who have been studying in Rome.

“The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the need to ensure the necessary protection for refugees.”

“You have been one of the pillars of the whole country,” the pope said in his first public audience since lockdown.

The text seeks “to relaunch the rich contents” of an encyclical still relevant today and even more so in the light of a world hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 93, flew to Germany this morning to visit his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, 96, who is gravely ill at his residence in Regensburg.

“Jesus approaches us gently, in the disarming simplicity of the host. He comes as bread broken in order to break open the shells of our selfishness.”

“Until we revive our sense of responsibility for our neighbor and every person, grave economic, financial and political crises will continue,” the pope said in his message for the World Day of the Poor.

“As bishop of Rome, I have decided to institute in the diocese the ‘Jesus the Divine Worker Fund’ to affirm the dignity of work,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis: “The protection of the environment and respect for the biodiversity of the planet are issues that affect us all. We cannot pretend to be healthy in a world that is sick.”