Pope Francis greets pilgrims from his wheelchair during the Saturday Jubilee audience in the Vatican's Audience Hall, Jan. 11, 2025 / Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, Jan 11, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).Pope Francis kicked off the first Saturday Jubilee audience of 2025 by urging pilgrims to embrace hope as a divine strength that enables new beginnings, drawing inspiration from St. John the Baptist.Speaking to pilgrims gathered in the Vatican's audience hall on Jan. 11, the pontiff emphasized that hope is not merely a character trait but rather a theological virtue that represents "strength to be asked for" from God."Many of you are here in Rome as 'pilgrims of hope,'" Pope Francis said."Indeed, the Jubilee is a new beginning, the possibility for everyone to start anew from God. With the Jubilee we start a new life, a new phase."Faithful reach out to greet Pope Francis as he makes his way through the crowd in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall during the first Jubilee audience of 2025. Cr...
Pope Francis greets pilgrims from his wheelchair during the Saturday Jubilee audience in the Vatican's Audience Hall, Jan. 11, 2025 / Vatican Media
CNA Newsroom, Jan 11, 2025 / 07:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis kicked off the first Saturday Jubilee audience of 2025 by urging pilgrims to embrace hope as a divine strength that enables new beginnings, drawing inspiration from St. John the Baptist.
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in the Vatican's audience hall on Jan. 11, the pontiff emphasized that hope is not merely a character trait but rather a theological virtue that represents "strength to be asked for" from God.
"Many of you are here in Rome as 'pilgrims of hope,'" Pope Francis said.
"Indeed, the Jubilee is a new beginning, the possibility for everyone to start anew from God. With the Jubilee we start a new life, a new phase."
Faithful reach out to greet Pope Francis as he makes his way through the crowd in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall during the first Jubilee audience of 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
The pope highlighted how the Latin word "virtus" means strength, explaining that hope, therefore, comes as a gift from God rather than existing as a mere habit or personality characteristic.
The Catholic Church teaches that hope is one of the three theological virtues — along with faith and charity — which God pours into the hearts of the faithful.
Drawing connections to the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday, Francis reflected on John the Baptist as a "great prophet of hope," noting how people flocked to him "longing for a new beginning."
"Just as we today pass through the Holy Door, so John proposed to cross the river Jordan, entering the Promised Land as Joshua had done the first time," the pope said, connecting the biblical narrative to the current Jubilee Year.
Pope Francis concluded with special greetings to English-speaking pilgrims, invoking God's blessings of "wisdom, strength and peace" upon them and their families.
Pope Francis blesses a baby during the Saturday Jubilee audience in the Vatican's audience hall, Jan. 11, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media
The Jubilee audience marked the beginning of regular Saturday gatherings that will welcome pilgrims from around the world throughout the Holy Year 2025.
The first major calendar event of the 2025 Holy Year is the Jubilee of the World of Communications, scheduled for Jan. 24–26. The Vatican expects thousands of journalists and media professionals from around the world to come to Rome for the occasion.
A view of Pope Francis addressing the faithful from the stage of the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall during the first Jubilee audience of 2025, seen through the distinctive carved stone entranceway. Credit: Vatican Media
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 22, 2025 / 10:20 am (CNA).Policies related to immigration, gender ideology, abortion, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) are among the top religious liberty concerns heading into 2025, according to a report published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).The USCCB Committee for Religious Liberty on Jan. 16 issued its Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty, which highlights the legislative actions, potential executive actions, and U.S. Supreme Court cases the bishops are closely watching."We can become anxious that our unpopular positions on issues such as the dignity of all human life and the nature of marriage and the human person require us to compromise our integrity in order to secure political victories," Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, wrote in the f...
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn (left) shakes hands with Father Josef Grünwidl, whom Pope Francis appointed as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna on Jan. 22, 2025. / Credit: Archdiocese of Vienna / Stephan SchönlaubRome Newsroom, Jan 22, 2025 / 07:04 am (CNA).Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, OP, concluded his term as archbishop of Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, his 80th birthday, when Pope Francis accepted his resignation.Schönborn, a theologian who led Austria's most populous archdiocese for three decades, helped write the Catechism of the Catholic Church and chaired the Austrian bishops' conference for 22 years. He is currently chairman of Pope Francis' Council of Cardinals.The Vatican announced Jan. 22 that Pope Francis had accepted Schönborn's resignation and appointed an apostolic administrator, Father Josef Grünwidl, to oversee the Vienna archdiocese until the appointment of Schönborn's successor."The fact that Rome has created an interim solution shows us tha...
President Donald Trump speaks at the 47th March For Life rally on the National Mall on Jan. 24, 2020, in Washington, DC. / Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 21, 2025 / 16:00 pm (CNA).Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump is scheduled to be in California visiting areas significantly damaged by wildfires on Friday, Jan. 24, the day of the 2025 March for Life in Washington, D.C.During his first term, Trump attended and spoke at the March for Life in person in 2020 and addressed the crowd through video calls in 2019 and 2018. Although he did not address the crowd during his first year in office in 2017, then-Vice President Mike Pence attended and spoke at the rally.Trump was the first president to attend the March for Life in person, but previous Republican presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan all addressed the march remotely through a telephone or remote loudspeaker.CNA reac...
Pope Francis greets pilgrims from his wheelchair during the Saturday Jubilee audience in the Vatican's Audience Hall, Jan. 11, 2025 / Vatican Media
