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Prayer is a humble dialogue with God to grow spiritually and discover his will for the world, the pope said May 26 during his weekly general audience.

Pope Francis on Sunday urged those who feel trapped by loneliness, despair, and pain to open themselves to the Holy Spirit. Celebrating Pentecost Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica May 23, the pope said that people could find true consolation by invoking the third Person of the Holy Trinity.

In a message commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Dominic, the pope said the life of the Spanish saint and his zeal for preaching the Gospel serve "as an inspiration to all the baptized."

In a May 10 letter to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II, the pope said that the men's deaths had touched the lives of Christians around the world.

Pope Francis has called on the world's Catholics to pray May 22 for dialogue, forgiveness and peaceful coexistence in the Holy Land.

Those who overcome distractions or obstacles when praying learn the value of perseverance in times of trial, Pope Francis said.

The injury and death of so many innocent people, especially children, caused by escalating violence between Israel and the Gaza Strip is "terrible and unacceptable," putting the area at risk of sinking into "a spiral of death and destruction," Pope Francis said.

Throughout history and across the globe, lay catechists have been revered as saints, and many were martyred for their refusal to renounce their faith and their vocation to teach the Christian faith to others.

Holding a general audience with visitors and pilgrims present for the first time in more than six months, Pope Francis said he was very pleased to see people "face to face."

Calling for formal recognition of "those lay men and women who feel called by virtue of their baptism to cooperate in the work of catechesis," Pope Francis has instituted the "ministry of catechist."

Pope Francis repeated his call to temporarily suspend patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines so they can be manufactured in poorer countries.

The Christian idea of reforming one's life is not about making it perfect but initiating a process of going outside of oneself to best follow one's vocation and carry out a mission, Pope Francis said.

Being contemplative in prayer is an act of faith and love, it is "the 'breath' of our relationship with God," he said during his weekly general audience May 5.

While millions of laypeople around the world are recognized as catechists in their parish or diocese, Pope Francis is preparing to formally institute the "ministry of catechist."

As countries become more culturally and ethnically diverse, their Catholic communities become more "catholic" and their societies can increasingly reflect the fact that all people are brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.

Meeting new recruits to the Swiss Guard, Pope Francis thanked the young men for having chosen to serve the successor of St. Peter and he thanked all the guards for their diligence and service.

People can't be good Christians if they do not choose to remain in Jesus, Pope Francis said.

A true synodal path comes from making concrete choices that give way to the action of the Holy Spirit, not from following spur-of-the-moment concepts that adhere to the latest trends, Pope Francis said.

During his weekly general audience April 28, the pope said that although meditation has become a "widespread activity among people who do not have a religious view of life," meditation within the context of Christian prayer guides men and women "to advance, with the Holy Spirit, along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus."

Jesus is the good shepherd who knows, loves and defends his sheep, embracing everyone without exception, Pope Francis said.