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VATICAN CITY -- At his celebration of Mass for Sunday of the Word of God Jan. 24, Pope Francis will present a Bible to a professional soccer player, a woman from Pakistan studying in Rome to be a Scripture scholar and a physician specialized in infectious diseases.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis prayed that President Joe Biden would work to heal the divisions in U.S. society and promote human dignity and peace around the globe.

VATICAN CITY -- Marking the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons coming into force Jan. 22, Pope Francis encouraged nations to work toward a world free from all nuclear arms.

VATICAN CITY -- Unity requires prayer, love and fighting the devil, who always sows division, Pope Francis said.

When a person senses God's call, it can be intimidating or frightening, Pope Francis said, but Christians can be sure that the call flows from God's love and that responding to the call will be a means of sharing God's love.

ATLANTA -- With "social injustice, division and conflict" threatening the common good, people need to rediscover and recommit to the vision of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to work nonviolently for harmony and equality for all, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- It may seem illogical, but Christians are called to give God praise -- not complaints -- in times of darkness and difficulty, Pope Francis said.

Praising those who help the sick and praying for those who are sick, Pope Francis called on Christians to practice what they preach, including by guaranteeing equal access to health care for all people.

VATICAN CITY  -- Christians are called to lead and lift people up by being close to them and sharing God's love, not by judging them, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Recognizing "the gifts of each baptized person" -- women and men -- Pope Francis ordered a change to canon law and liturgical norms so that women could be formally installed as lectors and acolytes.

VATICAN CITY  -- Pope Francis offered prayers for the people of the United States "shaken by the recent siege on Congress" and prayed for the five people who lost their lives "in those dramatic moments" when protesters stormed the Capitol Jan. 6.

In times of doubt and suffering, Christians must not focus on their problems, but instead lift up their eyes to God, who leads them toward the hopeful promise of great things to come, Pope Francis said on the feast of the Epiphany.

By taking on the frail human condition, God showed his love for humanity and his desire to share in people's joys and sufferings, Pope Francis said.

The gratitude that comes from encountering Christ's love and mercy is enough to bring joy and hope to a troubled world, Pope Francis said.

The pope said giving thanks to God after such a year may seem "forced, almost jarring" especially for those who have lost loved ones, have fallen ill or have lost their jobs.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented European young adults from praying in the New Year together in Turin, Italy, moving the Taize prayer gathering online has allowed them to involve their peers from around the world in proclaiming "hope in good times and bad," Pope Francis said.

The birth of Christ is a gift from God that brings people hope and courage in troubled times, Pope Francis said Christmas Eve.

Pope Francis urged the Roman Curia Monday not to view the Church in terms of conflict, but to see the current “ecclesial crisis” as a call to renewal.

Current restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic can help people put Christ, and not the constant need to purchase gifts, at the center of the Christmas season, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and seven men, including an Italian judge who was murdered by the infamous Sicilian Mafia.