On Monday afternoon, the Holy Father began his pastoral visit to the Italian cities of Savona and Genoa, departing from Rome’s Ciampino airport at 3.30 p.m. and landing at Christopher Columbus airport in Genoa at 4.20 p.m. From there he travelled…

Mr President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I begin my address to this Assembly, I would like first of all to express to you, Mr President, my sincere gratitude for your kind words.  My thanks go also to the Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon,…

Here follows the communique provided by the Press Office of the Holy See on the publication of the new "Oremus et pro Iudaeis" for the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal.

"Following the publication of the new Prayer for the Jews for the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, some groups within the Jewish community have expressed disappointment that it is not in harmony with the official declarations and statements of the Holy See regarding the Jewish people and their faith which have marked the progress of friendly relations between the Jews and the Catholic Church over the last forty years".

In St. Peter's Square at 9.30 a.m. Sunday, the Holy Father presided at a solemn liturgical celebration for Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord, which marks the beginning of Holy Week. The Pope blessed the palms and the…

Friday in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Mary Ann Glendon, the new ambassador of the United States to the Holy See and former president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Addressing the new ambassador in English, the Pope expressed his conviction "that the knowledge and experience born of your distinguished association with the work of the Holy See will prove beneficial in the fulfilment of your duties and enrich the activity of the diplomatic community to which you now belong".

"From the dawn of the Republic, America has been … a nation which values the role of religious belief in ensuring a vibrant and ethically sound democratic order", said the Holy Father, noting the American characteristic "of uniting people of good will, regardless of race, nationality or creed, in a shared vision and a disciplined pursuit of the common good.

In his general audience, held Wednesday morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope concluded his series of catecheses on the figure of St. Augustine. Before the audience, the Holy Father went to the Vatican Basilica to greet pilgrims who had been unable to find a place in the hall.

St. Augustine "is one of the great converts of Christian history" said Benedict XVI. Reading the "Confessions", he went on, "it is easy to see that Augustine's conversion was neither sudden nor fully achieved right from the start. Rather it may be defined as a … journey, and remains as a model for each one of us".

Today is the Feast of the "Cathedra" or Chair of St. Peter, a recurrence dating back to the fourth century that honors and celebrates the primacy and authority of St. Peter.

The word "cathedra" means seat or throne and is…

[Yesterday] morning, Benedict XVI received participants in the plenary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is being held this week in the Vatican.

The Pope recalled how last year the congregation published "two important documents presenting…

Made public [yesterday] was the 2008 Lenten Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. The text, dated 30 October 2007, has as its title a verse from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians: "Christ made Himself poor for you".…

[Monday] morning in the Vatican, the Pope received participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, to whom he said: "It is highly appropriate that, in our own day, we should reflect on how to render this…