VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Citing a distinguished German theologian and an anonymous elderly penitent from Argentina, Pope Francis told an overflow crowd in St. Peter’s Square never to despair of God’s mercy to sinners.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Never give in to the devil’s pessimism, discouragement and bitterness, Pope Francis said; Christians need to share the Gospel message with joy and courage because it will truly answer people’s deepest needs.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76 was elected the 266th pope and took the name Francis.
The election March 13 came on the first full day of the conclave on the conclave’s fifth ballot. It was a surprisingly quick conclusion to a conclave that began with many plausible candidates and no clear favorite.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — To the delighted surprise of many, clouds of white smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel March 13, indicating a pope had been elected on the conclave’s fifth ballot.

The smoke signal went off at 7:05 p.m. The 115 cardinals gathered to elect the 266th successor of Peter had taken one vote late March 12 and two votes the next morning, resulting in clouds of black smoke.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Despite the rain, thousands of people filled St. Peter’s Square after dark March 12, the first evening of the conclave, to witness the black smoke that signaled the Catholic Church’s 115 cardinal electors had failed, as expected, to elect a pope on the first ballot.
The smoke started billowing out of the chimney on the Sistine Chapel at 7:41 p.m.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Hours before the start of the conclave that will choose the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals celebrated the papacy as a source of unity among Catholics and of evangelization and charitable service to the world.
Christ “has established his apostles and among them Peter, who takes the lead, as the visible foundation of the unity of the church,” Cardinal Angelo Sodano said in his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica March 12. “Each of us is therefore called to cooperate with the successor of Peter, the visible foundation of such an ecclesial unity.”

Pope Benedict XVI named Worcester’s Msgr. Michael W. Banach, a Vatican diplomat, to be an apostolic nuncio, which will carry with it the title of archbishop, Bishop McManus confirmed on Friday (Feb. 22).
Msgr. Banach has been in the diplomatic service since 1994. He has been serving as permanent representative of the Holy See to international organizations in Vienna, Austria..

The historic decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign is seen by many as heroic, practical, and not unexpected.
“This was an act of great humility,” Bishop McManus said Monday, the day the world learned that for the first time in 600 years a pope would step down. Like others, the bishop said he was stunned by the news, but then, not surprised.
Pope Benedict told an assembly of cardinals two days before Ash Wednesday that “strength of mind and body … has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Bishop McManus said he was stunned when he “heard the news early this morning that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has decided to resign as Bishop of Rome and Universal Pastor of the Church, effective February 28, 2013. However, upon further reflection, this dramatic news does not completely surprise me.”

WEBSTER – When St. Louis Elementary School students graduate they will know a lot about computers if, Gina Keddy has anything to say about it.
And she does.
They’ll know a lot about a great many other things, too.