CHIHIUAHUA, Mexico – On the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the American Continent, a communal Syriac Divine Liturgy was held on Sunday, December 12, in praise of the Mother of God in the Syriac Maronite Parish of Saint Sharbel in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Maronite, Armenian, and Melkite communities residing in Chihuahua came together in prayer to invoke the protection of the Mother of God.

JERUSALEM - Please find the Christmas message for the year 2021 of His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah (The Middle East Council of Churches) reflects on the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity theme, We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him (Mt 2:2). Beginning with a meditation on the challenges that the Christians in the Middle East face today, Rev. Dr. Nasrallah reflects on the main scripture text for the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Matthew 2:1-12), and on the key themes that inspired the international materials for this global ecumenical celebration.

A delegation from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, led by His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, and accompanied by the Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, held a small reception at the Imperial Hotel in Jaffa Gate to celebrate to wide reaching, positive impact of Christians in the Holy Land and to call for protection of the Christian Quarter in Old City Jerusalem.

“The Enthronement is a new book in my life and the life of this parish.”

"His Eminence Paul, with his many gifts, gave the spirit a meaning when he embodied it as a letter lining up in words, thus writing books that explained the faith and leading many to It... He is the link that connects me to the chain of metropolitans over this great archdiocese and who have imprinted an honorable history”.

During the talk with journalists on board the flight bringing him back to Rome from Greece, His Holiness Pope Francis spoke of the Apostolic Visit, of migrants, of fraternity with the Orthodox, and of the resignation of Archbishop Aupetit of Paris, a victim “of gossip.”

On Thursday, December 2nd, 2021, His Holiness Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I presided over the meeting of the Lay Council of the Central Committee co-chaired by Stepan Der Bedrossian and Krikor Mahseredjian.

His Holiness Aram I addressed the opening remarks and briefed on the administrative, financial, construction and other activities and projects undertaken in the previous months…

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark gave his weekly Wednesday sermon on Wednesday evening December 1st, from the Church of Transfiguration at Logos Center at the Papal Headquarters in St. Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natrun. The sermon was broadcast live on several Christian satellite television channels, as well as over the Internet on the Church’s Coptic Media Center channel, COC. The sermon was given in the absence of a live congregation.

Catholics in Greece are praising His Holiness Pope Francis’ visit as offering the opportunity for a new highwater mark for ecumenical relations with the Orthodox majority.

By Devin Watkins

It’s only Day Two of the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to Greece, but expats belonging to the Catholic minority are already expressing their hopes for a new season in day-to-day ecumenical relations with the Orthodox majority in Greece.

His Holiness Pope Francis meets young people from various parts of Greece on Monday morning in Athens, ahead of his departure for Rome, urging them to be truly social by engaging in real encounters with those around them as an experience of God's love.

His Holiness Pope Francis on Sunday December 6, 2021, visited the Reception and Identification Centre of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, Greece. While there, he heard the testimonies of migrants, and told those present migration is a humanitarian crisis that concerns everyone.

His Holiness Pope Francis leaves Cyprus with a message of gratitude for hospitality received and prayers for peace for the nation, as Cypriots express their appreciation for the Pope's message of hope, peace, and unity.

By Vatican News staff reporter

His Holiness Pope Francis departed from the Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus and flew to the Athens International Airport in Greece on Saturday morning – the third day of his 35th Apostolic Journey abroad.

HE Orthodox Metropolitan Vasilios of Constantia and Famagusta is one of the Orthodox leaders welcoming His Holiness Pope Francis to Cyprus.

By Vatican News staff reporter

One highlight of His Holiness Pope Francis' second day in Cyprus was his meeting with the Holy Synod of the Cypriot Orthodox Church at Nicosia's Orthodox Cathedral of St. Barnabas.

Father Nikodemus Schnabel, the Patriarchal Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem for Migrants and Asylum Seekers comments on His Holiness Pope Francis’ Ecumenical Prayer meeting in Cyprus.

Vatican News

A Holy Land Church official regards as a “genius combination” His Holiness Pope Francis bringing together ecumenism and the care of migrants in a prayer event in Cyprus on Friday.

His Holiness Pope Francis concludes his Apostolic Journey to Cyprus with an Ecumenical Prayer service with migrants, where he reflects on God’s dream for a “world of peace, in which all His children live as brothers and sisters.”

By Christopher Wells

Sharing a moment of Ecumenical Prayer with migrants during his final event in Cyprus, His Holiness Pope Francis said that through their testimonies, “God is revealing His Kingdom, His Kingdom of love, justice, and peace to the little ones.”

In this video, we relive the highlights of His Holiness Pope Francis' second day in Cyprus, which saw the Holy Father pay a courtesy visit to His Beatitude Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, meet with the Holy Synod, celebrate Holy Mass for thousands of faithful in GSP Stadium in Nicosia, and share a moment of Ecumenical Prayer with migrants in the Catholic parish of the Holy Cross.

His Holiness Pope Francis refers to the parable of the two blind men from Mark's Gospel to urge Cypriots to follow three steps in order to be freed of a similar darkness in which we often find ourselves.

By Francesca Merlo

Addressing the faithful in Nicosia's “GSP Stadium” for Holy Mass in Cyprus, His Holiness Pope Francis recalled a passage from Mark's Gospel, in which as Jesus passed by, two blind men cried out "Have mercy on us, Son of David".

On the second day of his visit to Cyprus, His Holiness Pope Francis meets with the Holy Synod of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. During his address, the Pope underlined the common bonds between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and his desire to deepen ecumenical dialogue, taking as his model St Barnabas.

His Holiness Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of December, inviting everyone to pray for catechists, “summoned to announce the Word of God,” that they might “be its witnesses, with courage and creativity, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, with joy and much peace.”

We relive the highlights of the first day of His Holiness Pope Francis' Apostolic Journey to Cyprus, during which he met with refugees ahead of his departure, encountered Cyprus' Catholic clergy and religious, and spoke to the nation's civil authorities and diplomatic corps.