Catholic Fire

) It's been a year now since Pope Francis was elected. In these past 12 months, no one has been left indifferent. From the unusual circumstances under which he was elected, to the so called 'Francis' effect that's made its way across the globe. 1- HELP As he introduced himself to the world, the first thing Pope Francis did, up from the balcony of St. Peter's, was bow his head and ask for prayers. The thousands of people gathered out in the Square, began to pray for his pontificate. POPE FRANCIS "I would like to bless you...but before I'd like to ask all of you for a favor. Before the bishop blesses his flock, I ask that you pray to the Lord, so that He blesses me. The prayer of the people, asking for the Bishop's blessing.” It was surprising at first, but soon it became a hallmark of his pontificate. "Pray for me.” "Pray for me.” "Pray for me.” "Don't forget, pray for me.” 2- AUSTERITY His personal style a...

More than 6.6 million people participated in papal events at the Vatican during the first nine months of Francis’s pontificate, including weekly general audiences, group audiences, liturgies and recitations of the Angelus and “Regina Coeli” on Sundays and holy days. The statistics, compiled by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and released January 2, do not include figures from Pope Francis’s trip to Brazil for World Youth Day in July 2013, or his visits to Italian locations outside the Vatican. Continue reading.

Via CWN: At the request of Pope Francis, Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo of Lisbon dedicated this pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima, in a ceremony on May 13—the feast of Our Lady of Fatima—at the Marian shrine in Portugal. Cardinal Policarpo said that the Pontiff had twice asked him to make the dedication. The Portuguese prelate wrote his own prayer for the occasion, saying it at the end of a Mass concluding an international pilgrimage to the Fatima shrine. “Give him the gift of discernment to know how to identify the ways of renewal of the Church,” the cardinal prayed. “Give him the courage not to hesitate to follow the ways suggested by the Holy Spirit; support him in the hard hours of suffering to overcome with the charity the trials that the renewal of the church will bring.” During the same pilgrimage Archbishop Orani J0ao Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro dedicated this year’s World Youth Day celebration, which will be held in the Brazilian city in July, to Our Lady of Fatima a...