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Pope Francis accepts offertory gifts from indigenous people as he celebrates the concluding Mass of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican in this Oct. 27, 2019, file photo.

Pope Francis sets up commission to study women deacons

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has established a new "Study Commission on the Female Diaconate" as a follow-up to a previous group that studied the history of women deacons in the New Testament and the early Christian communities.

Pope Francis leads a prayer service in an empty St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 27, 2020. "What we are living now is a place of 'metanoia' (conversion), and we have the chance to begin," Pope Francis said in an interview about the COVID-19 pandemic, published April 8.

Pandemic is prime time for conversion, Pope Francis says in interview

VATICAN CITY -- The COVID-19 quarantines, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are the perfect opportunity for conversion: for individuals, for the church and for governments, Pope Francis said in an interview.

A man wears a protective mask during Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City March 1, 2020. With Holy Week celebrations closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis postponed the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land to September, the Vatican announced April 2.

Pope Francis moves Good Friday collection for Holy Land to September

VATICAN CITY -- With Holy Week celebrations closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis postponed the traditional Good Friday collection for the Holy Land to September.

A chalice is seen at a Catholic church in Bangkok Nov. 12, 2019, ahead of Pope Francis' visit. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has approved a special "Mass in the Time of Pandemic" during the COVID-19 crisis.

Vatican approves special 'Mass in the Time of Pandemic'

VATICAN CITY -- The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has approved a special "Mass in the Time of Pandemic" to plead for God's mercy and gift of strength in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

People collect clean drinking water from a tanker sent by government authorities as part of measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus in San Jose, Costa Rica, March 14, 2020. The Vatican said defending the right to clean water is part of the Catholic Church's promotion of the common good.

Vatican publishes document on right to water access

VATICAN CITY -- Access to clean water is an essential human right that must be defended and protected, the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said in a new document.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, papal vicar of Rome, smiles during a reception after a consistory at the Vatican in this 2018 file photo. Cardinal De Donatis was hospitalized March 30, 2020, after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, the diocese announced.

Cardinal vicar of Rome hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19

ROME -- Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the papal vicar for Rome, was hospitalized after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus, the Diocese of Rome announced.

Pope Francis leads a prayer service in an empty St. Peter's Square at the Vatican March 27, 2020. At the conclusion of the service the pope held the Eucharist as he gave an extraordinary blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). The service was livestreamed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis gives world extraordinary blessing amid COVID-19 crisis

VATICAN CITY -- The worldwide coronavirus pandemic is not God's judgment on humanity, but God's call on people to judge what is most important to them and resolve to act accordingly from now on, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the chapel of his Vatican residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, March 26, 2020. About a dozen priests also live in the Vatican guesthouse, and news reports March 25 said one of them, an Italian monsignor working in the Vatican Secretariat of State, had tested positive for COVID-19.

Vatican confirms Pope Francis does not have COVID-19

VATICAN CITY -- Neither Pope Francis nor any of his closest collaborators have the COVID-19 virus, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

Pope Francis leads a global recitation of the Lord's Prayer from the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican March 25, 2020. The pope and the Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant leaders who joined him for the prayer implored God's mercy on humanity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis, Christian leaders around the globe join in prayer for pandemic's end

VATICAN CITY -- Joined by Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant church leaders and faithful from around the world, Pope Francis led the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, imploring God's mercy on humanity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis gives his homily during his livestreamed Mass March 24, 2020, from the chapel of his Vatican residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. At the beginning of the Mass, the pope offered special prayers for priests, doctors and nurses who had contracted the coronavirus while caring for the sick.

Pope Francis: Priests caring for COVID-19 patients are heroes

VATICAN CITY -- With the number of priests and religious dying from coronavirus-related illnesses rising, Pope Francis offered his prayers for those who died after being infected helping COVID-19 patients and their communities.

Closed restaurants are seen in a mall after the government shut down all the shopping centers in the country due to the coronavirus disease outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, March 23, 2020. As more and more countries start to feel the economic pinch due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis urged business leaders to seek solutions that will not hurt employees and their families.

'Every man for himself' is not a solution to pandemic, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY -- As more and more countries start to feel the economic pinch due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis urged business leaders to seek solutions that will not hurt employees and their families.

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