After a quarter million dead, six million driven from their homes and 50 years of violence, what Colombia needed was a pastor, not a politician, said Colombian-born Toronto pastor Fr. Carlos Augusto Sierra Tobon.

CARTAGENA, Colombia – Pope Francis said he had no magic words or special recipes for Colombians seeking peace, but rather he wanted to listen to them, learn from them and travel a bit of the road with them.

CARTAGENA, Colombia - Pope Francis capped a five-day trip to Colombia with a call for culture change in a country attempting to pursue a path of peace and reconciliation after decades of armed conflict and centuries of social exclusion.

MEDELLIN, Colombia - In a city many think of as being synonymous with new directions for the Catholic Church, Pope Francis told Colombian Catholics faith is not measured by how well they follow rules, but by the depth of their prayer life and the degree to which it pushes them to share the Gospel.

MEDELLIN, Colombia - In changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts, Pope Francis highlighted respect for the responsibility of national and regional bishops' conferences.

VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia - If just one victim of Colombia's civil war forgives his or her aggressor, it can set off a chain reaction of hope for reconciliation and peace, Pope Francis said.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Consolidating peace in Colombia will mean overcoming "the darkness" of inequality and a lack of respect for human life, Pope Francis said.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Pope Francis urged Colombians to put aside prejudice and pursue peace through social inclusion, fighting inequality and paying attention to the plight of the country's most marginalized populations, such as campesinos, Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Pope Francis arrived in Colombia Sept. 6 for a five-day visit to promote reconciliation in a deeply Catholic country scarred and reticent to offer forgiveness after decades of war.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO COLOMBIA – Flying to Colombia, with a flight plan changed to avoid Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean Sea, Pope Francis told reporters that Colombia and its neighbor, Venezuela, were in his prayers.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Lilia Yaya recalls being unwelcome in the Catholic Church. Her father, a communist political organizer and labor leader, was excommunicated from the church for his views and activism. Yaya was singled out as a troublemaker in her Catholic school for her father's political activities.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Milena Cardenas was 6 years old when rebels of the M-19 guerrilla group seized the Colombian Supreme Court in 1985. The army counterattacked and more than 100 lives were lost, including 12 of the 25 judges. Eleven cafeteria employees also disappeared; Cardenas' mother was among them.

VATICAN CITY – Colombia's transition to a just and lasting peace requires a commitment on behalf of all the nation's people to taking the first step toward reconciliation, Pope Francis said in a video message.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis' decree to beatify two Colombian martyrs from two troubled eras in the South American country's history underscores his call for courageous witness amid violence and persecution.

VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church in Colombia not only has taken an active role in peace negotiations between the government and guerrilla groups, but also has remained close with countless innocents caught in the crossfire, said the Colombian bishops' representative to the National Council for Peace.