VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis asked Catholics to make a special effort in May to pray the rosary, knowing that by doing so they will be united with believers around the world asking for Mary's intercession in stopping the coronavirus pandemic.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis, the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses and local organizers have agreed to postpone by one year the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, the Vatican announced April 23.

Among the lessons driven home by the COVID-19 crisis is that people and societies are morally bound to care for one another. This care is accomplished in many ways but one gaining wide attention, including encouragement from Pope Francis, is the potential merit of paying everyone a state-guaranteed income.

VATICAN CITY -- To mark his name day, the feast of St. George, Pope Francis gave the gift of medical supplies to several countries reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

VATICAN CITY -- Humanity has failed to take care of the earth and its inhabitants, sinning against God and his gift of creation, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has agreed with a recommendation by the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life to postpone by one year the next gatherings of the World Meeting of Families and World Youth Day.

ROME -- As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a risk it will be struck by an even worse virus -- that of selfish indifference, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has joined a growing movement that believes the COVID-19 crisis should become a catalyst to consider a universal basic wage to guarantee everyone a minimum income.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis created a new commission that will confront the challenges the world is facing in battling the coronavirus pandemic and what it will inevitably face in its aftermath, the Vatican announced.

VATICAN CITY -- More than four months after Pope Francis named a new president for the Vatican's financial watchdog agency, the leadership roster of the agency was completed with the naming of a new director and vice director.

VATICAN CITY -- The peace that is Christ's gift to individuals and to humanity as a whole is not some superficial sense of calm, but an active force of reconciliation that calls for cooperation and self-giving, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Celebrating Mass on Easter Monday, Pope Francis prayed that the political and economic planning for recovery after the coronavirus pandemic would be inspired by concern for the common good and not for "the god money."

VATICAN CITY -- In an Easter celebration like no other, Pope Francis prayed that Christ, "who has already defeated death and opened for us the way to eternal salvation," would "dispel the darkness of our suffering humanity and lead us into the light of his glorious day, a day that knows no end."

VATICAN CITY -- In a dark and nearly empty St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis blessed a fire, lit the Easter candle and called Christians to keep kindling sparks of hope, knowing that Jesus has risen and death will not have the last word.

VATICAN CITY -- The coronavirus is not some form of divine punishment but a tragic event that, like all suffering in one's life, is used by God to awaken humanity, said the preacher of the papal household.