SHKODER, Albania – Human bones, old shoes and deteriorating priest collars fill cardboard boxes in the office of Franciscan Brother Vincenzo Foca, an Italian who lives and works in Shkoder.

BROD, Kosovo - The Catholic priest followed the village elders up a narrow road that curved between the green hills in the tiny hamlet of Gjonaj in southern Kosovo.

TIRANA, Albania - In a world "where an authentic religious spirit is being perverted and where religious differences are being distorted and exploited," Albania is an "aspiring example" to everyone that peaceful co-existence is possible, Pope Francis said during a one-day visit to the country Sept. 21.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis faces no specific threat from Islamic State militants and will not be adding extra security measures on his one-day trip to Albania next week, the Vatican said Monday (Sept 15).

VATICAN CITY - Walking to a cemetery on All Saints' Day, watching television past 10 p.m., even slaughtering a kid goat on Easter were once so highly suspect in Albania, they would trigger neighbourhood spies to tip off communist authorities.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' choice of Albania as the destination of his first international trip in Europe reflects his trademark pastoral approach: Head to the peripheries, bring healing to the suffering.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis expressed his fears over increasing violence in Iraq and prayed for peace, security and reconciliation in the country.