Shortly after urging people to pray the rosary for peace and entrusting the people of Ukraine to Mary's care, Pope Francis met briefly with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, director of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church.
Moscow is not working with the Vatican to end the war in Ukraine, said a Kremlin spokesperson.
The Holy See has a project underway related to peace between Russia and Ukraine, but Pope Francis told reporters he could not talk about it yet.
Paying homage to Hungary's history, culture and location in the heart of Europe, Pope Francis pushed against the notion that the country needed to insulate itself to protect its identity.
The prayers of nuns and monks are like "oxygen" for all members of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis said.
Suffering and death are human realities that raise questions people need to ask themselves, Pope Francis said.
On a bright spring morning, Pope Francis prayed that Christians would experience the joy of Easter and allow Christ's resurrection to be "the light that illumines the darkness and the gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped."
Jesus never abandons anyone; he has come to save, serve and accompany everyone, Pope Francis told young inmates.
The unborn, migrants, the elderly and the disabled are "living icons" of Jesus that call Christians to draw close to those who feel abandoned just as Christ did on the cross, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis enjoyed a pizza "party" with staff on his second night at Rome's Gemelli hospital and was expected to be released from the hospital April 1, the Vatican press office said.
More than 24 hours after he entered the hospital, Pope Francis' doctors reported a "marked improvement" in his condition, which they attributed to treatment with intravenous antibiotics.
After having difficulty breathing, Pope Francis went to Rome's Gemelli hospital March 29 where he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection that will be treated in the hospital for several days, the Vatican press office said.
Pope Francis has invited Catholics worldwide to renew the act of consecrating the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine, to Mary every March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.
The text of the address by Pope Francis to the editorial board of the television program A Sua Immagine, which airs on the Italian national broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana.
The mission to spread the Gospel message of God's love and of salvation in Christ is entrusted to all the baptized who are called to work together and never set out alone, Pope Francis said.