During this time of isolation, it is very difficult to think, meditate and write about Easter. The churches are closed and we do not know at what point the COVID-19 infection will peak. 

BALTIMORE -- More than eight centuries ago, St. Francis of Assisi and two companions randomly opened a prayer book three times inside their parish church of St. Nicolo in Italy.

St. Francis of Assisi means a lot to me. Reading about him during the early days of my conversion really made Catholicism come alive. I even took the name Francis when I entered the Church.

For almost half a century nothing has defined the historic parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Toronto’s Little Italy as much as the annual Good Friday procession which attracts 70,000 people every year.

VATICAN CITY – Like St. Francis of Assisi did, the Catholic Church and individual Christians must follow Christ by imitating his willingness to give up everything for the sake of others, Pope Francis said.

WASHINGTON – As the Oct. 3 feast of St. Francis of Assisi approached this year followers gathered at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land spoke of a revival taking place in the Franciscan order.

ASSISI, Italy – Down a deserted stone alleyway, a joyful chorus of “Hallelujah” can be heard rising from an open window while dozens of tourists armed with selfie sticks gather nearby and begin to scour one of Italy’s most beloved towns in search of the perfect digital souvenir.

ASSISI, Italy – Celebrating how God's mercy has been experienced for 800 years in a tiny stone church in Assisi, Pope Francis said people need to experience God's forgiveness and start learning how to forgive others.

VATICAN CITY – To mark the 800th anniversary of the "Pardon of Assisi," an indulgence earned by visiting faithful who confess their sins and make a sincere promise of repentance, Pope Francis will visit a stone chapel rebuilt by St. Francis of Assisi.

Two recent papal-related events highlighted that Catholicism is meant to be a religion of culture. Every culture, as St. John Paul II taught, answers the fundamental questions of life and different cultures are differentiated by their response to the mystery of God.

VATICAN CITY - Appealing to the entire world, Pope Francis urged everyone to read his upcoming encyclical on the care of creation and to better protect a damaged earth.

ROME - "Laudato Si'," the title Pope Francis chose for his encyclical on the environment, comes from a hymn of praise by St. Francis of Assisi that emphasizes being in harmony with God, with other creatures and with other human beings, said the head of the Franciscan order.