Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, LC. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, LC, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State and president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, celebrated his 80th birthday on Saturday, March 1, marking his departure from these crucial Vatican positions.

Sister Raffaella Petrini now succeeds him in both roles, continuing a path of Vatican governance that has seen significant developments under Pope Francis.

Vérgez, a member of the Legion of Christ, was ordained a priest in Rome on Nov. 26, 1969. He holds advanced degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a diploma in archival studies.

His Vatican service began in 1972 when he entered the Curia as secretary to prefect Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio at the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes. He remained there until the cardinal’s death. He later worked with Pironio at the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

In 2004, Vérgez moved to the administration of the patrimony of the Apostolic See, and in 2008 became director of Vatican City State’s telecommunications department.

Pope Francis appointed him secretary-general of the Vatican City State Governorate on Aug. 30, 2013. Following his episcopal consecration by Pope Francis on Oct. 15, 2013, as titular bishop of Villamagna di Proconsolare, he continued his rise through Vatican administration.

On Sept. 8, 2021, Francis named him president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Governorate of Vatican City State. He formally assumed positions on Oct. 1, 2021, succeeding Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello.

Pope Francis created him a cardinal of the holy Roman Church during the consistory of Aug. 27, 2022, assigning him the deaconry of Santa Maria della Mercede and Sant’Adriano at Villa Albani. On March 7, 2023, the pontiff appointed him to the Council of Cardinals.

The cardinal departs from his leadership roles on his 80th birthday, following the Vatican tradition of leadership transitions at this milestone age.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Left: Banners at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital. Right: Pope Francis waves from a wheelchair, Feb. 13, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis expressed heartfelt gratitude on Sunday for the prayers and support he has received during his hospitalization while offering his own prayers for those suffering around the world.

Vatican sources reported that the 88-year-old pontiff met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin on the morning of March 2, in his hospital room. The secretary of state was accompanied by Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State.

The Vatican officials visited the pope following his restful night, during which he reportedly slept well. According to the same sources, Pope Francis woke up Sunday morning, had coffee, read the newspapers, and continued his prescribed treatments.

Feeling ‘carried by all God’s people’

In his Sunday message released by the Vatican’s press office, Pope Francis said: “I would like to thank you for the prayers, which rise up to the Lord from the hearts of so many faithful from many parts of the world.”

The pontiff continued: “I feel all your affection and closeness and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people.”

The message accompanied the text for the Angelus prayer, which the pope was unable to deliver publicly for the third consecutive time due to his ongoing health issues. Francis has been receiving treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14.

Faith forged in fragility

In his Sunday message, Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel reading (Luke 6:39-45), particularly Jesus’ words about removing the “wooden beam from your eye” before attempting to remove the “splinter in your brother’s eye.”

The pope emphasized the importance of fraternal correction rooted in charity rather than condemnation. “I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” the pope wrote. “At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.”

Prayers in times of war

The pontiff also turned his thoughts to areas of conflict around the world, saying: “I pray for you too. And I pray above all for peace. From here, war appears even more absurd. Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu.”

A medical update on the pope’s condition is expected Sunday evening. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, will lead a rosary for the pope’s health Sunday evening at 9 p.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square.

Hot cross buns. / Credit: zi3000/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Though many Catholics may associate the liturgical season of Lent more with the practice of fasting and abstaining from food, many families around the world use the 40-day season to prepare specific homemade delicacies to remind them of the life of Jesus Christ as he made his way to the cross.  

Mexico

Capirotada, which is similar to a bread pudding, is a treat served by many Mexican families on the Fridays of Lent. Though recipes may vary from one family to the next, the traditional sweet and savory ingredients carry rich religious symbolism linked to Jesus’ crucifixion.

Bread rolls used in the dish represent the body of Christ; honey or piloncillo syrup, made from cane sugar, is meant to symbolize the blood of Christ; whole cloves are used to represent the nails of the crucifixion; cinnamon sticks are used to symbolize the wooden cross of Christ; and the melted cheese coating the pudding represents the shroud used for Jesus’ burial.

Aguas fresca — a drink made with still water, fresh fruits of your choice, sugar, oats, and other cereals, seeds, and floral teas — are prepared and served by families to passersby in Oaxaca on Good Friday. Though not solely a Lenten beverage, this Good Friday tradition is an opportunity for Oaxaca families to quench the thirst of Jesus on his way to Jerusalem — just like the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (cf. Jn 4:4-42) — by serving a fellow neighbor.

Ecuador     

Fanesca, a soup eaten during Lent and Holy Week made with cod and 12 kinds of beans and legumes, is said to represent Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper.  

The dish’s religious significance dates back to the 16th century and is believed to be connected to a monastery in Quito, Ecuador, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Some families take advantage to make this lunch dish together — preparing the fish and shelling the many beans and legumes — with a spirit of prayer, contemplating the Last Supper in the upper room just hours before Jesus began his passion in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Malta 

Kwareżimal, which derives its name from the Latin word “Quadragesima,” meaning the “40 days of Lent,” are sweet cakes made with almond paste, honey, and orange rind.

This Lenten sweet treat is also given to children who want to embark upon a one-day, 14-church pilgrimage to remember Jesus’ 14 Stations of the Cross.

Qaghaq tal-appostli or “Apostles’ Rings” are sweet, savory, unleavened circular bread loaves topped with almonds and sesame seeds eaten on Holy Thursday. 

The treat is associated with the events of Holy Thursday when Jesus made his apostles priests and instituted the Eucharist and the celebration of the Mass. 

Lebanon

Zenkoul, a dish of bulgur wheat balls (or pumpkin balls) combined with chickpeas, rice, garlic, onion, and pomegranate molasses, is eaten by Lebanese families during Lent and Good Friday.  

Some families add vinegar to their Zenkoul instead of lemon juice to remind them when Jesus told the Roman soldiers “I thirst” (cf. Jn 19:28) before dying on the cross and fulfilling the prophecy “for my thirst they gave me vinegar” (cf. Ps 69:22).

Iraq

Christ’s Feast is a traditional dish shared and eaten together in Iraqi villages on Good Friday. Made with habbiyeh wheat, several types of grains, and a variety of beans and legumes, the most distinctive ingredient of the dish is “akoub,” a prickly plant that grows abundantly during spring.

By combining all the ingredients with a little water, Christ’s Feast is turned into a soup and cooked slowly until it is ready to be mashed and served to families on Good Friday.  

For some Iraqi Christians, the difficulty in preparing the dish — particularly removing the thorns of the akoub — is a form of participating in Jesus’ passion. The prickly plant is also said to symbolize the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head before he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate.

Germany, Luxembourg, France, and Belgium

Pretzels, the iconic bread twist simply made with salt, yeast, flour, and water linked to several parts of Europe, are believed to have been invented specifically as a Lenten food by an Italian monk in the early Middle Ages, according to a Vatican Library document.

With the purpose of helping Catholics to live the penitential season with prayer and simplicity, the treat’s shape resembles hands in prayer, forming three holes representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand 

Hot cross buns are believed to have first been distributed to poor English Catholics on a Good Friday between the 12th and 14th centuries. Today, the sweet-spiced buns are eaten in England and in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand during Lent and Holy Week.

While some historic accounts suggest the buns — traditionally made with flour, eggs, yeast, currents, and cardamom — have ancient pagan origins, other records hint that medieval monks Christianized the recipe by baking the buns with distinct crosses to represent the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and using different spices to symbolize his burial.

Alcide De Gasperi delivers a speech in Bologna, Italy, in 1951. / Credit: Democrazia Cristiana, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Madrid, Spain, Feb 28, 2025 / 15:30 pm (CNA).

Servant of God Alcide De Gasperi was one of the promoters of the project for a united Europe, inspired by the values ​​of Christian humanism.

Deir Mar Musa, also known as the Monastery of St. Moses the Abyssinian, is a centuries-old Christian monastery in al-Nabk north of Damascus, Syria. / Credit: LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images

Madrid, Spain, Feb 28, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Trinitarian Order comes to the aid of persecuted Christians in Syria, Nigeria, and northern India, among other places.

Pope Francis meets with the Spanish bishops at the Vatican on Nov. 28, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Madrid, Spain, Feb 27, 2025 / 17:50 pm (CNA).

The secretary-general of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Francisco César García Magán, said the conditions for Pope Francis to resign have not been met.

null / Credit: Declausura Foundation

Madrid, Spain, Feb 26, 2025 / 18:07 pm (CNA).

Sister María Victoria Triviño, OSC, made her critique in an article regarding the recent closure of a monastery that had been in existence for 700 years.

Window at the top of the south façade of the Cathedral in Seville, Spain,. / Credit: o_andras/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International via Wikimedia Commons

Madrid, Spain, Feb 26, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Observatory for Religious Freedom and Conscience is calling on Spain’s Ministry of the Interior to strengthen security at the country’s cathedrals after an ISIS threat.

Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime during his homily at the Mass of St. James the Apostle in the Spanish church in Rome. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 24, 2025 / 10:40 am (CNA).

Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime has had to resign in order to take up his new duties in the Vatican Curia at the request of Pope Francis.

The Reichstag building in Berlin, where the Bundestag meets. / Credit: jan zeschky via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

CNA Newsroom, Feb 21, 2025 / 14:10 pm (CNA).

CNA explains what’s at stake for Catholics in Germany in the crucial 2025 election this Sunday.