Month: April 2025

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The conclave to elect a new pope, scheduled to begin May 7, is governed by two texts: a rule book and a prayer book.

The rule book is the apostolic constitution, “Universi Dominici Gregis” (“Shepherd of the Lord’s Whole Flock”), which was issued by St. John Paul II in 1996 and amended by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 and again in 2013.

The prayer book is the “Ordo Rituum Conclavis” (“Rites of the Conclave”), which was approved by St. John Paul II in 1998, but not released until after his death in 2005. If Pope Francis made any adjustments to the rites, they had not been announced as of April 30.

The “Ordo Rituum Conclavis,” which has prayers in Latin with an Italian translation, begins by noting that the election of a pope “is prepared for and takes place with liturgical actions and constant prayer.”

The rites of the conclave begin with the public Mass “for the election of the Roman pontiff,” which was to be celebrated at 10 a.m. May 7 in St. Peter’s Basilica. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will be the main celebrant.

According to the “Ordo,” Cardinal Re will begin by praying: “O God, eternal pastor, you who govern your people with a father’s care, give your church a pontiff acceptable to you for his holiness of life and wholly consecrated to the service of your people.”

The Mass for the election of the pope is the only rite in the book to be celebrated publicly before the new pope is presented to the world.

After celebrating the morning Mass, the rule book calls for the cardinals to gather in the late afternoon in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace and then process into the Sistine Chapel.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the highest-ranking member of the College of Cardinals who is under the age of 80 and eligible to enter the conclave, addresses the cardinals: “After having celebrated the divine mysteries, we now enter into conclave to elect the Roman pontiff. The whole church, united with us in prayer, invokes the grace of the Holy Spirit so that we elect a worthy pastor of the entire flock of Christ.”

In a procession behind the cross, the cardinals walk into the Sistine Chapel singing a litany of saints of the East and West and a series of invocations to Christ with the refrain, “Save us, Lord.”

When everyone is in his place in the chapel, the cardinals chant the ancient invocation of the Holy Spirit, “Veni, Creator Spiritus.”

The cardinals then take an oath to “faithfully and scrupulously observe” the rules for electing a pope. Each swears that if he is elected, he will “faithfully fulfill the Petrine ministry as pastor of the universal church and will strenuously affirm and defend the spiritual and temporal rights as well as the freedom of the Holy See.”

They also promise to keep everything having to do with the election secret.

When the last cardinal has placed his hand on the Book of the Gospels and sworn the oath, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Vatican master of liturgical ceremonies, says: “Extra omnes,” ordering all those not directly involved in the conclave out of the Sistine Chapel.

During their general congregation meetings, the cardinals selected Italian Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, retired preacher of the papal household who at 90 is not eligible to vote in the conclave, to remain inside the chapel to offer a reflection on their responsibilities in electing a new pope.

After the meditation, he and Archbishop Ravelli will leave the chapel.

The cardinals decide together whether they will cast one ballot the first evening; traditionally they have done so, burning the ballots with a chemical additive that produces black smoke pouring from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

After that, two ballots can be cast each morning and two each afternoon until a candidate garners two-thirds of the votes. On the fourth day, if no one has been elected, the cardinals pause for extended prayer.

Each day of the conclave, the cardinals recite morning and evening prayer together and concelebrate Mass. They have time for prayer before each ballot is cast and before the ballots are counted.

As each cardinal places his vote in an urn on a table in front of Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment, he promises that his vote was cast for the candidate he believes deserves to be elected.

If the first ballot of the morning or of the afternoon session does not result in an election, a second vote begins immediately, and the two ballots are burned together.

When someone reaches the two-thirds threshold – 89 votes if, as reported, 133 cardinals enter the conclave – he will be asked by Cardinal Parolin, “Do you accept your canonical election as supreme pontiff?”

Neither the “Ordo” nor the rule book provides a formula for the assent and neither recognizes the possibility that the person elected will refuse. The second question asked is: “With what name do you wish to be called?”

If the elected man already is a bishop, once he accepts the office, he “immediately is the bishop of the church of Rome, the true pope and head of the college of bishops; he acquires full and supreme power over the universal church.”

The ballots, along with the cardinals’ notes or running tallies of the votes, are burned with a chemical additive to produce white smoke and announce to the world that there has been a successful election.

The cardinals approach the new pope and pay homage to him, then sing the “Te Deum” hymn of thanks to God.

Then the senior cardinal deacon, French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Apostolic Signature, the Holy See’s highest court, goes to the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and declares to the public, “Habemus papam” (“We have a pope”).

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The College of Cardinals confirmed that 135 members are eligible to participate in the conclave, the Vatican announced, and they asked the faithful to accompany them in prayer as they prepare to elect the next pope.

After their seventh general congregation meeting April 30, the College of Cardinals released a statement confirming that the conclave that begins May 7 will exceed the limit of 120 cardinal electors established by St. Paul VI and upheld by later popes.

Pope Francis, “in the exercise of his supreme power, dispensed of this legislative provision,” the statement said. Therefore, all 135 cardinals who are under the age of 80 and have not renounced the right to enter the conclave will have full voting rights.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters that two of the 135 cardinal electors will not be participating in the conclave due to health reasons. While he declined to name the two, the major Spanish newspaper, ABC, reported that one of them is 79-year-old Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, retired archbishop of Valencia, who said he is too ill to participate.

After their general congregation meeting, the College of Cardinals issued a separate statement asking the faithful to pray for them as they prepare for the conclave.

The College of Cardinals “wishes to invite the People of God to live this ecclesial moment as an event of grace and spiritual discernment, listening to the will of God,” it said. “For this reason, the cardinals, conscious of the responsibility to which they are called, feel the need to be supported by the prayers of all the faithful.”

“Faced with the enormity of the task ahead and the urgency of the present time, it is first of all necessary to make ourselves humble instruments of the infinite wisdom and providence of our heavenly Father, in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit,” it continued. “Indeed, he is the protagonist of the life of the People of God, the One to whom we must listen, accepting what he is saying to the church.”

Bruni said that more than 180 cardinals, of whom 124 are electors, participated in the general congregation meeting April 30.

Among other matters, the cardinals examined the financial situation of the Holy See. Speaking on that subject were Cardinals Reinhard Marx, coordinator of the Vatican Council for the Economy; Kevin J. Farrell, president of the Vatican Investment Committee; Christoph Schonborn, president of the supervisory commission of cardinals for the Vatican bank; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, former president of the office governing Vatican City State; and Konrad Krajewski, papal almoner.

Bruni said 14 cardinals also took an opportunity to speak about the needs of the church and the world.

The topics included the “wound” of polarization in the church and division in society, the ecclesiology of the people of God, synodality, vocations to religious life and evangelization as the “correspondence between what is lived and what is proclaimed,” Bruni said.

The cardinals also issued a statement thanking Cardinal Angelo Becciu for stating that he would not participate in the conclave. He had forfeited the rights associated with being a cardinal after Pope Francis asked him to resign in 2020, but initially said he would try to join the cardinals in electing Pope Francis’ successor.

The cardinal, “having the good of the church at heart, and to contribute to the communion and serenity of the conclave, has communicated his decision not to participate in it,” the statement said. “In this regard, the congregation of cardinals expresses appreciation for the gesture he made and hopes that the competent organs of justice will be able to definitively ascertain the facts.”

Cardinal Becciu, 76, was convicted in late 2023 by a Vatican court on charges of embezzlement related to when he was substitute for the Vatican Secretariat of State. He is appealing his conviction.

(OSV News) – Ahead of the May 7 start of the papal conclave, the Pontifical Missions Societies USA is inviting faithful to pray – not only for the assembly as a whole, but for a specific cardinal elector who will help to choose the next successor of St. Peter, following Pope Francis’ death April 21 at the age of 88.

“As Catholics, we believe in the transformative power of prayer, and now is the moment to put that faith into action,” said Msgr. Roger Landry, the societies’ national director, in an April 28 statement announcing the launch of the campaign, which will continue until the election of the new pope.

Participants can enroll by visiting the societies’ website at pontificalmissions.org and entering their email address to learn which cardinal they’ve been assigned to pray for.

On the submission confirmation page, an image of a given cardinal appears, with his name, birthday and birthplace displayed, along with the short prayer: “Heavenly Father, guide the cardinals in wisdom and love as they may lead your Church. May your will be their compass. Amen.”

On April 28, the Vatican announced the start date of the conclave, which will see 135 cardinal electors – those eligible to vote for the next pontiff – begin their deliberations May 7 with a “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff” in St. Peter’s Basilica. That evening, the group will process into the Sistine Chapel, where they will begin voting under strict seclusion.

The progress of the conclave will be publicly indicated by the burning of the ballots, with white smoke indicating a new pope has been selected, and black smoke signaling the need for another vote.

In his statement, Msgr. Landry described the pope as the Catholic Church’s “chief missionary, the one who leads us to the peripheries of the world to share the Gospel.”

“We now pray together for someone to lead the Church’s worldwide fishing expedition that began when Jesus told St. Peter he was making him a fisher of men,” said Msgr. Landry.

The Pontifical Missions Societies’ worldwide network, which operates at the service of the pope, consists of four mission societies designated as pontifical by Pope Pius XI in 1922.

The Society of the Propagation of the Faith supports the evangelization efforts of the local church; the Missionary Childhood Association educates children about their role in the church’s missionary outreach; the Society of St. Peter the Apostle trains the next generation of missionary clergy and consecrated religious; and the Missionary Union focuses on forming clergy, religious and pastoral leaders more deeply in their role as evangelizers.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – True discipleship is not measured by the creeds Christians recite or the theology they know, but by how deeply they love, a cardinal said at a memorial Mass for Pope Francis.

“It is not the profession of faith, the theological knowledge or the sacramental practice that guarantees participation in the joy of God,” said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, “but the qualitative and quantitative involvement in the human experience of the least of our brothers and sisters.”

Celebrating Mass in the basilica April 29 for the fourth day of the “novendiali” – nine days of mourning for Pope Francis marked with Masses – the cardinal said that Christ’s final judgment will not be based on knowledge or status, but on acts of mercy toward the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the imprisoned.

His message came as cardinals gathered in Rome said they are beginning to reflect on what qualities the next pope must embody. The cardinals are meeting daily in general congregation meetings ahead of the conclave, which is scheduled to begin May 7.

Concelebrating the Mass with Cardinal Gambetti were the cardinals who lead the three other papal basilicas in Rome: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, papal vicar of Rome and archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran; Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, coadjutor archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major; and U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey, archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Patrick Kelly, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, was seated in a front row.

Reflecting on the Gospel’s imagery of sheep and goats, Cardinal Gambetti explained that those who are welcomed into God’s kingdom are not those who sought independence and self-interest, but those who lived with gentleness, solidarity and compassion.

“At the personal and institutional level, we must ask ourselves: which of these two styles do we embody?” he said.

Pope Francis’ humanity, tenderness and commitment to peace touched believers and nonbelievers alike, the cardinal said. Quoting Edith Bruck, a Holocaust survivor, poet and friend of Pope Francis, Cardinal Gambetti said the late pope was “a man who loved, who wept, who invoked peace, who embraced and spread warmth wherever he went.”

True evangelization, the cardinal said, does not come through grand proclamations but through humble acts of solidarity that reveal God’s love in tangible ways.

“Who touches humanity touches God; who honors humanity honors God; who scorns humanity scorns God,” he said.

Recalling Pope Francis’ conviction that “all, all, all, are called to live in the church,” Cardinal Gambetti reflected the on the episode from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter meets Cornelius.

In that account, St. Peter enters the gentile’s home despite Jewish custom forbidding him to do so, and, after preaching about Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon them both, and the apostle baptizes Cornelius.

The Gospel account is “an episode that, in an age that is globalized, secularized and thirsting for truth and love such as ours” reveals the first pope’s attitude toward evangelization, the cardinal said: “Openness to the human person without reservation, gratuitous concern for others, sharing and deepening experiences to help every man and woman give credit to life, to the grace of creation.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – One by one, placing a right hand on the Book of Gospels, staff driving, cooking, cleaning and caring for the cardinals who will elect a new pope will swear an oath of perpetual secrecy about the election of the 266th successor of St. Peter.

While members of the College of Cardinals famously take an oath, so do Vatican staff members, including the elevator operator, doctors and attendants, who will be assisting with the everyday tasks and needs of the cardinals during the conclave which begins May 7.

In an April 29 statement, the Vatican said “the oath of the officials and attendants of the conclave will take place” May 5 in the Pauline Chapel, not far from the Sistine Chapel where the cardinals will vote for the next pope.

The Vatican also announced that the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff will begin at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica May 7 and that the cardinals will solemnly process into the Sistine Chapel from the Pauline Chapel at 4:30 p.m. the same day.

Among those directly assisting the College of Cardinals and are required to swear the oath are: Archbishop Ilson Montanari, secretary of the College of Cardinals; Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of the liturgical ceremonies; and a priest chosen by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is presiding over the conclave, “to assist him in his office.”

Also taking the oath are sacristans, priests who will be available to hear the cardinals’ confessions, doctors, nurses, elevator operators, technical services staff, the colonel and major of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, as well as the director of security services for Vatican City State and some of his assistants.

The rules regarding the oath were outlined in the apostolic constitution, “Universi Dominici Gregis” (“Shepherd of the Lord’s Whole Flock”), which was issued by St. John Paul II in 1996 and amended by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 and again in 2013.

According to the apostolic constitution, the cardinal chamberlain, currently Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, along with three cardinal assistants, will approve the staff members chosen to have contact with the cardinals during the conclave and, therefore, required to take the oath.

At the fifth general congregation meeting April 28, it was announced that Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, Dominique Mamberti, and Reinhard Marx were chosen to assist Cardinal Farrell in preparing for the conclave.

Once approved, the staff members “who in any way or at any time should come to learn anything from any source, directly or indirectly, regarding the election process, and in particular regarding the voting which took place in the election itself, are obliged to maintain strict secrecy with all persons extraneous to the College of Cardinal electors,” the document states.

Placing their hands on the Gospels, staff members swear to “observe absolute and perpetual secrecy with all who are not part of the College of Cardinal electors concerning all matters directly or indirectly related to the ballots cast and their scrutiny for the election of the Supreme Pontiff.”

Staff will also swear not to use audio or video equipment to record anything taking place during the period of the election or that is related to the process of the election itself.

“I declare that I take this oath fully aware that an infraction thereof will incur the penalty of automatic (‘latae sententiae’) excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See,” the document states.

(OSV News) – The conclave is set to begin May 7, but the public only knows its end by iconic white smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.

Black smoke means the cardinals have not yet reached the two-thirds majority vote necessary to elect a new pope. The cardinals burn the ballots in a stove, adding chemicals to the fire to color the smoke.

The best place to watch for the smoke is in St. Peter’s Square itself, but the Vatican will also livestream the smoke on its YouTube channel, Vatican Media Live.

For smoke watchers, the best time to view the smoke on May 7, the conclave’s first day, is just after 7 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT). On the following days, look for it around 10:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. EDT) and noon, and again at 5:30 p.m. and just after 7 p.m., according to Catholic News Service.

However, the times may vary depending on the cardinals’ prayers and discussions.

“On the second day of the conclave and moving forward, there can be four rounds of voting each day, but only two smoke signals,” according to Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Services’ editor-in-chief. “That is because if the first ballot of the morning or of the afternoon session does not result in an election, a second vote begins immediately, and the two ballots are burned together.”

(OSV News) – Personal encouragement to consider whether Jesus Christ is calling them to priesthood, along with regular Eucharistic adoration, continue to be key factors for young men seeking to become priests, according to a new report.

“Encourage a young man to consider the priesthood or to attend Eucharistic adoration; he could be your future pastor,” said Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan.

The bishop, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, shared his thoughts in an April 24 statement announcing the release of the 2025 “Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood.”

Since 2006, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, or CARA, has overseen the report that is provided to the USCCB.

The report comes in advance of the 62nd annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations, celebrated this year on May 11, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, known as Good Shepherd Sunday in the Latin Church. The Gospel passage (Jn 10:27-30) for the Mass highlights Jesus’ role as the Good Shepherd.

In what would be his final message for the day of prayer, Pope Francis – writing from Rome’s Gemelli hospital March 19 amid his final illness – urged that “every effort be made to foster vocations in the various spheres of human life and activity, and to help individuals to be spiritually open to the Lord’s voice.”

He also exhorted the faithful to “have the courage to pause, to listen to what your heart tells you, and to ask God about his dreams for you.”

The late pope’s emphasis on the need for prayer and communal support for men and women discerning their vocations dovetailed with the data in CARA’s report. It found that 78% of the survey participants had participated in regular Eucharistic adoration before entering the seminary, with 89% encouraged to consider priesthood by someone in their life: either by a parish priest (60%), friend (52%) or fellow parishioner (42%).

Jesuit Father Thomas P. Gaunt, CARA’s executive director, told OSV News “there’s been more emphasis on Eucharistic adoration in the last couple of decades,” adding, “It’s just become a more common devotional prayer practice.”

He also said that “folks have just become more cognizant” of the CARA report’s “point about encouragement” as a factor in developing priestly vocations.

This year’s online survey, conducted from Jan. 10-March 10, was completed by 309 out of the 405 men being ordained priests this year who were invited to participate, a response rate of 76%. The ordinands represent 115 U.S. dioceses and eparchies and 36 distinct religious institutes.

Among the responding dioceses, 36 reported they did not have any men set to be ordained in 2025.

Most of the respondents (80%) are preparing for ordination to a diocese or eparchy, with 20% seeking ordination in religious institutes.

A majority said they had first considered priesthood at age 16. The average age for ordination, 34, is consistent with the age range of 33-37 reported since 1999.

Most (69%) of the 2025 ordination class is white or Anglo, with 12% Hispanic or Latino, another 12% Asian or Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, and 6% Black, African American or African.

Just over a quarter of responding ordinands (26%) are foreign-born — coming to live in the U.S. on average 15 years ago at 21 years old — with Mexico (5%), Vietnam (4%), and the Philippines (3%) the most common countries of origin among them.

An overwhelming majority (92%) had been baptized Catholic as an infant; those who reported becoming Catholic later in life typically did so at an average age of 22.

Close to nine in 10 (85%) respondents said they grew up with both parents as Catholics, and most (95%) were raised by their biological parents during the most formative part of childhood.

About one third (31%) reported having a relative who is a priest or religious.

More than half of the respondents (63%) had completed an undergraduate (41%) or graduate (22%) degree prior to entering the seminary, with philosophy, engineering and business topping the areas of study.

At least 73% of responding ordinands attended a Catholic school before entering the seminary. Among the responding ordinands, 46% had attended a Catholic elementary school, 36% attended a Catholic high school and 36% attended a Catholic college.

Most (66%) ordinands had worked full time prior to entering the seminary, with 6% serving in the nation’s armed forces.

While most respondents reported receiving personal encouragement regarding their vocations, 43% noted they faced discouragement from pursuing priesthood, usually by a friend, parent or other family member.

Along with Eucharistic adoration, praying the rosary (72%), participating in a prayer or Bible study group (48%) and Lectio Divina (41%) were significant practices cited by respondents. More than half (51%) had been in a parish youth group prior to their seminary entrance.

“We pray for the continued fidelity of the newly ordained to the voice of God and for the faithful to whom they will minister,” said Bishop Boyea. “As witnesses of hope, we thank them for their courage to commit their lives to what Pope Francis said is a call that embraces their entire existence.”

ROME (OSV News) – In a mix of joy, excitement and sadness, families, associations and individuals from all over the world celebrated the Jubilee of People with Disabilities with Mass April 28 in Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Joy reverberated inside the basilica. Sadness was felt too, because instead of meeting the pope in person, the people with disabilities who flocked to Rome had to say goodbye to the pontiff who reached out to those often excluded from society.

Giusi, from Sicily, mother of Sofia and Andrea Joel, a boy with autism, and wife of Maurizio, told OSV News they booked the trip months ago and that it was a “very special moment intertwined with the papal funeral.”

There was “a lot of emotion, a lot of joy, a lot of sadness, too, because we lost our pontiff, but we have hope and faith for the new one to lead the faithful,” said Giusi, who only gave her first name.

“Celebrating the Jubilee, we’re just grateful for the life of our son, because of course there are a million challenges for our family, but we find strength to come forward,” she said. “We’re really happy with this pilgrimage – we’re tired but it’s beautiful.”

Grace Arnold, who is 19, came with her mom, Patricia, from Kansas City. “I’m really excited about this pilgrimage,” she said. “I wanted to know more about the church. To be here with mom, to be bonding with her, it’s amazing,” she said.

Grace, who has Down syndrome, said that going through the Holy Door at St. Paul Outside the Walls was “very cool” and while it was a “little sad initially” for her to hear that Pope Francis died, she is “really excited now that we can be praying for the new one.”

“I wanted for my daughter to have a sense of the global church, and to understand that she’s not alone,” Grace’s mother, Patricia, told OSV News.

“The Christian community first prays,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organizer of the Jubilee 2025 events and pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization under Pope Francis.

Prayer “is our salvation,” he told the packed basilica.

The first prayer, Archbishop Fisichella said, is to “ask the Lord for the courage not to remain silent, the courage to always proclaim that Christ is risen.”

Speaking to many people with disabilities who came with their caregivers, Archbishop Fisichella said: “Let us remember that we always have a community to refer to, our little church.”

For Irene Verzeletti from Brescia, near Milan in northern Italy, this sense of community is really important. She is part of the apostolate of blind people, and she said the association keeps reminding society that “blind people — we can work, we can do things, we can graduate, we can study, we can do all that people that see can do.” The 48-year-old is an accountant at the University of Brescia.

The Jubilee for her is important, because “we are here to pray together,” and remember that “the person we have around can be a real friend. And not only people who take care of us. Everyone can exchange their gifts like it is written in the Gospel, I can give you my talent, and you can give me yours,” Verzeletti said.

American Catholic journalist JD Flynn, who was with his wife, said several months ago they “felt sort of a call to come to the Jubilee for People with Disabilities.” Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, they brought four other families “from all over the U.S.” to Rome and, who – like the Flynn’s – have children with Down syndrome.

“It’s been a gift to come together and pray together. I think it was a gift to be at this Mass,” Flynn said.

“People with disabilities don’t always experience that. Sometimes they experience the church as their home. But as often as not, they experience marginalization in the church or isolation in the church, not necessarily by malice, but just a failure to appreciate the kinds of accommodations that they need,” Flynn, father of three, told OSV News.

“Pope Francis said a few years ago: ‘The church is your home.’ It was a call for all of us Catholics, to exercise the Lord’s preferential love for the poor — by exercising the Lord’s preferential love for people with disabilities,” he said. “And it’s been beautiful to see that play out in the life of the church over the past couple of years. It’s been beautiful to see that play out in the life of our own family in the past couple years.”

He added: “It can be hard to be a family of someone with disabilities, and it can be a gift to have the church say: ‘We love you and we want to share with you in your joys and sufferings as God says so.'”

Tomasz Sitarz from Lodz, Poland, came for the Jubilee with his son, Peter, who is hard of hearing.

“My hope is that society understands the needs of the disabled people. Sometimes we don’t need certain help, we need true support in our children’s needs, because the world is putting obstacles under their feet, and we want the world simply to support us.”

His fellow Pole Ewa Majewska, who lives in Hamburg, Germany, gave up her holidays to volunteer for the Jubilee.

Asked about her experience, she immediately teared up and said: “I can’t even tell you how many graces I felt here, and the Jubilee of People with Disabilities is just a highlight of the week, in which I saw the pope for the first time in my life on Easter Sunday and then I said goodbye to him just a day later.”

Verzeletti was especially excited to go through the Holy Door with her 3-year-old guide dog, Berto.

“This door is like magic, because when you pass through this door, you can express your desires, your wishes, you can wish and pray.”

She said she didn’t pray for or wish to see again. “I was born blind, I don’t know anything else,” she said.

“My greatest wish is to find love, a great person to love.”