NATION/WORLD

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- There is a prayer for every state of mind and spiritual need in the Book of Psalms, Pope Francis said. "There are many psalms that help us forge ahead. Get into the habit of praying the psalms. I assure you that you will be happy in the end," the pope said during his June 19 general audience. The pope also reminded people that June 20 marks World Refugee Day, established by the United Nations to focus on solidarity with refugees. "We are all called to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors," he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis blessed an ambulance filled with medicine and first-aid equipment that will travel some 1,800 miles from the Vatican to support those wounded in Ukraine. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal almoner, will make his eighth trip into Ukraine to donate the ambulance and medical supplies to a hospital in the country's Ternopil region, the Dicastery for the Charity Services announced June 24. The dicastery's statement was accompanied by a picture of Pope Francis blessing the ambulance.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Condemning the killing of Christians in Congo, Pope Francis said the sacrifices of modern martyrs are seeds that grow into examples of Christian witness for the church. After praying the Angelus in St. Peter's Square June 16, the pope referenced the "painful news" of violence in eastern Congo where over 120 people were reported to have been killed by suspected Islamist rebels in recent weeks. Local officials have said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group affiliated to the Islamic State, were responsible for the attacks.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A group of scientists and researchers are seeking access to the Vatican Apostolic Archives to uncover information about UFOs and the paranormal, believing there may be traces amid the 50 miles of shelves holding everything from handwritten papal notes to presidential missives. The decades-long effort gained momentum in 2023 following former U.S. intelligence official David Grusch's congressional testimony alleging the Vatican's involvement in an international cover-up of alien secrets. Grusch claimed Pope Pius XII "backchanneled" information to the United States about a crashed UFO recovered by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Sitting in the Vatican Gardens with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica as a backdrop, Pope Francis told cardinals and diplomats, including the ambassadors of Israel and Palestine, "Every day I pray that this war will finally end." With a representative of Rome's Jewish community and a representative of the city's Muslim community in attendance June 7, the pope repeated his call for a cease-fire, his appeal to Hamas to release all the hostages it kidnapped Oct. 7 and his plea that Israel protect civilians in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to reach them.

ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis led his "School of Prayer" outside on a concrete driveway leading to a series of parking garages under a 30-family condominium on the outskirts of Rome. "The church begins to take shape in the community, seeking together, listening to the word of God, speaking well of each other," he told about 60 residents of the apartment building: children, teenagers, adults and older people. A group of women from Senegal, an Orthodox man and the district president were also present, Vatican News reported. "What matters is respect for others, and with that respect you go forward and build up the church," making sure to include and accompany children and the elderly, he said during the visit June 6, a portion of which was released in video.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Workers need spaces in which they can come together, form a sense of community and advocate for the marginalized, Pope Francis said.m"In the context of a fragmented society and an individualistic culture, we have a great need for spaces in which people can experience a creative and dynamic sense of belonging," the pope told 6,000 representatives of Italian Christian workers' associations June 1. Such spaces, he added, help people move "from 'I' to 'we'" and to "develop projects for the common good together, and find ways and means to achieve them."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholics, especially young Catholics, who feel that society is adrift should find inspiration and encouragement in their Christian calling to advocate for the poor and marginalized, Pope Francis said. Across cultural and ideological backgrounds, modern people "sense there is something wrong with humanity and the world, that we cannot simply go on as we have been doing, that there is a need for a conversion, a new effective orientation," the pope said in a message to German Catholics released May 29.

Always pray, and pray especially for an end to all wars, Pope Francis told children during Mass concluding the first World Children's Day. "We are here to pray, to pray together and to pray to God," the father, who created the world, to his son, Jesus, who saved humanity, and to the Holy Spirit, "who accompanies us in life," he said in his homily May 26, the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. About 50,000 children and adults gathered in St. Peter's Square for the Mass wrapping up the two-day event which began in Rome's Olympic Stadium May 25. Pope Francis established the world day as a "movement of boys and girls who want to build a world of peace, where we are all brothers and sisters, a world that has a future because we want to take care of the environment around us," he said at the stadium.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Entrusting to God's mercy all of their comrades-in-arms who have died serving their countries and defending peace, Pope Francis urged Catholic members of the military to let their faith inform their service. "The world needs you, especially at this dark moment in our history. We need men and women of faith capable of putting weapons at the service of peace and brotherhood," said the papal message to thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and cadets making a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.