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WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Christus Vivit (Christ Lives)” is a “wonderful summons to the Church to more vigorously invest in youth and young adults, especially those on the peripheries and those disconnected from the Church,” said a trio of leaders within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The life of a young person and the vocation to which God calls each one is “holy ground” that pastors and parents must respect, nurture and encourage, Pope Francis wrote in a new apostolic exhortation.

Francis of Paola founded a religious order at a young age and sought to revive the practices of the earliest monks during a period of corruption in the Church.

RABAT, Morocco (CNS) — Celebrating Mass with members of Morocco’s tiny Catholic community, Pope Francis praised them for the many ways they “bear witness to the Gospel of mercy in this land.”

At Catholic Central High School, they blend in as regular students. In the nearby diocesan pastoral center, they're key accountants this time of year.

I used to think that fasting was worthless. I would find reasons to excuse myself from the obligatory Lenten practice: low blood sugar, anemia, etc.

Helen Kafka was born in 1894 to a shoemaker in Moravia and grew up in Vienna. At the age of 20, she joined the Hartmann Sisters, or Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, and took the name Maria Restituta after St. Restituta of Sora, who was beheaded in the third century, foreshadowing her own martyrdom.

The heart of the sacrament of reconciliation, Pope Francis said, is "not the sins we declare, but the divine love we receive, of which we are ever in need."

Keeping with the Diocese of Phoenix’s theme for its 50th anniversary, guests attending this year’s Crozier Gala April 27 will find a “Remembrance” theme guiding the night.

While many Catholics think about Catholic Relief Services during Lent, there are ways to do so beyond those 40 days. “It’s part of who...