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Crowds of Roman Catholic pilgrims in Rio de Janeiro have joined Pope Francis for a re-enactment of Jesus carrying the cross to his crucifixion.
The Stations of the Cross march comes on the Pope’s fifth day in Brazil for World Youth Day – a weeklong event for more than a million young Christians.
Pope Francis spoke about the lack of faith in political institutions perceived as selfish and corrupt by young people.
A planned field vigil outside Rio de Janeiro was moved to the city because of rain.
Young Catholics played drums on Copacabana beach as they waited for the Pope. People from all over the world travelled to Brazil for the pontiff’s visit.
“Jesus is united with so many young people who have lost faith in political institutions, because they see in them only selfishness and corruption,” Pope Francis said.
Protests, sometimes violent, broke out in cities across Brazil last month against corruption, poor public services and the high cost of events like the 2014 World Cup.
Pope Francis, 76, also expressed understanding for Christians who had lost faith in the church because of what he called the “incoherence of Christians and ministers of the gospel”.
The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked by scandals over abuse by priests.
Crowds of Roman Catholic pilgrims in Rio de Janeiro have joined Pope Francis for a re-enactment of Jesus carrying the cross to his crucifixion
A pilgrim described the Pope as “very clever” and “very humble” with “a lot” of personality.
“It’s what our religion… our church is needing right now,” she said.
Shortly after Pope Francis finished speaking, police held a group of protesters who tried to invade the stage. They were demonstrating against the state governor of Rio, Sergio Cabral.
In Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, some 300 demonstrators attacked several bank branches and at least one police post in protest against the state governor there.
Police said at least eight bank branches were attacked, and for a time several of Sao Paulo’s main avenues were blocked.
Tear gas was used to disperse the protesters.
Earlier, Latin America’s first pontiff met a group of prisoners in a palace of the Rio archdiocese.
Pope Francis then emerged on a balcony to address the crowd, urging them to cherish the elderly on Grandparents’ Day.
“How important grandparents are for family life, for passing on the human and religious heritage which is so essential for each and every society,” he said.
Pope Francis then went to a park where he heard three Brazilians, a Venezuelan and an Italian confess their sins.
Brazil is the world’s biggest Roman Catholic country, despite the growing popularity of Pentecostal Christianity in the country.
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Hundreds of thousands of Catholics have gathered at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the opening of the World Youth Day festival.
The highlight of the festival will be a visit on Thursday by Pope Francis.
Pope Francis arrived on Monday for his first trip abroad since becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The pontiff’s visit is taking place under tight security, after weeks of protests against the government and corruption.
Tuesday’s evening mass at Copacabana Beach will be led by Rio’s Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta.
Hundreds of thousands of Catholics have gathered at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the opening of the World Youth Day festival
Pope Francis will welcome pilgrims to the five-day festival, which is expected to draw about 1.5 million people from around the world.
The Pope, who is from neighboring Argentina, has no public events scheduled for Tuesday and was spending time at a private residence.
Correspondents say Brazil is reviewing security around the 76-year-old pontiff after he was mobbed by adoring crowds following his arrival in Brazil on Monday.
Many were able to stop the Pope’s motorcade as it travelled through Rio and reach their hands inside his car’s open window.
“The Pope’s secretary told me he was terrified, but the Pope kept smiling,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters.
Pope Francis was officially welcomed at the state governor’s palace by President Dilma Rousseff. However, police outside later fired tear gas to disperse people who were protesting against the government, but also against the cost of the papal visit.
On Wednesday Pope Francis will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Sao Paulo state, where a homemade explosive device was discovered on Sunday.
The authorities said the device was “of low power” and nowhere near the area where the Pope and pilgrims will visit.
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Pope Francis has begun the Catholic Church’s most important liturgical season with a Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican.
250,000 pilgrims crowded St Peter’s Square for the outdoor Mass marking the start of Holy Week.that marks the start of Holy Week.
Sprigs of olive trees have been distributed to the faithful in remembrance of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion.
The run-up to Easter is considered the most important week in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Francis has begun the Catholic Church’s most important liturgical season with a Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican
After Sunday’s Mass, Pope Francis will lead six more liturgies during the week, culminating with the Easter Sunday Mass and Urbi et Orbi blessing.
What the newly-elected Pope says during these services will take on added significance coming at the start of his pontificate.
On Saturday, Pope Francis held a first meeting with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict, who is now living in retirement near Rome.
Pope Francis was flown by helicopter to Castel Gandolfo for a private lunch with Pope Emeritus Benedict.
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Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, has been elected the 266th Roman Catholic Church’s new Pope.
The Argentine cardinal is the first Latin American to be Pope.
He will call himself Francis I.
An hour earlier, white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel chimney announced to the world that cardinals gathered inside had made their choice.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio replaces Benedict XVI, who resigned last month saying he was not strong enough to lead the Church.
The 115 cardinals have been in isolation since Tuesday afternoon, and held four inconclusive votes.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, has been elected the 266th Roman Catholic Church’s new Pope
At least 77 of them, or two-thirds, would have had to vote for a single candidate for him to be elected Pope.
Before the conclave began, there was no clear frontrunner to replace Benedict.
Crowds with umbrellas massed in the square flying flags from around the world.
The Catholic News Agency said people were running through the streets of Rome, hoping to reach St Peter’s Square in time for the appearance of the new Pope.
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Cardinals have begun voting to elect a new Pope at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
The 115 cardinal-electors were locked in the chapel after swearing an oath of secrecy.
They will vote four times daily until two-thirds can agree on a candidate.
The election was prompted by the surprise abdication of Benedict XVI. There is no clear frontrunner to take over from him as head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The 85-year-old Benedict stepped down last month, saying he was no longer strong enough to lead the Church, which is beset by problems ranging from a worldwide scandal over child sex abuse to allegations of corruption at the Vatican Bank.
His resignation and the recent damage to the Church’s reputation make the choice of the cardinal-electors especially hard to predict.
They will weigh pressure for a powerful manager to reform the Vatican against calls for a new pope able to inspire the faithful, our correspondent adds.
At 16:30 local time on Tuesday, 115 cardinal-electors – all under 80, as those over 80 are excluded – entered the Sistine Chapel for the secret conclave to select Benedict’s successor, chanting the traditional Litany of the Saints.
Each man in turn stepped up and placed his hands on the Gospel to swear an oath in Latin.
Afterwards Msgr Guido Marini, papal master of ceremonies, called out the words “Extra omnes” – “Everybody out” – and the chapel doors were locked to outsiders.
From now on the cardinals will eat, vote and sleep in closed-off areas until a new pope is chosen.
Jamming devices in the Sistine Chapel should block all electronic communication and anyone tweeting would in any case risk being excommunicated.
Cardinals were now expected listen to a meditation by elderly Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech before holding a first vote, after which their ballot papers will be burned.
The smoke that will drift out of the chapel’s chimney early in the evening is likely to be black – meaning no Pope has been elected.
Cardinals have begun voting to elect a new Pope at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel
From Wednesday, two votes will be held each morning and afternoon – with ballots burned after each session – until one candidate attains a two-thirds majority (77 votes).
Then the smoke will be white, meaning the 266th bishop of Rome will have been chosen.
Earlier on Tuesday the cardinals attended a “Mass for the Election of the Supreme Pontiff” in St Peter’s Basilica.
In his homily, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, praised the “brilliant pontificate” of Pope Benedict and implored God to grant another “Good Shepherd” to lead the church.
He outlined the mission Catholics believe was given by Jesus Christ to St Peter – the first Pope – emphasizing love and sacrifice, evangelization and the unity of the church.
The speech was more measured in tone than the address given in 2005 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope Benedict, which featured a fiery attack on the “dictatorship of relativism”.
On Tuesday morning several cardinals took to Twitter to say goodbye to their followers before being cut off from the outside world.
“Last tweet before the conclave: May Our Father hear and answer with love and mercy all prayers and sacrifices offered for a fruitful outcome,” South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier tweeted.
Benedict – now known as Pope emeritus – resigned on 28 February after eight years in office, citing ill health. He was the first Pope in six centuries to do so.
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2005, he was the marked favorite ahead of the conclave and was elected pope after just four rounds of voting.
The vote for his successor is expected to take much longer.
After 10 general congregations open to all cardinals, regardless of age – at which 160 cardinals spoke of the issues facing the Church and the qualities needed by its next leader – no clear frontrunner has emerged.
“Last time around there was a man of stature, three or four times that of any other cardinal,” French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin told reporters.
“That is not the case this time around. Therefore, the choice has to be made among one, two, three, four… a dozen candidates.
“We still don’t really know anything. We will have to wait for the results of the first ballot.”
New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan told his priests there was hope that a new Pope could be chosen by Thursday.
Candidates named as contenders include Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Brazil’s Odilo Scherer, and Cardinal Dolan himself – though he told one interviewer anyone who thought he was in with a chance might be “smoking marijuana”.
Conclave in numbers
- 115 cardinal-electors
- Two-thirds – or 77 – need to agree on papal candidate
- Four votes per day, two in the morning and two in the evening
- Chosen candidate will be 266th Pope
- He will lead world’s 1.2 billion Catholics
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Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience.
The Pope has admitted he faced “choppy waters” during his eight years at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church, but says he was guided by God and felt his presence every day.
Pope Benedict XVI, 85, will retire on Thursday – the first pope to abdicate since Gregory XII in 1415.
His successor will be chosen in a conclave to take place in March.
Pope Benedict told the crowd his papacy had been “a heavy burden” but he accepted it because he was sure that God would guide him.
At times he “felt like St Peter with his apostles on the Lake of Galilee”, he said, making reference to the Biblical story when the disciples were battling against heavy waves and Jesus Christ appeared to them.
The Church has been beset by scandals over sexual abuse by priests and leaked confidential documents revealing corruption and infighting in the Vatican.
Pope Benedict thanked his flock for respecting his decision to retire and said he was standing down for the good of the Church.
“I took this step [resignation] in full awareness of its gravity and novelty but with profound serenity of spirit,” he said in his address.
As a result of his surprise announcement, the Church has now amended its laws to bring forward the election of a successor.
A conclave beginning in mid-March would have left little time to have a new pope installed for one of the most important periods in the Catholic calendar, Holy Week, leading up to Easter, which begins on March 24.
Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience
On Thursday the Pope will travel by helicopter to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, about 15 miles south-east of Rome. He will cease to be Pope at 20:00 local time.
After Benedict XVI steps down, he will become known as “pope emeritus”.
He will retain the honorific “His Holiness” after his abdication and will continue to be known by his papal title of Benedict XVI, rather than reverting to Joseph Ratzinger.
He will wear his distinctive white cassock without any cape or trimmings, but will surrender his gold ring of office and his personal seal will be destroyed.
He will also give up wearing his red shoes.
“On the one hand I felt that since the decision that he would leave office and resign became public, Pope Benedict is relieved,” said the head of the German bishops’ conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch.
“But he also now feels the sympathy of the people for him, and therefore he will have a sense of melancholy and nostalgia, a bit of sadness.”
The title “emeritus” is used when a person of status, such as a professor or bishop, hands over their position, so their former rank can be retained in their title.
The Pope is to spend his final hours at his Vatican residence saying farewell to the cardinals who have been his closest aides during his eight-year pontificate.
His personal archive of documents will be packed up and, at 20:00 on Thursday, the Swiss Guard on duty at his Castel Gandolfo residence will be dismissed, to be replaced by Vatican police.
This will mark the formal end of his papacy and the beginning of the period of transition to his successor, due to be chosen next month.
From March 4, the College of Cardinals will meet in general congregations to discuss the problems facing the Church and set a date for the start of the secret election, or conclave, to elect Pope Benedict’s successor.
That successor will be chosen by 115 cardinal-electors (those younger than 80 years old) through ballots held in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
A two-thirds-plus-one vote majority is required. Sixty-seven of the electors were appointed by Benedict XVI, and the remainder by his predecessor John Paul II.
About half the cardinal-electors (60) are European – 21 of them Italian – and many have worked for the administrative body of the Church, the Curia, in Rome.
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Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict XVI has amended Roman Catholic Church law so that the conclave selecting his successor can be brought forward.
The change to the constitution means cardinals will no longer have to wait 15 days after the papacy becomes vacant before beginning the conclave.
As a result, the conclave can now start before March 15.
Pope Benedict’s resignation, the first by a pope in nearly 600 years, takes effect on Thursday, February 28.
His decision surprised many within the Catholic Church.
“I leave the College of Cardinals the possibility to bring forward the start of the conclave once all cardinals are present, or push the beginning of the election back by a few days should there be serious reasons,” the Pope said in a statement read by his spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi.
Vatican officials explained that the change was partly due to the fact that the church constitution was written principally for a conclave following the death of a pope, rather than a resignation.
The decision on the date of the beginning of the conclave will be taken by the cardinals but will not happen earlier than March 1st, officials said.
A conclave beginning in mid-March would have left little time to have a new pope installed for one of the most important periods in the Catholic calendar, as Easter Holy Week begins on March 24.
Pope Benedict XVI has amended Roman Catholic Church law so that the conclave selecting his successor can be brought forward
The news about the timing of the conclave comes as the Pope accepted the resignation of the Roman Catholic Church’s highest cleric in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien.
It follows allegations – which he contests – of inappropriate behavior towards priests dating from the 1980s.
Vatican officials said that his Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s resignation was linked to the fact that he was approaching his 75th birthday and the Pope was keen to accept resignations and get business going ahead of his own resignation taking effect.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien has confirmed he will not take part in the conclave to elect Benedict’s successor.
Vatican officials said that no decision had been yet taken on how the Pope should be referred to during the period between popes.
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Pope Benedict XVI has condemned “unregulated capitalism” for contributing to world tension, in 2013 New Year address to worshippers.
The Pope also thanked the world’s peacemakers and said humanity had “an innate vocation for peace”.
The Roman Catholic Church leader spoke at a Mass in the Vatican, then greeted a crowd outside St Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Benedict deplored “hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor”.
Those “hotbeds” also grew out of “the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism”, as well as “various forms of terrorism and crime”, he said.
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned unregulated capitalism for contributing to world tension, in 2013 New Year address to worshippers
The 85-year-old pontiff delivered a prayer for peace to the crowd in St Peter’s Square after his homily at Mass.
“The peacemakers are many, but they are not loud. As leaven in dough, they raise humanity according to God’s plan,” he said.
Comparing the new year to a journey, he prayed that it “may lead on a path to peace for every person and every family, for each country and for the whole world”.
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Patriarch Fouad Twal, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem, has voiced his support for a Palestinian state during a procession to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.
Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal said this Christmas would be a celebration of “the birth of Christ our lord and the birth of the state of Palestine”.
Last month, the United Nations upgraded the status of the Palestinians to that of a “non-member observer state”.
Patriarch Fouad Twal is due to lead midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity.
Patriarch Fouad Twal, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem, has voiced his support for a Palestinian state during a procession to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus
The church is seen by Christians as the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and is in an area of the West Bank governed by the Palestinian Authority.
In June the church was formally named a Unesco World Heritage Site – the first to be nominated by the Palestinians, who were made full members of Unesco earlier this year.
Patriarch Fouad Twal, who was born in Jordan, led a symbolic procession from Jerusalem’s Old City to Bethlehem, passing through the separation barrier and checkpoint built by the Israelis.
He was met at the church in Manger Square by thousands of tourists, pilgrims and clergy.
Native American Kateri Tekakwitha and six others have been named as saints by Pope Benedict XVI at the start of a new drive to deepen the faith of believers.
The pontiff named the seven at a ceremony in St Peter’s Square at the start of a “Year of Faith”.
Kateri Tekakwitha, who lived in the 17th Century, impressed missionaries with her deep spirituality.
The other new saints include a nun who tended a Hawaiian leper colony and a French missionary killed in Madagascar.
In the Roman Catholic Church, a saint is a person who has been recognized officially as being in Heaven.
As the sun rose over St Peter’s Square on Sunday morning, Native American pilgrims in beaded and feathered headdresses sang songs to Kateri Tekakwitha, the Associated Press news agency reports.
In recent a years a miraculous intervention has been ascribed to Kateri Tekakwitha, who was born in what is now New York State and died in what is now Canada.
The Vatican believes she saved the life of a Native American child who was being ravaged by a flesh-eating bacterium.
This, the Church decided, was the final miracle required to qualify her for sainthood.
It is also felt that her elevation would give Native American Catholics an important boost.
They are criticized by some in their communities for retaining the Christian faith, regarded by some as an imposition by European colonizers.
Kateri Tekakwitha, who is sometimes known today as Lily Of The Mohawks, died at the age of 24
Kateri Tekakwitha, who is sometimes known today as Lily Of The Mohawks, died at the age of 24.
The other figures who became saints on Sunday are:
• German-born Franciscan nun Maria Anna Cope who is known as Mother Marianne Of Molokai because she looked after lepers on the island of Molokai in the Hawaii archipelago
• French Jesuit Jacques Berthieu, who was executed by rebels in 1896 in Madagascar
• The Philippines’ Pedro Calungsod, a young seminarian who was killed on the island of Guam when he visited with a Jesuit priest to baptise a young girl
• German lay preacher Maria Schaeffer, who died in 1925
• Italian priest Giovanni Battista Piamarta, who in the late 19th century devoted his life to helping young people during the industrial revolution and founded a religious congregation
• Spanish nun Maria del Carmen, who also founded a congregation and worked to better the lot of poor women in the 19th Century
The Roman Catholic Church in the Australian state of Victoria has confirmed that more than 600 children have been sexually abused by its priests since the 1930s.
The Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, described the figures as “horrific and shameful”.
They were released in a submission to a state parliamentary inquiry into the handling of abuse cases.
Campaigners say the true number of abuse victims could be up to 10,000.
Australian Roman Catholic Church has confirmed that more than 600 children have been sexually abused by its priests since the 1930s
In its submission, the church said the 620 cases went back 80 years with the majority taking place between the 1960s and the 1980s.
It says it is still investigating a further 45 cases.
In a statement, Archbishop Denis Hart said it was important to be open “about the horrific abuse that has occurred in Victoria and elsewhere”.
“We look to this inquiry to assist the healing of those who have been abused, to examine the broad context of the church’s response, especially over the last 16 years, and to make recommendations to enhance the care for victims and preventative measures that are now in place,” the statement said.
Campaign groups say that many cases of abuse have gone unreported, and they believe the true number of victims is closer to 10,000 in Victoria alone.
Abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests has been a major issue in Australia recent years.
During a visit to Australia in July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI met some of the victims and made a public apology for the abuse.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini has described the Roman Catholic Church as being “200 years behind” the times.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini died on Friday, aged 85.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has published his last interview, recorded in August, in which he said: “The Church is tired… our prayer rooms are empty.”
Carlo Maria Martini, once tipped as a future pope, urged the Church to recognize its errors and to embark on a radical path of change, beginning with the Pope.
Thousands of people have been filing past his coffin at Milan’s cathedral, where he was archbishop for more than 20 years.
The cardinal, who had retired from the post in 2002, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, is to be buried on Monday.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini has described the Roman Catholic Church as being "200 years behind" the times
Carlo Maria Martini, a popular figure with liberal stances on many issues, commanded great respect from both Pope John Paul II and his successor Pope Benedict XVI.
The cardinal – a member of the Jesuit religious order – was often critical in his writings and comments on Church teaching.
He was a courageous and outspoken figure during the years he headed Europe’s largest Catholic diocese.
In his last interview, given to a fellow Jesuit priest less than a month ago and published the day after his death, the cardinal made sweeping criticisms of the Catholic Church.
Catholics lacked confidence in the Church, he said.
“Our culture has grown old, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our religious rites and the vestments we wear are pompous.”
Unless the Church adopted a more generous attitude towards divorced persons, it will lose the allegiance of future generations, the cardinal added. The question, he said, is not whether divorced couples can receive holy communion, but how the Church can help complex family situations.
And the advice he leaves behind to conquer the tiredness of the Church was a “radical transformation, beginning with the Pope and his bishops”.
“The child sex scandals oblige us to undertake a journey of transformation,” Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini says, referring to the child sex abuse that has rocked the Catholic Church in the past few years.
He was not afraid to speak his mind on matters that the Vatican sometimes considered taboo, including the use of condoms to fight AIDS and the role of women in the Church.
In 2008, for example, he criticized the Church’s prohibition of birth control, saying the stance had likely driven many faithful away, and publicly stated in 2006 that condoms could “in some situations, be a lesser evil”.
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