Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of June, and invites everyone to pray for those preparing for marriage, which is “a vocation born from the heart.”

Today, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) published a statement following the report of a recent discovery of children’s graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

These days, what I hear most often within various circles is: “Will we ever get back to normal?” or: “I can’t wait for things to get back to normal,” or even worse: “I’ll pick up where I left off as soon as things get back to normal,” as if people have stopped needing God in the meantime. My response: “Was the situation so perfect before the pandemic that we absolutely want to return to it?”

On March 19, 2021, the fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris laetitia," his discussion of the beauty and joy of love, Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of the Family, to be observed until June 26, 2022, at which time the 10th World Meeting of Families will be held in Rome. The Holy Father invites us to rediscover the educational value of the family unit.

In October, Pope Francis will initiate a three-year synodal journey consisting of three phases (diocesan, continental, universal) of consultations and discernment, culminating with the assembly in October 2023 in Rome.