A message sent by Pope Francis to participants in an event organized by the Spanish Conference of Bishops’ dedicated to the laity calls on Christians to embrace the missionary mandate and make the voice of the Gospel resound in a world where the Good News is suffocated by so many voices of death and despair.

The Special Secretary of the Synod for the Amazon presents the exhortation that the Pope completed last December, which is being published today. It contains four great "dreams" of Francis for the region, including that of a missionary Church with an Amazonian face.

Candlemas at Outremont’s Ste-Madeleine Parish was celebrated by Archbishop Christian Lépine on Sunday, Feb. 2, and well-attended by the community’s children and their families.

“Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened” is the theme of the World Day of the Sick, which is observed on 11 February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. In caring for the sick, Pope Francis is encouraging in healthcare workers the human warmth and personalized approach of Christ, the Good Samaritan.

More than 150 people gathered Feb. 1 at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral for a special Mass celebrated by Archbishop Christian Lépine, in observance of the 24th World Day for Consecrated Life.