Francis begins his trip praying before the Virgin of Guadalupe shrine. After that he enters uncharted papal territory.

Mexico's deadliest prison riot in many years broke out just six days before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit another Mexican prison.

The three efforts aim to help Catholics enrich their Lenten prayer experience, sacrifice to help others in need and learn more about the church's penitential season overall.

“It’s not like he’s going to come in and magically make all of our problems go away."

Social service groups argue that the counts should be done more often because the number of homeless changes depending on how cold it is.

Pope and Patriarch likely to focus on areas for collaboration and dialogue.