On the way back to Kyiv from Borodyanka, a town that had been under control of Russian forces, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski prayed amid the ruins and bodies of those killed, including by an unmarked mass grave, he told Vatican News on April 15.

The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church asked Pope Francis to scrap plans to have a Ukrainian woman and a Russian woman carry the cross together during the pope’s Way of the Cross service.

“In its effect, the Synodal Path displays more submission and obedience to the world and ideologies than to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,” the letter said.

Commenting on his recent trip to Malta in his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis spoke about migration and evangelization, especially in a time of war.

Malta and its people must remember the country’s roots as the center of spirituality and welcome, especially to those most in need, Pope Francis told leaders of the Mediterranean nation.

Gustave Flaubert's prose reflects a lifetime of grappling with religious and spiritual themes. He saw his Catholicism as a singular form of asceticism, allied to his vocation as a writer.