After the Angelus, and before a packed St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis announced the beginning of the “Year of Prayer” in preparation for the Jubilee of 2025.
POPE FRANCIS
The coming months will lead us to the opening of the Holy Door, with which we will begin the Jubilee. I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare ourselves to experience this event of grace well and experience the power of God's hope. That is why we begin today the Year of Prayer, that is, a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer.
With this year, the Pope invites dioceses to promote prayer, both individual and communal, through different activities, such as pilgrimages.
On the other hand, Pope Francis expressed his concern for the situation in Haiti, where violence continues to increase due to conflicts between armed gangs.
POPE FRANCIS
I have painfully learned of the news of the kidnapping in Haiti of a group of people, including six nuns. In earnestly requesting their release, I pray for social harmony in the country and call on everyone to stop violence, which causes so much suffering to that beloved people.
The kidnapping took place on January 19, when a group of armed men hijacked a bus with six nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne and other passengers. They were on their way to the capital's university in Port-au-Prince.
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TR: KG
