Today — one year after he was elected Pope — Pope Francis is on a spiritual retreat with bishops and cardinals. Showing his usual simplicity he took the bus and sat in the middle of the pack. One year ago on March 13, 2013, I stood with AP Television cameraman Paolo Lucariello near the obelisk …
Dear Blog Readers — Here is a brief post on the Pope’s visit to Assisi. Last Friday, October 4th, Pope Francis made a whirlwind trip to the Umbrian hill town of Assisi, home of his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi. He came in a helicopter from the Vatican and arrived at 730 am and seemed …
I heard the news on the car radio as I was heading to Assisi to cover the Pope’s visit there. Two hundred and fifty people missing after a floundering ship full of immigrants caught fire and sunk half a mile from the shore of Lampedusa. A frenetic rescue operation was underway involving local fisherman, Coast …