"[W]e must not despise vocal prayer," Pope Francis said at the General Audience on Wednesday. "Please! Do not succumb to the pride of despising vocal prayer."

“Once again and with great sadness, I feel the urgency to speak about the tragic situation in Myanmar, where many people, mostly young people, are losing their lives to give hope to their country,” Pope Francis said at the end of his general audience on March 17.

He said that by visiting Iraq, he had fulfilled a dream of his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who had hoped to mark the turn of the millennium with a journey “in the footsteps of Abraham,” but was unable to travel to the ancient city of Ur.

Speaking via livestream Wednesday from the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis said that he wanted to “offer some food for thought” as the world prepares for the celebration for Christmas.

Holy Father tells pilgrims at general audience: 'God never disowns his children'

‘If we take him away, the lights go out and everything becomes fake,’ Holy Father says

'God does not like to be loved the way a warlord would like, dragging his people to victory, debasing them in the blood of his enemies,' Pope Francis said

Egypt has the task of promoting a lasting peace that "rests not on the law of force but on the force of law", the Pope said