Pope

For Nour Essa, one of the Syrian refugees who flew out of Lesbos on Pope Francis' plane last week, it was a choice tinged with shock, joy and sadness - and it had to be made immediately. 

Pope Francis and Fener Rum Patriarch Dimitri Bartholomeos paid a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, which became the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis that claimed hundreds of lives in the past year, where migrants begged for the religious leaders for help.

Pope Francis urged the world in his Easter message on March 27 to use the "weapons of love" to combat the evil of "blind and brutal violence," following the attacks in Brussels. 

After a week of somber religious events commemorating Jesus' death, Francis said an Easter Sunday Mass under tight security for tens of thousands of people in a sun-drenched St. Peter's Square. 

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said on Monday he would tell Pope Francis about the Bulgarian Catholic community's wish that he pays a visit to the country.

Parolin, however, made clear his own trip to Bulgaria did not necessarily mean the Pope was intending on the same step in the near future.

A bust representing the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has been installed in the center of Tirana, Albania.

Albanian agency ATA is reporting that the unveiling ceremony was attended by state and religious dignitaries and citizens.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a united response to help flows of people into Europe fleeing war and urged European countries struggling with the migrant crisis to “share the burden fairly”.

Pope Francis admonished Mexico's political and religious leaders to take on drug violence on Feb. 13, calling for "true justice" and "prophetic courage" against the scourge afflicting the country.

Pope Francis headed to Cuba on Feb. 12 looking to heal a 1,000-year-old rift in Christianity before embarking on a tour of Mexico dominated by modern day problems of drug-related violence and migration.

Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch Irinej has said that he "has nothing against" the visit of the Roman Catholic pope to Serbia.

However, Irinej added that perhaps the conditions for that have not been met yet.

Russian Patriarch Kirill and the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis will meet next week in Cuba. This will be their first, historic meeting.

It will be an unprecedented event and a huge step towards repairing relations between the two churches after almost a thousand years.