Pope Francis allowed a girl suffering from an undisclosed illness to move around undisturbed clapping and dancing on the stage for most of his general audience on Wednesday, delighting the crowd.
The girl, wearing a pink T-shirt slipped away from her mother at the front of the audience hall and reached the big marble stage. She pranced back and forth in front of him, jumped, and occasionally let go a loud, sharp clap and Pope Francis signalled to security to let her be and momentarily held her hand as she walked up to him.
At the end of the audience he remarked that “this poor girl is a victim of an illness and she does not know what she is doing.”
“I ask one thing, and everyone should respond in their own heart. Did I pray for her when I saw her? Did I pray so the Lord heals her and protects her? Did I pray for her parents and her family?”
“When we see a person who is suffering, we must pray. This situation should help us always ask this question,” he said.
Via Reuters
Photos: EPA-EFE/CLAUDIO PERI
The European Union and South American bloc Mercosur will implement on Friday a contentious free trade agreement that the EU in particular hopes will benefit exporters and calm critics, ...
Some 287 candidates will be considered for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize,, the secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Thursday, with U.S. President Donald Trump likely to be a...
Labour pitches stability, subsidies and broad social support
Prime Minister Robert Abela used the third day of the campaign to reinforce Labour’s message of continuity, positioning th...
Morning Briefing
Gozo in focus for Labour on second day of campaign: Day two of the 2026 general election campaign saw the Labour Party focused heavily on Gozo, where Prime Minister R...
The European Parliament has thrown its weight behind demands for a bigger long-term EU budget, approving its position for negotiations on the bloc’s next seven-year financial framework f...
Disinformation is no longer spreading only through fringe actors or political agitators, but through a digital system that rewards outrage, sensationalism and engagement above accuracy, ...
Unilever said on Thursday it would raise prices to soften the hit from higher-than-expected costs driven by the Iran war, even as it reported first-quarter underlying sales growth ahead...
Brent oil prices rose as much as 7% on Thursday on a report the U.S. is considering potential military action against Iran to break the deadlock in negotiations to end the war, increasi...
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
Malta Public Transport will be operating extended late-night services on the final night of the Malta International Fireworks Festival, scheduled for Thursday 30th April, ensuring specta...
Malta Public Transport announces that it will be operating two additional evening trips between Mġarr and Nadur in Gozo on Saturday 18 April 2026 to facilitate passenger travel following...
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at a virtual standstill on Monday with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.
The oil prod...
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, say Iran carries out more executions per capita than any other country, and more in total than any nation except China, where reliable fig...
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
Ukraine struck Russia’s oil infrastructure in the Black Sea port city of Tuapse for the third time in a month, local authorities said Tuesday.
The city, which declared an environmenta...
Russian forces have taken 1,700 square km (656 square miles) of territory in Ukraine this year and are advancing on its so-called fortress belt in Donbas, Moscow's top general said whil...
