Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., is the emeritus archbishop of Philadelphia, a long-time leader among American bishops, and an influential voice among American Catholics for decades. The archbishop spoke with The Pillar this week about the Francis papacy, and what he thinks the Church needs now.

The wooden coffin of Pope Francis arrives at the Basilica of St. Mary Major just after 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, completing the solemn procession from St. Peter's Square through the streets of Rome. Crowds of faithful lined the route as the late pontiff made his final journey to the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacy.

The College of Cardinals announced Monday, April 28, that the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor will begin on May 7, as the Church enters the final preparatory phase for choosing its 267th pope.

Personal encouragement to consider whether Jesus Christ is calling them to priesthood, along with regular Eucharistic adoration, continue to be key factors for young men seeking to become priests, according to a new report. “Encourage a young man to consider the priesthood or to attend Eucharistic adoration; he could be your future pastor,” said Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan.

Matteo Zuppi arrived at his high school on the banks of the Tiber in the revolutionary year of 1968. He was a year ahead of his age group and still wore the short trousers of a younger student, to his great embarrassment. At Rome’s Virgilio Lyceum, he met an older student called Andrea Riccardi, who impressed him with his commitment to fraternity, prayer, and the service of others...

Cardinal Camillo Ruini offers this “prayer” of his for the cardinals who in a few days will enter into conclave to elect the new pope. But he also offers it for the whole Christian people, which the next successor of Peter will have the task of “confirming in the faith.” Ruini, 94, was the cardinal closest to John Paul II, whose vicar he was for the diocese of Rome, as well as president of the Italian episcopal conference. And he was among the great electors and admirers of Benedict XVI, whose value he recalls in this text, but also a limitation: his

I shouldn’t have stacked three cartons of eggs so high, but I was in a hurry. Normally, I would have braced the egg cartons with something sturdy so they would not fall all over the passenger side of my van. This time I forgot.The inertia of the first turn out of the parking lot toppled the egg carton tower, and thirty-six eggs spilled onto the floor. Now fully free, they began to roll across the aisle and into the back seat, wobbling underneath the pedals unwilling to settle. Eggs are built to move.

As more than 1.4 billion Catholics around the world said farewell to Pope Francis — and millions of non-Catholics watched his funeral live — one country’s absence stood out: Xi Jinping’s China. This absence was so conspicuous that even critics of both Pope Francis and China hardly dared to comment. From the very beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis showed particular attention to China...

When Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa heard the news Easter Monday that Pope Francis had died, he immediately cancelled his appointments and packed his bags for Rome. As he was leaving the headquarters of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, where he has led the Catholic flock in the Holy Land for the last decade, a small group of aides, employees and friends gathered outside as he was getting in the car to head to the airport.

He was hideous. With an oversized skull that bulged forth frontally with multi-lobed bony protuberances, a chin that jutted rightward dragging his mouth down in a permanent frown, scales and scars dominating half of his face, and awkward wisps of hair pronouncing (and not obscuring) his deformity, John Merrick seemed a monstrosity...