Eastern Churches

The Latest

Pope Francis meets with Mar Awa III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, at the Vatican on Nov. 9, 2024.

Honoring persecuted Middle East Christians, Pope Francis adds Assyrian saint to Martyrology

Nov 9, 2024

Turning to the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, Pope Francis on Saturday prayed for their continued witness in a region... Read more

Pope Francis meets participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, Feb. 18, 2022

Pope Francis introduces voting age limit for bishops of Eastern Catholic Churches

Apr 17, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Leaders in the Eastern Catholic Churches had asked the pope to change the norms regarding age limitations and voting. Read more

Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on March 8, 2023.

Pope Francis discusses revising priestly celibacy in new interview

Mar 10, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Married priests are common in the Eastern Catholic Church, the pope noted, while the discipline of priestly celibacy is a... Read more

Pope Francis with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Greece in April 2016. The two will meet again in Bari, Italy, July 7, 2018.

Bari archbishop says papal visit will focus on ecumenism

Jul 2, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis’ visit to Bari this Saturday to pray for peace in the Middle East will have a strong ecumenical... Read more