After battling traffic for an hour, Pope Francis arrived at St. Mary, Mother of Hospitality parish on the far eastern edge of Rome for a meeting with area priests and a visit with people housed in 12 apartments the parish owns.

A Catholic pilgrimage, especially a pilgrimage to Marian shrines, should help people grow in their commitment to be missionary disciples, Pope Francis said.

For two days, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met in plenary assembly in Baltimore advancing key issues related to liturgy, living out the faith, including in the public square, and retooling the conference to better serve the church’s mission.

Long moments of silence and listening to God’s Word are some of the many lessons contemplative women can give other Catholics, Pope Francis said.

Returning from the first session of the Synod on Synodality’s global, monthlong gathering in Rome, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., has already seen much the Catholic Church can profit from, especially at the local level for the sake of the church’s evangelization mission.