An 11 a.m. funeral Mass for Oblate Sister of Providence Helene Therese Stanislaus will be offered Oct. 11 at the Oblate Sisters of Providence motherhouse in Arbutus. Sister Helene Therese died Sept. 30. She was 75.

St. Ignatius acknowledges the possibility that God might, in rare situations, make his will known in extraordinary ways, such as through locutions and visions.

Terrorism, violence, barbarism and extremism undermine the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

The shock of the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel, in which hundreds were killed, wounded or kidnapped, has left a traumatic mark on Israeli citizens, said the country’s ambassador to the Vatican.

The Divine Liturgy, presided over by Melkite Catholic Patriarch Joseph Absi, was celebrated in the Byzantine rite at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, as synod participants were about to begin the assembly’s second module, focusing on the theme of communion and the question, “How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?”