ASSISTANT PARISH PRIEST OF SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH GWAGALADA, ABUJA, REV. FR. SAM OKORIE, BLESSING PALMS AND PARISHIONERS TO MARK PALM SUNDAY ON SUNDAYArchbishop Thomas Wenski addresses the crowd before blessing the palms outside St. Mary Cathedral in MiamiArchbishop Thomas Wenski blesses the palms outside St. Mary Cathedral in Miami on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014.Pope Francis drinks from a mate gourd, a traditional South American cup, that was offered by faithful as the pontiff is driven through the crowd at the end of a Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2014. Pope Francis, marking Palm Sunday in a packed St. Peter’s Square, ignored his prepared homily and spoke entirely off-the-cuff in a remarkable departure from practice. Later, he hopped off his popemobile to pose for “selfies” with young people in the crowd. In his homily, Francis called on people, himself included, to look into their own hearts to see how they are living their lives.
Vatican police chief commander Domenico Giani, right, pours Pope Francis a drink into a mate gourd, a traditional South American cup, that was offered by faithful as the pontiff is driven through the crowd at the end of a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2014. Pope Francis, marking Palm Sunday in a packed St. Peter’s Square, ignored his prepared homily and spoke entirely off-the-cuff in a remarkable departure from practice. Later, he hopped off his popemobile to pose for “selfies” with young people in the crowd. In his homily, Francis called on people, himself included, to look into their own hearts to see how they are living their lives.
Pope Francis poses for pictures with faithful at the end of a Palm Sunday service in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2014. Pope Francis, marking Palm Sunday in a packed St. Peter’s Square, ignored his prepared homily and spoke entirely off-the-cuff in a remarkable departure from practice. Later, he hopped off his popemobile to pose for “selfies” with young people in the crowd. In his homily, Francis called on people, himself included, to look into their own hearts to see how they are living their lives.Pope Francis, fourth right, walk with prelates as he celebrates the Palm Sunday service in St. Peter’s square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2014. Tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims have joined Pope Francis in a solemn Palm Sunday service in St. Peter’s Square. Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, which culminates next Sunday on Easter. Francis used a pastoral staff made of wood carved by Italian prison inmates, who donated it to him. The pope is determined to put people on the margins of life at the center of the Roman Catholic church’s attention.
