DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The Pope goes electric with a Mercedes-made popemobile EV
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-05 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mercedes-Benz has supplied the Vatican with popemobiles for decades — and for the first time, the Pope will ride an all-electric version. "It is a great honor for us to be able to present this special vehicle to Pope Francis today." The vehicle's electric drivetrain was made to accommodate slow rides at public appearances. While Mercedes-Benz has been the standard manufacturer for years, the Pope ditched his typical popemobile for a Hyundai in 2015. He also previously approved plans for a new electric popemobile made by Fisker, but it's not clear if that was ever delivered and the EV company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

Persons: Pope Francis, popemobiles, Pope, Mercedes, Gorden Wagener, Benz, Peter's, Ola Källenius, Källeniu Organizations: Mercedes, Benz, Vatican, Benz Group AG's, Hyundai, EV, popemobile, Benz Group AG Locations: St, Rome

☆ Amid Health Concerns, Pope Delivers Strong Easter Message Calling for Gaza Cease-Fire
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Amid renewed concerns about his health, Pope Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass, and with a hoarse but strong voice, he delivered a major annual message that touched on conflicts across the globe, with explicit appeals for peace in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. The appearance came after the pope decided to reduce his participation in two major Holy Week events, seemingly at the last minute. Those decisions seemed to mark a new phase in a more than 11-year papacy throughout which Francis has made the acceptance of the limits that challenge and shape humanity a constant theme. Now, he seems to have entered a period in which he is himself scaling back to observe, and highlight, the limits imposed by his own health constraints, and to conserve strength for the most critical moments. On Sunday after the Mass, Francis took a prolonged spin in his popemobile around St. Peter’s Square before ascending to a balcony overlooking it to deliver his traditional Easter message.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Peter’s Locations: Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, St

☆ Pope Francis breaks with tradition in annual ritual by washing the feet of women only
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Christopher Lamb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Pope Francis on Thursday has washed the feet of 12 women at a prison in Rome during a ceremony emphasizing humility. It is the first time the pope has washed the feet of women only during the special annual service. Since his election, the pope has taken this ceremony out of Vatican territory and celebrated by washing the feet of prisoners, refugees and the disabled. Over the years, Francis has washed the feet of women and Muslims. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, only washed the feet of men, and later switched to washing only the feet of priests.

Persons: Pope Francis, Jesus, Francis, Michael Walsh, Fr Anthony Ruff, Nadia Fontana, Benedict XVI Organizations: CNN, Vatican Media, AP, Vatican Locations: Rome

☆ Pope Francis skips homily at Palm Sunday Mass in rare move
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Christopher Lamb | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Pope Francis unexpectedly skipped delivering his homily during the Palm Sunday Mass service at the Vatican on Sunday, although was able to preside over the service and was later driven around in the popemobile. Crowds gather in St. Peter's Square during the Palm Sunday mass. Gregorio Borgia/APWhile the pope has occasionally skipped homilies on Easter Sunday, it is the first time he has not given a homily on Palm Sunday. Francis told the crowd at St. Peter’s Square that he was praying for the “victims of the vile terrorist attack,” the worst that Russia has suffered in recent decades. He is to travel to a prison outside of Rome on Thursday to celebrate the foot washing ritual with female prisoners, and on Good Friday be present at services in St Peter’s and the Colosseum.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Gregorio Borgia, Angelus Organizations: CNN, Peter's, Sunday, RAI, Holy Locations: St, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Rome, St Peter’s

☆ Pope skips homily at start of busy Holy Week during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Pope Francis decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health. Francis had been expected to deliver a homily halfway through the service and a prepared text had been distributed to journalists. Francis though did pronounce prayers throughout the service and offered a long appeal for peace at the end of the Mass. Palm Sunday kicks off a busy week for Francis leading up to Easter Sunday when the faithful commemorate the resurrection of Christ. Usually, the pope doesn't deliver a homily at Easter, but he traditionally offers reflections on Palm Sunday.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, didn't, Christ, God Organizations: Vatican, Sunday Locations: St, Moscow, Ukraine, Gaza, Vatican, Rome

☆ Vatican in deal with Volkswagen for all-electric car fleet by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Volkswagen AG FollowVATICAN CITY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Vatican on Wednesday signed an agreement with German carmaker Volkswagen to replace the city-state's entire car fleet with electric vehicles by 2030. The Vatican's fleet of cars includes dozens of vehicles, most of them dark blue. A pool of drivers take senior Vatican officials to events in Rome and beyond. Many lower-ranking Vatican officials and employees own and drive their own cars into the city-state from Rome. The statement said the Vatican would build a network of electric charging stations inside its walls and at its properties in Rome.

Persons: Pope Francis, Benoit Tessier, Mercedes, Francis, Philip Pullella, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Prado, REUTERS, AG, VATICAN, German, Volkswagen, Skoda, Volkswagen Group, Vatican, Fiat, Thomson Locations: Marseille, France, Rome, St

[1/5] Pope Francis attends a welcome ceremony at Parque Eduardo VII during his apostolic journey to Portugal on the occasion of the XXXVII World Youth Day, in Lisbon, Portugal, August 3, 2023. The crowd, which police said numbered about half a million, was the largest in Lisbon since celebrations in 2016 when Portugal's men won the European soccer championships. Thursday's early evening event was the first of several with the pope for World Youth Day, a gathering that takes place every three years in a different city. One of the young people who addressed the pope before he spoke asked him "to put things right in the Church for a better future". He told the crowd the Church had room for everyone, "including those who make mistakes, who fall or struggle", and led them in a chant of "Todos, todos, todos!"

Persons: Pope Francis, Parque Eduardo VII, Portugal mobbed Pope Francis, Francis, Edward VII, Mariana Moreira, God, Philip Pullella, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Parque, Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Lisbon, REUTERS LISBON, Barcelos

Rome CNN —Pope Francis was recovering well in a Rome hospital on Thursday, the day after the 86-year-old had abdominal surgery that renewed health fears. “This wasn’t an urgent surgery,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who operated on Pope Francis, said at a press conference. Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair, attended a weekly general audience at the Vatican on June 7. Pope’s fragile healthThis operation is the latest in a series of health scares surrounding Pope Francis. Medical sources say that the intervention was likely related to the surgery Francis underwent in 2021, which removed half of his colon.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN — Pope Francis, “, ”, Matteo Bruni, Francis, ” Dr, Sergio Alfieri, Pope Francis, ” Alfieri, Andreas Solaro, Alfieri, he’s “, –, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Bruni, Francis ’, Pope Francis now, Annatuli, Carina, State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Tarcisio Bertone, ’ ”, Pope Benedict XVI, Gregory XII, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Rome CNN, Vatican, Gemelli, Reuters, Catholic, Papal, Getty, CNN, Spanish, ABC, State, Catholic Church Locations: Rome, AFP, The Prefecture, Mexico, Myanmar, Iraq, Ukraine

☆ Pope appeals to Russians on Ukraine, decries Middle East violence, in Easter message
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VATICAN CITY, April 9 (Reuters) - Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country's invasion of Ukraine in his Easter message to the world on Sunday and appealed for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians following recent violence. Honour units of Vatican Swiss Guards and Italian Carabinieri police - both in ceremonial dress - stood at attention. "Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia," he said. As he has done every Easter, Francis called for peace in the Middle East, his appeal made more urgent by recent violence in Jerusalem and cross-border exchanges of fire involving Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The government, which has suspended diplomatic relations with the Vatican, banned outdoor Holy Week processions this year.

☆ Pope Francis hospitalized for pulmonary infection, had difficulty breathing in recent days
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis kisses a child during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis was hospitalized with a lung infection Wednesday after experiencing difficulty breathing in recent days and will remain in the hospital for several days of treatment, the Vatican said. Bruni said Francis had been suffering breathing troubles in recent days and went to the Gemelli hospital for tests. "The tests showed a respiratory infection (Covid-19 infection excluded) that will require some days of medical therapy," Bruni's statement said. He has canceled all audiences through Friday, but it wasn't clear whether he could keep the Holy Week plans.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Francis said. [1/9] Pope Francis sits next to Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi as he attends the welcoming ceremony at the Palais de la Nation on the first day of his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 31, 2023. The pope criticised rich countries for ignoring the tragedies unfolding in Congo and elsewhere in Africa. On Wednesday, Francis will celebrate Mass at a Kinshasa airport that is expected to draw more than a million people.

☆ Pope Francis thrills small Gulf Catholic community with big Mass
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Pope Francis greets people as he attends a holy mass at Bahrain National Stadium during his apostolic journey, in Riffa, Bahrain, November 5, 2022. REUTERS/Hamad I MohammedAWALI, Bahrain, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said Mass for thousands of Catholics in Bahrain on Saturday, thrilling members of the small foreign Catholic community from around the Gulf and urging them to show kindness to their hosts, even if they feel sometimes badly treated. "This is a miracle," said Mary Grace Fortes, 36, a Filipino who works at the reception of a hotel in Bahrain. The prayers of the faithful during the Mass were read in languages spoken by foreign workers including Tagalog, Swahili, Malayalam, Tamil and Konkani. The Mass was attended by one of the sons of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and several government ministers.

Search resuls for: "popemobile"

12 mentions found