3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Pope Francis looked well as he washed and kissed the feet of 12 women prisoners on Thursday at a traditional ritual on the first of four event-filled days leading to Easter for the 87-year-old pontiff.
Francis travelled to Rome's Rebibbia prison, in a run-down area on Rome's outskirts, to preside at a Holy Thursday Mass for dozens of inmates, guards, chaplains and officials gathered in an outdoor area of the female section.
From his wheelchair, he washed and kissed the right foot of 12 women sitting on a riser in a ritual commemorating Jesus' gesture of humility to his apostles at the Last Supper on the night before he was crucified.
A number of the inmates were foreigners and some cried as he performed the ritual.
The female section of the prison, one of Italy's largest, holds about 370 inmates who are jailed for various offenses.
Francis is the first pope to hold the foot-washing ceremony outside churches, usually in prisons, homes for the elderly or hospices, continuing a practice he began when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.
He is also the first pope to include women, atheists, Muslims and other non-Christians in the service. Previous pope held the service in either St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican or the Basilica of St. John in Lateran and included only men, usually priests.
Francis wove his short, improvised homily around the theme of service to others.
"Each of you has their own story but the Lord listens to us with open arms and never tires of forgiving," he said.
Francis, who recently curtailed his speaking engagements because of fatigue related to bouts of bronchitis and influenza, seemed fit. When he arrived at the prison, an aide pushed his wheelchair around the small crowd and many inmates rushed forward to touch him.
The prison director, Nadia Fontana, told the pope he had brought the institution "a ray of sunlight," and inmates gave him items, including liturgical vestments, that they had made in prison workshops.
Francis stood for parts of the service and then, while seated, greeted the prisoners and a three-year-old boy who lives there with his inmate mother.
Francis also looked well and strong earlier on Thursday at a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, where he read a long homily and improvised part of it.
On Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate Jesus' crucifixion, Francis is due to preside at a "Passion of the Lord" service in St. Peter's Basilica and then attend a traditional evening Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome's Colosseum.
He will preside at an Easter Vigil service on Saturday, and on Sunday will read his twice-annual "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and world) message and blessing from the central balcony of St Peter's to tens of thousands of people in the square below.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.