A new month brought quite a few announcements from the Vatican:

The Year for Consecrated Life was presented for 2015. It will most likely begin in November 2014 with a celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica, but no official date has been announced yet. The Holy Father’s universal prayer intention for February is “That the Church and Society may respect the wisdom and experience of older people.” His intention for evangelization for February is “That priests, religious, and lay people may work together with generosity for evangelization.”

Pope Francis has suggested that, in preparation for World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland, that young people reflect on the Beatitudes for the next three years. 2014’s Beatitude is, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for their’s is the Kingdom of God.” 2015 will be, “Blessed are the poor in heart, for they shall see God. 2016’s theme will be, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” The Beatitudes are taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 5.

The process of canonization has been approved to go forward for 124 people martyred in Korea between 1791 and 1888. Also approved are the causes of a priest martyred in the Czech Republic in 1603, and, for their virtues, a bishop, priest and nun from the 20th century.