ROME (AP) — Pope Francis skipped the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum to protect his health, the Vatican said, making a last-minute decision that added to concerns about his frail condition during a particularly busy period. Francis had been expected to preside over the Way of the Cross procession, which re-enacts Christ’s Passion … Read more
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis again asked an aide to read his remarks and was unable to get back onto his popemobile Wednesday, as lingering respiratory and mobility problems continued to take their toll on the 87-year-old pontiff. Francis presided over his weekly general audience, held outside for the first time this year in … Read more
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, who has been suffering from the flu, asked an aide to read out his prepared speech at a conference in the Vatican Friday, saying he has not yet fully recovered from his latest ailment that has raised concerns about his capacity to continue leading the Roman Catholic Church. The … Read more
ROME (AP) — Despite their rocky start, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Pope Francis appeared to have hit it off as they held their first meeting Monday amid speculation that the Argentine pontiff might finally go home for a visit later this year. The Vatican said the two men met for an hour and 10 … Read more
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua’s government said Sunday it released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities. Bishop Rolando Álvarez and the other clergy were jailed more than a year ago, in most cases, as part of a … Read more
Vatican City, Jan 7 (AP) Pope Francis baptized 16 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday under the ceiling frescoed by Michelangelo, in what has become an annual tradition near the end of the Christmas holiday period at the Vatican. HT Image {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Among the babies who were carried by parents to … Read more
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican tribunal on Saturday convicted a cardinal of embezzlement and sentenced him to 5½ years in prison in one of several verdicts handed down in a complicated financial trial that aired the city state’s dirty laundry and tested its justice system. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the first cardinal ever prosecuted by … Read more
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica of St. Mary Major, not in the grottoes of the Vatican like other popes, so he can be near his favorite icon of the Madonna. Francis, who turns 87 on Sunday, also said he never thought about resigning this year … Read more
Vatican City, Vatican – Pope Francis on Saturday elevated 21 clergymen from distant corners of the world to the rank of cardinal, saying diversity was indispensable to the future of the Catholic Church. Under sunny skies and with a crowd that filled half of Vatican City’s grandiose, colonnaded St Peter’s Square, the 86-year-old pope welcomed … Read more