By CNA Staff Vatican City, Apr 21, 2025 / 05:48 am Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time on Easter Monday, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a …

According to the Apostolic Constitution Apostólica Universi Dominici Gregis issued by Pope John Paul II in 1996, the confirming of the death of a Pontiff includes an ancient tradition: The death of the Pope is verified by the Cardinal Camerlengo who is to gently strike the Pope’s head with a …

By AC Wimmer CNA Newsroom, Apr 20, 2025 / 07:26 am Pope Francis met briefly with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on Easter Sunday morning at the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican confirmed. According to the Holy See Press Office, the private audience took place at approximately 11:30 a.m. and lasted …

By Pope Francis CNA Newsroom, Apr 20, 2025 / 06:48 am On Easter Sunday 2025, Pope Francis did not deliver his speech in person, though he briefly greeted the faithful with a brief “Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter”. The pope’s traditio, “urbi et orbi,” was read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the …

By Marinella Bandini Jerusalem, Apr 18, 2025 / 06:00 am A stone quarry outside the walls of Jerusalem, later abandoned and converted into a cemetery with rock-cut tombs and cultivated areas — that’s what the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher looked like at the time of Jesus. Ongoing archaeological excavations inside …

By AC Wimmer CNA Newsroom, Apr 19, 2025 / 07:35 am U.S. Vice President JD Vance was received at the Vatican Secretariat of State by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Holy Saturday morning, where the two discussed international relations, religious freedom, and humanitarian concerns. The April 19 meeting included Secretary of State …

By Katie Yoder Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 4, 2024 / 06:00 am Catholics recognize Easter — when Jesus Christ rose from the dead after sacrificing his life for all of humanity — as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. But, as it turns …

By Tessa Gervasini Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 17, 2025 / 14:03 pm More than 400 men will be ordained to the priesthood in the U.S. this year, and on average they began to consider becoming a priest at just 16 years old, according to an annual CARA survey. The Center for Applied …

By Valerie Joy Escalona Manila, Philippines, Apr 18, 2025 / 08:00 am Every Holy Week, streets across the Philippines transform into open-air stages for one of the country’s most unique and deeply rooted Catholic traditions: the “Senákulo,” a dramatic reenactment of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This age-old …

By Francesca Pollio Fenton CNA Staff, Apr 17, 2025 / 14:34 pm Blessed Carlo Acutis, the gaming teenager who had a deep love for Christ in the Eucharist, is about to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. Acutis will be canonized during the Church’s Jubilee for Teenagers on April 27 …