By Hannah Brockhaus , Kristina Millare Vatican City, May 21, 2025 / 08:05 am Pope Leo XIV in the first general audience of his pontificate on Wednesday appealed for an end to hostilities in Gaza and for the entrance of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Speaking before tens of thousands of attendees …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, May 17, 2025 / 15:00 pm U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among numerous international leaders and dignitaries, representing approximately 200 foreign delegations, who will attend Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass at the Vatican on Sunday, May 18. The global …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, May 12, 2025 / 12:04 pm Pope Leo XIV and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have spoken on the phone following the pontiff’s plea for lasting peace in the country, the Vatican said Monday. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, confirmed that the two …

By Kristina Millare Rome Newsroom, Apr 13, 2025 / 10:50 am Marking another in a series of recent surprise public appearances, Pope Francis on Sunday briefly greeted thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate Palm Sunday. “Happy Palm Sunday and beginning of Holy Week!” the Holy Father said with some …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Mar 31, 2025 / 13:17 pm Pope Francis has advanced five people’s paths to sainthood after approving decrees promulgated by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on March 28. Blessed Peter To Rot of Papua New Guinea, Blessed Ignatius Shoukrallah Maloyan of Turkey, and …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Mar 12, 2025 / 13:20 pm Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflected Tuesday on the great challenge of illness and suffering for Pope Francis as he approaches a month’s hospital stay amid a series of health crises. Before leading …

By Kristina Millare Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 06:00 am Though many Catholics may associate the liturgical season of Lent more with the practice of fasting and abstaining from food, many families around the world use the 40-day season to prepare specific homemade delicacies to remind them of the life …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Feb 28, 2025 / 13:20 pm Pope Francis on Friday urged liturgists to accompany bishops and the faithful communities of their dioceses with humility and discretion. In a Feb. 28 message sent from Gemelli Hospital to liturgy professors and students of the Anselmianum — a pontifical …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Dec 25, 2024 / 12:54 pm Pope Francis on Christmas Day delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi address and blessing in Vatican City, inviting all individuals and nations to “silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions.” Delivering his Christmas Day message overlooking crowds of thousands …

By Kristina Millare Vatican City, Dec 20, 2024 / 14:35 pm Pope Francis has appointed five new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Chicago and assigned each bishop-elect a titular see in the Middle East and North Africa region, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced Dec. 20. …