By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jun 17, 2025 / 13:38 pm In an unexpected visit, Hollywood actor Al Pacino was received by Pope Leo XIV on June 17 at the Vatican, according to photos shared on Instagram by Italian film producer Andrea Iervolino. Pacino and Iervolino are currently in Italy filming …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:39 pm Pope Leo XIV will canonize seven blesseds on Oct. 19, including two Venezuelans: José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, considered the “doctor of the poor,” and María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, a nun and founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus. The canonizations were …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, May 28, 2025 / 07:00 am Pope Leo XIV is now granting apostolic blessings to the faithful around the world, a spiritual gesture that can be officially requested through the Vatican’s Apostolic Almoner’s Office. These blessings, printed on parchment, are a well-established tradition in the Catholic Church …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, May 15, 2025 / 18:03 pm Pope Leo XIV on Thursday lamented that today’s youth must deal with “relativism,” “emotional instability,” and “superficiality,” although he called for transforming these challenges of the contemporary age into “springboards.” The pontiff received the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Apr 16, 2025 / 15:27 pm Father Frans Bouwen, a missionary with the African Missionary Society — better known as the White Fathers for the color of their habit — and one of the most renowned Catholic voices in ecumenical dialogue, holds that “there are no …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Apr 5, 2025 / 08:00 am On Sunday, April 6, the fifth Sunday of Lent, St. Peter’s Basilica will display the revered “Veronica’s Veil,” a cloth that, according to tradition, was used to wipe the face of Jesus on his way to Calvary, renewing a very …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Mar 21, 2025 / 15:00 pm The “2025 Annuario Pontificio” and the “2023 Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae” have been released, providing a detailed analysis of the life of the Catholic Church globally. Both reports, prepared by the Vatican’s Central Office for Church Statistics, reveal a notable growth …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Mar 19, 2025 / 15:15 pm Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin denied that during his three recent visits to Pope Francis — who has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 — they had discussed the possibility of the pope’s resignation. “No, …

By Victoria Cardiel ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 18, 2025 / 17:10 pm Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, reported that following the breakdown of the truce between Israel and Hamas, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched new attacks very close to his parish. The priest told Vatican …

By Victoria Cardiel Vatican City, Mar 14, 2025 / 16:10 pm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has provided the Vatican with a list of names of Ukrainians detained by the Russian military, requesting diplomatic mediation to secure their release. “The Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians being held in Russian …