Latest Pope Francis News
Pope asks Church of Rome to help address housing crisis ahead of Holy Year in 2025
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday called on the diocese of Rome to respond to a growing housing crisis in the Eternal City, wading into the debate about rising rental prices that has only grown more acute with Holy Year celebrations in 2025. Francis has written to the city's...
Hostages freed from Gaza meet with Pope Francis and press campaign to bring remaining captives home
ROME (AP) — A delegation of former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and their relatives met Thursday with Pope Francis and expressed hope that the incoming and outgoing U.S. administrations would work together to bring the remaining hostages home. The freed hostages included Yelena...
Catholic bishops urged to boldly share church teachings — even unpopular ones
BALTIMORE (AP) — Several U.S. Catholic bishops on Wednesday encouraged the church to boldly share Vatican teachings on a range of hot-button issues, including the condemnation of abortion, euthanasia, surrogacy and gender-affirming surgery. The prelates acknowledged theirs is often...
Vatican, Microsoft create AI-generated St. Peter's Basilica to allow virtual visits, log damage
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican and Microsoft on Monday unveiled a digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica that uses artificial intelligence to explore one of the world’s most important monument’s while helping the Holy See manage visitor flows and identify conservation problems. ...
Fans flood @Pontifex account after it inadvertantly cites New Orleans Saints amid dreadful season
ROME (AP) — The New Orleans Saints may be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season, but at least they can count on continued prayers from Pope Francis. The pope – or at least someone in the Vatican communications office – has been inadvertently rooting for the Saints since...
Pope Francis prays in front of graves of unborn children ahead of All Souls' Day Mass
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis paid his respects on Saturday to the “Garden of Angels,” an area in Rome’s third largest cemetery which houses the graves of stillborn and miscarried children. Francis celebrated All Souls’ Day Mass at the Laurentino cemetery, on Rome’s southern...
Longtime music director at Michigan church fired for same-sex marriage
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The longtime music director at a northern Michigan church said he was fired just a few months before retirement after officials learned that he was in a same-sex marriage, a dismissal that has angered members and led to sidewalk protests by the choir. ...
Pope's child protection board urges transparency from Vatican sex abuse office and compensation
Pope Francis' child protection board called Tuesday for victims of clergy sexual abuse to have greater access to information about their cases and the right to compensation, in the first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church’s efforts to address the crisis. The Pontifical...
A thriller about electing a pope draws crowds at the Rome Film Festival near the Vatican
ROME (AP) — With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican. How timely, then, that just across town in Rome, “ Conclave ” a thriller filled with back-stabbing, manipulative cardinals, quick to toss...
Pope Francis' Catholic church reform process ends without giving more equity to women
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church closed Saturday with recommendations that fell short of giving women more equity as hoped, but reflected the pope’s aims for a church that at least listens more to its followers. In a significant...
