Latest Rome News

Pope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience

Dec. 25, 2024 09:53 AM EST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis kicked off the 2025 Holy Year on Tuesday, inaugurating a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in a test of the pope's stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. From his...

A Holy Year is about to start in Rome. Here's what you need to know

Dec. 23, 2024 09:03 AM EST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Tuesday formally inaugurates the 2025 Holy Year, reviving an ancient church tradition encouraging the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome, amid new security fears following a Christmas market attack in Germany. At the start of Christmas Eve...

Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain reopens after renovation work in time for the Jubilee Holy Year

Dec. 22, 2024 14:14 PM EST

ROME (AP) — Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain reopened Sunday after three months of renovations, just in time for the inauguration of the 2025 Jubilee Holy Year that is expected to draw millions of visitors. The renovation work on the 18th-century monument that's one of the Italian...

Pope has a cold and will skip outdoor Sunday prayer ahead of a busy week

Dec. 21, 2024 10:56 AM EST

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is suffering from a cold and will deliver his Sunday blessing from indoors, the Vatican said, announcing the precautions ahead of a busy Christmas period and launch of the Holy Year that will sorely test Francis' stamina and health. The Vatican cited the...

For some, the pope's big Holy Year only aggravates housing crisis as overtourism pushes out Romans

Dec. 20, 2024 12:43 PM EST

When Pope Francis left the Vatican earlier this month for his traditional Christmastime outing downtown, he acknowledged what many Romans have been complaining about for months: That his big plans for a Holy Year had turned their city into a giant construction pit, with traffic-clogging roadworks...

Europe's anti-torture watchdog slams Italy over migrant detention abuses

Dec. 13, 2024 12:28 PM EST

ROME (AP) — The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee on Friday released a report criticizing Italy’s treatment of migrants in local detention centers, citing cases of physical ill-treatment, excessive force and the use of psychotropic drugs on detainees. The report by the...

Pope calls for debt reduction for poorer countries to mark the Vatican's 2025 Jubilee Year

Dec. 12, 2024 07:19 AM EST

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday called on wealthy countries and institutions to substantially reduce if not outright cancel debt as a matter of justice on the occasion of the Vatican's 2025 Jubilee Year. In a message for world peace, Francis referred to St. John Paul...

Woman killed in crash as officer responds to threat at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's home

Dec. 10, 2024 13:19 PM EST

ROME, Ga. (AP) — A motorist was killed as police responded to a bomb threat at the Georgia home of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, authorities said. A police officer on the local bomb squad was traveling to the scene when he collided with another car on Monday, Rome police said...

Pope creates 21 cardinals, many of them reformers in their own right, to carry out his reform plans

Dec. 07, 2024 12:33 PM EST

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday installed 21 new cardinals, many of whom are key figures in his reform agenda: A Dominican preacher who acted as the spiritual father for Francis' recent gathering of bishops, a Neapolitan “street priest” like himself, and a Peruvian bishop who has...

Italy's Meloni and Hungary's Orbán pledge deeper cooperation on migration and Ukraine

Dec. 04, 2024 13:31 PM EST

ROME (AP) — Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni met her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán on Wednesday in Rome, where the two discussed the situation in the Middle East, their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and their commitment to the eastern country’s reconstruction. ...