Vatican News

St. Arcadius.

Today the Church honors 3 groups of martyrs as Christians worldwide continue to face persecution

Jan 12, 2024

By Tyler Arnold

On Jan. 12, we honor the feast days of several martyrs and groups of martyrs at a time when there... Read more

Bernini's baldacchino at the papal Mass on Jan. 1, 2024.

Vatican announces major restoration project in St. Peter’s Basilica

Jan 11, 2024

By Courtney Mares

The Vatican announced on Thursday that the soaring baldacchino over the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica will undergo a... Read more

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his Wednesday general audience on Jan. 10, 2024.

Pope Francis at audience: Gluttony is perhaps the most dangerous vice

Jan 10, 2024

By Matthew Santucci

In the third installment of his catechetical series on vice and virtue, Pope Francis on Wednesday focused on the sin... Read more

Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.

Argentine nuns now living in Vatican monastery that was Pope Benedict’s last residence

Vatican City has new tenants: seven nuns from Argentina who, at the request of Pope Francis, will live in Mater... Read more

Pope Francis greets Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

Vatican official says Church should allow married priests

Jan 8, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Archbishop Charles Scicluna said that the Church should learn from the Eastern Churches, which allow married men the option to... Read more

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Rediscovered book by Cardinal Fernández features graphic erotic passages on ‘spirituality and sensuality’

Jan 8, 2024

By Jonathan Liedl

The 1998 book’s provocative, sexually-charged themes are likely to add further scrutiny to the already embattled prefect of the Vatican’s... Read more

Pope Francis prays the Angelus on Jan. 7, 2024, and offers pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square a reflection on baptism.

Pope Francis: If you don’t know the date of your baptism, look it up

Jan 7, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope said Jan. 7 that the anniversary of one’s baptism... Read more

Pope Francis baptizes babies in the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 7, 2024.

PHOTOS: Pope Francis baptizes 16 babies in the Sistine Chapel

Jan 7, 2024

By Courtney Mares

On the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the pope baptized 16 babies and presided over Mass beneath Michelangelo’s... Read more

Pope Francis delivers his homily during the Mass for the solemnity of the Epiphany in St. Peter's Basilica on Jan. 6, 2024.

Pope Francis: The Epiphany invites us to adore the Lord and help the poor

Jan 6, 2024

By Matthew Santucci

In his homily Saturday, Pope Francis urged the faithful to “find God in flesh and bone, in the faces of... Read more

Pope Francis meets with a delegation from the Society of Catholic Publicists of Germany on the 75th anniversary of its foundation Jan. 4, 2024, at the Vatican.

Pope Francis: Catholic news media can’t be ‘neutral’ in the message they convey

Jan 5, 2024

By Andrés Henríquez

The pontiff made his remarks at a Jan. 4 audience with a delegation from the Society of Catholic Publicists of... Read more

Cardinal Angelo Becciu.

Cardinal Becciu speaks of ‘drawing up a balance sheet’ of one’s life before God in homily

Jan 5, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was convicted on several counts of embezzlement of Vatican funds on Dec. 16, presided over a... Read more

St. Peter's Dome.

Vatican responds to widespread backlash on same-sex blessing directive

Jan 4, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández maintained that the Vatican’s recent declaration on same-sex blessings was “clear and definitive about marriage and... Read more

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.

Cardinal Fernández: Vatican’s same-sex blessings guidance is ‘clear answer’ to German bishops

Jan 3, 2024

By Jonathan Liedl

Members of the controversial German Synodal Way overwhelmingly approved developing formalized ritual texts for same-sex blessings in March 2023.   Read more

Father Ramon Guidetti has been excommunicated by his local bishop for saying in a homily that Pope Francis “is not the pope” and calling him “a usurper.”

Italian priest excommunicated for calling Pope Francis a ‘usurper’

Jan 3, 2024

By Courtney Mares

The Diocese of Livorno in Tuscany issued a decree on Jan. 1 notifying Catholics that Father Ramon Guidetti “publicly committed... Read more

Pope Francis delivers a message on the topic of “vices and virtuesc” at his Wednesday general audience on Jan. 3, 2024.

Pope Francis: Never forget that Jesus is beside you in your worst moments

Jan 3, 2024

By Courtney Mares

In life’s worst moments, never forget that Jesus is beside you, Pope Francis said Wednesday. Read more

CNA

Vatican: 20 Catholic missionaries killed in 2023

Jan 2, 2024

By Joe Bukuras

Twenty Catholic missionaries were murdered in 2023, according to a new Dec. 30 report issued by the Vatican’s Fides News... Read more

Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 15, 2023.

These are Pope Francis’ prayer intentions for 2024

Jan 2, 2024

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

The monthly prayer intentions express the Holy Father’s concerns for humanity and the mission of the Catholic Church. Read more

Pope Francis prays during his general audience address in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican on Dec. 27, 2023.

This is Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January

Jan 2, 2024

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of January is for the gift of diversity in the Church. Read more

Firefighters inspect collapsed wooden houses in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2, 2024, a day after a major 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Pope sends message of condolence to victims of deadly earthquake in Japan

Jan 2, 2024

By Daniel Payne

The reported 7.6-magnitude quake struck Ishikawa Prefecture in the western part of the country, killing more than 50. Read more

Archbishop Georg Gänswein celebrates a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 31, 2023, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI.

Conference on anniversary of Benedict’s death focuses on legacy defined by love of Christ

Jan 2, 2024

By Matthew Santucci

Friends, scholars and former colleagues of Pope Benedict XVI gathered in the Campo Santo Teutonico in Vatican City, from Dec.... Read more