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'Slight' sickness keeps Pope Francis close to home, Vatican says

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis did not attend a scheduled meeting with Rome priests Thursday morning due to a “slight indisposition,” a Vatican spokesman said.
Shut off cellphone, open Bible for Lent, pope tells faithful

VATICAN CITY — Lent is a time to remove all distractions and bitterness from one's life in order to better hear God and those who suffer silently and need help, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis: Ask God for the strength to love your enemies

BARI, Italy, — Ask God for the grace to love your enemies, Pope Francis said Sunday in a homily in the Italian city of Bari.“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This is the Christian innovation. It is the Christian difference,” Pope Francis said Feb. 23.
Pope clears way for beatification of Salvadoran Jesuit, companions

The Vatican announced Feb. 22 that Pope Francis has recognized the martyrdom of a fellow Jesuit, Salvadoran Father Rutilio Grande, and two companions who were murdered en route to a novena in 1977 in El Salvador.
Computer programming teen Carlo Acutis to be beatified

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican announced Saturday the approval of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager and computer programmer, who died in 2006.
Full look at Vatican wartime role will take patience, archivists say

VATICAN CITY — When the Vatican's wartime archives open to researchers March 2, it will be just the start of what should be a long, slow process of studying, analyzing and publishing findings, said the Vatican's archivist and librarian.
Being meek does not mean being a pushover, pope says at audience

VATICAN CITY — Those who are meek are patient, gentle and merciful, are drawing people together and salvaging relationships, Pope Francis said.
Raphael's tapestries briefly return to Sistine Chapel

An artistic masterpiece conceived by the Renaissance master Raphael was on display for one week in the Sistine Chapel to help celebrate the 500th anniversary of the artist's death.
Pope says new Vatican finance laws, norms are working

VATICAN CITY — The decade-long process of updating the laws of Vatican City State is part of the Vatican's support for international commitments to protect people and safeguard vulnerable groups, who are "frequently the victims of new, odious forms of illegality," Pope Francis said.
Pope on women in Amazon church: Don't try to 'clericalize' them

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis released his document on the Amazon region on the 15th anniversary of the assassination in Brazil of U.S. Notre Dame Sister Dorothy Stang, a missionary who defended the poor and the environment. Her life and sacrifice are emblematic of what many participants at the October Synod of Bishops for the Amazon had said: Women in the region are leaders of both community and religious life; their defense of the poor and the natural environment is consistent and consistently results in threats to their lives.
'The Vatican lost everything, got nothing': An interview with Cardinal Zen

“Even in the official church, the faithful are more and more controlled. On the top of the church they tell you to destroy the crosses, inside the church, they put the image of Xi Jinping—maybe not in the center, but in some place. Now they have to have the flag in the church, they have to sing the national anthem."
WATCH: Pope shares his 'dreams' for Amazon region, its Catholic community

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said he dreams of an Amazon region where the rights of the poor and indigenous are respected, local cultures are preserved, nature is protected, and the Catholic Church is present and active with "Amazonian features."
Pope says there is no quick fix for priest shortage in Amazon region

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis acknowledged the serious shortage of priests in remote areas of the Amazon, but he insisted not all avenues have been exhausted to address the issue.
Pope Francis praises charitable work of Knights of Columbus

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Monday met Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and members of the Knights of Columbus supreme council, praising the organization’s charitable work in Rome and in defense of life.
Pope Francis appeals for displaced women and children in Syria

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis appealed Sunday for the protection of women and children fleeing violence in northwestern Syria, as more than half a million people have been displaced in two months.
Middle East patriarchs discuss plight of Christian minorities with Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY — Six Catholic patriarchs from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq met with Pope Francis at the Vatican Friday to discuss the difficulties faced by Christians in the region and their mass emigration.
Pope Francis met woman who grabbed him New Year's Eve

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis in January met and shook hands with the woman at whom he lost his patience after being grabbed in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 31.
WATCH: Pope: God's kingdom is for the poor in spirit, not the proud of heart

VATICAN CITY — People who recognize and embrace their spiritual poverty will inherit the kingdom of God, not those who place their trust in the comforts of this world, Pope Francis said.
WATCH: Northwest bishops experience encouragement, fraternity, unity with pope

VATICAN CITY — Bishops from the northwestern United States spent more than two and half hours with Pope Francis and came away talking about his small gestures and, especially, his understanding and encouragement.
Vatican donates masks to China to combat coronavirus outbreak

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican donated thousands of protective masks to several Chinese provinces affected by the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.
Parties working to get U.S., Russia to discuss nuclear arms reduction

WASHINGTON — An effort is underway through nongovernmental channels to bring U.S. and Russian negotiators together to discuss new reductions in the countries' nuclear weapons arsenals, an official with the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said during a visit to The Catholic University of America.
Pope Francis: Civilized society recognizes the value of human life

VATICAN CITY — Warning of the modern tendency to judge human life on the basis of utility rather than dignity, Pope Francis Thursday urged the need to protect the lives of the smallest and most vulnerable.
Pope Francis: 'The beatitudes always bring joy'

VATICAN CITY — The beatitudes should be a defining feature of a Christian’s identity because they reveal the way that Jesus lived his life, Pope Francis said Wednesday.
God's word brings light to life's dark corners, pope says at Mass

VATICAN CITY — God's saving word doesn't seek pristine and safe places to reside but instead goes in search of the dark corners of people's lives that it can brighten, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis prays for coronavirus victims in China

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis prayed Sunday for people infected by the coronavirus, which has killed 56 people in China.
VP Pence and Pope Francis discuss US pro-life movement during Vatican meeting

VATICAN CITY — As the March for Life got underway in Washington, DC, Pope Francis and Vice President Mike Pence met in the Vatican Friday to discuss the church's commitment to the pro-life movement.
Pope, Pence meet at the Vatican

VATICAN CITY — After Pope Francis and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met privately for nearly an hour at the Vatican, Pence told the pope that his Roman Catholic mother will be pleased with the visit.
Archbishop Chaput retires; pope names Bishop Perez successor

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia and has appointed Bishop Nelson J. Perez of Cleveland as his successor.
Taiwan president appeals to Pope Francis over China’s 'abuse of power'

VATICAN CITY — Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen has written to Pope Francis describing China’s aggression and persecution of religion as “obstacles to peace,” and detailing the communist regime’s “abuses of power.”
Integral development for all is a moral duty, pope tells leaders at Davos

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis told global business and government leaders that everyone has the moral responsibility to seek the integral development of all people, but especially those who are in need, suffering injustice or whose lives are threatened.
Pope Francis denounces ‘barbaric resurgence’ of anti-Semitism

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis Monday condemned the “barbaric resurgence” of cases of anti-Semitism in the world, and urged the need to respect each person’s human dignity.
Pope Francis: To know Christ better, contemplate his 'holy face'

VATICAN CITY — Meditating on the Gospel and on Christ’s holy face is a good way to know Jesus better, especially as the Lamb of God who sacrificed himself for the sins of the world, Pope Francis said Sunday.