Pope

'A world that is ablaze': Pope Leo laments war, environmental destruction, in Ash Wednesday service

Before sprinkling ashes on the heads of participants, a sign of mortality, the pope said the ashes could represent "the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war."

|ByREUTERS
POPE LEO XIV puts ash on a faithful's head during the Ash Wednesday Mass at the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, Italy, February 18, 2026.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Christmas Holy Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, December 25, 2025.

Vatican says it will not participate in Trump's Gaza Board of Peace

The Holy See "will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States," the Vatican's top diplomatic official said.

|ByREUTERS
Steve Bannon gestures during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 20, 2025, in this still image taken from a handout video.

Steve Bannon attempted to work with Jeffrey Epstein against Pope Francis - CNN

Bannon, who had previously served as an advisor to US President Donald Trump, reportedly petitioned Epstein to help him take down the pope.

|ByTZVI JASPER
Pope Leo XIV holds a baptism for Vatican City employees in the Sistine Chapel, January 11, 2026; illustrative.

Jesus gets a makeover as Sistine Chapel artwork undergoes restoration

The Vatican announced that Michelangelo’s Last Judgment will undergo its first restoration in 30 years, while the Sistine Chapel remains open to visitors.

|ByREUTERS

Pope acknowledges his Russia comments were faulty

In unscripted remarks to young Russian Catholics in a video conference on Aug. 25, Francis spoke of past tsars Peter I and Catherine II - both of whom expanded Russian territory.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads the Vespers with members of the clergy at the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jeronimos Monastery) during his apostolic journey to Portugal on the occasion of the XXXVII World Youth Day, in Lisbon, Portugal, August 2, 2023

Pope Francis laments 'reactionary,' politicized, US Catholic Church

In the 10 years since his election, Francis has been criticized by conservative sectors of the US Church who are opposed to the pope's reforms.

AUGUST 28, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023.

Catholic students asked to behave 'consistent with their biological sex'

The controversial new policy enforces students using their pronouns assigned at birth and their birth names and forbids same-sex relationships.

AUGUST 24, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
AN EMPTY classroom in an east Jerusalem school, closed in protest at ‘Israeli censorship’ of PA-autorized school textbooks, last year.

Huge billboard in Lisbon puts spotlight on clergy abuse as pope arrives

The billboard was put up on the Almirante Reis avenue - one of Lisbon's longest and busiest streets - and reads: "4,800+ children abused by the Catholic Church in Portugal."

AUGUST 2, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023.

Pope to Portugal for bittersweet 'Catholic Woodstock'

The Vatican said about 330,000 young people have registered for an event in Portugal dubbed "the Catholic Woodstock."

JULY 31, 2023ByREUTERS
People participate in a vigil in support of the 4,815 children that were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church, according to the commission investigating the issue, in Lisbon, Portugal, February 22, 2023.

Pope approves Shanghai bishop as Vatican chides China for lack of consultation

The pope had decided to approve Shen "for the greater good" of the Shanghai diocese and because Shen was an "esteemed pastor."

JULY 15, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 29, 2023.

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to be made cardinal in September

The new cardinals will come from countries including the United States, Italy, the pope's native Argentina, Hong Kong, and several others. 

JULY 9, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives to the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on the eve of the Christmas holiday December 24, 2022.

Pope Francis orders former Benedict aide to leave Vatican

A Vatican statement put an end speculation about what role Gaenswein, a powerful figure in the Vatican for more than a decade before Francis sidelined him after a personal falling out, would have.

JUNE 15, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 8, 2023.

Pope 'progressively improving' after surgery

Francis, 86, underwent a three-hour operation on Wednesday to repair an abdominal hernia

JUNE 9, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads a mass to open the synod of bishops in Vatican City, October 10, 2021.

Pope Francis to have abdominal surgery on Wednesday - Vatican

Pope Francis will have his operation under general anesthetic.

JUNE 7, 2023ByREUTERS
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from a window of the Apostolic Palace at Saint Peter's Square, at the Vatican, February 27, 2022.