Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis gives a blessing to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square during his general audience on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Tells faithful: Learn Some of the Psalms by Heart

“It is necessary to make the Psalms our prayer,” the pope said at his general audience in an overcast but...

A group of comedians and humorists, including Chris Rock and Jimmy Fallon (center), share a lighthearted exchange with Pope Francis during a gathering with the pope in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on June 14, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Gets Laughs at Meeting with Big-name Comedians

Pope Francis took the stage in front of over 100 comedians and humorists, including Americans Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and...

Pope Francis participates in his first G7 Summit on June 14, 2024. In his remarks, the pontiff stressed that human dignity requires that the decisions of artificial intelligence (AI) be under the control of human beings. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis at G7: Artificial Intelligence Must Not Replace Human Decision-making

Pope Francis at the G7 summit on Friday stressed that human dignity requires that the decisions of artificial intelligence be...

Pope Francis made his remarks on synodality during an annual meeting for moderators of international associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements, and new communities, organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life on June 13, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Synodality Moves us to Share in others’ Suffering: Pope Francis

Pope Francis said Thursday a synodal spirit asks us to react with empathy to the suffering and painful experiences of...

Pope Francis speaks to priests of the Diocese of Rome at the Pontifical Salesian University on June 11, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

“If a young man wants to enter the seminary and has a homosexual tendency: stop him”: Pope Francis Quoted again

The pope said there was “an air of faggotry” at the Vatican, according to reports.

Massimo Bianchi and Cristiane Murray address attendees at a June 11, 2024, Vatican press conference regarding the upcoming Vatican Observatory conference to take place June 17–24, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

From the Big Bang to Black Holes: Vatican, Scientists to Explore Questions of the Universe

Titled “Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, and Space-Time Singularities,” the June 17-21 workshop is the second international conference celebrating the legacy...

Pope Francis greets participants in a gathering of choir singers, musicians, and directors at Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on June 8, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Music is a Universal language: Pope Francis Sings Praises of Catholic Choirs

The Holy Father's remarks came during the 4th International Meeting of Choirs at the Vatican.

Pope Francis speaks at the general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 22, 2024. An altar painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Francesco de Rhoden inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA. [L] CNA file photo [R]

Pope Francis to Write Reflection on Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion

The pontiff asked for prayers as he prepares to publish the document in September.

Building of the general curia of the Jesuit order on Borgo Santo Spirito, Rome. / Credit: Boubloub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Theologians Hold Closed-door Meeting in Rome on Guidance Document for October Synod

The June 4–13 closed-door gathering of experts in theology, ecclesiology, and canon law is being held at the Jesuit general...

Pope Francis gives a thumbs up to those gathered at his general audience on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Elizabeth Alva/EWTN

At General Audience, Pope Francis Explains the Correct Use of Christian Freedom

Speaking in St. Peter’s Square during his weekly public audience, the pope gave the second lesson in a series of...

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on May 8, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

"Go ahead with your vocation": Pope Francis Tells Gay Man Rejected from Seminary

According to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, the pope responded to an email from Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso, telling him...

Members of ACLI (Italian Christian Workers' Associations) hold a sign with the word "peace" in Italian, in St. Peter's Square on June 1, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: Building Peace Requires "taking a risk"

Being peacemakers in the style of Jesus Christ, while necessary and valuable, can also be risky, Pope Francis said at...

Fresco by Giotto of St. Francis of Assisi embracing the Child Jesus at Christmas Mass in Greccio in 1223, located in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. | Public domain

St. Francis and the Story of the First Nativity Scene

It’s a well-known origin story: how the young and wealthy Francis of Assisi freely abandoned his noble patrimony to serve...

The House of Mary community poses for a photo on Dec. 8, 1994, in St. Peter's Square, the first time they brought their blue banner with the words "The Immaculate Conception will Triumph" to the Angelus with Pope John Paul II. The group has continued to bring the banner to every Sunday Angelus for 29 years. | Credit: Comunita Casa di Maria

The Story Behind the Immaculate Conception Banner at Every Vatican Angelus

The banner’s declaration recalls the Marian spirituality of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who had a special devotion to the Immaculate Conception.

Christmas Mass in St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 24, 2022. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Here are Pope Francis’ Liturgies for Christmas 2023 at the Vatican

As the season of Advent draws near, the Vatican has published the schedule of Pope Francis’ liturgies for Christmas through...

Pope Francis on Nov. 24, 2023, met with representatives, mayors, and religious leaders from areas in central Italy hit by devastating earthquakes between August 2016 and January 2017. | Credit: Vatican Media.

Pope Francis: More Sustainable Cities Can Help with Population Decline

Pope Francis said Friday one of the ways to address population decline is to make cities more sustainable, increasing the...

The cross of the German “Synodal Way” | Maximilian von Lachner / Synodaler Weg

The Vatican’s Statements on the German Synodal Way: A Timeline

Tuesday was not the first time Pope Francis and the Vatican have expressed reservations about the German Synodal Way.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

What’s Next in the Vatican’s Trial of Cardinal Becciu

After almost two and a half years, the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” in which the disgraced Cardinal Angelo Becciu...

Pope Francis smiles while addressing pilgrims at a vigil gathering on Aug. 5, 2023, at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Invites Young People to be "God’s answer" to a Hopeless World

The pope’s message on the theme “Rejoicing in Hope,” was released ahead of the next diocesan World Youth Day, to...

Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City State, where a group of Benedictine nuns from Argentina will take up residence in January 2024 at the invitation of Pope Francis. | Credit: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

After Benedict XVI’s Death, Vatican Monastery to be Home to Benedictine Nuns

Pope Benedict XVI spent his retirement at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery until his death on Dec. 31, 2022.