Pope Francis Latest News

These are the latest news about Pope Francis, the Vatican, and the Catholic Church, provided by the Vatican staff of Catholic News Agency, a service of EWTN News.

The Latest

Young people participate in Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day in Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023.

Pope Francis at WYD Stations of the Cross: ‘Jesus wipes away our hidden tears’

Aug 4, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The pope’s meditations connected Christ’s sufferings to wounds that young people experience today. Read more

Pope Francis sits quietly during a meeting with students at the Portuguese Catholic University in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 3, 2023.

Pope Francis confirms Vatican envoy’s visit to China in wide-ranging interview

Aug 4, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

The pope also addressed “rigidity” in the Church and concerns about the Synod on Synodality. Read more

Pope Francis hears the confession of a young pilgrim at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023.

Pope Francis hears young people’s confessions in Lisbon

Aug 4, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Pope Francis on Friday heard the confessions of three young people in the Jardim Vasco da Gama, renamed Reconciliation Park... Read more

Spanish Carmelite Pablo María de la Cruz on the day of his religious profession.

Pope receives posthumous letter from young Carmelite who wanted to attend WYD

Aug 4, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

In the letter, Pablo María de la Cruz expressed to the pope his desire to have participated in WYD in... Read more

Pope Francis meets with charity workers at the Centro Paroquial de Serafina in Lisbon on Aug. 4, 2023.

Pope Francis: Without concrete love, our lives have ‘no weight’

Aug 4, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

At a gathering with Portuguese charity workers, Pope Francis went off script to insist that Christian love must be tangibly... Read more

Pope Francis makes his way past crowds of thousands on his way to the World Youth Day welcoming ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 3, 2023.

PHOTOS: Pope Francis’ first World Youth Day speech, ‘God’s heart beats uniquely for you’

Approximately 500,000 people celebrated Pope Francis’ arrival at World Youth Day. Read more

Prior to a private meeting with survivors later in the day, Pope Francis addressed the clergy sex abuse scandal in his address during a vespers service in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 2, 2023.

Pope meets with clerical abuse survivors, urges Church to hear victims’ ‘anguished cry’

Aug 3, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Earlier Pope Francis called for “a humble, ongoing purification, starting with the anguished cry of the victims, who must always... Read more

Pope Francis and José María Del Corral, president of the Scholas Occurrentes youth movement, smile during a meeting with the group's volunteers in Cascais, Portugal, on Aug. 3, 2023.

‘Attend to the planet and poor,’ Pope Francis urges college students

Aug 3, 2023

By Shannon Mullen

Pope Francis began his second day in Portugal with a meeting with Catholic students and members of an educational youth... Read more

Pope Francis gives the homily at vespers at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 2, 2023.

Pope Francis makes urgent call to recover eucharistic adoration in the Church

Aug 2, 2023

By Diego López Marina

“Only in adoration, only before the Lord can the taste and passion for evangelization be recovered,” the pontiff said during... Read more

Pope Francis participates in vespers at Jerónimos Monastery in Portugal, Aug. 2, 2023.

‘Sail boldly into sea of evangelization,’ pope tells clergy, religious in Lisbon

Aug 2, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

The Holy Father encouraged Church leaders in Portugal to overcome discouragement by spending time in adoration. Read more

Pope Francis meets with Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Belém Cultural Center in Lisbon upon his arrival for World Youth Day on Aug. 2, 2023.

World Youth Day 2023: Pope Francis arrives in Lisbon, ‘a city of encounter’ in a divided world

Aug 2, 2023

By Daniel Payne

“Young people ... who long for unity, peace, and fraternity, urge us to make their good dreams come true,” the... Read more

Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University, where the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences is located.

‘The pope’s university’ gets a new rector

Aug 1, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Alfonso Amarante, CSsR, to head the Pontifical Lateran University. Read more

Pope Francis addresses the crowd in St. Peter’s Square in his Sunday Angelus on July 16, 2023.

This is Pope Francis’ prayer intention for August 2023

Aug 1, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

The pope’s prayer intention this month is for World Youth Day 2023, which is being held this week in Lisbon,... Read more

Daiane Silva Pereira, 29, has been to every World Youth Day that Pope Francis has attended. Each of them played an important role in her discernment of religious life and now she's in Lisbon for WYD 2023 as a member of the religious community Comunidade Canção Nova.

Brazilian missionary developed her vocation by following Pope Francis’ WYD events

Jul 31, 2023

By ACI Digital

Daiane Silva Pereira has been to three World Youth Days and is now at WYD Lisbon with members of her... Read more

A forest fire rages on the Greek island of Corfu on July 24, 2023.

Pope Francis telegrams Greece and Italy to express concerns about wildfires and storms

Jul 31, 2023

By Daniel Payne

Recent wildfires devastated large parts of Greece and left several people dead while storms in Italy damaged buildings and caused... Read more

Outdoor Mass with the WYD Lisbon 2023 volunteers as they prepare for World Youth Day to begin Aug 2.

8 unique things to know about World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon

Jul 30, 2023

By Clara Raimundo

As pilgrims stream into Portugal for World Youth Day in Lisbon, here’s a preview of some of the more interesting... Read more

Pope Francis offers Mass in Bari, Italy on Feb. 23, 2020.

Vatican announces Pope Francis’ Marseille visit schedule

Jul 29, 2023

By Rachel Thomas

In September, the pope will travel to France to meet with young people and bishops from around the world at... Read more

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Rome announces major construction project in preparation for 2025 Jubilee Year

Jul 28, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

In anticipation of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the city of Rome presented a major infrastructure project Friday.  Read more

World Youth Day 2023 pilgrims.

WYD: Young people ‘don’t need reefers or condoms’ to have a good time, Spanish bishop says

Jul 28, 2023

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

Bishop Demetrio Fernández of Córdoba, Spain, reflected on the upcoming World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in his recent weekly... Read more

Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican on July 27, 2023.

Vatican, Vietnam announce agreement on permanent papal representative

Jul 28, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The announcement came Thursday during the visit of Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong to the Vatican. Read more