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

Pope Francis prays at the general audience, Oct. 19, 2022

Pope Francis prays for priest killed in Nigeria, asks for prayers for persecuted Christians

Jan 18, 2023

By Courtney Mares

At the end of his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis asked for people to join him in praying for persecuted Christians... Read more

Pope Francis prays in front of a crucifix during his general audience on Oct. 26, 2022.

Pope Francis prays for victims of Congo church bombing

Jan 17, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The church bombing in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday killed at least 14 people and injured more than... Read more

Cardinal Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Hong, attends the funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Jan. 5, 2023, in St. Peter's Square.

Cardinal Zen ‘very concerned’ about Synod on Synodality

Jan 17, 2023

By Courtney Mares

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Giornale published on Jan. 17, Zen said that he hopes that the... Read more

Pope Francis prayed for peace in his Angelus address following Mass in L'Aquila, Italy.

Pope Francis offers condolences after 69 die in Nepal plane crash

Jan 16, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The plane was carrying 72 passengers from Kathmandu to Pokhara, a popular base for trekkers in the Annapurna mountain range... Read more

Pope Francis presides over the funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square on Jan. 5, 2023.

Analysis: Pope Francis centralizes authority with reform of Diocese of Rome

Jan 15, 2023

By Andrea Gagliarducci

It was widely anticipated that a major reform of the Diocese of Rome was coming, but no one expected it... Read more

Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address in St. Peter's Square on Jan. 15, 2023.

Pope Francis announces ecumenical prayer service, reflects on St. John the Baptist’s ‘spirit of service’

Jan 15, 2023

By Courtney Mares

An ecumenical prayer vigil will take place in St. Peter’s Square as part of the Church’s ongoing Synod on Synodality. Read more

Pope Francis met with seminarians, staff, and faculty of the Ponitifical North American College in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Jan. 14, 2023.

Pope Francis: Synodal journey ‘a challenge and task’ for American seminarians

Jan 14, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis met with students, staff, and faculty of the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican on the morning... Read more

Cardinal George Pell.

Cardinal Pell authored controversial memo critical of Pope Francis, journalist reveals

Jan 13, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Sandro Magister, a longtime Vatican journalist, revealed the identity of the document’s author on Jan. 11, the day after Pell’s... Read more

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope on March 13, 2013.

Church in Argentina to celebrate 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ election to papacy

Jan 12, 2023

By CNA Staff

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, then archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected pontiff on March 13, 2013. Read more

Cardinal George Pell leads Eucharistic adoration and a Eucharistic procession at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome on May 18, 2021.

Funeral of Cardinal George Pell to be at Vatican on Saturday

Jan 12, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Mass will be celebrated at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. Read more

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Analysis: What to read in Benedict XVI’s secretary’s ‘tell-all’ book?

Jan 11, 2023

By Andrea Gagliarducci

“Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Benedict XVI” by Archbishop Georg Gänswein comes out on Jan. 12, but CNA... Read more

Pope Francis receives Cardinal George Pell in a private audience at the Vatican Oct. 12, 2020.

Pope Francis praises Cardinal George Pell’s dedication to the Church

Jan 11, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis remembered Cardinal Pell’s “dedication to the Gospel and the Church.” Read more

Pope Francis stops to pray before an image of Our Lady and the Child Jesus during his weekly general audience on Jan. 11, 2023.

Pope Francis: We don’t have to be perfect to evangelize

Jan 11, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

“Here is the message for us: we do not have to wait until we are perfect and have come a... Read more

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

Jan 10, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

“I would like to propose that educators add new content to their teaching: fraternity,” the Holy Father said. Read more

Pope Francis meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her 6-year-old daughter on Jan. 10, 2023.

Pope Francis meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Jan 10, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The private meeting on Tuesday marked the third time in nine days the 45-year-old politician was at the Vatican. Read more

Pope Francis blesses a young woman during a general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall in December 2022.

Pope Francis: Vulnerability threatens the ‘culture of efficiency’

Jan 10, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The Catholic Church will mark the 31st annual World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, the feast of Our... Read more

Archbishop Georg Gänswein and Pope Francis

Pope Francis meets with Benedict XVI’s longtime secretary, Archbishop Gänswein

Jan 9, 2023

By Jonathan Liedl

The private audience with the pope took place shortly before the public release of Gänswein’s forthcoming book detailing his nearly... Read more

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus address on Jan. 8, 2023.

Pope Francis: God’s justice frees us from the snares of evil

Jan 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the pope said in his Angelus address that “Jesus reveals God’s... Read more

Pope Francis baptized 13 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 8, 2023.

Pope Francis: Celebrate the date of your baptism like a birthday

Jan 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Jan. 8, the pope baptized 13 babies and presided over... Read more

Four Israeli families who have been fighting to see their children for eight and a half years met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Dec. 21, 2022. Two young men are still alive, kidnapped by Hamas. Two others died, but their bodies were not returned, thus preventing a proper burial, one of the Jewish mitzvahs. Three are Jews, and one is Muslim.

Families of Israeli captives in Gaza Strip appeal to Pope Francis

Jan 8, 2023

By Andrea Gagliarducci

When Pope Francis once again launched the appeal for peace in the Holy Land, he probably had in his eyes... Read more