Come all ye faithful: Christmas carols sing of God’s love, pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christmas carols in every language and culture are expressions of how music can convey “feelings and emotions, even the deepest movements of the soul,” Pope Leo XIV said after listening,...
Dialogue, diplomacy can lead to just, lasting peace in Ukraine, pope says
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the importance of dialogue and his hopes for a just and lasting peace in the region. “In addition, the questions of...
Pope prays Mary will fill believers with hope, inspire them to serve
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — Celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception as the Jubilee Year was ending, Pope Leo XIV prayed that “Jubilee hope” would “blossom in Rome and in every corner of the earth,”...
Advent call is to cooperate in building a kingdom of peace, pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Preparing the way of the Lord means taking concrete steps to help usher in God’s kingdom of peace, Pope Leo XIV said on his first Advent Sunday back at the Vatican after his trip to Turkey and...
Believers must care for the poor and creation, pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — If people do not see themselves as “caretakers of the garden of creation, we end up becoming its destroyers,” Pope Leo XIV said. As the U.N. Climate Conference continued in Brazil, the pope...
Pope asks priests in diplomatic corps to be witnesses of hope
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The priests who staff nunciatures and other Vatican diplomatic missions around the world must be priests first and diplomats second, Pope Leo XIV told them. And part of that is recognizing that whether...
Pope calls treatment of migrants in U.S. ‘extremely disrespectful’
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Insisting that the dignity of all people, including immigrants, must be respected, Pope Leo XIV asked U.S. Catholics and “people of goodwill” to read and listen to the U.S. bishops’ recent...
‘Creation is crying out,’ pope says in new message to COP30
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While “creation is crying out” and millions of people suffer the effects of climate change and pollution, politicians are failing to act, Pope Leo XIV said. As the U.N. Climate Conference,...
Pope encourages religious orders to perfect safeguarding systems
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — Religious orders of men and women must continue perfecting their efforts to ensure the safety and integrity of every child, every person they meet and every member of their order, Pope Leo XIV said. The pope...
Bishops must ‘sow’ with patience, foster respect, pope says
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The first lesson every bishop must learn is humility, Pope Leo XIV said. “Not humility in words, but that which dwells in the heart of those who know they are servants, not masters; shepherds, not...
World hunger is ‘collective failure,’ pope says on World Food Day
Above: Pope Leo XIV addresses government leaders and representatives during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome Oct. 16, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez) By Catholic News Service ROME (CNS) — “Allowing millions of...
Love for the poor is hallmark of faith, pope says in first exhortation
Above: Pope Leo XIV signs his first apostolic exhortation, “Dilexi Te” (“I Have Loved You”), in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Oct. 4, 2025, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, as Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the substitute...
God’s love can reach anyone, even at ‘rock bottom,’ pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When people hit “rock bottom,” they can be confident that God is there ready to rescue and redeem them, Pope Leo XIV said. “No place is too far away, no heart is too closed (and) no...
Use wealth to help people, not destroy them, pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV prayed that the leaders of nations would use money and resources to promote the common good rather than using “wealth against humanity” by “turning it into weapons that...
Theology must address climate change, AI, other real concerns, pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Because “true knowledge of God is realized in a life transformed by love,” the Catholic Church needs theologians whose pursuit of understanding is framed by care for the real concerns of...
New saint has special connection to nation’s capital with parish’s adoration chapel
By Mark Zimmermann Catholic Standard , OSV News WASHINGTON (OSV News) — St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, canonized by Pope Leo XIV Sept. 7, now has a special connection to Washington. A parish in the nation’s capital that has become a haven for young adult...
Dialogue, joint aid show world religion is force for good, pope says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When people of different religions work together to serve people in need, they show the world that faith promotes peace and not hostility, Pope Leo XIV said. “When our dialogue is lived out in...
New young saints encourage faithful to live life to the full, pope says
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The greatest risk in life is to waste it by not seeking to follow God’s plan, Pope Leo XIV said, proclaiming two new saints — two young laymen of the 20th and 21st centuries. “Sts. Pier...
Christ’s love is stronger than hatred, pope says at audience
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Jesus’ love and forgiveness do not deny the truth of pain and betrayal, but they do prevent evil from having the last word, Pope Leo XIV said. “To forgive does not mean to deny evil, but to...
Pope asks Italian bishops to proclaim the Gospel, teach peace
ABOVE: Pope Leo XIV speaks to members of the Italian bishops’ conference in the Hall of Blessings at the Vatican June 17, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Finding more effective ways to proclaim...
 Special Mass for Pope Francis held at Cathedral Easter Monday
Pope Francis, 88, dies on Easter Monday By Tami S. Scott, editor In the early morning hours of April 21, Easter Monday, the world learned of the passing of Pope Francis at the age of 88. Though frail and ill for some time, the news came unexpectedly. Pope Francis made...
US cardinal announces pope’s death to the world
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the “camerlengo” or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, announced to the world that Pope Francis had died April 21 at the age of 88. Shortly before 10 a.m....
Pope begins to receive very limited visits, Vatican says
By Carol Glatz , Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Pope Francis continues his recovery at the Vatican, he is very slowly beginning to get back to his old routine of meeting with top Vatican officials, the Vatican press office said. In addition to...
Jubilee renewal of faith builds confidence in God’s presence, pope says
By Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) –- Saying “yes” to God’s plan for one’s life does not mean everything will be easy, but it does mean knowing that God is there and will help, Pope Francis said. Writing to some 4,300 people...
Pope continues to govern the church, says Vatican secretary of state
By Cindy Wooden , Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even on his worst days in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis was governing the Catholic Church, although on some days, he did not seem to have the energy to sign his full name, said Cardinal...
Not knowing pope’s role, Vatican publishes Holy Week, Easter schedule
By Cindy Wooden , Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Pope Francis continues his convalescence, the Vatican published a full calendar of Holy Week and Easter liturgies with no indication of who would preside or be the main celebrant. The list of Masses...
Vatican ambassadors gather for Mass to pray for pope’s health
(Above) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, gives his homily during a Mass to pray for Pope Francis with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican March 14, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) By...
In the hospital, pope celebrates anniversary of election with cake
(Above) Archived photo By Justin McLellan , Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis spent the 12th anniversary of his election to the papacy undergoing physiotherapy at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, but he was well enough to celebrate it in...
Pope’s condition shows ‘further slight improvement’
By Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ condition showed “further slight improvement” in the previous 24 hours, the Vatican said in its evening medical bulletin Feb. 26. The “mild renal insufficiency” previously noted in the pope’s condition “has receded,” the bulletin said, and the results of a CT scan performed Feb. 25 showed a “normal evolution” of his pulmonary inflammation. The results come from the third CT scan the pope has received during his hospitalization; he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs after the second scan, which was performed Feb. 18. The 88-year-old pope, who has been in
