On July 19 Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Cardinal Justin Rigali of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and named Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M.Cap., of Denver to succeed him. The pope also accepted the resignation of Bishop J. Kevin Boland of the Diocese of Savannah on July 19 and announced that Gregory John Hartmayer, O.F.M.Conv., will replace him. • The Washington Theological Union announced on June 27 that the school could no longer support itself financially and will close for good at the end of the 2012-13 academic year. • On July 14 Governor Jerry Brown of California signed a bill requiring public school social studies textbooks to recognize the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. California is the first state to approve such a law. • In connection with World Youth Day 2011, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will host a vocation day on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at St. Francis Borgia Parish in Madrid and a “virtual pilgrimage” online for those unable to travel. • The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, praised the final Harry Potter film for its focus on the values of sacrifice and friendship.
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When the cardinals voted to elect Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 265th successor of St. Peter on the evening of March 13, 2013, few of them imagined what kind of pope he would be.
Just halfway through his period of convalescence, Pope Francis not only appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter Sunday to give the Urbi et Orbi blessing—to the city of Rome (“urbi”) and to the world (“orbi”)—but he also drove among the crowd in his jeep.
Against the backdrop of deep differences with the Trump administration over migration and foreign aid as well as concerns for Ukraine and for Gaza, the Vatican secretary of state welcomed U.S. Vice President JD Vance to the Vatican.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, attended the liturgy with his wife, Usha, a practicing Hindu, and his three children after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier in the day.