On “Inside the Vatican” this week, veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle give an update on the former pope’s health. The rest of the podcast looks at three of Pope Francis’ Christmas messages.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's medical condition remains serious, but the Vatican reported Thursday that he is "lucid and alert."

Pope Francis reflects on Christmas and on St. Francis de Sales, who tells us “to desire nothing and reject nothing, to accept everything that God sends us.”

The only thing certain is that the most important ritual following the death of a pope—a conclave to elect a new one—does not apply.

The pope’s letter, titled "Totum Amoris Est" ("Everything Pertains to Love"), said that the saint has much to teach the church today.

The emeritus pope Benedict XVI has suffered a decline in health, Pope Francis said today at the end of his general audience. He asked for prayers for the 95-year-old former pontiff.