“This is God’s creation being revealed to us, and in it we can see both his astonishing power and his love of beauty,” Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory, said.

Pope Francis said he would not live in the Vatican or return to his native Argentina if and when he ever retires, but would instead like to find a church in Rome where he could continue hearing confessions.

Were a papal document forthcoming it could lead to a new and definitive papal teaching document on issues as polarizing as contraception, assisted procreation and palliative care.

“Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel” is touring North America, with stops planned in Portland, Indianapolis and Albuquerque, among other cities.

Cardinal Cupich, among others, expressed dismay at the recent mass shootings in Chicago and Philadelphia. Cupich repeated his call “to enact serious, broadly popular gun safety measures.”

Cardinal-designate McElroy told reporters on May 31 that he believed the pope selected him because he wanted a cardinal on the U.S. West Coast and because of his support for the pope’s pastoral and ecclesial priorities.