The appointments are part of an ongoing effort to give a greater role to women in the work of the Roman Curia offices, the central administration of the Catholic church.

The pope’s first comments on Syria since the missile attacks

Pope Francis admitted that he had badly misjudged the situation in Chile, or as he put it: “I fell into serious errors in the evaluation and perception of the situation, due especially to the lack of true and balanced information.”

Francis' “modest goal” is “to re-propose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time.”

Msgr. Carlo Cappella, who had served in the Vatican embassy in Washington, D.C., has been under criminal investigation since his recall from the U.S. last September.

Pope Francis' third apostolic exhortation will emphasize “the call to holiness in the contemporary world,” echoing Vatican II's “Lumen Gentium.”

Francis delivered his sixth Easter message as bishop of Rome and leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics from the central balcony of St Peter’s.

The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong said, “Pope Francis promotes the Holy See’s negotiations with China for the good of the church, to bring something good to the church and to the whole of humanity.”

Mgr. Dario Vigano offered his resignation on March 19, saying he did not want the flap over the Benedict letter to hinder reforms in the communications office.

Pope Francis will attend the ninth World Meeting of Families on August 25 and 26, making him the second pontiff to visit Ireland.