The following note has just been issued by the Vatican rsquo s Secretariat of State communicating Pope Francis rsquo congratulations to US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro for the historic decision by both Governments to establish diplomatic relations and with the aim of overc

The enchanting music and song of the Missa Criolla resounded through St Peter rsquo s Basilica on the evening of Dec 12 as Francis the first Latin American pope celebrated mass on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and expressed the hope that the continent where he was born would distinguish its

What an extraordinary year this has been for the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Francis, who continues to inspire and reach the hearts of people far beyond its boundaries!In this last Vatican Dispatch of the year, I will briefly review what the Argentine pope has done to change the chu

Immediately after his election on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis told himself, “Jorge, do not change, continue being yourself because to change at your age would be ridiculous.” He revealed this interesting personal detail in a wide-ranging exclusive multi-part interview with Elisabetta Pi

Pope Francis will hold a Consistory for the creation of new cardinals on 14-15 February 2015 nbsp He has also convened a meeting of the entire College of Cardinals for the two days prior to that event but has not yet disclosed the topic s they will discuss nbsp Father Federico Lombardi S J t

ldquo No Longer Slaves But Brothers and Sisters rdquo That is the title of Pope Francis rsquo s Message for the World Day of Peace that will be celebrated on Jan 1 2015 in which he describes modern slavery as ldquo a global phenomenon rdquo and calls for a worldwide mobilization ldquo to e

Last Thursday nbsp December 4 I had the great privilege to sit in on the interview that Pope Francis kindly granted to Elisabetta Piqu for Argentina rsquo s La Nacion newspaper for which she is the Rome correspondent nbsp She is also my wife and author of ldquo Francis Life and Revolution

Immediately after his election on 13 March 2013 Pope Francis told himself ldquo Jorge do not change continue being yourself because to change at your age would be ridiculous rdquo nbsp nbsp He revealed this interesting personal detail in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Elisabetta P

Protest leaders call for end to civil disobedience campaign as risk of further violence increased.

History was made in the Vatican today when Pope Francis and other leaders of the world rsquo s main religions mdash Christianity Islam Hinduism Buddhism and Judaism mdash signed a joint declaration to work together to eradicate modern slavery in its various forms by the year 2020 nbsp nbsp Pope