Tag Archives: Pope

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday brought to a close the Catholic Church’s “Year of Mercy,” shutting the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s after a year in which he raised Mother Teresa to sainthood and took in Syrian Muslim refugees. The Argentine pontiff, who says …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP |  Pope Francis will create 17 new cardinals from across the globe Saturday in a time-honoured ceremony, elevating them to an elite body that advises and elects popes. Three of them are from the US, while others come from corners of the world where …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP |  One thousand prisoners — including some lifers — will take part in a special event at the Vatican this weekend, along with 3,000 family members, prison staff and volunteers. The prisoners from 12 countries will have the opportunity on Saturday to confess and …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis flies to Sweden Monday on the latest leg of his mission to promote reconciliation and unity within the wider Christian family. The Argentine pontiff is due in the southern city of Lund for an ecumenical service marking the start of a year of …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Pope Francis has brought fresh hopes of peace to the war-ravaged Central African Republic, with Christians and Muslims praising his decision to name Bangui’s archbishop a cardinal as a step to ending sectarian violence. Aged only 49, Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga will be the …

Baku, Azerbaijan | AFP |  Pope Francis on Sunday arrived in mainly Muslim Azerbaijan on the last leg of his peace tour of the volatile ex-Soviet Caucasus region, just months after visiting arch-foe Armenia. The pontiff held a mass for the country’s tiny Catholic community in the capital Baku ahead …

  Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis surprised 20 former prostitutes on Friday by knocking on their door in Rome and popping in for a chat. The Argentine, who has repeatedly described the human trafficking behind much prostitution as “a crime against humanity”, sat down with the …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Monday named a former Fox News correspondent to head up the Vatican press office and appointed the tiny state’s first-ever female deputy spokesperson. American Greg Burke, 56, brought in by the Vatican in 2013 to overhaul its public-relations operation, will …

Yerevan, Armenia | AFP | Pope Francis on Saturday issued a rallying cry to remember the past after visiting the Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan, on day two of a trip likely to stir tensions with Turkey. “A century has just passed from the ‘Great Evil’ unleashed upon you. This …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis said Thursday he would set up a commission to study the possibility of women entering the Catholic clergy, in his latest potentially historic opening on a vexed issue for the Church. In apparently off-the-cuff remarks the 79-year-old pontiff promised to examine …