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The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week

Pope Francis in stable condition, does not have fever

Pope Francis, who is in hospital with a respiratory infection, is in a stable clinical condition and does not have a fever, the Vatican has said in a statement.

World • 18 Feb

Pope Francis pictured during his weekly audience on Wednesday

Pope in hospital has 'slight fever' but stable - Vatican

Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital for tests and treatment for bronchitis, the latest in a series of health problems for the 88-year-old pontiff.

World • 14 Feb

Pope Francis has today urged political, economic and business leaders at Davos to keep close oversight of the development of AI

Pope decries 'crisis of truth' in AI message to Davos

Pope Francis has today urged political, economic and business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to keep close oversight of the development of artificial intelligence.

Business • 23 Jan

Pope Francis pictured as he delivered his Sunday Angelus blessing from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter's Square on 12 January

Pope injures arm in fall at his residence, says Vatican

Pope Francis has suffered his second fall in as many months and bruised his forearm, the Vatican has said, adding that he was wearing a sling.

World • 16 Jan

Pope Francis celebrates the 12th Christmas of his pontificate at St Peter's Basilica, Rome

Pope Francis appeals for courage to better the world

Pope Francis has said the story of Jesus' birth as a poor carpenter's son should instil hope that all people can make an impact on the world, as the pontiff led the world's Roman Catholics into Christmas.

World • 25 Dec 24

The Vatican anti-abuse commission was established by Pope Francis (File image)

Vatican report demands clear rules for abuse compensation

The Catholic Church needs to unify policies on compensating victims of sexual abuse by clergy, the Vatican's child protection commission has said in its first annual report.

World • 29 Oct 24

The 'martyrs of Damascus' were assassinated by Druze militants in July 1860 in the Syrian capital, then under Ottoman rule

Pope names 14 new saints, including 'martyrs of Damascus'

Pope Francis has created a new group of saints, canonising 14 individuals including the "martyrs of Damascus", killed in Syria during the Ottoman Empire and symbols of Christian persecution.

World • 20 Oct 24

Pope Francis is pictured at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg on 26 September

Pope says church must 'seek forgiveness' for child abuse

Pope Francis has said that the Catholic Church must "seek forgiveness" over the "scourge" of child sexual abuse, in a speech before political and civil society leaders in Belgium - a country scarred by decades of scandals.

World • 27 Sep 24

The Bosnian village has become a major pilgrimage site, attracting hundreds of thousands each year and giving many people what they say is a renewed sense of spirituality

Pope Francis allows devotion to Medjugorje

Pope Francis has approved a Catholic spiritual devotion centred in Medjugorje, a town in Bosnia that has been steeped in controversy over whether the Virgin Mary appears to local people, the Vatican has said.

Europe • 19 Sep 24

Pope Francis arrived at Jakarta's Soekarno–Hatta airport after an overnight flight from Rome

Pope Francis in Indonesia at start of Asia-Pacific tour

Pope Francis has arrived in Indonesia for the first leg of an ambitious Asia-Pacific tour where he is expected to urge global action on climate change during what will be his longest trip yet.

World • 03 Sep 24

The Pope pictured speaking at his weekly audience where he told priests to keep their homilies short and snappy

Pope urges priests not to bore people with long homilies

Pope Francis called on Catholic priests to keep their homilies short - "no longer than eight minutes" - so that their audiences would not "fall asleep".

World • 12 Jun 24

Carlo Acutis was informally known as 'God's influencer'

Pope clears sainthood for boy known as 'God's influencer'

Pope Francis has attributed a second miracle to an Italian teenager who in his short life used his computer skills to spread the Catholic faith, clearing the way for him to become the first saint of the millennial generation.

News Lens • 24 May 24

No evidence of wrongdoing by Cardinal Gerald Lacroix (R) was found in the inquiry ordered by Pope Francis (File image)

Vatican absolves cardinal accused of assaulting teenager

An inquiry ordered by Pope Francis into an allegation of sexual assault against a Canadian cardinal has found no evidence of wrongdoing, the Vatican has said.

World • 21 May 24

Over the course of the week, the Primates prayed and studied the Bible together

Church of Ireland Archbishop meets Pope Francis in Rome

The Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell has met Pope Francis in an audience with colleagues in Rome.

Ireland • 03 May 24

Pope Francis delivers his Angelus blessing from his studio overlooking St Peter's Square on 7 April

Pope Francis meets families of Israeli hostages

Pope Francis has met relatives of several Israelis taken hostage by Hamas in the 7 October attacks, the Vatican said.

World • 08 Apr 24

The Vatican said about 60,000 people were in St Peter's Square for Easter Sunday

Pope calls for Gaza ceasefire in Easter address

Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages in an Easter Sunday address that marked the most important day on the Christian calendar by deploring the suffering caused by wars.

Vatican • 31 Mar 24

Pope Francis greeting pilgrims in St Peter's Square yesterday

It's a job for life - Pope Francis has no plans to retire

Pope Francis has no plans to retire and is not suffering from any health problems that would require doing so, saying in a new memoir he still has "many projects to bring to fruition".

World • 14 Mar 24

A Ukrainian flag pictured in St Peter's square as Pope Francis addressed the crowd during his Sunday Angelus prayer

Ukrainian minister criticises Pope's 'white flag' call

Ukraine's foreign minister, responding to Pope Francis's call to show "the courage of the white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia, has said that Kyiv would never capitulate and told the Vatican to pay special heed to its role in World War II.

Ukraine • 10 Mar 24

Pope Francis pictured at this morning's general audience in the Vatican

Pope had CT scan during hospital check-up, sources say

Pope Francis, who has been suffering from influenza, made a brief trip to a Rome hospital for medical tests today but was able to return to the Vatican, his office said in a statement.

World • 28 Feb 24

Pope Francis has urged political, economic and business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to look beyond profits

Look beyond profit, pope tell Davos leaders

Pope Francis has today urged political, economic and business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to look beyond profit and try to heal an "increasingly lacerated" world with moral and ethical decisions.

Business • 17 Jan 24

The Vatican said that blessings for same-sex couples are 'not an endorsement of the life that they lead'

Vatican clarifies approval of same-sex blessings

The Vatican has moved to calm Catholic bishops in some countries who have reacted negatively to last month's approval of blessings for same-sex couples, telling them that the measure is not "heretical" or "blasphemous".

World • 04 Jan 24

Pope Francis sits in a wheelchair as the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is carrying after a funeral mass at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on 5 January

Criticism of Pope intensified since Benedict's death

Since the current Pontiff presided over the funeral of his predecessor 12 months ago, there have been signs of change in the Vatican.

Analysis and Comment • 31 Dec 23

Pope Francis pleaded for an end to the war in Gaza

Pope decries 'desperate humanitarian situation' in Gaza

Pope Francis has deplored the desperate humanitarian situation of Palestinians in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire and the freeing of hostages in his Christmas message.

World • 25 Dec 23

Blessings can be carried out under certain conditions

Vatican approves blessings for same-sex couples

The Vatican said in a landmark ruling approved by Pope Francis that Roman Catholic priests can administer blessings to same-sex couples as long as they are not part of regular Church rituals or liturgies.

World • 18 Dec 23

Pope Francis disclosed that he has been working with the Vatican's master of ceremonies to simplify the elaborate funeral rites for a pope

Pope wants to simplify papal funeral rites

Pope Francis, who has shunned much of the Vatican's pomp and privilege, has decided to vastly simplify the elaborate funeral rites for a pontiff and be the first one to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.

World • 13 Dec 23