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The Vatican said Pope Francis will not attend COP28 in Dubai as planned

'Wheezing' Pope Francis presides over weekly audience

Pope Francis presided over his weekly audience today, despite the flu that caused him to abandon his attendance at UN climate talks in Dubai, but asked an aide to deliver his reading for him.

World • 29 Nov 23

Earlier this month, the Pope skipped reading a prepared speech for a meeting with European rabbis as he was suffering from a cold (file image)

Pope cancels Saturday activities due to 'slight flu'

Pope Francis has cancelled his morning audiences because of 'slight flu', the Vatican has said in a statement.

World • 25 Nov 23

Pope Francis made the statement in response to a letter submitted by a Brazilian bishop

Priests welcome 'very positive' Papal trans guidance

The Association of Catholic Priests has welcomed Pope Francis's new guidance on transgender people as "very positive" and an important step for the Catholic Church.

World • 09 Nov 23

Pope Francis and Michael D Higgins discussed a range of issues

Pope Francis meets President Higgins in Vatican

President Michael D Higgins has said Pope Francis faces grave difficulties in the institution of which he is head but "his heart is in the right place".

Ireland • 19 Oct 23

Pope Francis said migration is "a reality of our times"

Pope urges Europe against treating migrants as invaders

Pope Francis has urged European governments to welcome migrants instead of viewing them as invaders, striding into in a hugely sensitive political debate again inflamed by mass arrivals.

World • 23 Sep 23

Pope Francis presided over an ecumenical and interreligious meeting yesterday

Pope Francis wraps up historic Mongolia trip

Pope Francis has wrapped up a historic trip to Mongolia which took on international connotations because of his overtures to its neighbour China over freedom of religion.

World • 04 Sep 23

The unscripted comments were Pope Francis's latest attempt to offer a hand to China's Communist government

Pope tells Chinese Catholics to be 'good citizens'

Pope Francis has told Catholics in China to be "good Christians and good citizens", using his visit to Mongolia to try ease tensions between the Vatican and the Chinese government.

World • 03 Sep 23

Pope Francis was greeted by children on his first day in Mongolia

Pope Francis begins visit to Mongolia

Pope Francis has arrived in Mongolia to the joy of its tiny Catholic community but with his presence barely making a ripple in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country.

World • 01 Sep 23

Pope Francis told young people gathered in Russia to remember that they are the heirs of past tsars

Pope had no intention to glorify Russian imperialism

Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism when he praised tsars who expanded the Russian empire, the Vatican has said, after his comments - made last week - were criticised by Ukraine.

World • 29 Aug 23

Pope Francis urged the young people to take the fraternal experiences of the six-day event back home and apply them to their daily lives

Crowd of 1.5 million brave heat to see Pope in Portugal

Pope Francis has closed an international festival of Catholic youth with a huge outdoor Mass and his own "I have a dream" speech, saying it was for world peace, especially for Ukraine.

World • 06 Aug 23

Pope Francis greeted thousands of pilgrims in Lisbon from the Popemobile

Pope preaches climate action at World Youth Day opening

Half a million young people chanted, cheered and shouted as they packed a Lisbon park today to give Pope Francis a rock star welcome at the official opening ceremony of a global Catholic youth festival.

World • 03 Aug 23

Pope Francis celebrated vespers at the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon

Pope meets victims of clerical child abuse in Lisbon

Pope Francis has met 13 victims of clerical sexual abuse this evening, the Vatican has said, on the first day of his visit to Portugal for a major Catholic youth festival.

World • 02 Aug 23

Pope Francis presided over the Angelus prayer last Sunday from the window of his study in the Vatican

Pope still has breathing problems after surgery

Pope Francis skipped reading a planned speech at a conference today, saying he still had breathing problems following a hernia operation earlier this month.

World • 22 Jun 23

Pope Francis offered prayers for victims of the Uganda attack

Pope leads Vatican prayers after hernia surgery

Pope Francis led Angelus prayers at Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican before thousands of pilgrims, two days after leaving hospital following a hernia operation.

World • 18 Jun 23

Pope Francis waves to well-wishers as he leaves Gemelli hospital

Pope discharged from hospital nine days after operation

Pope Francis was discharged from hospital this morning, nine days after he underwent surgery to repair an abdominal hernia.

World • 16 Jun 23

Pope Francis greeting pilgrims at St Peter's Square earlier this week

Pope out of bed and working from hospital - Vatican

Pope Francis' overall condition is progressively improving and his post-surgical recovery is normal, allowing him to get out of bed and resume handling some work from his hospital armchair, the Vatican has said.

World • 09 Jun 23

Pope Francis pictured in St Peter's Square yesterday, prior to his surgery

Pope in good condition after hernia operation - Vatican

Pope Francis spent a restful night in hospital and is in good condition after a hernia operation, the Vatican has said, as doctors cautioned that his age - 86 - and health issues could affect his recovery time.

World • 08 Jun 23

Pope Francis led the weekly general audience in St Peter's Square this morning

Pope Francis awake and joking after hernia operation

Pope Francis is recovering from a three-hour abdominal operation in a Rome hospital that had no complications, according to a Vatican statement.

World • 07 Jun 23

Criticism of bishops who stoke division on social media

The Vatican has urged bishops and high-profile lay Catholic leaders to tone down their comments on social media, saying some were causing division and stoking polemics that harmed the entire Catholic Church.

World • 29 May 23

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to celebrate a holy mass at Kossuth Lajos' Square during his visit in Budapest

Pope appeals to Hungarians to be 'open' to migrants

Pope Francis has called on Hungarians to be "open" toward migrants, as he wrapped up a three-day visit to the central European country whose nationalist premier has taken a staunch anti-immigration stance.

World • 30 Apr 23

Pope Francis greets a woman in St Peter's Square yesterday during his weekly general audience

Pope gives women vote at bishops meeting for first time

Pope Francis will allow women to vote for the first time at a global meeting of bishops in October in a historic move that could lead to more inclusiveness in decision-making in the Roman Catholic Church.

World • 27 Apr 23

Pope Francis celebrates Easter Sunday mass at St Peter's Square

Pope's Easter message focuses on war and injustice

Tens of thousands of Catholics will gather in St Peter's Square today to hear Pope Francis give the Easter mass and the traditional blessing Urbi et Orbi.

World • 09 Apr 23

Pope Francis presides over the Passion of the Lord mass on Good Friday at St. Peter's basilica in The Vatican

Pope skips Good Friday procession due to cold weather

Pope Francis, who is recovering from bronchitis and last week spent three nights in hospital, did not attend this evening's traditional "Way of the Cross" prayer service, the Vatican said.

World • 07 Apr 23

Pope Francis said priests must seek harmony if they wanted to win back lapsed faithful

Pope Francis gives message of unity on Holy Thursday

Pope Francis has begun an intense four days leading to Easter urging priests to avoid fomenting division in the Catholic Church and washing the feet of inmates in a juvenile prison.

World • 06 Apr 23

Pope Francis delivers his blessing at St Peter's Square during the Palm Sunday mass

Pope Francis leads Palm Sunday service after illness

Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm.

World • 03 Apr 23