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A leaflet at the Markowa Ulma-Family Museum in Poland

Catholic Church beatifies Polish family killed by Nazis

A Polish couple and their seven children, killed by Nazis during World War II for hiding Jews, are being beatified, the first time an entire family has been given one of the Catholic Church's highest honours.

Europe • 10 Sep 23

A sit-in was held last year behind St Peter's Square in the Vatican in Rome, in memory of Emanuela Orlandi

Uncle investigated in missing Vatican teen case: report

Prosecutors in Rome investigating the disappearance of a teenager 40 years ago are looking afresh at the possible involvement of her uncle following information supplied by the Vatican, Italian media reported.

World • 11 Jul 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 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 spent five days in a Rome hospital at the end of March for bronchitis (file image)

Pope Francis has fever, clears schedule - Vatican

Pope Francis has a fever that caused him to clear his schedule this morning, the Vatican has said, nearly two months after the 86-year-old pontiff was hospitalised with bronchitis.

World • 26 May 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 arrives for today's general audience in St Peter's Square

Pope Francis in hospital with 'respiratory infection'

The Vatican said that Pope Francis, 86, was in hospital in Rome for previously scheduled health checks, before later cancelling his Thursday appointments.

World • 29 Mar 23

Fr Hans Zollner was the last remaining founding member of the group

Key member of Vatican's clerical abuse commission quits

The most influential member of a Vatican commission on tackling clerical sex abuse has quit, its leader said, in the latest blow to a papal advisory body dogged by controversy.

World • 29 Mar 23

From Ireland to Germany and the United States, dealing with the scandals of child sex abuse by Catholic priests has been one of the biggest challenges for Pope Francis

Pope extends sex abuse law to cover lay leaders

Pope Francis has extended a 2019 law to fight sexual abuse in the Church by making lay Catholic leaders responsible for acts committed under their watch in Vatican-approved bodies.

World • 25 Mar 23

Pope Francis wears a headdress presented to him last year by indigenous leaders in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada

10 notable moments from Francis' pontificate so far

As Pope Francis marks the tenth anniversary of his election as pontiff, RTÉ's religion correspondent Ailbhe Conneely has picked ten notable moments from his pontificate thus far.

Pope Francis • 13 Mar 23

Pope Francis marks 10th anniversary with mass, podcast

Pope Francis will mark ten years as head of the Roman Catholic Church by celebrating mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel where he has lived since his election.

World • 13 Mar 23

Cardinal Pell was widely seen as the right-hand man of Pope Francis before his arrest

Australian Cardinal George Pell dies aged 81

Cardinal George Pell, who was convicted and later cleared of sexual abuse in Australia, has died in Rome aged 81, a church official said.

World • 11 Jan 23

Emanuela Orlandi was last seen leaving a music class on 22 June 1983

Vatican opens inquiry into teen missing for 40 years

The Vatican has announced that it was opening an inquiry into the disappearance of a teenager 40 years ago, a case which has sparked countless theories and a hit television series.

World • 10 Jan 23

Pope Francis blesses the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during his funeral mass at St Peter's square in the Vatican

Francis leads Benedict's funeral amid sainthood calls

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's coffin has been carried into St Peter's Basilica following a funeral at the Vatican led by Pope Francis and attended by tens of thousands of mourners.

World • 05 Jan 23

Body of Pope Emeritus Benedict lies in state at St Peter's Basilica

Vatican prepares for unprecedented papal funeral

As the Vatican prepares for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict, security has started to ramp up in Rome.

World • 04 Jan 23

Vatican preparations for Benedict funeral under way

The Vatican is currently preparing for a week that will culminate in the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict presided over by Pope Francis.

News • 01 Jan 23

The Pope Emeritus has been widely praised for his theological work

Pope Francis pays tribute to 'noble' Emeritus Benedict

Pope Francis has paid tribute to his "dearest" predecessor Benedict XVI, who died earlier today at the age of 95.

World • 31 Dec 22

Pope Emeritus Benedict once had to tell those who pined for his pontificate that there was only one pope, and it was Francis

Retired pope was rarely seen - but he was heard

When Pope Benedict shocked the Roman Catholic Church in 2013 by announcing he would resign instead of ruling for life, he promised to stay in the Vatican "hidden from the world".

World • 31 Dec 22

Pope Benedict XVI was elected the 265th pope at the age of 78, becoming the oldest pope since Pope Clement XII (1730-1740)

Benedict: The first pope to retire in 600 years

In April 2005, Joseph Ratzinger was selected as the successor to Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI was the first German pope since the middle ages and was also the first pope to retire from the position in almost 600 years.

Vatican • 31 Dec 22

Pope Emeritus Benedict's health had been declining for a long time

Vatican announces death of Emeritus Pope Benedict

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced this morning, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.

World • 31 Dec 22

Cardinal Becciu (above) went on trial in July last year facing charges ranging from fraud to money laundering and extortion

Cardinal on trial taped phone call with Pope Francis

A senior cardinal on trial for fraud secretly taped a conversation with Pope Francis where he asked the pontiff to confirm he had approved some secret financial transactions, it has emerged.

World • 25 Nov 22

Pope Francis presides over a beatification mass of late Pope John Paul I today at St Peter's Square in the Vatican

Pope Francis beatifies 'Smiling Pope' John Paul I

Thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square today as Pope Francis presided over the beatification of John Paul I, the so-called 'Smiling Pope' who led the Catholic Church for just 33 days before dying in contested circumstances.

World • 04 Sep 22

The ceremony marked the eighth time Pope Francis has named new cardinals

Pope creates 20 new cardinals in Vatican ceremony

Pope Francis has inducted 20 cardinals from around the world, choosing men who mostly agree with his vision of a more progressive and inclusive Catholic Church and influencing their choice of his eventual successor.

World • 27 Aug 22