Page 3 - Vatican

Cardinals set Pope Francis' funeral for Apr 26, public viewing from Apr 23

Cardinals have taken their first decisions following the death of Pope Francis, setting Saturday as the date for his funeral and allowing ordinary faithful to begin paying their final respects starting Wednesday, when his casket is brought into St. Peter's Basilica. The cardinals met for the first time Tuesday in the Vatican's synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis' successor, as condolences poured in from around the world grieving history's first Latin American pope. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10 am in St. Peter's Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. US President Donald Trump has announced he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend Saturday's funeral Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected. Francis died Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke that put him in a coma and led his heart to fail. He had been recovering in his apartment after being ...

Who will be the next Pope? History, rules and surprises in Vatican ranks

As the Vatican mourns the loss of its 266th pope, a look at the centuries-old traditions, historical figures, and the election process behind the Vatican's top spiritual office

Cardinal Farrell is named 'camerlengo,' running Holy See between popes

Cardinal Kevin Farrell remembers the day Pope Francis asked him to be the camerlengo, the Vatican official who runs the Holy See after the death of one pope and before the election of another. They were flying back to Rome from the 2019 World Youth Day in Panama, and Francis popped the question in business class. Farrell, 77, had been in Rome only a few years, summoned out of the blue from his job as bishop of Dallas, Texas, to reorganize the Vatican's laity office, a key part of Francis' reforms. Three years into the job, Francis asked him to take on another role that is steeped in myth and mystery but also has real-world responsibilities: managing the Vatican as camerlengo or chamberlain during the often traumatic interregnum between papacies and helping to organise the conclave to elect the next pontiff. I said to him I would accept the position but on one condition, Farrell recalled in a 2022 interview, smiling as he remembered their airborne conversation. The condition was th

Trump, Melania to attend Pope Francis' funeral; Prince William may join

Pope Francis passed away on Easter Sunday following a prolonged illness and hospitalisation

Pope Francis was both controversial figure and spiritual guide in Argentina

The faithful in Pope Francis' hometown lit candles in the church where he found God as a teenager, packed the cathedral where he spoke as archbishop and prayed Monday in the neighbourhoods where he earned fame as the slum bishop." For millions of Argentines, Francis who died Monday at 88 was a source of controversy and a spiritual north star whose remarkable life traced their country's turbulent history. Conservative detractors criticised the only Latin American pope's support for social justice as an affinity for leftist leaders. They pointed to his warm meetings with former President Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, a highly divisive left-leaning populist figure whose policies many Argentines blame for the nation's economic ruin. They compared their enthusiastic encounters to his curt meeting with centre-right former President Mauricio Macri, captured in an unusually stern-faced photo in 2016. Like every Argentine, I think he was a rebel, said 23-year-old Catalina Favaro, who had

Pope Francis dies on Easter Monday after long battle with illness

Pope Francis had recently had a lengthy stay in a Rome hospital suffering from double pneumonia

'Deeply pained': PM Modi expresses sorrow over Pope Francis's death

Pope Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia

Pope Francis passes away: Here is how the Vatican selects a new pontiff

The death of a sitting pope initiates a profound period of mourning and transition within the Roman Catholic Church, marked by a meticulously structured process to elect a new pontiff

Pope Francis (1936-2025): The Argentine pontiff who led with mercy, reforms

Pope Francis passed away at 88. As the first Latin American and Jesuit pope, he was renowned for his humility, advocacy for the marginalised, and efforts to reform the Catholic Church

JD Vance visits Vatican after Pope's rebuke of Trump migrant crackdown

US Vice President JD Vance is meeting with the Vatican No. 2 official, following a remarkable papal rebuke of the Trump administration's crackdown on migrants and Vance's theological justification of it. Vance, a Catholic convert, was due to meet Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. There was speculation he might also briefly greet Pope Francis, who has begun resuming some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia. Vance was spending Easter weekend in Rome with his family and attended Good Friday services in St. Peter's Basilica on Friday after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. Francis and Vance have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration's plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy and his progressive views on social justice issues have often put him at odds with members of the more conservative US Catholic Church. Vance, who converted in 2019, identifie

JD Vance visits Italy, Vatican after tangling with pope on migration

US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Rome on Friday for meetings with the Vatican No. 2 and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, fresh off the Italian leader's visit to the White House a day earlier. Meloni, who has positioned herself as a bridge between the US and Europe, received praise from President Donald Trump for her crackdown on migration during a meeting at the Oval Office on Thursday. Vance, who attended the meetings, was scheduled to meet with the Italian leader Friday in Rome and planned to attend Easter weekend events at the Vatican. He was scheduled to meet with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the White House said. No meeting with Pope Francis was announced. The 88-year-old pope has sharply cut back his work schedule as he recovers from a near-fatal case of double pneumonia. Francis and Vance, a Catholic convert, have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration's plans to deport migrants en masse. Just days before he was .

Pope makes surprise visit to St Peter's, greets papal tomb restorers

Two art restorers were putting the final touches on a months-long restoration of the tomb of Pope Urban VIII, who in 1626 consecrated St Peter's Basilica, when the convalescing Pope Francis appeared, unannounced, in a wheelchair his third such surprise appearance in less than a week. Francis thrilled the crowd at St Peter's during a Jubilee Mass for the ill on Sunday, met privately with King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Wednesday, before the impromptu turn through St Peter's Basilica on Thursday. "We didn't know if we could approach him. We greeted him from afar," Lorena Araujo Pinheiro said on Friday as officials unveiled the last of three restoration projects in the basilica for the Jubilee Holy Year, an ancient church tradition encouraging the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome. Then the pope and three people accompanying him motioned for the two restorers to come closer. He thanked us many times for the work," said Michela Malfatti. "Then he asked me if he could take my

Pope Francis greets public in first appearance since hospital release

Seated in a wheelchair and assisted by a nasal cannula for oxygen, Pope Francis was rolled to the front of the altar where he warmly greeted the gathered faithful with a wave

Pope's willingness to show his frailty provides example to young, old alike

Pope Francis' frailty was on full view as he left Rome's Gemelli hospital last Sunday after five weeks battling pneumonia that nearly killed him. He could barely lift his arms to bless the crowd. His eyes were sunken, face bloated. And he visibly gasped for breath as he was wheeled back inside from the balcony. Throughout history, the powerful have concealed their weaknesses. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, the most photographed figure of his era, took pains to hide his lame arm. Franklin Delano Roosevelt concealed the use of a wheelchair. More recently, former President Biden shook off concerns about his cognitive abilities. By contrast, Francis, a spiritual and not political leader, has never been shy about showing his weakness. For many, his willingness to be seen in all his infirmity serves as an example to young and old alike that fragility is part of the human condition and should be embraced. Who cares if he had sunken eyes, who cares if he looks bloated. It is part of his li

Pope Francis' doctors considered stopping treatment after breathing crisis

Pope Francis' medical team briefly considered suspending treatment after a February 28 breathing crisis but instead decided on an aggressive course that put his organs at risk, the doctor coordinating the pope's hospital care said in an interview published Tuesday. Dr. Sergio Alfieri said the 88-year-old pontiff and people close to him alike understood that he might not survive the night,' after the bronchospasm attack during which the pope inhaled vomit. "We needed to choose whether to stop and let him go, or to push it and attempt with all of the possible drugs and the treatments, taking the very high risk of damaging other organs,' Alfieri told the Milan daily Corriere della Sera. In the end, that is the path we chose. Francis was released Sunday after 38 days of treatment for double pneumonia, under doctors' orders to observe two months of convalescence during which he should avoid large gatherings. The pope appeared weak and frail when he greeted the crowd outside the Gemelli

Pope returns back home at Vatican after 5-week hospital treatment

Pope Francis is making his first public appearance in five weeks before being discharged Sunday from the hospital where he survived a severe case of pneumonia that twice threatened his life and raised the prospect of a papal resignation or funeral. The 88-year-old pontiff plans to offer a Sunday blessing from the 10th-floor papal suite at Rome's Gemelli hospital. After saying goodbye to hospital staff, he is to return to the Vatican to begin at least two months of rest, rehabilitation and convalescence during which time doctors have said he should refrain from meeting in big groups or exerting himself. But Francis' personal doctor, Dr Luigi Carbone, told a hastily arranged press conference Saturday evening that the pope eventually should be able to resume all his normal activities as long as he maintains the slow and steady progress he has registered to date. His return home, after the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy and the second-longest in recent papal history, ...

Pope Francis to be released from the hospital on March 23, say doctors

Pope Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened

Pope Francis advisers say he'll recover, a 'new stage' is opening for him

Pope Francis is recovering well from pneumonia and a new stage in his pontificate is opening, two of his closest advisers said, offering notes of optimism as the 88-year-old pontiff hit the five-week mark in his hospitalisation. Archbishop Edgar Pea Parra said he had found Francis in good humour and serene during the three times he has visited the pope at the Gemelli hospital in Rome. Pea Parra, who is the Vatican chief of staff, visited Francis on February 24, March 2 and March 9 along with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the lone Vatican officials who have called on him aside from his personal secretaries. The pope will recover," Pea Parra said on the sidelines of a book launch. The pope is recovering well. The doctors say that he needs some time, but it's going well progressively." I found him well, serene, in good humour, and just like him tough with the desire to go forward, he said. The Vatican press office reported Friday that Francis' overall ...

Pope marks 12th anniversary of papacy in hospital, condition improving

Pope Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy Thursday with increasingly positive medical updates four weeks into his hospitalisation for double pneumonia. The pope spent another tranquil night, the Vatican said in its brief morning statement. A chest X-ray confirmed improvements, the Vatican said on Wednesday, just two days after days after doctors declared he's no longer in imminent danger of death. The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope's condition remained stable, but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility. The Holy See hasn't said how the anniversary of his election as the 266th pope might be commemorated. It is a public holiday at the Vatican and Masses are planned in his honor at churches in Rome. No medical bulletins will be issued. Francis on Wednesday remotely followed a Lenten spiritual retreat that has been a mainstay of his papacy. He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a .

Pope Francis hits milestones as he recovers from pneumonia in Rome hospital

The recovery of Pope Francis from double pneumonia continued Wednesday as he inched toward notching some important milestones in his papacy: The 12th anniversary Thursday of his election as pope and a near-record in hospital stays for a pontiff. The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis had a quiet night at Rome's Gemelli hospital. If the last few days are any guide, the 88-year-old Argentine will likely follow the Vatican's spiritual retreat remotely while his physical and respiratory therapy continues. The pope's weekly Wednesday general audience was cancelled anyway, since the entire Vatican hierarchy is on retreat this week as part of the Lenten spiritual exercises that have been a mainstay of the Jesuit pope's pontificate. Doctors have said Francis is making slow, gradual improvements and this week declared that he's no longer in imminent danger of death as a result of the complex respiratory infection he had when he was admitted on February 14. But they remain cautious, given