The Portuguese poet who could become pope April 30, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News The face of the Catholic Church’s push to reestablish its relationship with the world of culture, a 59-year-old Portuguese poet and theologian, is among the youngest of the cardinals mentioned as a contender to become the successor of St. Peter.
Cardinals approve electors for conclave, formally ask for prayers April 30, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The College of Cardinals confirmed that 135 members are eligible to participate in the conclave, the Vatican announced, and they asked the faithful to accompany them in prayer as they prepare to elect the next pope.
True faith is found in compassion, not just creed, cardinal says April 29, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, Feature, News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, World News True discipleship is not measured by the creeds Christians recite or the theology they know, but by how deeply they love, a cardinal said at a memorial Mass for Pope Francis.
Conclave to elect next pope will begin May 7 April 28, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, World News The 135 cardinals eligible to elect the next pope will enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave May 7, the Vatican announced.
Church must carry on pope’s legacy of mercy, cardinal says April 27, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, World News Mercy — the cornerstone of Pope Francis’ teaching and ministry — must guide the Catholic Church through its period of mourning and the uncertainty that lies ahead, the Vatican’s second-ranking official said.
Pope, a ‘son of immigrants,’ leaves legacy of migrant advocacy April 24, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Immigration and Migration, News, Remembering Pope Francis, World News When Pope Francis chose the small Italian island of Lampedusa as the destination for his first trip outside Rome after his election, he signaled to the world that migration would be a defining issue of his pontificate.
Pope’s life, leadership, placed Latin America at center of the church April 24, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Immigration and Migration, News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, World News As the pope of the peripheries, Pope Francis brought the heart, mind and soul of the Catholic Church in Latin America from what he called the “ends of the earth” to the center of Christendom.
Clericalism was chief target of Pope Francis’ teaching April 22, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, Vocations, World News From the moment he took the helm of the Catholic Church’s sprawling hierarchy, Pope Francis positioned himself as a pastor close to the people he served, and he called out the behavior of priests who were distant from and thought they were superior to their flocks.
Pope Francis dies during Jubilee, leaving Holy Door open in papal first April 22, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, Jubilee 2025, News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, World News With his death April 21, Pope Francis marked yet another first in the history of the Catholic Church: he became the first pope to open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica without living to close it.
Christ’s light breaks through world’s darkness, pope says in vigil message April 19, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Easter, Feature, News, Vatican, World News As the lights of St. Peter’s Basilica were extinguished and silence settled through the sprawling interior, a single flame — the paschal candle — pierced through the gloom, representing the light of the risen Christ which “quietly shines forth, even though we are in darkness,” Pope Francis said.
Pope thanks medical team that cared for him during hospitalization April 16, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis personally thanked the health care workers and medical staff who cared for him in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for 38 days while he recovered from respiratory infections.
Bronze sculpture in St. Peter’s Square offers message of hospitality April 16, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News A new bronze sculpture installed in St. Peter’s Square, near the showers and medical clinic the Vatican runs for people in need, invites visitors to reflect on the sacredness of welcoming others, especially the marginalized.
