Ten Polish nuns have been approved for beatification as martyrs 76 years after they were killed while resisting rape and facing other atrocities by Soviet soldiers in the final months of World War II.

Pope Francis’ September trip to Hungary and Slovakia features a jam-packed schedule that shows he has no intention of slowing down despite his recent recovery from colon surgery.

Saying he was acting for the good of the unity of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has restored limits on the celebration of the Mass according to the Roman Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council, overturning or severely restricting permissions St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI had given to celebrate the so-called Tridentine-rite Mass.

Ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican confirmed.

Despite initial estimates of requiring a week of inpatient care, Pope Francis will continue his recovery as a patient at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after undergoing colon surgery, the Vatican press office said.

Although still hospitalized, Pope Francis has resumed working and celebrated Mass for his caregivers in the small chapel that is part of the suite of rooms reserved for the popes at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican press office said July 9.

Seafarers kept products moving globally during the coronavirus pandemic, but too many of them have no access to vaccines, have been stranded on ships and often face the danger of piracy, the Vatican said.

The organization of the universal Catholic Church has a precise hierarchy, but there is no such thing as a “vice pope,” who steps in when the reigning pontiff is traveling abroad, ill or under anesthesia.

The second morning after undergoing colon surgery, Pope Francis was continuing to recover well and, after a restful night, he had breakfast, read the newspapers and got out of bed to walk, the Vatican press office said July 6.
His post-operative recovery is proceeding normally, the press office said, and his “routine follow-up exams are good.”

Pope Francis was hospitalized July 4 and underwent surgery on his sigmoid colon, the lowest part of the large intestine, the Vatican press office said.