Pope Francis

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Pope Has Easter Meeting With JD Vance

Pontiff also makes a surprise trip in the popemobile

(Newser) - Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Sunday to exchange Easter greetings, after they got into a long-distance tangle over the Trump administration's migrant deportation plans. The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the papal residence in Vatican City "to exchange Easter...

Vatican, White House Report Vance Meeting Differently

Church statement calls session an 'exchange of opinions'

(Newser) - Vice President JD Vance met with the Catholic Church's top diplomats at the Vatican on Saturday, in the shadow of Pope Francis' criticism of the Trump administration's deportation policy and Vance's theological defense of it. The tension was reflected in the official statements released after Vance met...

'Maverick' Pope Visits Rome Prison
'Maverick' Pope
Visits Rome Prison
Apr 17, 2025 4:45 PM CDT

'Maverick' Pope Visits Rome Prison

Francis has been making surprise public appearances despite doctors' orders

(Newser) - It's been less than a month since Pope Francis was released from a Rome hospital after a five-week stay in which he came close to death , but he has been making an increasing number of public outings despite doctors' orders to take it easy and avoid crowds. On Thursday,...

Pope Puts 'God's Architect' on Track for Sainthood

Francis starts process for Antoni Gaudi, designer of Barcelona's famous Sagrada Familia basilica

(Newser) - Antoni Gaudi just took his first official step toward becoming a saint. The Catalan architect who designed the still-in-progress Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, Spain, has been placed on the path to sainthood by Pope Francis, who in a Monday decree declared Gaudi "venerable" and full of "heroic...

Pope Begins Holy Week With Appearance



Pope Greets
Palm Sunday
Worshippers
Apr 13, 2025 2:30 PM CDT

Pope Greets Palm Sunday Worshippers

Francis, not wearing nasal tubes this time, delivers brief message

(Newser) - A convalescing Pope Francis greeted the crowd in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday, wishing more than 20,000 faithful a "Happy Palm Sunday, Happy Holy Week" in another reassuring public sign of his recovery from a life-threatening battle with double pneumonia. Many in the crowd reached out...

Charles, Camilla Mark Anniversary in Memorable Way

Pair made surprise private visit with Francis as he continues to recover from pneumonia

(Newser) - Some people go out to dinner for their anniversaries; others meet up with the pope. King Charles III and Queen Camilla chose the latter Wednesday for their own two-decade mark during a state visit in Italy. Reuters reports that the royal couple was originally supposed to have made an official...

Cheers Welcome Pope in Surprise Reappearance

Francis emerges in St. Peter's Square near the end of Mass for health care workers, patients

(Newser) - There was no announcement of Pope Francis' arrival in St. Peter's Square in Rome on Sunday near the end of a Mass for health care workers and their patients. But the roar of applause and cheers from the crowd made what was happening clear, the New York Times reports:...

Papua New Guinea's First Saint Was Betrayed by His Brother

Pope paves the way for 3 canonizations

(Newser) - Though doctors prescribed two months of rest after his case of double pneumonia, Pope Francis isn't sitting idle behind the Vatican walls, the Vatican said Tuesday. He has regular physical and respiratory therapy—"which means his voice is also improving"—is able to work at his desk,...

Remember When the Pope Was at Death's Door? Not Anymore

Doc says Francis is 'lively,' showing 'truly surprising improvement' after long bronchitis, pneumonia bout

(Newser) - Pope Francis has shown "a truly surprising improvement" since returning to the Vatican to convalesce after surviving a life-threatening bout with double pneumonia, the doctor who coordinated the pontiff's five-week hospitalization said Saturday. "I find him very lively," Dr. Sergio Alfieri said, after visiting the pope...

Pope's Doctors Were Close to Halting Treatment

Francis' doctors say he was close to death but that his nurse pleaded with them to keep him alive

(Newser) - Pope Francis returned home to the Vatican on Sunday, after being hospitalized for more than a month and suffering four "respiratory crises" as he battled bronchitis, then double pneumonia. Now, doctors at Rome's Gemelli hospital reveal just how close to death the 88-year-old pontiff came, and how they...

A Papal Thumbs-Up as Francis Leaves Hospital

Pope returns to Vatican after nearly 40 days

(Newser) - A weak and frail Pope Francis left the hospital Sunday after surviving a five-week, life-threatening bout of pneumonia, giving a thumbs up to an adoring crowd before returning home to the Vatican, per the AP . During the trip home from the Gemelli hospital, the 88-year-old Francis took a slight detour...

Doctors: Pope Francis Will Leave Hospital on Sunday

Recovery has been steady since 'two critical episodes,' physician says

(Newser) - After a five-week hospital stay for treatment of a touch-and-go case of double pneumonia, Pope Francis is scheduled to be discharged on Sunday. In making the announcement Saturday at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, doctors said he'll require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation, CBS News reports. Francis...

Vatican Releases New Photo of Pope
Vatican Releases
New Photo of Pope
Mar 16, 2025 1:40 PM CDT

Vatican Releases New Photo of Pope

It's the first time Francis has been shown in a month

(Newser) - The Vatican on Sunday released the first photograph of pope in more than a month, showing Pope Francis wearing a purple Lenten liturgical vestments sitting in a wheelchair in front of an altar in the hospital chapel. The Vatican said he was participating in the celebration of the Mass with...

Pope Marks a Milestone
Pope Marks a Milestone
Mar 13, 2025 1:17 PM CDT

Pope Marks a Milestone

Francis was elected 12 years ago, spends another day in the hospital

(Newser) - Pope Francis has marked the 12th anniversary of his pontificate in the hospital as he received increasingly positive medical news on his recovery and hundreds of messages wishing him well. The pope spent the morning in physiotherapy, followed Lenten spiritual exercises of the Roman curia, and stopped to pray at...

Pope, Remaining Stable, Releases Message of Thanks

With Francis still stable, doctors plan to skip update Friday

(Newser) - Pope Francis' health status remained stable Thursday with no new respiratory crises or fever, and he worked from the hospital as he recovered from double pneumonia, the Vatican said. Given the stability, doctors said they didn't expect to provide a new medical update until Saturday. His prognosis remains guarded,...

Pope Francis Suffered 2 New Crises: Vatican

The pontiff is back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, Vatican says

(Newser) - Pope Francis suffered two new acute respiratory crises Monday and was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, in another setback to his battle to fight pneumonia, the Vatican said. Doctors extracted "copious" amounts of mucus from his lungs during two bronchoscopies, in which a camera-tipped tube was sent down...

Respiratory Crisis Doesn't Recur, Pope Uses Less Help Breathing

Vatican update is more positive, though danger remains

(Newser) - Pope Francis spent "long periods" off a ventilator mask and had breakfast—complete with coffee—the morning after enduring bronchial spasms. Vatican officials said that the spasms did not return and that he does not have a high white blood cell count, ABC News reports. But Francis' condition remains...

Pope Has Another Scare
Pope Francis Has a Setback
Feb 28, 2025 2:46 PM CST

Pope Francis Has a Setback

Doctors don't know yet whether the bronchial spasm has caused deterioration

(Newser) - The Vatican said that Pope Francis was responding well to treatment after a bronchial spasm on Friday afternoon, a scare that caused him to inhale vomit. The pope did not need to be intubated during the crisis, the New York Times reports, but is now wearing a mask to help...

'Baby Catholic' Vance Responds to Pope's Criticism

VP strikes a conciliatory tone, offers a prayer

(Newser) - Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Pope Francis' criticism of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration Friday, without responding to any of its specifics or the pontiff's apparent criticism of Vance's own deployment of Catholic tradition to justify such policies, per the AP . Vance, who converted to Catholicism...

Cardinal Dolan: Francis Is 'Probably Close to Death'

But doctors say the night 'passed well' for pope, who's said to be in good spirits and sending messages on X

(Newser) - For the past 10 days, Pope Francis has been battling pneumonia in both lungs , had to receive blood transfusions for a condition tied to anemia—and now is in the beginning stages of kidney insufficiency, though doctors in Rome say it's under control and that the ailing 88-year-old pontiff...

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