Pope Francis
Pope celebrates his 71st birthday but it’s Vatican employees who get the gift
VATICAN CITY | Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 71st birthday on Monday but it was Vatican employees who got the gift. The Vatican published a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts that Pope Francis had imposed on many Vatican employees as part of the Holy See’s COVID-19 cost-saving measures. In the decree, Leo said the […]
Rome mounts a crackdown on golf carts that are increasingly popular with tourists
ROME | Beneath the splendor of its monuments and ruins, Rome is taking aim at a modern-day chariot: the golf cart. Hundreds of them have started carrying tourists through the historic center. Even rolling along at a moderate speed, these golf carts have so far outpaced regulation. But the city is mounting a crackdown. For […]
Defying Pope Leo XIV, traditionalists go ahead with bishop consecrations in Switzerland
ECONE, Switzerland | A group of traditionalist Catholics directly defied Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday by consecrating four bishops without his consent, dismissing the resulting excommunications and saying the break with the church was necessary to defend the Catholic faith. The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church, went […]
Insider tour of the Sagrada Familia reveals 5 divine enigmas and hidden treasures
BARCELONA, Spain | The Sagrada Familia basilica features sandcastle-like spires, stone carved to look like lush flora, a kaleidoscopic interior and a trove of treasures, some hiding in plain sight. Even regular worshippers at Barcelona’s world-famous landmark find themselves dumbstruck with wonder. Josep Turull, the Catalan rector of the Sagrada Familia and the priest in […]