Vatican City - Pope Francis stood alone in vast Saint Peter's Square Friday to bless Catholics around the world suffering under the coronavirus pandemic, urging people to ease their fears through faith.

Vatican City - Some of Rome's Catholic churches reopened Friday after Pope Francis voiced displeasure with the Italian authorities' push to shut them because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Vatican City - All Catholic churches across Rome have been closed to stem the spread of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 people across Italy.

Vatican City - All Catholic churches across Rome have been closed to stem the spread of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 people across Italy.

Vatican City - Pope Francis expressed solidarity on Sunday with the victims of the novel coronavirus in his first livestreamed prayer from the Vatican.

Vatican City - Pope Francis decided to deliver Sunday's prayer by livestream and Italy called in retired doctors as the escalating new coronavirus epidemic emptied streets in Europe's worst affected country.

Vatican City - The Vatican on Friday reported its first coronavirus case and closed some offices to protect hundreds of the micro-state's priests and residents from the virus raging in surrounding Italy.

Vatican City - The Vatican said on Tuesday that Pope Francis was still suffering from a cold and not exhibiting other symptoms, after a report said he had tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

Vatican City - Historians will begin combing the archives of the world's most contentious pope on Monday, hoping to glean why Pius XII stayed silent during the Nazi extermination of Jews in the Holocaust.

Vatican City - Pope Francis said Sunday he was cancelling a planned six-day spiritual retreat south of Rome after coming down with a "cold".

Vatican City - Pope Francis said Sunday he would not be taking part in a planned six-day spiritual retreat south of Rome after coming down with a "cold".

Vatican City - The Vatican unseals the archives of history's most contentious popes on Monday, potentially shedding light on why Pius XII stayed silent during the extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

Vatican City - The unveiling on Monday of Pope Pius XII's archives has been demanded for decades by Jewish groups and historians.They comprise 120 fonds -- archival documents of the same origin -- and are split into 20,000 units.

Vatican City - Pope Francis postponed his official appointments Friday and was working from home, the Vatican said, a day after cancelling a scheduled appearance at mass because of "a mild ailment".

Vatican City - The Vatican's archives on Pope Pius XII are poised to be unsealed, with historians hoping to uncover previously hidden details about one of the most controversial popes in history.

Vatican City - In quashing the idea of married priests in the Amazon, Pope Francis has appeased traditionalists while disappointing progressives who had hoped for a historic turning point in the Catholic church.

Vatican City - Pope Francis is on Wednesday to release a much-anticipated text about the Amazon, which is not expected to open up the priesthood to married men in the region despite an appeal from a historic Vatican meeting of bishops last year.

Vatican City - Seven years after his surprise resignation, Benedict XVI -- weakened by age but still intellectually spry -- appears unable to remain in the shadow of his Argentinean successor Francis, creating the appearance of "two popes" at odds.

Vatican City - Pope Francis will make an official trip to Malta on May 31, the Vatican said Monday, bringing the pontiff to one of the top disembarkation spots for migrants fleeing Libya.

Vatican City - Pope Francis on Friday received Argentina's new President Alberto Fernandez to the Vatican with his compatriot keen to address poverty and Buenos Aires' debts during private talks.