Vatican

Pope Francis has washed the feet of prisoners in a youth detention centre near Rome as part of the Maundy Thursday service.

The Christian ritual takes place on the Thursday before Easter to commemorate Christ's Last Supper.

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists are arriving in Rome to attend ceremonies during the holy week ahead of Easter. Read more »

Pope Francis has decided not to move into the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, but to live in a suite in the Vatican guesthouse where he has been since the beginning of the conclave that elected him, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.

"He is experimenting with this type of living arrangement, which is simple," but allows him "to live in community with others," both the permanent residents -- priests and bishops who work at the Vatican -- as well as guests coming to the Vatican for meetings and conferences, Father Lombardi said March 26. Read more »

Pope Francis met with Benedict XVI on Saturday for the first time since his selection, an historic visit that took place in a fraternal atmosphere.

“We are brothers,” Pope Francis told his predecessor before praying side-by-side with him at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

The March 23 encounter marked the first face-to-face meeting between the two since the March 13 election of the new Pope. Read more »

“Through you I encounter your peoples, and thus in a sense I can reach out to every one of your fellow citizens, with their joys, their troubles, their expectations, their desires,” said the Holy Father this morning to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See whom he received in audience in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

Currently, 180 States maintain full diplomatic relations with the Holy See, to which number are also added the European Union, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and a mission of a special nature: the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is headed by a director. Read more »

We've all noticed the yellow band Pope Francis has been wearing on his wrist since his election.

A simple rubber band that photographers and media have brought to the attention of the public as we all get to know our new Pope and observe him as he goes about his papal committments and appearances.

Vatican Radio's Linda Bordoni asked the man who gave the Pope this unusual gift to tell her something about it. Read more »

By what he has done and what he has failed to do in the few days since his election, Pope Francis has given Catholics reason to hope or regret; that much of what they have gotten used to or endured for the past 35 years or so is going to change.

On March 16, Francis gave an address to representatives of the communications media who had reported the resignation of Benedict XVI and the conclave. Read more »

Delegations from 132 countries have confirmed their presence at what promises to be a very well-attended and momentous inaugural Mass for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square tomorrow.

Rome authorities are preparing for up to a million people to attend the official start of Pope Francis’s pontificate, although being a weekday, it’s unlikely numbers will be that high. Read more »

Pope Francis' papal motto is based on the Gospel account of "The Call of St. Matthew," the tax collector, in a homily given by St. Bede the Venerable.

The pope decided to keep his episcopal motto and coat of arms for his pontificate with just a few minor adjustments in line with a papal emblem. Read more »

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope in history.

When I heard his name announced, after shouting aloud, my first thought was how improbable it all was.

But why? Why was a Jesuit pope so hard for people (including me) to imagine?

And what would St. Ignatius Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuit Order (more formally known as the Society of Jesus), have thought? Read more »

The newly elected Pope Francis joked with cardinals over dinner, telling them he hopes God forgives them for having chosen him.

“When the secretary of state toasted to him, he toasted back to us and said, ‘I hope God forgives you,’” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York recalled at the Pontifical North American College.

“He has already won our hearts, and we had a very fraternal meal at the Domus Santa Marta, where we have been staying,” said the cardinal during a 11pm March 13 press conference. Read more »