Pope Francis kicked off the first Saturday jubilee audience of 2025 by urging pilgrims to embrace hope as a divine strength that enables new beginnings, drawing inspiration from St. John the Baptist.

The Syro-Malabar Church announced a significant leadership change on Saturday as Archbishop Joseph Pamplany was appointed vicar of the major archbishop for the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly.

At the end of this month, Rome will host the first jubilee event of the holy year to take place following the opening of the Holy Doors: the Jubilee of the World of Communications.

Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord by baptizing 21 babies in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel and praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.

At the Jan. 8 audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis and attendees enjoyed a circus show with acrobatics and two animatronic elephants stealing the spotlight.

The COP urged Pope Francis, a peace advocate, to avoid “incendiary comments” about the Israel-Hamas war, stressing his calls for peace and civilian protection.

Pope Francis urged ambassadors to pursue a “diplomacy of hope” in the 2025 Jubilee, decrying polarization, which he linked to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced this week the opening of a historical exhibit in Vatican City titled “Jordan: Dawn of Christianity.”

Pope Francis used his first general audience of the year to address the scourge of exploitation and violence against children, urging Christians worldwide not to remain indifferent to their pain and suffering.

Franciscan Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini is very comfortable with public speaking — it’s basically his job as a Scripture expert called on to give talks and lead retreats around Italy.

More than half a million people have passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, two weeks after its Christmas Eve opening.

Pope Francis accepted Tuesday the early resignation of French Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon following years of Vatican scrutiny over the ordination of clerics using pre-Vatican II liturgical books and other concerns.

Pope Francis on Monday created an unprecedented leadership structure at the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life by appointing both a nun as prefect and a cardinal as pro-prefect.

In his homily at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6, the pope said the Magi “were satisfied by a different kind of light, symbolized by the star, which illumines and warms others by allowing itself to burn brightly and be consumed.”

Pope Francis has appointed Father George Kolodziej, SDS, as the new bishop of a vast diocese in Western Australia, the Vatican announced Monday.

Pope Francis has named for the first time a woman, Sister Simona Brambilla, to head a dicastery of the Roman Curia, continuing to add to the number of women in leadership roles at the Vatican, a hallmark of his pontificate.

While humanity continues to debate its uses, merits, dangers, opportunities, and ethics, the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) continues apace, making it difficult for anyone to guess just how it might shape the world in 2025.

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, bishop of San Diego, to lead the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., the Vatican announced Monday.

American Cardinal James Harvey opened the holy door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Sunday, completing the opening of all five holy doors in Rome for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee of Hope.

Pointing to the perils of pastoral pessimism, Pope Francis urged a congregation of teaching sisters on Saturday to cultivate joy in their ministry, warning them that stern countenances drive people away from the faith.

Pope Francis warned that bullying in schools prepares students for war rather than peace in a powerful appeal to Catholic educators gathered at the Vatican on Saturday.

COMMENTARY: John Paul was the Church’s teacher of jubilees, drawing upon his experience in Poland.

COMMENTARY: Here are some suggestions for how we can make this jubilee year a time of spiritual renewal in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis offered his condolences after 15 people were killed in New Orleans when a U.S. Army veteran drove a pickup truck with an Islamic State flag into a crowd celebrating the New Year.