Pope Francis was discharged from a hospital in Rome on Friday following an operation on his abdomen. Seated in a wheelchair, he waved to onlookers as he was driven from the Gemelli Hospital, where he was operated on to prevent an intestinal obstruction. He spoke briefly with reporters outside...
Pope Francis
Pope Francis has ordered Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the private secretary of the late Pope Benedict to return to his native Germany by the end of the month without any new assignment. The Vatican disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, thus putting an end to speculation about what role...
Pope Francis is recovering well from a hernia operation and routine post-surgery examinations showed good results, Holy See spokesman Matteo Bruni announced on Thursday. The head of the Catholic Church underwent three hours of open abdominal surgery under general anaesthetic at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday. The operation was...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Francis and Italy’s prime minister on Saturday as part of a diplomatic tour also involving Germany, as Berlin unveiled a huge new weapons package ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. “An important visit for (the) approaching victory of Ukraine!” Zelensky tweeted as he...
Pope Francis has come to the defence of the late pope John Paul II who was accused in a recent documentary film of ignoring allegations of abuse by priests and protecting them by transferring them. Francis said that the former pope, who was born Karol Wojtyla in Poland, is...
Pope Francis is expected to celebrate the Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday morning. Once again, tens of thousands are expected to attend the celebration. Last weekend, around 60,000 people took part in the Palm Sunday Mass, according to the Vatican’s gendarmerie. On Easter...
On Holy Saturday, Pope Francis celebrated the festive Easter Vigil commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Around 8,000 spectators attended the celebration, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. In his homily, the pope condemned the “rampant injustice” and the “icy winds of war”...
Pope Francis celebrated the Good Friday service “The Passion and Death of the Lord” in St Peter’s Basilica but was not going to join the Way of the Cross, as initially planned. He officially presided over the celebration, but the sermon was given by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the official...
A Coronavirus infection has been ruled out of Pope Francis’ health situation as Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruno says he is doing better after a “quiet night” at the hospital. Bruni said on Thursday, as reported by Italy’s ANSA news agency, that the head of the Catholic Church had “recovered well,” and...
Rome, March 30, 2023 (dpa/NAN) Pope Francis had a “quiet night” in the hospital after he was admitted for a respiratory infection on Wednesday, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. The agency quoted sources from the Gemelli University Hospital on Thursday morning that medical staff was “very optimistic’’ that...
Pope Francis has denounced the “poison of greed” driving conflicts in Africa, saying the rich world needs to realise that people are more precious than the minerals in the earth beneath them. Many tens of thousands of people cheered as he travelled from the airport into the capital Kinshasa...
Pope Francis on Tuesday departed the Vatican on for his first international trip this year a six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. The pontiff’s plane took off in the morning from Rome. His first destination is the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, where he...
By DAVID IORJA, Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with Pope Francis, the Catholic Church in Nigeria and around the world, as well as all Christian faithful mourning the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. President Buhari in his condolence message issued by his spokesman Mr Femi Adesina...
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Ludwig Schick, the archbishop of Bamberg, according to the Holy See. The surprising decision by Schick leaves two bishop posts vacant in Germany. Generally, bishops offer their resignation to the head of the Catholic Church after reaching the age of 75 and...
Pope Francis has granted audience to 112 pilgrims from Nigeria currently in Rome for the 2022 special pilgrimage organised by the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC). The pilgrims were led to the papal audience at the Vatican City by His Grace, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, among other high profile personalities....
By EZEKIEL OBI, Abuja – Pope Francis has appointed Nigerian-born Cardinal, His Eminence, Peter Ebere Okpaleke as a member of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. The National Director of Social Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja, Fr. Mike Umoh disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday. He...
Pope Francis is leaving for a three-day trip to Kazakhstan, where he will attend an international religious meeting. The head of the Catholic Church flies out from Rome early Tuesday. After landing in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan, a reception with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and diplomats is planned. For the...
The Bishop of Ekwulobia, Peter Okpaleke, is scheduled to be one of 20 new cardinals to be sworn in on Saturday by the Catholic church. Pope Francis had earlier named Okpaleke as one of the new cardinals – many of whom could one day choose his successor. It is the...
Pope Francis on Monday apologised for the Catholic Church’s cooperation with Canada’s “catastrophic” policy of indigenous residential schools, saying the forced assimilation of native peoples into Christian society destroyed their cultures, severed families and marginalised generations. “I am deeply sorry,” Francis said to applause from school survivors and indigenous...