By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 28, 2022 / 02:16 am Pope Francis on Wednesday asked for prayers for a “very ill” Benedict XVI. Francis made the appeal for the 95-year-old pope emeritus at the end of his weekly public audience on Dec. 28 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. “I …

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 28, 2022 / 03:48 am The Vatican confirmed Wednesday that pope emeritus Benedict XVI has experienced a sudden decline in his health, but is stable and under medical care. “I can confirm that in the last few hours there has been a worsening due to …

By Hannah Brockhaus, ACI MENA Rome Newsroom, Dec 23, 2022 / 10:00 am Every year on the feast of St. Nicholas, Issa Anis Kassisieh dons a red suit, black boots, and a thick white beard. He mounts a camel in the outskirts of Jerusalem and rides into the streets of the Old …

By Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Dec 17, 2022 / 08:00 am “There is only one thing that really makes us age, grow old interiorly: not age, but sin,” Pope Francis said in 2017 during a speech about the Virgin Mary. As Francis turns 86 on Dec. 17, his 10th birthday as …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 1, 2022 / 05:00 am Today is the feast day of St. Charles de Foucauld, who was canonized by Pope Francis on May 15. Who was Charles de Foucauld? De Foucauld, also known as Brother Charles of Jesus, was a soldier, explorer, Catholic revert, …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Nov 27, 2022 / 07:00 am As he describes himself on his now-dormant Twitter account, David M. Cheney is, in some ways, just a “Random Catholic Dude.” He works a full-time computer support job, loves to travel, opens emails with “howdy,” and belongs to the …

By Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Nov 7, 2022 / 08:39 am The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church gave Pope Francis a piece from an exploded Russian mine during a visit to the Vatican on Monday. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk is in Rome this week to speak with Pope Francis …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Nov 3, 2022 / 07:03 am Natalia Tsarkova, official portrait artist to the popes for more than 20 years, likes to work from real life. “I am so meticulous about details. I have to see and touch and feel everything,” she said. But for her …

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Nov 2, 2022 / 06:00 am On All Souls’ Day, the Catholic Church remembers all those who have died and prays for them in a particular way. But why do Catholics pray for the souls of the dead — not only on Nov. 2 but …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Oct 29, 2022 / 08:55 am For Christmas 2022, the Vatican has commissioned a nativity scene made of life-sized figures hand carved out of alpine cedar trees. The display will be unveiled in St. Peter’s Square on Dec. 3 during a lighting ceremony for the …