Vatican News

Dr. Sergio Alfieri (left), Pope Francis' surgeon, and Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruno hold a press conference Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

Pope Francis praying and working from hospital

Jun 12, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is working from the hospital as he recovers from hernia surgery. Read more

St. Pope John Paul II greets former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Pope Francis sends condolences after death of Silvio Berlusconi

Jun 12, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The Italian billionaire media baron died on June 12 at the age of 86. He was Italy’s longest-serving head of... Read more

A Eucharistic procession in the Vatican Gardens on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ  on June 11, 2023.

PHOTOS: Eucharistic procession in the Vatican Gardens on Corpus Christi

Jun 12, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Corpus Christi is a 700-year-old feast in the Catholic Church that commemorates the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed... Read more

Young people from around the world held hands in St. Peter's Square during the #NotAlone human fraternity event June 10, 2023.

Pope Francis: Treat others with dignity, not as objects

Jun 10, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis sent a message to the #NotAlone event, which centered on the signing of a document on human fraternity... Read more

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Pope Francis will not pray public Angelus from hospital on Sunday

Jun 10, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

A Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis would pray the Angelus privately at noon in his hospital room. Read more

Pope Francis at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 17, 2023.

Pope Francis making normal progress in recovery from abdominal surgery

Jun 9, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

“The medical team reports that the clinical picture is steadily improving and the postoperative progress is normal.” Read more

A photograph shows an outside view of the Gemelli hospital in Rome on June 8, 2023, where Pope Francis has been hospitalized following an operation for an abdominal hernia on June 7.

Pope Francis stable, receives poster from family of baby he baptized in hospital in March

Jun 8, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

According a Vatican spokesman, medical staff caring for the pope shared that his “postoperative course is regular.” Read more

A large statue of St. John Paul II at the entrance of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is recovering from surgery he underwent on June 7, 2023.

Pope Francis is recovering in same hospital room where John Paul II was treated

Jun 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis is recovering from abdominal surgery this week in the same hospital room where St. John Paul II was... Read more

Pope Francis at his general audience in St Peter’s Square on May 31, 2023.

Pope Francis in ‘good general condition’ one day after abdominal surgery

Jun 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

In a surgery lasting three hours on June 7, a team of surgeons operated on a hernia in the pope’s... Read more

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the lead surgeon for Pope Francis' abdominal surgery, speaks at a press conference at Gemelli Hospital on June 7, 2023.

Surgeon: Pope Francis ‘well, awake, alert’ after operation

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis is awake after reacting well to both the surgery and general anesthetic, an Italian surgeon said Wednesday afternoon. Read more

Pope Francis at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square June 7, 2023.

Vatican: Pope Francis out of surgery, recovering in hospital

Jun 7, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The Vatican said Wednesday evening that Pope Francis is out of surgery and the abdominal operation he underwent “took place... Read more

Pope Francis on the morning of June 7, 2023 shortly before heading to the hospital for abdominal surgery greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis’ appointments canceled until June 18, Italian diocese says

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis’ audiences have been canceled until June 18, an Italian Catholic diocese said Wednesday, citing the Prefecture of the... Read more

Pope Francis prayed before a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux at the beginning of his general audience in St. Peter's Square, and shortly before going to the hospital for an abdominal surgery, on June 7, 2023.

Pope Francis prayed with relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux before surgery

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

One of Pope Francis’ last gestures before undergoing abdominal surgery was to pray before a relic of St. Thérèse of... Read more

Pope Francis enters the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall in a wheelchair on May 5, 2022.

Pope Francis’ health: Here’s a timeline of his medical issues in recent years

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus, Tyler Arnold

The 86-year-old pope has faced several painful medical conditions over the last few years. Read more

Pope Francis greeted pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, a few hours before he will be hospitalized for abdominal surgery under general anesthesia.

Pope Francis hospitalized for abdominal surgery

The operation was planned by the pope’s medical team in recent days after it became necessary due to a hernia... Read more

A screenshot from Pope Francis' May 4 video message to young people attending World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Here is Pope Francis’ schedule for World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon

Jun 6, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis’ schedule for his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023 was published by the Vatican on Tuesday. Read more

Pope Francis at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 31, 2023.

Vatican: Pope Francis has checkup at Rome hospital

Jun 6, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Media reports said Pope Francis visited a clinic for the elderly connected to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Read more

St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.

Pope Francis to sign human fraternity document with Nobel laureates in St. Peter’s Square

Jun 5, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Several former heads of state and internationally known performers will join 29 Nobel laureates on June 10 for an event... Read more

Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address on June 4, 2023.

Pope Francis explains why Catholics make the sign of the cross

Jun 4, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Speaking on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the pope highlighted how the simple gesture is a sign of... Read more

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, presides over a penitential rite on June 3, 2023, two days after a Polish man stripped naked and stood on the basilica’s high altar.

Penitential rite held after naked man stands on St. Peter’s Basilica’s main altar

Jun 3, 2023

By Shannon Mullen

A Polish national stripped off his clothes and climbed onto the basilica’s high altar on June 1. Read more