Vatican News

We learn how the Christian Jubilee came to be, through the proclamation of the Holy Year 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII. Read all  

A report by Human Rights Watch says over 220 civilians in Burkina Faso have been killed by military forces accused of cooperating with Islamic militants. Read all  

Ahead of International Marconi Day and 150 years since his birth, we recall the rich legacy of Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor-entrepreneur who set up Vatican Radio in 1931 and installed a ‘big cell phone’ in Pope Pius XI’s car that connected to the Vatican. Read all  

African Synod delegates have gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for a three-day seminar to prepare for the Second Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality scheduled to take place this October in the Vatican Read all  

Ongoing heavy rain causes severe flooding in Kenya. The downpours that have been drenching the land since March have affected over 100,000 people across the country. More than 30 people have been killed in the floods and over 40,000 displaced, according to UN statistics. Read all  

Hungary’s President, Tamás Sulyok, is received in private audience in the Vatican by Pope Francis. Read all  

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin discusses key issues roiling the Church during the presentation of the new book, “Five questions agitating the Church”, by noted Vaticanist Ignazio Ingrao. Read all  

Meeting Hungarian pilgrims in the Vatican, Pope Francis encourages them to be men and women of peace and to continue to safeguard their Christian identity, and thanks the Hungarian Church for welcoming Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. Read all  

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, speaks at the General Debate of the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development (FfD), and encourages working in concrete solidarity to reverse growing economic imbalances and to help developing nations. Read all  

Pope Francis addresses Italian Catholic Action and emphasises the importance of embracing others through reflections on missing, saving, and life-changing embraces. Read all  

In an interview with CBS, Pope Francis calls for an end to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and around the world. He says there is room for everyone in the Church pointing out that if a parish priest doesn’t seem welcoming, one can look elsewhere: “There is always a place, don’t run away from the Church.” Read all  

The United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has decried a series of Israeli strikes on Rafah in the past few days that have killed mostly children and women. He has repeated his warning against a full-scale incursion to an area to which 1.2 million civilians are sheltering. Read all  

The Cardinal Patriarch of Jerusalem reflects on the ongoing war in Gaza expressing his belief it shows the inevitability of the two-state solution: “There is no alternative to the two states but the continuation of war.” Read all  

Reflecting on the recently celebrated World Day of Prayer for Vocations, South Sudan’s Catholic Bishop of Tombura Yambio says he is filled with gratitude for his own call to be a priest, for the priests he works with, and for the number of young people responding to join the seminary in his diocese. Read all  

Cisco, the multinational digital communications technology company, signs the Pontifical Academy for Life’s “Rome Call for AI Ethics” committing to an ethical approach to artificial intelligence in the areas of Ethics, Education and Rights. Read all  

The Director General of UNICEF says more than three million children in Haiti are in need of humanitarian assistance, as conditions in the country continue to worsen. Read all  

Pope Francis receives Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in the Vatican. Read all  

Pope Francis sends a video message to the Diocese of Termoli-Larino in southern Italy, that will welcome the statue of Our Lady of Fatima from April 27 to May 5, 2024. In it, the Pope encourages the faithful to open their doors and hearts to the Mother of God. Read all  

Pope Francis pleads for global peace, emphasizing the devastating consequences of war and urging prayers for conflict-stricken regions like Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, and Myanmar, while advocating for peaceful resolutions and reconciliation. Read all  

During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis transitions from discussing the cardinal virtues to the theological ones, recalling that faith, hope and charity help us follow Christ, guide our journey together toward holiness, and restore us, even when we fall. Read all  

Britain’s recent decision to approve legislation allowing the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda has sparked condemnation from humanitarian organizations including CAFOD, the aid agency for the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Read all  

Five migrants, including a 7-year-old girl, drown attempting to cross the English Channel, only hours after Britain’s Parliament passes a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, a move decried by several Catholic aid agencies. Read all  

South Korea’s highest court is set to hear a case brought by young people arguing that the government’s lack of action on climate change violates their fundamental rights. Read all  

Friends and supporters from around the world offer prayers and best wishes to Pope Francis on the feast of his heavenly patron, St George. Read all  

The World Book and Copyright Day is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and is held on the 23rd of April to promote reading, publishing and copyrights. Read all