Pope Francis has flown in to a papal residence near Rome for an unprecedented encounter with "pope emeritus" Benedict XVI.
Pope Francis is preparing for a historic meeting with his predecessor Benedict XVI on Saturday.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church, and has taken the name Pope Francis I.
The mystery of who the new pope would be has been as thick as the unmistakable heavy black smoke billowing from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel chimney.
A new survey, conducted by CNN and mobile phone crowdsourcing company Jana, has indicated Africans think a pope from Africa would be a good idea.
Roman Catholic cardinals prayed for divine help, hours before a conclave to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the church.
Fresh scandal has hit the cardinals who are due to choose Pope Benedict XVI’s successor as he spoke from his window for the last time.
Pope Benedict has lamented the "evil, suffering and corruption" that has defaced God’s creation in an address to the heads of the Vatican bureaucracy.
Pope Benedict XVI is nearly blind in one eye and was advised to limit air travel because of his high blood pressure, says the Vatican Insider website.
Catholicism’s European power base is under threat and the election of a new pope could be a historic moment for the church.
It could have been the tweet of the century. But Pope Benedict decided not to announce his resignation on Twitter.
Sex abuse, secularisation, the Curia – the new pontiff has his work cut out, writes John Hooper.
Peter Turkson has responded to speculation that he could be chosen to succeed Benedict XVI, saying he’ll take on the role ‘if it’s the will of God’.
Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years.
A Vatican court has convicted a computer programmer of helping the Pope’s butler leak confidential papers in a scandal that embarrassed the Vatican.
The pope’s former butler has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing secret documents from the Vatican that revealed fraud and intrigue.
The case against Paolo Gabriele, in which he is accused of stealing and leaking documents alleging corruption in the Vatican, has been adjourned.
During a visit to Lebanon the Pope has urged the Middle East’s Christians and Muslims to forge a harmonious society and reject vengeance.
A Fox News reporter has been chosen to polish the Vatican’s image amid signs of a power shift in the upper echelons the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pope has called for a series of meetings to "restore trust" in the church after documents exposing corruption in the Catholic Church were leaked.
Thousands of young Catholics have greeted the Pope in Milan in a welcome distraction from Vatican infighting for the aged pontiff.
One of Pope’s butlers has been arrested for allegedly leaking documents that have been published in new book which harshly criticises the Vatican.
Pope Benedict, leading Catholics into Easter, says technological progress, in the absence of awareness of God, poses a threat to the world.
Pope Benedict arrived in Mexico this weekend promising to "unmask the evil" of drug trafficking in a country ravaged by gang violence.
The Vatican fiercely rejected claims by one of its archbishops of widespread corruption and waste in the management of the Holy See.
Catholic leaders from around the world will meet next week for a conference to combat child abuse which will include a penitential service.
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/ 25 December 2011
Pope Benedict has ushered in Christmas, urging people to see through the commercialism of the season and rediscover the significance of the day.
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/ 8 December 2011
The Catholic Church should pay for nuns to go on contraceptive pills to cut the cancer risk that comes with a life of celibacy, cancer experts say.
Pope Benedict XVI gives mass at a stadium hosting tens of thousands in Benin, wrapping up a visit detailing his vision for his church’s future.
Pope Benedict XVI has labelled Aids an "ethical problem" and condemned corruption as he laid out a vision for his church’s future in Africa.
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/ 17 November 2011
Italian clothes company Benetton has pulled a photo montage showing the pope kissing a leading imam from its new global ad campaign, Unhate.
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/ 15 November 2011
Three popular African singers have released a CD in collaboration with Vatican Radio to mark the pope’s upcoming visit to Benin.