The revolutionary Catholic pope has called 17th-century missionary Joseph Vaz a model of reconciliation after the country’s recent civil war.
The South African government hailed normalising diplomatic ties between Cuba and the US, and urged the US to move swiftly in its diplomatic relations.
Pope Francis has cautioned against portraying God as a magician and says it is possible to believe in evolution and creation.
A document from the Vatican has called on Catholics to be more accepting and valuing of same-sex couples – but maintain church doctrine on family.
Pope Francis hosts a joint peace prayer in the Vatican that will include the planting of an olive tree by Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
On his three-day trip to the Middle East, Francis delighted his Palestinian hosts by referring to the "state of Palestine".
A intrepid hawk has been taken on by the Vatican to protect the pope’s doves after two were killed in front of horrified crowds by a crow and seagull.
The head of the Catholic Church has appointed the first eight members of a panel announced in December to tackle paedophilia scandals in the church.
Pope Francis has told families at special papal baptism that they should not stand on ceremony if their children are in need of food.
The Vatican has denied that Pope Francis "abolished sin", after a newspaper article said he had done so through his words and gestures.
In his first message as Roman Catholic leader, Pope Francis has called for an end to the crisis in South Sudan, saying everyone should be peacemakers.
Time magazine has named Pope Francis its Person of the Year, saying he shifted the message of the Catholic Church.
While Pope Francis’s epistle takes aim at Church elitism and economic failings, it is vague on women’s role.
In a drive for transparency, the Institute for Works of Religion has made its accounts public for the first time.
Philippine Catholic leaders are standing firm against contraception, abortion and gay marriage despite Pope Francis’ comments urging a change of tone.
The pope has broken protocol once again as a selfie taken with a group of teenagers visiting the Vatican went viral on social networks.
There’s a sense right now that Francis is on the verge of moving on these fronts.
Pope Francis says gay people should not be marginalised but integrated into society, but reaffirmed that the church sees homosexual acts as a sin.
Pope approves second miracle to allow canonisation of John Paul, but John XXIII will become saint without requirement.
Pope Francis has told 800 nuns gathered at the Vatican that they should be spiritual "mothers" rather than "spinsters".
Pope Francis, in his first Easter Sunday address, has called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
Pope Francis has prepared for his first Good Friday observances culminating in a torch-lit procession at Rome’s Colosseum.
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.
Pope Francis has inaugurated his papacy with an address calling for the defence of the weakest in society and of the environment.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has sidestepped a travel ban and flown into Rome to attend Pope Francis’s inauguration.
Pope Francis has called for "a poor Church for the poor", saying he chose his papal name because St Francis of Assisi shunned riches to help the poor.
The church and Pope Francis have been accused of complicit silence during Argentina’s ‘dirty war’.
A shock report reveals 28% of school girls are HIV positive in SA, the world gets a new pope and an eight-year-old marries a 61-year-old woman.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and would take the name Francis I.