The Vatican has taken the first main step to implement Pope Francis’ wish that Belgium’s late king be beatified.

Remembered as a humble leader and a defender of the most vulnerable, especially unborn children, St. John Paul II described the fifth king of Belgium as a “great guardian of the rights of the human conscience.

ROME — The Vatican has taken the first main step to implement Pope Francis’ wish that Belgium’s late king be beatified for having abdicated for a day rather than approve legislation to legalize abortion. The Holy See’s saint-making office on Dec ...

Pope Francis has opened the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony kicks off the 2025 Holy Year.

Pope Francis in his Christmas message called for talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago.

Pope Francis on Saturday expressed his shock and spiritual closeness. Pope Francis on Saturday expressed his shock at the deadly attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that claimed five lives, including that of a child, and left more than 200 injured.

The Vatican has taken the first main step to implement Pope Francis’ wish that Belgium’s late king be beatified for having abdicated for a day rather than approve legislation to legalize abortion.

He made the remarks a day after the start of Roman Catholic Church’s Holy Year, known as a Jubilee, which takes place every quarter century. On Tuesday evening, Francis opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica so that the first pilgrims could go through. Millions more are expected to follow over the year.

The pope invoked the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which he opened on Christmas Eve to launch the 2025 Jubilee, as representing God’s mercy.

Pilgrims lined up to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as Christmas marks the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration.

Pope Francis has called for a “negotiation” to end the war in Ukraine in a Christmas Day message where he appealed for weapons to be laid down in global conflicts and reconciliation between enemies.