Pope Francis, the Catholic Church's 266th pontiff, was the first Jesuit to lead the church in its nearly 2,000-year history. More than 200,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square April 26 to honor ...

On March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected pope on the second day of the conclave. He became the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere and the first ...

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to be elected Pope. If you don’t know what a Jesuit is, take a brief look at Bergoglio’s life, because he has made efforts to personify the ...

After a prolonged battle with respiratory illness, Pope Francis, the 267th head of the Roman Catholic Church, passed away peacefully at 7:35 a.m. on Monday, 21 April, at the Casa Santa Marta in the ...

It was hard not to spill the beans about the exclusive interview that America magazine published yesterday with Pope Francis, entitled “A Big Heart Open to God.” Pope Francis’ first miracle may be the ...

The Rev. Thomas J. Reese chuckles when he recalls the origins of his role as a “go-to” commentator on all things Catholic. Reese, a Jesuit priest and political scientist writing for the Catholic ...

Pope Francis chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, Italy’s patron saint who emulated the life of Christ like perhaps no other figure in the church's history. New York’s Cardinal Timothy ...

After five ballots and just over a day, the 115 cardinal electors have selected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new successor to the Apostle Peter and head of the Catholic Church. He will assume ...

ROME (AP) — The Vatican took the unusual step on Monday of announcing that it had named judges to decide the fate of a famous ex-Jesuit artist, whose mosaics decorate basilicas around the world and ...

Pope Leo has dissolved a high-level Catholic commission, established by his predecessor Francis to encourage Vatican ...