News & Commentary

People hold candles in front of a picture of Pope Francis in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2025, after his death was announced by the Vatican. Pope Francis, formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died April 21 at age 88. (OSV News photo/Adnan Abidi, Reuters)

Pope’s funeral set for April 26, public viewing April 23-25

The funeral Mass of Pope Francis will be celebrated April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced.
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Italy’s lockdown forces changes to pope’s Christmas events

With Italy returning to a COVID-19 lockdown over the Christmas holidays, the Vatican has announced that most of Pope Francis' usual appointments will be live-streamed with few or no members of the public present.
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Vatican City State is pesticide-free, imports green energy

Reaching "zero emissions" for Vatican City State is an achievable goal and is another green initiative it has been pursuing, said the head of its department of infrastructure and services.
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Sisters, volunteers see no end to need for help amid pandemic

In a time of uncertainty, one thing U.S. women religious and others who have been providing food during the COVID-19 pandemic know is that the number of those who need food assistance has risen and continues to rise.
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Netflix to release series illustrating pope’s call for ‘alliance’ of young, old

Netflix has announced that in 2021 it will release a documentary series based on "Sharing the Wisdom of Time," a book in which Pope Francis called for creating "an alliance between the young and old people" by sharing their stories.
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Court sides with Colorado, New Jersey challenges to pandemic worship restrictions

The Supreme Court, once again siding with houses of worship opposed to pandemic-related restrictions, ordered lower federal courts in Colorado and New Jersey Dec. 15 to reexamine state-imposed indoor worship restrictions.
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Memorial Mass remembers victims, families of Sandy Hook shooting

The Catholic community in Newtown gathered in-person and virtually Dec. 14 to remember the 20 students and six staff members killed eight years ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
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