Curia cleanup, abuses, Ukraine-Russia mediation, China. A month of pontificate as a litmus test of the Leo method.
Category: The Next Pope
Die Zeit speaks with Father Lukas Schmidkunz, who has known Robert Provost for a long time, about the man who has become Pope Leo XIV.
The pre-conclave favorite, Italy’s Pietro Parolin had a good number of preferences in the first two votes, but his support dropped off in the third ballot. Meanwhile, the darkhorse candidacy of Robert Prevost had been gaining momentum, thanks to a well-organized U.S. campaign.
May 9 – May 22, 2025
Italian novelist Viola Ardone reflects on childhood dreams, institutional patriarchy, and why the Catholic Church still silences women as 133 cardinals gather to elect the next pope.
As the conclave approaches, Vatican intrigue intensifies, with Italian ambitions, global rivalries and conservative strategy shaping the next papal election.
Each cardinal brings strengths and weaknesses, but a Vatican insider tells La Stampa that it is now clear: more time is needed.
In the wake of Pope Francis’s death and Trump’s return to power, fears of civilizational decline abound. But Italian political analyst Gabriele Segre argues that apocalyptic narratives risk becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.
Pope Francis had a profound impact on Africans. A visit with people in Gabon paying tribute to him, hailing a humble man, close to the marginalized, who knew how to speak to Africa from the heart. Could his successor be from nearby?
Our Naples-based Dottoré pays a non-religious, albeit emotional tribute to the late pontiff.
April 25 – May 1, 2025
The link between political developments in the Middle East and the theological and cultural exchange between Judaism and Christianity has always remained tight. Since Oct. 7, old ghosts have appeared — and ugly insinuations against the late Pope.
To revisit the life and journey of Pope Francis, we are republishing a La Stampa article from shortly after his rise to the papacy.
VATICAN CITY — While several Vatican buildings are embroiled in scandal, a few meters away from the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square the “Palazzo Migliori” is becoming a symbol of goodness and generosity. Pope Francis has effectively “donated” it to the poor. Various entrepreneurs were interested in acquiring it and transforming it into a five-star […]
Francis has traveled the world and proven himself to be an able messenger of peace. But so far, he’s avoided his home country, where his unifying spirit is sorely needed.
After a chilly first encounter, President Mauricio Macri and Pope Francis, both from Argentina but from different ends of the ideological spectrum, are set to meet again.
The recent visit by Pope Francis highlighted how little Polish leaders care about the emergency of Europe’s refugee crisis.
TUCUMÁN — Pope Francis declared war on waste months ago. Now, three of his kinsmen in northern Argentina have developed an idea to keep perfectly good food from being tossed and to help the hungry at the same time: “social fridges” where people can leave “neat portions” of leftover food. The initiative was launched in […]
A combination of political differences, bungling of protocol and lack of sensitivity seem to have further gnarled relations between Argentine President Mauricio Macri and fellow countryman Pope Francis.
The most friendly of pontiffs, Argentine-born Pope Francis has yet to speak to just-elected President Mauricio Macri. Maybe a rude remark by one of Macri’s aides is to blame.
Depending on his audience, the pontiff’s messages vary. On a historic visit to the U.S., President Obama and the whole world will be listening carefully.
After Colombian Energy Giant Mansarovar announced plans for oil exploration around one of Colombia’s natural reserves, local farmers asked Pope Francis to intervene.
BOGOTA — It is no easy task trying to talk about the errors of Pope Francis. The achievements of Argentina’s Jorge Bergoglio, both in words and deeds, have been frankly quite startling. Acts of humility by the Supreme Pontiff have had a tremendous public impact, like kneeling to wash and kiss the feet of prisoners, […]
Exclusive: A historian has identified Pope Francis’ birthplace in Buenos Aires, after false reports of where he was born circulated following his election last year.
VATICAN CITY — To the priests who invited him to take a vacation with them, the late Cardinal Alberto Idelfonso Schuster of Milan replied, smiling, that there would be plenty of time for that in the afterlife. Pope Francis — the Jesuit whose agenda would wear out any 40-something — seems to be inspired by […]
Argentine politicians may not all have liked Jorge Bergoglio when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. But from President Kirchner to her potential successors, all want a piece of the pontiff.
-Analysis- VATICAN CITY — The pope who came from “almost the ends of the earth” continues to spread his message of hope, secure in the knowledge that the proclamation of the Gospel has much to offer men and women of our times. By no means should we believe that modernity will bring the end of […]
Some members of the hierarchy of the Polish Catholic Church seem to have troubled practicing what the new pontiff preaches.
He was Benedict XVI’s right-hand man, and now runs daily operations for Francis, but it’s still not clear where German-born Georg Ganswein fits into other power struggles in Rome.
BUENOS AIRES – Expectations for Argentina’s Holy Week were already pretty high after the election of the first Argentine pope, anticipating a strong wave of domestic religious tourism. But the “Francisco Effect” has gone beyond expectations, creating huge demand among Catholic pilgrims from across the region. With occupation rates of around 80% and many hotels […]
Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY – Hardly a day passes that we’re not witness to a new example of how truly humble a man the new Pope is. He paid his own hotel bill just hours after being chosen pontiff; he opts for the simple white cassock and his trusty black shoes instead of elaborate capes and […]
You can ride Rome’s public bus and subway system by validating your biglietto of His Holiness from his balcony pose.
Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY – Humility is inarguably the defining feature of the first 10 days of the new papacy: We have seen it in the words, gestures and symbols of Pope Francis. But on Friday, we may have the image that captures it best. La Stampa notes that the Argentine pontiff celebrated mass for the […]
BUENOS AIRES – The hunger to learn more about the life of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now and forever known as Pope Francis, is gripping the Argentinian capital. Just back from a meeting with the new pontiff in Rome, Mauricio Macri, head of the municipal government of Buenos Aires, announced that he will launch a “pope […]
CLARIN, LA NACION (Argentina), BBC MUNDO Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– Pope Francis will meet Argentinian Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, the Vatican confirmed late Wednesday, as questions linger about the new pontiff’s role during Argentina’s military dictatorship. Pérez Esquivel, who won the 1980 Peace Prize for his defense of Human Rights during the dictatorship, […]
LA STAMPA (Italy) Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY – A book by Pope Francis and the Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires will be translated and published into English on May 7. “Sobre El Cielo y La Terra” (On Heaven and Earth) was written as a series of conversations between then Archbishop of Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Mario […]
MOSCOW – Catholics aren’t the only ones who have noted the significance of Pope Francis’ name choice. Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and head of the Russian Orthodox Church“s Department of External Relations, says the Argentine pontiff’s decision to honor Saint Francis of Assisi puts “service to the poor” at the top of the […]
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE (U.S.), CLARIN (Argentina), VATICAN RADIO (Vatican) Worldcrunch VATICAN CITY– The inauguration of Pope Francis took place Tuesday morning in St. Peter’s Square before a sea of simple faithful and heads of state from around the world. Babies were kissed, flags were flown, and the Vatican rolled out its open-top white papal jeep. […]
Leading by example can be more powerful than any doctrinal diktat.
Officially incoronated Tuesday as the 266th Roman pontiff with a mass in St. Peter’s Square, the path for Jorge Mario Bergoglio began one September day nearly six decades ago.