Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday opened a new phase of his pontificate by gathering the world's cardinals to Rome and asking them to advise him on key priorities for the next two years. They responded by indicating continuity with Pope Francis' key aims of making the church more missionary and responsive to the needs of ordinary faithful.

The 7 follows President Donald Trump’s second term. The Vatican lobbied the U.S. to allow Maduro to seek asylum in Russia. Exclusive: The Vatican’s Secretary of State lobbied U.S. officials to let Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro escape to Russia, hoping to avoid bloodshed and destabilization in Venezuela.

Pope Leo XIV began a series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council at his first general audience of 2026 on Wednesday. The public audience, held indoors in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall due to low temperatures, took place shortly before the start of Leo’s first consultation with cardinals, called a consistory, convened for Jan. 7–8.

Pope Leo XIV on Friday told diplomats to the Vatican that the Holy See has a “full willingness” to support any initiative that promotes peace and harmony in the world.

Close to 3 million pilgrims and visitors attended audiences, liturgies or meetings at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV from the time of his election in May through December, according to the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican on Monday gave a final accounting of its 2025 Holy Year, saying more than 33 million pilgrims had participated and that the only real dispute with the city of Rome concerned the style of fountains built for the event's main public works project.

The teachings of the Second Vatican Council are still "the guiding star" the Catholic Church is meant to follow, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Vatican’s daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano opened its Saturday edition with news of U.S. airstrikes against Venezuela, reporting attacks in the capital, Caracas, as well as on several military bases around the country.

With her new study of Marie-Dominique Chenu, O.P., Mary Kate Holman offers a major contribution to ressourcement scholarship and the history of Vatican II.

Rushed preparations, soaring pilgrim numbers and underwhelming financial returns defined a Jubilee Year shaped by an unexpected papal transition.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, pressed the United States for clarity on its plans for Venezuela and raised a possible Russian asylum option for Nicolás Maduro days before a U.