Vatican | DD News

April 26, 2025 10:46 AM

Pope Francis’ funeral held today; World leaders gather in Vatican to pay final respects

In a profound display of global mourning, world leaders, royalty, and religious dignitaries convened at St. Peter’s Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88 following a stroke. The funeral ceremony began at 10:00 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. IST) in the historic Baroque plaza before St. Peter’s Basilica. Ahead of the burial, the Pope’s body was placed in a cypress-wood coffin, which will be encased in two additional coffins made of diffe...

April 24, 2025 1:09 PM

Thousands honour Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica

Thousands of people poured into St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, whose body is lying in state for three days ahead of his funeral on Saturday. Crowds stretched down the main boulevard leading through Rome into the Vatican, pressing forward slowly in warm spring sunshine as people took their turn to see the late pontiff in his open coffin. The body of the 88-year-old pope, who died two days ago in his rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse af...

April 22, 2025 9:30 AM

Cardinals to meet after death of Pope Francis, plan for funeral

Cardinals were due to meet on Tuesday to plan Pope Francis' funeral, which leaders from around the world will attend ahead of a conclave next month to elect a new head of the Roman Catholic Church. Francis, 88, died unexpectedly on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised. The pontiff spent five weeks in hospital earlier this year for double ...

April 21, 2025 3:01 PM

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88, Vatican says

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had survived a serious bout of double pneumonia. "Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis," Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican's TV channel. "At 7:35 t...

February 25, 2025 10:18 PM

Ailing Pope Francis holds Vatican work meeting in hospital

Pope Francis has met senior colleagues in hospital to discuss work issues, the Vatican said on Tuesday, and an official said he was eating normally and moving around, even though he remains in critical condition with double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pope was spending his 12th day at Rome's Gemelli hospital, the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year-old papacy. "The pope rested well all night," the Vatican said in a one-sentence statement that did not provide further details. A Vatican ...

February 18, 2025 11:31 PM

Vatican cancels pope’s weekend engagements as he battles ‘complex’ infection

Pope Francis, who is spending his fifth day in hospital for what doctors described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday. The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14. All public events on the pope's calendar were cancelled through Sunday, the Vatican said in a brief statement. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bru...

October 29, 2024 9:22 PM

Catholic Church must do better job on compensating abuse victims, says Vatican commission

The Catholic Church must do a better job of handling compensation for the victims of clergy sexual abuse, the Vatican's child protection commission said in its first annual report on Tuesday. For decades, the Church has been shaken by scandals across the world involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. The commission said compensation went beyond money, including "a much broader spectrum...

July 1, 2024 10:34 PM

Vatican bans tattoos and body piercings for St Peter’s Basilica workers

The Vatican has banned workers at St Peter's Basilica from having visible tattoos or body piercings to maintain "decorum". The new regulation, published at the weekend, applies to the roughly 170 lay employees of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the department in charge of the basilica. Father Enzo Fortunato, head of communications for the basilica, said on Monday that it codifies norms that "have been in place in the past in a different form". However, he denied Italian press reports indicating t...