pope

Jesus entering the world as a little baby in need of everything is a sign of God’s solidarity with every person in need, longing for love and a helping hand, Pope Leo XIV said at Christmas morning Mass.

At his Wednesday morning general audience, Pope Leo’s face lit up with an unusually bright smile receiving a unique donation: Proton, a purebred Arabian horse from a prestigious Polish stable.

This is the full text of the homily delivered by Pope Leo XIV on May 20, 2025, the day the Holy Father visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome and prayed before the tomb of St. Paul.

Get to know Pope Leo through this list of 10 things he’s actually said in the first days of his pontificate.

As tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square and throughout Vatican City, watch parties popped up on the campuses of Saint John’s University, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary.

Answers to commonly asked questions about the process on electing a pope as the world waits for the day the white smoke appears.

Abbot Donato Ogliari of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome was invited by the cardinals to offer a spiritual meditation April 29 at their general congregation meeting before the conclave begins May 7. The rules for preparing a conclave require the cardinals to invite a cleric known for his “sound doctrine, wisdom and moral authority” to offer meditation.

The conclave is set to begin May 7, but the public only knows its end by iconic white smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.
The best place to watch for the smoke is in St. Peter’s Square itself, but the Vatican will also livestream the smoke on its YouTube channel, Vatican Media Live.