Christopher White

The challenges for the Catholic Church in Chicago, where Robert Prevost grew up, are a microcosm of the gargantuan problems facing the worldwide Catholic Church that the new Pope Leo XIV must address.

The new pontiff is former Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, a Chicago-born Augustinian friar who previously headed the influential Vatican Dicastery for Bishops. 

No man received 89 votes, or two-thirds of the 133 cardinal electors.

No man received 89 votes, or two-thirds of the 133 cardinal electors.

In closed-door sessions called congregations, cardinals have given 70 speeches to their brethren. The conclave is likely to begin May 6.

A simplified papal funeral will make a fitting farewell for a pontiff who just three days after his surprise election expressed his desire for "a church that is poor and for the poor."

Pope Francis, history's first pontiff from the Global South, has died at age 88 following a monthslong respiratory illness, setting the stage for a high-stakes secretive election to determine his successor.

A new exhibition at London's British Library challenges stereotypical understandings of religious life in the medieval era. 

Consolata Missionary Sr. Simona Brambilla will serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Vatican office that works with religious orders and their members.

"When I enter Notre Dame, a chill comes down my spine. It's so great and full of history. God is with us in this place, even if we don't know it!"

Pope Francis on Oct. 2 opened the final session of a Vatican summit on the future of Catholicism, encouraging participants not to use the monthlong meeting to push individual agendas, but to seek unity in diversity in the church so "each person feels welcomed." 

On Sept. 30, Pope Francis met with a delegation of women at the Vatican who presented voices from the Amazon region and around the world.

Pope Francis, during his first full day in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 7, was confronted with the myriad of challenges facing women in both the church and society. 

In a historic encounter at Asia's largest mosque, Pope Francis and Indonesia's grand imam Nasaruddin Umar signed a joint declaration on Sept. 5 calling on religious leaders to deepen their cooperation in order to fight climate change and dehumanization. 

Franciscan Catechist Sr. Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso tells NCR the synod on synodality "will open up ways for us to continue the conversation."

Talitha Kum, an international network of women religious against human trafficking, outlined its priorities for the next five years, including a renewed push for systemic change and expanding global partnerships.

Pope Francis expressed firm opposition to the idea of ordaining Catholic women as deacons in a new U.S. television interview, raising doubts that the ongoing three-year synodal process could move forward on the issue.

In the 1960s, the Catholic cardinal of Los Angeles labeled the art of Corita Kent as blasphemous. But on Sunday, April 28, it will be given the spotlight by Pope Francis in a Vatican-organized exhibition.

When Francis Xavier reached India or Mother Cabrini arrived in the U.S., neither believed they would make converts overnight. They had to learn the language and culture. So, too, with internet evangelization.

In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Xavière Sr. Nathalie Becquart brings listeners inside the Vatican's synod office to discuss how the synodal process is creating "a new style of leadership" for the Catholic Church.