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Holy See

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Holy See. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Vatican City

Head of State

Pope Francis

Head of Government

President of the Governorate Fernando Vérgez Alzaga

Newly consecrated bishops pray at the end of their consecration ceremony in Switzerland on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Religion

Vatican excommunicates 6 bishops from rebel Catholic group

Holy See responds aggressively to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope’s consent.

2 Jul 2026 - 4:03PM

Americas and the Caribbean

US, Mexico Catholic bishops call for humane treatment of migrants

27 Jun 2026 - 10:59PM

Italy

Pope exalts first US saint as a model for Christians for her care of migrants

22 Jun 2026 - 1:29AM

Spain

Pope Leo’s plane grounded, so Spain’s king gives him a ride

The pontiff flew back to Rome on the monarch’s private jet after the papal aircraft’s engine failed to start.

13 Jun 2026 - 3:49AM

Spain

Pope Leo blesses new tower at Spain’s Sagrada Familia

Spain’s king, queen and prime minister joined thousands inside the world’s tallest church to celebrate mass with the pontiff.

11 Jun 2026 - 4:43AM

Spain

Standing ovation: Pope warns Spain’s parliament of world’s ‘profound’ crisis

Weapons can impose a temporary silence but can never build lasting peace, he said, hours after Madrid mass for over one million people.

8 Jun 2026 - 7:57PM

European Union

Pope calls for ‘disarming’ of AI, technology should be ‘human friendly’

Pope Leo called for the ‘disarming’ of artificial intelligence, and warned of ‘new forms of slavery’ behind its rise.

25 May 2026 - 6:31PMvideocam

Pope Leo XIV

‘Human dignity’: Pope Leo, Anthropic to launch pontiff’s first AI document

The presence of the firm at the Vatican could mean a new flashpoint with the US, which in February ordered all agencies to stop using it.

18 May 2026 - 10:47PM

Italy

Rubio meets Pope Leo at Vatican to defuse tensions with Trump

The meeting comes amid the US president’s repeated attacks on the pontiff over the Iran war and nuclear weapons.

7 May 2026 - 10:04PMvideocam

Religion

Pope to inaugurate Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia in June trip to Spain

He will also visit a migrant reception centre in the Canary Islands.

6 May 2026 - 11:02PM

Pope Leo waves during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Donald Trump

‘He’s endangering a lot of Catholics’: Trump takes another shot at pope

US president’s latest criticism threatens to derail Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s high-stakes mission to Rome.

6 May 2026 - 6:17PMvideocam

Pope Leo speaking to journalists on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Religion

Pope meets first female Archbishop of Canterbury in symbolic Vatican encounter

Sarah Mullally, the first woman to serve as spiritual leader of the Church of England, and the pope exchanged gifts and prayed together.

28 Apr 2026 - 1:36AMvideocam

Africa

Pope Leo denounces ‘colonisation’ of minerals on final leg of Africa tour

The pontiff warns that a global lust for profit ‘kills’ as he meets with a government accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

22 Apr 2026 - 2:49PM

Africa

In Angola, Pope Leo prays at shrine that was once a hub for slavery

First American pontiff recalls centuries of ‘suffering’ at site originally built by Portuguese colonisers.

20 Apr 2026 - 1:11PM

Pope Leo amid faithful in Muxima, Angola on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Focus

The rupture: how Europe fell out of love with America

Many believed the transatlantic alliance could weather another term of Trump, but a year and a half on those hopes have largely faded.

19 Apr 2026 - 1:32AMvideocam

Donald Trump

‘Someone must stand for a better way’: Pope speaks out after Trump’s attack

After the US president shatters norms with a direct hit on the pontiff, Leo says he will continue to speak out ‘loudly’ and promote peace.

14 Apr 2026 - 2:51AMvideocam

US, Israel war on Iran

Pope Leo slams ‘delusion of omnipotence’ stoking US-Israeli war on Iran

The pontiff urged prayer and peace talks, rejecting religious justifications for violence.

12 Apr 2026 - 11:25AMvideocam

Religion

Pope Leo calls for peace, dialogue amid Ukraine, Iran wars in Easter mass

Leo addressed some 50,000 in St. Peter’s Square and quoted his predecessor, who reminded the faithful of the ‘great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day’.

5 Apr 2026 - 7:35PM

Pope Leo XIV gestures from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after delivering his ‘Urbi et Orbi’ (To the city and the world) message, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Italy

Pope Leo carries cross for full Good Friday procession

‘I carry all of this suffering in my prayer,’ the pontiff said before he set out for the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross.

4 Apr 2026 - 1:24PM

Pope Leo XIV

Pope slams widening ‘chasms between the poor and the rich’ on Monaco visit

Monaco is one of the few places in Europe where Catholicism remains the state religion.

28 Mar 2026 - 6:50PM

Britain

Nurse to archbishop: Mullally enthroned as first woman to lead Church of England

The new Archbishop of Canterbury begins her ministry with a historic ceremony attended by British royals.

26 Mar 2026 - 11:16AM

Sarah Mullally arrives for her installation ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral. Photo: Reuters

US, Israel war on Iran

Over 800,000 Lebanese – 1 in 7 people – displaced by war in 10 days

It is little more than a year since the last conflict uprooted over a million Lebanese from their homes, although that process took months.

15 Mar 2026 - 10:05PMvideocam

A displaced Lebanese family sit in the back of a truck, their current home, in the southern city of Sidon on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo laments world ‘in flames’ at Ash Wednesday service

The pontiff said the ashes could represent cities destroyed by war, as well as the damage to the environment and international law.

19 Feb 2026 - 3:06AM

Britain

‘Big statement’: Sarah Mullally confirmed as first female Archbishop of Canterbury

The worldwide Anglican Communion, including the US Episcopal Church, has no formal head, but the archbishop is its spiritual leader.

28 Jan 2026 - 8:42PM

King Charles III

Britain’s King Charles calls for ‘reconciliation’ in Christmas speech

UK monarch praises the courage of those who risked their lives for others during his fourth Christmas broadcast as king.

26 Dec 2025 - 8:37AM

Britain’s King Charles during the recording of his Christmas message. Photo: PA via AP

Pope Leo XIV

Pope calls for end to all wars in first Christmas as pontiff

‘May the clamour of weapons cease … and may the parties involved find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue’.

25 Dec 2025 - 7:54PMvideocam

A Palestinian man lifts a baby next to the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza on Christmas Eve. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Pope Leo urges Lebanon’s leaders to unite for peace

The first US pope arrived in Beirut from Istanbul, where sought to give Lebanon’s long-suffering people a message of hope.

1 Dec 2025 - 1:09AM

Turkey

Pope warns ‘piecemeal’ third world war ‘threatening’ humanity

In Ankara, Pope Leo urged for global peace amid rising conflicts and geopolitical tensions during his first trip outside Italy.

27 Nov 2025 - 10:25PM

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