Pope Francis's first canonization ceremony was a record-breaking one. The new pontiff named over 800 new saints on Sunday. That's already almost double the number of saints declared by Pope John Paul II, whose 480-odd canonizations were, at the time, more than those of all of his predecessors since 1588, combined.
That whole secret report on gay sex and bribery and the Pope aside, the Catholic Church is known for being fairly uptight when it comes to doing the deed. So you might be surprised to learn that new IP logs and DVD titles reveal a mysterious Vatican City resident with a taste for leather. Sexy leather.
One of the perks of being named the Bishop of Rome is a sweet apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square, but Pope Francis being Pope Francis, the new pontiff is just fine in his current digs.
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In a giant inaugural mass before more than 100,000 worshipers in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis was officially installed as then new head of the Catholic Church.
Catholics are learning all kinds of fun new tidbits about the new Holy Father, and we're also starting to notice a pattern developing.
As the world began to meet Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 76-year-old virgin and Argentine Jesuit Cardinal with one lung who will be known as Pope Francis I, Catholics everywhere jumped and cried for joy. Here's the tale of celebration in St. Peter's Square, from smoke to wave.
The papal conclave has concluded and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is now the first Latin American pope in the history of the Catholic Church.
The results of the first papal conclave vote are in and ... we still don't have a pope.
In just a matter of hours, the College of Cardinals will gather to cast their first vote on a new pope, but don't expect a winner to be chosen today.
With the papal conclave arriving, the College of Cardinals must not have been pleased as reports circulated that the Vatican shared a block with Italy's top gay sauna. It's just the latest in a brand of secrecy that's let the conspiracy theorists run rampant.
The papal election begins tomorrow, but just because the vote is done in secret, that doesn't mean there isn't a campaign.
The Vatican is officially on lockdown as the College of Cardinals makes final preparations for the papal conclave taht starts on Tuesday — including countermeasures to prevent any leaks. So what are they talking about behind closed doors?
The College of Cardinals begins arriving in Rome for the papal conclave today, but one who won't be joining them has apologized for the inappropriate conduct that ended his career.
Today in show business news: Everyone's favorite Friday Night Lights hunk is taking on an alternative role, Daniel Radcliffe might soon be lurching around a laboratory, and Liam Neeson continues to baffle us.
As with basically everything else in the world that has any semblance of an uncertain outcome, people are betting on who will replace Joseph Ratzinger. Allow us to help you decide where to put your money.
By now, we're all familiar with the rituals associated with the papacy changing hands — white smoke, the red shoes, free helicopter rides — but the Vatican has discovered a new one for the 21st century.
The Vatican admitted on Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI may issue a decree to speed up the process to select his successor, to prevent the Catholic Church from being leaderless at an important time of the year.
The long road to the conclave is well under way. But who wants to wait until then? The campaigning and quizzing about who should be the next Pope is already going on, behind the scenes, in "phone conversations" and "e-mails." How very 21st Century of the Catholic church.
Vatican officials maintain that no church money ever funds war, but their newly appointed bank president has business ties to a warship builder.
In the last weeks and months of his pontificate, Vatican power brokers have been furiously jostling and speculating over another mystery beyond his replacement: who will ascend to the presidency of the Vatican bank.
Today, Pope Benedict XVI announced plans to live out his retirement "hidden from the world." That should come easy, considering how successful the Vatican has been at keeping secrets under wraps during his seven-year papacy.
As the papal exit strategy develops, Benedict XVI made his first public appearance since announcing his resignation, reiterating his strong abdication statement that he simply doesn't have the energy to do the job anymore.
The Vatican officially unveiled the new personal Twitter account of Pope Benedict XVI this morning, and he hasn't even had to tweet anything to blow past your puny follower count.
The Pope makes his first journey to Latin America with a three-day trip to Mexico. Next stop: Cuba.
Clothing retailer Benetton has torn down a controversial ad from stores and billboards that featured a doctored photo of Pope Benedict XVI making out with Grand Imam Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy after the Vatican threatened to take legal action.
An 11,000-word missive says sharp criticism from the country's officials is misplaced
Amnesty International has included the Vatican in its list of human rights abusers
What's in L'Osservatore Romano, anyway?
A Catholic official claims Western air strikes have killed 40 in Tripoli
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