Pope Francis

As of Monday, 463 out of 9,172 people infected with coronavirus in Italy have died. It has a national death rate that is higher than the global average. The new figures make the country home to the largest number of infections outside China.Experts estimate that Italy's aging population may correlate to the…

Italy is taking unprecedented steps to slow an alarming jump in the spread of the coronavirus. Its northern region, home to around 16 million people or about a quarter of the country's population, has been under a virtual lockdown since Sunday.The country is the hardest hit outside of Asia with…

Published on Mar 8, 2020Saying he felt "caged," Pope Francis delivered his blessing over the internet from inside the Vatican on Sunday, instead of from a window, to stop crowds gathering during Italy's COVID-19 outbreak.He did, however, go to the window and wave silently to several hundred people in the…

(Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tried to contain the alarm spreading through Europe’s fourth-biggest economy, unveiling drastic measures in the middle of the night to restrict the spread of the deadly coronavirus.In a hastily convened news conference Sunday morning, the head of a government already hanging by a…

Pope Francis has canceled his regular public appearances to avoid crowds gathering to see him during the coronavirus outbreak.The Vatican said that on Sunday (March 8) the 83-year-old pontiff will not address crowds from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square, and for the time being, will opt for video streaming…

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's bishops said Friday the Vatican had suspended a clerical sex abuse fact-finding and assistance mission to Mexico due to the spreading coronavirus in Italy and now the Vatican.The Mexican Episcopal Conference said in a statement the Holy See had suspended all foreign activities after registering…

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Thursday named Gregory Hartmayer, the Roman Catholic bishop of Savannah, to lead the Atlanta archdiocese, its 100 parishes and 1.2 million Catholics. Hartmayer, 68, an ordained priest of the Franciscan order, said on the Diocese of Savannah’s Facebook page that he was “grateful and…

(MEXICO CITY) — The Vatican’s representative in Mexico said Tuesday that four Catholic bishops had been referred to their superiors for alleged connections to cases of sexual abuse as part of the church’s efforts to gather information about the possible cover up of abuse. Nuncio Franco Coppola did not provide…

Pope Francis coughs as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, March 1, 2020.   | Photo Credit: AP Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had no immediate comment on the report Pope Francis, who canceled a…

Pope Francis coughed as he led prayers at the Vatican on Sunday Pope Francis, who is suffering from a cold, has tested negative for the coronavirus, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday, as Italy battles Europe's worst outbreak. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni did not respond to a request for comment…