Benedict XVI

The Vatican — with its politics, its pageantry and its power — has long been a favorite subject for artists and thinkers.

In his criticisms of the church and defiance of traditionalists, Pope Francis continued the legacy of a movement the Vatican itself tried to silence.

The leader of the Catholic Church died this morning at age 88.

An unlikely choice to be pope championed causes and challenged orthodoxy, keeping allies and critics alike on their toes.

The first pontiff from the global south has died, announced the Vatican Monday.

From working as a bouncer at a Buenos Aires nightclub to presiding over the Vatican, the path Pope Francis forged as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church was as unlikely as it was unprecedented.

Pope Francis has died aged 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.

Orphaned when both parents died from cancer during his teens, he dropped out of high school but went on to get a doctorate, become a college professor and make furniture for presidents and a pope.

Those working in the Apostolic Palace are grappling with the continuing uncertainty and anxiety over the pope's health. The same is true for everyone in the Vatican.

Pope Francis 'has remained without fever, always alert, collaborating with his treatment, and well-oriented,' says the Vatican

The announcement on Saturday evening indicated that Francis' medical condition had become more complicated since an update from his doctors on Friday.

ROME — Pope Francis' condition isn't life-threatening, but he's not out of danger, his medical team said Friday, as the 88-year-old pontiff marked his first week in a hospital with pneumonia on top of chronic bronchitis. Francis' doctors delivered their first in-person update on the pope's condition, saying that he

New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan turns 75 Thursday, and is required to submit his resignation to the Vatican. The formality starts the clock on a time of transition for the Archdiocese of New York.

St. John's account of Christmas is austere in the extreme. It comes down to one line: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." What precisely is the "Word" that the evangelist is referencing?

Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, significantly increasing the size of the College of Cardinals who will one day elect his successor.

Edward Berger follows All Quiet On The Western Front with a thriller free from cinematic sin: the Ralph Fiennes-led Conclave.

Pope Francis used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community as he reiterated in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should...

Paul Elie writes about Pope Francis's interview with Norah O'Donnell on "60 Minutes."

The House passed legislation to strengthen the definition of antisemitism in federal civil-rights law over the objections of a strange-bedfellows contingent of left-wing Democrats and right-wing Republicans.

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation. (Because of the time difference, it was early May 2 in Pakistan, where the al-Qaida l…