Vatican firefighters installed a chimney on the Sistine Chapel roof for the upcoming conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor. The chimney, connected to two stoves—one from 1939 for burning ballots and a 2005 model for chemical additives—will emit black smoke for no election, white smoke for a new pope, and yellow smoke for pre-conclave testing.
Add your comment!Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, who prioritized other international engagements over Pope Francis' funeral, will be attending the enthronement of the Argentine pontiff's successor, Senator Derlis Maidana confirmed Wednesday. Peña, currently on a US tour until May 5, 2025, took heavy flak for his absence at the memorial of the first-ever South American head of the Catholic Church.
Add your comment!Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, convicted of embezzlement in a Vatican financial scandal involving a luxury London property, agreed Tuesday to Pope Francis' decision to exclude him from the upcoming conclave starting May 7, 2025, despite initially asserting his right to participate. Becciu, sentenced to five and a half years in prison for fraud and financial irregularities, retains his cardinal title and participates in pre-conclave meetings but will not vote in the election of the next pope.
Add your comment!Argentine President Javier Milei will be departing Thursday for Rome to attend Pope Francis' funeral at the Vatican. No bilateral meetings have been confirmed with other attending world leaders, such as US President Donald Trump. Milei is due back in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
Uruguayan bishops held a solemn mass on Wednesday at Montevideo’s Cathedral to honor the life and legacy of Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday at the age of 88. The ceremony drew around a thousand attendees, filling every seat and standing space in the historic church.
The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis' death was caused by a stroke, leading to a coma and irreversible cardiovascular collapse. He had a history of health issues, including a recent 38-day hospitalization for double pneumonia, alongside conditions like hypertension and type II diabetes. His death was confirmed by electrocardiogram, as stated by Andrea Arcangeli, head of the Vatican’s Health Directorate.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Buenos Aires on Dec. 17, 1936, who would later become known worldwide as Pope Francis since March 13, 2013, died Monday, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced from the Casa Santa Marta.
Pope Francis made a surprise appearance at St Peter's Square Sunday, two weeks after his release from Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where he had been treated for life-threatening pneumonia for 38 days. The 88-year-old former Archbishop of Buenos Aires looked frail in a wheelchair with nasal oxygen supply as he blessed around 20,000 faithful at the end of a Mass for the sick, led by Archbishop Rino Fisichella.
The Vatican Thursday released an audio message in St. Peter's Square at 9 pm local time from Pope Francis, who is hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli clinic for a case of bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. The Pontiff thanked the faithful for their prayers, marking his first public communication in weeks. Speaking in Spanish with a hoarse voice, the Pope expressed gratitude and extended blessings.
Pope Francis suffered two episodes of acute respiratory failure, Vatican sources confirmed Monday. The Argentine-born Pontiff has now been hospitalized for 18 days at Rome's Gemelli clinic, where he was admitted with bronchitis, which later proved to be bilateral pneumonia,