As the first pontiff from the Americas, the first Jesuit successor of St Peter and as an innovator in other respects, Pope Francis struck many in the world of visual media as a breath of fresh air.

Most Rev Timothy Costelloe SDB DDArchbishop of Perth 21 April 2025 In this unprecedented moment in time following the death of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, I wish to share with you my thoughts on his extraordinary life and ministry. The Holy Father passed away at Casa Santa Marta at 7:35am local time in Rome on Monday, 21 April 2025. While it does not come as a surprise given th...

ACBC President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB with Pope Francis in 2022. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, says Pope Francis will be remembered as a man of simplicity, humility and compassion. Pope Francis, born Jorge Maria Bergoglio, became the first non-European pope in centuries, the first Latin Am...

Pope Francis gives a Byzantine headdress called a koukoulion to new Cardinal Mykola Bychok, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy of Sts. Peter and Paul of Melbourne, Australia, during a consistory to create new cardinals on 7 December 2024, in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez. Christ is Risen! On this Bright Paschal Monday (Easter Monday), when we continu...

By Justin McLellan Pope Francis greets the faithful as he makes a surprise appearance in St. Peter's Square at the end of Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican on 13 April 2024. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Carrying the cross means more than bearing personal suffering - it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them, Pope Francis wrote at the start of Holy Week. "To carry th...

The Vatican Press Office said on 11 April that the Holy Father had asked his assistants to take him to the basilica to pray, and they did so.

“The Spirit can grant true peace to human hearts, which is necessary for overcoming conflicts in our families, in society and among nations,” the Holy Father said in a written message to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service, also known as “Charis.”

Pope Francis sits in reverence before the Chair of St. Peter, temporarily placed in front of the main altar in St Peter’s Basilica after the closing Mass of the Synod of Bishops on synodality at the Vatican on 27 October, 2024. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. By Justin McLellan Pope Francis has last week approved the next phase of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, launching a three-year impl...

At the request of the Holy See, Catholic dioceses worldwide have designated local cathedrals, other churches and shrines as local pilgrimage sites during the 2025 Jubilee Year.

“From the beginning of his pontificate, we have heard Pope Francis ask us to not forget to pray for him, and that is what we are doing,” said Cardinal José Tolenti-no de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, as he led thousands of people praying the rosary for the pope March 10 in St. Peter’s Square.