Pope Francis

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A man walks past an almost empty St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. Ailing Pope Francis, making limited public appearances due to persistent pain, drew attention to the plight of homeless people in winter, including a Nigerian man who froze to death not far from the Vatican. Francis on Sunday asked for prayers for the man, who he said was 46, named Edwin, and who was &quot;ignored by all, abandoned, even by us.&quot; (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Ailing pope, reducing appearances, prays for homeless dead

By FRANCES D'EMILIO - Associated Press

Pope again cancels appearances due to nerve pain

Associated Press

FILE - In this Aug.22, 1997 file photo, Pope John Paul II meditates by the grave of his former friend geneticist Jerome Lejeune, during a private visit to the Chalo-Saint-Mars cemetery near Paris. Pope Francis on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, approved the “heroic virtues” of Dr. Jerome Lejeune, who discovered the genetic basis of Down syndrome, lived from 1926-1994 and was particularly esteemed by St. John Paul II for his anti-abortion stance. (AP Photo/Arturo Mari/file)

French doctor who made Down discovery closer to sainthood

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

FILE - In this March 12, 2018 file photo, youngest child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. Bernice King is welcomed by Pope Francis on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican. Francis sent a message of prayer Monday to King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, with whom the pontiff met in 2018. He called for unity, not division and extinguishing hatred and “not holding onto it.” (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope says MLK’s message of non-violent protest timely now

Associated Press

Prelate blocked for months by Belarus resigns Minsk post

Associated Press

Two people stand in an empty St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, as Pope Francis recites the Angelus noon prayer in his studio Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope pushes through nerve pain to give New Year’s blessing

Associated Press

FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2020 file photo, Pope Francis is helped by Monsignor Leoardo Sapienza as he walks down the steps to exchange holidays greeting with Vatican employees in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. Pope Francis is skipping New Year’s ceremonies due to what the Vatican says is a painful back condition, the Vatican said Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)

Back pain causes pope to skip Vatican New Year’s ceremonies

By FRANCES D'EMILIO - Associated Press

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re celebrates First Vespers and Te Deum, the rite of thanksgiving for the end of the year, in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. The Vatican released a statement this morning saying that due to a painful sciatica, Pope Francis would not attend the Vespers in St. Peter’s today and the 9gmt Mass tomorrow morning as scheduled. (Fabio Frustaci/pool via AP)

Pope Francis forced to skip New Year’s ceremonies due to back issues

By Frances D'Emilio - Associated Press

FILE -In this Thursday, May 10, 2012 file photo Dublin archbishop Diarmuid Martin attends a press conference, at the Vatican. Pope Francis has accepted Tuesday Dec. 29, 2020 the resignation of Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who worked to rebuild the Catholic Church's credibility in Ireland after it was shattered by decades of clergy sexual abuse and cover-up. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)

Dublin archbishop who helped Ireland heal from abuse retires

Associated Press

Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for "to the city and to the world") Christmas' day blessing inside the blessing hall of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. (Vatican Media via AP) ** FILE **

Pope formally strips Vatican secretariat of state of assets

By Nicole Winfield - Associated Press

Pope Francis caresses a boy as he arrives to celebrate Mass on Christmas eve, at St. Peter's basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. (Vincenzo Pinto/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope proclaims year of families, offers advice to keep peace

Associated Press

Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for "to the city and to the world") Christmas' day blessing inside the blessing hall of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. (Vatican Media via AP) ** FILE **

Pope on Christmas: Vaccines for all; needy, vulnerable first

By Frances D'Emilio - Associated Press

Pope hopes to visit South Sudan, Lebanon if security permits

Associated Press

In this Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, a droplet falls from a syringe after a health care worker is injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Women &amp; Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I. The Vatican has declared it “morally acceptable” for Roman Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines based on research that used fetal tissue from abortions. The Vatican’s watchdog office for doctrinal orthodoxy said Monday that it addressed the question after receiving requests for guidance. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) ** FILE **

Vatican: OK to get virus vaccines using abortion cell lines

By FRANCES D'EMILIO - Associated Press

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope tells Vatican bureaucrats to stop gossipy conflicts

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

Cardinal George Pell has a light moment during an interview with the Associated Press inside his residence near the Vatican in Rome, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. The pope’s former treasurer, who was convicted and then acquitted of sexual abuse in his native Australia, said Monday he feels a dismayed sense of vindication as the financial mismanagement he tried to uncover in the Holy See is now being exposed in a spiraling Vatican corruption investigation. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Cardinal Pell on Trump, Benedict XVI and a plot against him

By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press

Pope Francis prays beneath the statue of the Virgin Mary on the occasion of Immaculate Conception day, at the Spanish Steps, in Rome, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. Pope Francis paid a surprise visit to the statue early Tuesday after last week the Vatican announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic his annual pilgrimage to the statue in the center of Rome would be cancelled to avoid contagion due to gatherings. (Vatican News via AP)

Pope makes surprise early morning prayer visit in rainy Rome

By FRANCES D'EMILIO - Associated Press

Pope Francis, framed by a Christmas tree, waves as he arrives to recite the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope: Christmas a sign of hope amid difficulties of pandemic

Associated Press

Cardinals sit as Pope Francis celebrates Mass the day after he raised 13 new cardinals to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy, at St. Peter's Basilica, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

Pope, with new cardinals, warns church against mediocrity

By FRANCES D'EMILIO - Associated Press

Pope backs Argentine women’s opposition to abortion bill

Associated Press