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Vatican proposes solar farm on controversial radio site.

Vatican to build solar farm on controversial site

August 4, 2025August 4, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

A 430-hectare site north of Rome, once at the centre of a long-running health controversy, is set to become a solar farm powering the Vatican’s green transition.

Pope Leo XIV. Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty

Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

VATICAN CITY, 8 May 2025 – White smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel on Thursday. It marked a historic moment for the Catholic Church as Robert Prevost, as a 69-year-old cleric from Chicago was elected as the 267th pope. Taking the name Leo XIV, he becomes the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

The first vote in the papal conclave resulted in black smoke, meaning the vote was inconclusive. Image credit: Vatican

Black smoke after first papal conclave vote

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Vatican City, 8 May 2025 – Black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday evening, signalling that the first vote of the papal conclave has not yielded a new pope.

Sistine Chapel in readiment for the papal conclave. Image: copyright Vatican media

Cardinals gather for mass ahead of papal conclave

May 7, 2025May 7, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Cardinals gathered in Saint Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning for the Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass. The special service took place ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope, following Pope Francis’s death on 21 April.

Firefighters install chimney which will signal the election of the new pope. Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Italians want a pope like Francis, poll finds

May 2, 2025May 2, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Most Italians want the next pope to follow the path of the late Francis, a new survey revealed on Friday.

The College of Cardinals celebrates Mass on March 12, 2013, before entering the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave. (photo: Jeffrey Bruno/CNA / EWTN)

Rome prepares for papal conclave

May 1, 2025May 1, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Rome’s top security official has confirmed that the measures in place for the upcoming papal conclave will mirror those deployed for the funeral of Pope Francis. Tens of thousands of people are expected to flood the capital from 7 May.

some of the papal candidates, known as papbili

Names of papal candidates emerge

April 23, 2025April 23, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Speculation over potential successors to Pope Francis has intensified following recent concerns over his health. Media have been circulating the names of possible papal candidates, known as papabile,especially as the geography of the College of Cardinal Electors has shifted significantly under Francis’s 12-year papacy.

General Audience with Pope Francis © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

Pope Francis Dies on Easter Monday Aged 88

April 21, 2025April 21, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

VATICAN CITY – 21 April 2025 – Pope Francis has died at the age of 88. The Bishop of Rome passed away peacefully at 7:35 AM on Easter Monday, 21 April 2025, at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta within Vatican City.

Sister Simona Brambilla first ever woman prefect

First-ever woman prefect named by Pope

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Pope Francis appoints Sister Simona Brambilla as Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The Vatican Press Office announced this historic appointment on Monday. Sister Brambilla is the first woman to serve as a prefect in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door starting Jubilee 2025. Image credit: (CNS photo/ Romano Siciliani, pool)

Pope Francis Opens Holy Door Launching Jubilee 2025

December 25, 2024December 25, 2024Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis inaugurated Jubilee 2025 by opening the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The ceremony, watched by thousands in St Peter’s Square, marks the start of a year-long Catholic celebration expected to draw over 30 million pilgrims.