Courtney Mares

Umbrellas dotted St. Peter’s Square on the rainy Sunday afternoon as Jubilee pilgrims braved the weather to hear Pope Francis give his Angelus message on Jan. 5, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media

American Cardinal James Harvey opened the holy door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Jan. 5, 2025, completing the opening of all five holy doors in Rome for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee of Hope. | Credit: AIGAV pool

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, 05 January, 2025 / 8:35 pm (ACI Africa).

A new tour for Jubilee 2025 of the Vatican Gardens at the pope’s summer palace in Castel Gandolfo aims to bring Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ to life.

A new tour of the Vatican Gardens at the pope’s summer palace in Castel Gandolfo is opening in the spring for jubilee pilgrims who wish to escape the crowds i...

By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, 11 January, 2025 / 4:00 pm (ACI Africa).

The beatification cause of Sister Clare Crockett, an inspirational young Irish religious sister who died in 2016, formally opened Jan. 12, 2025, with a ceremony at the Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, Spain. | Credit: Courtesy of Servants of the Home of the Mother

The Vatican City State’s first decree regulating the use of artificial intelligence quietly came into effect this month prohibiting discriminatory uses of AI and establishing a special commission to oversee “experimentation” with the new technology at the Vatican.

The Vatican’s top diplomat has called the gradual release of 553 prisoners in Cuba “a sign of great hope” at the beginning of the Catholic Church’s jubilee year.

The Cuban government’s announcement of the prisoner release dated Jan. 14 cited 'the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025' and noted Pope Francis’ mediation in the negotiations.