WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church pulls out all the stops for the Easter Vigil, the Mass celebrated on Holy Saturday.

VATICAN CITY – The superiors of the four main branches of the Franciscan friars formally asked Pope Francis for permission to allow their communities to elect brothers to positions of leadership in their communities.

VATICAN CITY – Jesus does not ask that people only contemplate his image, but that they also recognize and love him concretely in all people who suffer like he did, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Scientists working in the field of biotechnology are called to use science to protect creation and to prevent methods that seek to control it, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once wrote that he was grateful for being born on a day that fell during the church's most intense liturgical season.

DETROIT, Mich. – Earlier this year, the International Marian Association submitted a request to Pope Francis, asking for the public recognition of the title of Mary as “Co-Redemptrix with Jesus the Redeemer.”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Most of Christianity's future growth is likely to be in the global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the Christian population is relatively young, according to a new analysis from the U.S.-based Pew Research Center.

VATICAN CITY – Taken together, the 10 countries with the most Catholics account for almost 56 per cent of the world's Catholic population, the Vatican reported.

MEDJUGORJE, Bosnia-Herzegovina – While he said he had no authority or expertise to discuss the authenticity of the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Pope Francis' envoy to the town said it was clear "there is a special spiritual climate here."

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis met Wednesday with a delegation of Muslim leaders from Great Britain along with Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster to promote dialogue and collaboration following the deadly attack in London last month.