VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has said the heroic martyrdom of St. Stephen is mirrored in the persecution of modern-day Christians, particularly in the Middle East.

BERLIN – As traditional family holiday celebrations continued with the coming of the New Year, an official with the German bishops' conference encouraged Catholic families to read Pope Francis' exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love").

VATICAN CITY – More than 3.9 million pilgrims visited and attended papal events, liturgies or prayer services during the Holy Year of Mercy in 2016, the Vatican said.

VATICAN CITY – On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis noted how the coming of Jesus as an infant is paradoxical to the images of grandeur that had accompanied the prophesies on the coming of the Messiah, saying this should challenges us to go beyond the ephemeral and focus on what really counts.

VATICAN CITY – After taking up a collection earlier this year to aid families affected by the ongoing crisis in Eastern Ukraine, Pope Francis has decided to distribute an initial sum of 6 million euros (neaerly $8.5 million Cdn) to different charity projects as a Christmas gift.

An iconic soft drink commercial in 1971 invited the world to sing in perfect harmony. But the ad was hardly original. It came three years after Pope Paul VI made a profound pitch to teach the world to live in peaceful harmony.

VATICAN CITY – In a lengthy, in-depth speech to members of the Roman Curia Thursday, Pope Francis dug into what he said are the key guidelines of his ongoing reform, which in his view ought to focus primarily on conversion, unity and streamlining the old process in order to meet modern needs.

VATICAN CITY – While exchanging gifts for Christmas is a beautiful tradition, Pope Francis said, do not forget the one and only real gift people will ever receive is God's gift to humanity – his son, Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis met with members of the Roman Curia to exchange Christmas greetings Dec. 22. At the gathering, the Pope also outlined guiding principles for reform of the Roman Curia. Below is Vatican Radio's full English translation of his speech:

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis furthered the sainthood causes of seven men and women as well as recognized more than 100 martyrs who were killed during the Spanish civil war.

ROME – As cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, he took the subway. Then as Pope, he went out to buy his own eyeglasses. And now he picked up a pair of shoes.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis appealed for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the killing of protesters demonstrating against President Joseph Kabila in several cities across the country.

VATICAN CITY – While hope can often be viewed as the desire for things out of our reach, Pope Francis has said that the birth of Jesus offers us a new kind hope – one which, thanks to the Incarnation, is attainable and leads to a different goal.

The annual World Day of Peace message is an occasion that can’t help but highlight the idealism expected from popes.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has officially granted clemency to Spanish priest Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, who had already served half of his 18-month jail sentence for leaking confidential Vatican documents.