Despite lacking the public charisma of his predecessor, Pope Benedict in just eight years was able to carve out his own legacy, in significant part by continuing John Paul's work in different ways.
Pope Benedict XVI hit his head during his March 2012 trip to Mexico, the Vatican said Thursday, but officials denied the accident had any "relevant" role in his resignation.
After Pope John Paul II died in 2005, hundreds of thousands thronged into St. Peter's Square, chanting, "Santo subito!" ("[Make him] a saint now!") There will be no such chants in the piazza on the day Pope Benedict XVI relinquishes the office of Bishop of Rome.
Fifty years ago Thursday, the fourth child from a family of Italian sharecroppers convened a epochal meeting of Roman Catholic Church leaders designed to "open the windows" of the nearly 2,000-year-old institution and let some of the modern world's "fresh air" inside.
Along with his policy prowess and campaign cachet, Rep. Paul Ryan has another factor working for him as Mitt Romney's choice as running mate. Chemistry. That's what's implied, at least.
The Vatican and a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics appear to be nearing an agreement that could bring the group back into Rome's fold and end a quarter-century of schism.
Washington-area Catholics attending Mass on Christmas Day will find major changes in the familiar language of the liturgy after the introduction of a new English version, which some have welcomed as "poetic" and others criticize as "clunky and archaic."
English-speaking Roman Catholics who have attended Mass regularly for years found themselves in an unfamiliar position Sunday, needing printed cards or sheets of paper to follow along with a ritual many have known since childhood.
If the experience of the faithful in other English-speaking countries is any indication, American Catholics are in for a bumpy transition as they encounter the most sweeping changes to the text of the Mass in more than 40 years.
