Overnight pilgrims camped out on the famous stretch of beach ahead of a Mass to be celebrated there later on Sunday

A bread tank has been installed in Rio de Janeiro in order to raise awareness of the fight against poverty.

‘It’s important the Pope is coming… hopefully things will get better’

Thousands packed into the cavernous Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida to greet their fellow South American

The 52-year-old will be ordained as Archbishop of St Andrews & Edinburgh in September

Around 300 people clashed with riot police, as Pope Francis embarks on tour of potentially dangerous locations across Brazil

The device, discovered in a lavatory at one of the country's most revered shrines, was detonated safely

Stephen Alford's fine study begins with an intriguing titbit of counterfactual history: in 1586, Queen Elizabeth I is assassinated, prompting a Spanish invasion after which Protestant England is reconciled to Rome.

As the man charged with cleaning out the stables at the scandal-struck Vatican bank, Monsignor Battista Ricca will need Machiavellian cunning, good fortune and a whiter-than-white record to have even a fighting chance.

Court in charge of forgiveness of sins says those that follow upcoming event via social media will be granted indulgences

Former Prime Minister made four attempts to appoint disgraced presenter to knighthood before succeeding in 1990

Pope Francis confirms his predecessor's 'second miracle' - marking fastest progression to sainthood in modern times

Pope Francis will make his first international trip to world's largest Catholic country for World Youth Day celebrations

Apart perhaps from Giulio Andreotti, his fellow Christian Democrat and occasional rival who died seven weeks before him, no single politician embodied the history of postwar Italy, with all its successes and failures, more completely than Emilio Colombo.