By CALLISTUS OFFOR, Abuja Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has concluded a trip that spanned both the United States and Rome, where he embarked on a spiritual pilgrimage dedicated to seeking divine intervention for Nigeria. Obi’s visit began in the United...
Pope Francis
The new Pope’s choice of name signals he will continue the work of his predecessor, “institutionalising” Francis’s reforms, experts have said. Pope Leo XIV, the first American head of the Catholic Church, emerged on to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in front of a packed St Peter’s Square...
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first major Mass as the head of the Catholic Church on Friday in the Sistine Chapel, according to the Vatican. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters the Pope will also appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the midday...
By DAVID IORJA, Abuja- President Bola Tinubu has offered his warmest congratulations to His Holiness Leo XIV on his election as the Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The President in a statement on Thursday by his media aide Bayo Onanuga, felicitated The...
Robert Francis Prevost (United States), 69, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo has been chosen as a successor to Pope Francis. Details later……
With white smoke now billowing from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel, it’s clear the voting process has concluded and the cardinals have chosen a successor to Pope Francis. We don’t yet know who has been selected, but it will become clear when they emerge on the balcony of...
Director of Public Communications, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Anthony Godono, on Thursday confirmed that, the 133 Cardinal-electors for the new Pope would return to the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. This development comes after their first ballot on Wednesday failed to produce a new pope. Godono,...
Thick black smoke emerged Wednesday from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in a sign that cardinals had failed to elect a new head of the Catholic Church in their first conclave vote. Tens of thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square to await the smoke, which came...
The Catholic Church’s cardinals issued an urgent appeal for peace on Tuesday, one day before they retreat into the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. In a joint statement, they called on all warring parties worldwide to “achieve a lasting ceasefire as soon as possible.” The statement,...
In life and more so in death, Pope Francis earned universal respect for enthroning humility, simplicity, courage, and love for the poor and the marginalised, during his 12-year papacy marked by exemplary evangelical leadership. More than 50 heads of state, 10 reigning monarchs, some 250 cardinals, 400 bishops and...
The Italian cardinal at the heart of the Vatican’s “trial of the century” announced on Tuesday he was withdrawing from participating in the upcoming conclave to elect a new pope for the good of the Church. Cardinal Angelo Becciu’ s status has dominated discussions in the days after Pope...
By CALLISTUS OFFOR, Abuja- The Holy See Press Office has announced that the conclave to elect the successor to the papacy (pope) will commence on May 7. This decision was reached by the Cardinals during their fifth General Congregation on Monday in Rome. The historic election will unfold within...
Pope Francis was buried in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Saturday afternoon, after hundreds of thousands of people from global leaders to the impoverished and marginalised paid their respects to the man celebrated for his humility and humanity. The rites for the pontiff, who died at the...
Pope Francis was buried in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, his favourite church in Rome, on Saturday afternoon, after a two-hour funeral service held in St Peter’s Square, the Holy See said. Earlier, some 150,000 people bid farewell to the pope from the roadside as his funeral procession...
Hundreds of thousands of mourners and world leaders including US President Donald Trump packed St Peter’s Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, “pope among the people” and the Catholic Church’s first Latin American leader. Some waited overnight to get a seat in the vast square in...
By DAVID IORJA, Abuja- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent a high-powered delegation to Vatican City to attend the burial of His Holiness, Pope Francis, on Saturday, April 26. Senate President Godswill Akpabio is at the head of the five-member delegation, according to a statement issued on Friday in...
Pope Francis’ doctor on Thursday recounted the pontiff’s final moments in a pair of newspaper interviews, saying the pontiff had his eyes open and was breathing with oxygen. The doctor said that the pope was unresponsive after being stricken by illness early on Monday morning; he died without suffering...
Pope Francis’ body is due to be brought in a procession from Saint Martha’s House, his residence in the Vatican, to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning to allow believers the opportunity to bid farewell to the late head of the Catholic Church. It is anticipated that tens of...
Just hours before his death, Pope Francis expressed gratitude for being able to join worshippers on St Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday one last time. This is according to remarks revealed by the official Vatican News portal on Tuesday. Although visibly weakened, Pope Francis delivered the traditional Urbi et...
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend Pope Francis burial, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. Concern over quashing speculation that the Russian leader might make an appearance in spite of an international arrest warrant against him. When asked by journalists whether Putin had plans to attend the burial on...