Pope Francis marked multiple firsts for the papacy, becoming the first Latin American pope and the first from the Southern Hemisphere when elected in 2013. He was also the first head of the Roman ...

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Catholic Church leaders in Africa remember Pope Francis as a pontiff who kept the continent close to his heart, advocating for its poor and the marginalized. As Catholics’ ...

KAMPALA, Uganda — If the next pope is from sub-Saharan Africa, he would be the first in Catholic Church history. Catholic Africans think it is a long shot, though some are cautiously optimistic that ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cardinals electing a new pope have some fundamental questions to weigh, beyond whether to give the Catholic Church its first Asian or African pontiff, or a conservative or ...

Alongside other Christians and non-Catholics, a significant number of Africans joyfully welcomed Pope Leo XIV into the continent’s diverse religious communities, anticipating his visit in the near ...

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Pope Francis travels Sunday to Central African Republic, making the final stop of his first trip to Africa in a country where violence between Christian and Muslim militants has ...