Officials stress it was not an investigation but an assistance mission to help the Mexican church combat abuse.

It is the first time in his seven-year papacy that he has missed the spiritual exercises.

Francis is, however, continuing to work from his residence at the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel and is receiving people in private.

They have been challenging long-held taboos by calling for more political representation and demanding that the ultra-Orthodox parties add a female candidate to their all-male tickets.

It’s another major step in its effort to recover from a clergy misconduct scandal that involved a former bishop of Maine’s diocese.

The Vatican isn’t saying what exactly Francis has come down with, but he was coughing and blowing his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass this week.

After the mass shootings that targeted hookah cafes, killing nine this week, they say more must be done to address the scourge.

The casually dressed man was in one of the front-row seats reserved for ailing or disabled people.

More than 150 historians and researchers have signed up to access the documents of the World War II-era pope.