Pope Leo XIV made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop under the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with Beijing, signalling he is continuing one of Pope Francis’ most controversial foreign policy decisions.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the first Chinese bishop of his papacy, signalling that he will continue a historic agreement that sought to improve relations between the Vatican and China.

In his first month, Pope Leo has taken a very different approach to his predecessor Francis. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, has led some two dozen public events since he was elected as the first U.

Even before being chosen yet, Pope Leo was already receiving requests from all corners of the globe.Following Pope Francis' passing at 88, officials are now turning their attention to Pope Leo, including a British UFO researcher and filmmaker who is hoping the new Pontiff will break years of silence and finally disclose the Vatican's secret knowledge about UFO activity.

The Vatican wanted a complete makeover of the vatican.va website. The catch was it had to be ready to launch with the election of the new pope. Graphic designer Juan Carlos Ytō talks about how he took on the challenge.

One of the greatest challenges facing Pope Leo XIV is financial. He has inherited the Holy See’s chronic, 50 million to 60 million euro ($57-68 million) structural deficit, a 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) pension fund shortfall and declining donations.

As indicated in the annual report published Wednesday by the Holy See Press Office, the net profit of 32.8 million euros represents a 7% increase compared with 2023.

Zuppi was Francis’ peace envoy to Ukraine and works closely with the Community of St. Egidio. He was considered a favorite to become pope in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. “There is a great legacy, and right from the beginning Pope Leo XIV took the words of Pope Francis,” he added.