Nicole Winfield

Italian Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (R) is elevated cardinal by Pope Francis during a consistory to create 21 new cardinals at St. Peter's square in The Vatican on September 30, 2023. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP)

September 30, 2023, 11:41 am

Jerusalem Latin Patriarch among 21 new cardinals anointed by Pope

New appointees expected to help Francis reform church and cement his legacy; Latin Patriarch Pizzaballa says nomination will ‘raise the voice of Jerusalem’

By Nicole Winfield

Undated file photo of Pope Pius XII (AP Photo, File)

September 16, 2023, 10:28 am

New letter reveals Pope Pius XII had detailed information on Nazi killing of Jews

Vatican archive documents on mass killings in Poland undercut Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t denounce Holocaust as it was unable to verify diplomatic reports

By Nicole Winfield

An undated file photo of Pope Pius XII. (AP Photo)

September 7, 2023, 10:25 pm

New research shows Catholic convents sheltered 3,200 Jews in Rome during WWII

Report from Yad Vashem, the Vatican, Italian Jewish community says at least that number were protected by church; sheds no new light on Pope Pius XII’s role during Nazi occupation

By Nicole Winfield

People walk in the excavation site of the ancient Roman emperor Nero's theater, 1st century AD, backdropped by the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, during a press preview, in Rome, Wednesday, July 26, 2023 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

July 28, 2023, 6:21 pm

Ruins of ancient Nero’s Theater discovered near Vatican

Officials say findings under site of future hotel provide a rare look at Roman history over the centuries

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

June 7, 2023, 9:36 pm

Pope Francis emerges from 3-hour abdominal surgery without complications

86-year-old pontiff has hernia repaired two years after part of his colon was removed

By Nicole Winfield and Maria Cheng

A view of a former monastery, in Rome, May 29, 2023, situated on a quiet residential street, which once sheltered Jews fleeing deportation in World War II. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

June 1, 2023, 10:44 am

Ex-monastery in Rome that once sheltered Jews is at center of $17m Vatican scandal

Priest moved millions meant for missionary work into investment fund in apparently legal move, leaving renovation of monastery tied up and nuns forced to commute 90 minutes

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis helped to get on his car at the end of weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, March 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

March 29, 2023, 11:19 pm

Pope to be hospitalized for days with lung infection

Holy See says Pope Francis suffering from difficulty breathing but rules out COVID-19 virus as Christians prepare to launch Holy Week

By Nicole Winfield

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, right, leaves after an EU summit in Brussels, March 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

March 24, 2023, 10:32 pm

Italian opposition criticizes Meloni over Nazi massacre comments

After Italy’s PM, whose party has neo-fascist roots, says Nazis killed 335 ‘because they were Italian,’ opponents lash her for ignoring that victims were antifascists, Jews

By Nicole Winfield

The marble head of a young man, a tiny fragment from the 2,500-year-old sculptured decoration of the Parthenon Temple on the ancient Acropolis, is displayed during a presentation to the press at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, November 5, 2008. (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

March 7, 2023, 6:00 pm

Vatican, Greece ink deal for return of three Parthenon sculpture fragments

Agreement termed ‘donation’ to Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens rather than transfer of items, but move could add pressure on Britain to repatriate its collection

By Nicole Winfield and Derek Gatopoulos

Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican, January 24, 2023. (AP/Andrew Medichini)

January 25, 2023, 7:37 pm

Pope: Homosexuality not a crime, church should fight ‘unjust’ anti-LGBTQ laws

Francis’s remarks are a first for a pontiff, adds bishops should learn to apply ‘tenderness’ to all Catholics

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis presides over an Epiphany mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on January 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

January 9, 2023, 3:27 pm

Pope Francis breaks silence on Iran, denouncing death sentences for protesters

Comparing Tehran’s actions to abortion, pontiff asserts ‘both are a violation of the fundamental right to life’; calls for unity after rioters storm Brazil’s seats of power

By Nicole Winfield

The coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is brought to St. Peter's Square for a funeral mass at the Vatican, January 5, 2023. (Ben Curtis/AP)

January 5, 2023, 11:18 am

Thousands pour into St. Peter’s Square for funeral of Benedict XVI

Pope Francis presides over Vatican ceremony for deceased former pontiff; small number of heads of state, royal delegations join service

By Nicole Winfield, Giada Zampano and Frances D'Emilio

Holocaust survivor, Senator Liliana Segre chairs the opening session of the Italian Senate of the newly elected parliament, October 13, 2022. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

October 13, 2022, 3:49 pm

Holocaust survivor opens Italian Senate as far-right prepares to govern country

In emotional speech, Liliana Segre recalls discrimination she faced in past, urges civilized debate, as Brothers of Italy, which has neo-fascist roots, set to lead government

By Nicole Winfield

File: Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch celebrates the Vespers of the Solemnity of the Conversion of Saint Paul, at the St. Paul outside the Walls Basilica, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 (Ettore Ferrari/Pool via AP, File)

October 6, 2022, 3:48 am

Vatican cardinal seems to compare German church reform plans to Nazi theology

Outrage in Germany over Holy See’s response to church’s attempts at changes to stop hemorrhaging of Catholic faithful

By Nicole Winfield

Right-wing party Brothers of Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni, center-right on stage, addresses a rally as she starts her political campaign ahead of September 25 general elections, in Ancona, Italy, August 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)

September 26, 2022, 4:42 pm

How a fringe far-right group with neo-fascist roots became Italy’s biggest party

Leader of the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, is poised to head Italy’s first far-right-led government since Mussolini during World War II

By Nicole Winfield