The pope has been sleeping well at night and his recovery was going smoothly, according to daily updates from Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.

Once deployed into orbit, the microsatellite was set to transmit papal messages of hope and peace in English, Italian and Spanish that any amateur radio receiver should be able to pick up.

One cousin has already refused to accept the inheritance; four others have not yet responded. If they are smart, they will turn it down as well.

The Vatican has governance norms when a pope resigns or dies, but none of those regulations apply to a sick, unconscious or hospitalized pope.

Pope Francis’ peace envoy to Ukraine met President Volodymyr Zelensky amid breaking news of the destruction of a critical dam that Zelensky blamed on “Russian terrorists.”

A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state's attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.