The Vatican City State court sentenced an Italian contractor, who had done work for several Vatican offices, to 2 1/2 years in jail for using a Vatican bank account for money laundering.

Sister Wendy Beckett, an art historian and critic who rose to prominence on TV late in life, has died. She was 88.

It has been a very difficult year for Pope Francis.

Felipe Alonzo Gomez of Guatemala is the second child identified as dying while under detention by U.S. border authorities in December.

At a midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa addressed a packed house of worshippers and dignitaries.

Catholic Relief Services is working with local partners to help determine the greatest needs of survivors of Indonesia's Dec. 22 tsunami.