The Vatican unveiled its official Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square on Friday evening, surprising some with its depiction of an astronaut and another figure wearing a Darth Vader-esque helmet coming to adore the Christ child.

Pope Francis will celebrate the Vatican’s traditional Christmas “Mass during the Night” at 7:30 p.m. so that the few people invited to attend can get home before Italy's 10 p.m. curfew.

Pope Francis continued his overhaul of the Vatican’s troubled finances by approving a new rule aimed at improving oversight and transparency for the Catholic Church’s anti-money laundering agency.

Cardinal Parolin, 65, was admitted for surgery for an enlarged prostate, common in men over 50, and it is expected to leave the hospital in a few days.

Vatican sources acknowledge the visit, which Pope Francis has long hoped for, is “risky” under current conditions.

The ministry of a Catholic bishop must reflect the Catholic Church's commitment to Christian unity and must give ecumenical engagement the same kind of attention as work for justice and peace, said a new Vatican document.