The Latest Breaking News from Roman Catholic

Pope Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church's traditional World Day of Peace on Sunday but the start of the new year at the Vatican was overshadowed by the death of his predecessor, Benedict.

Benedict XVI, who shocked the world’s 1.2 billion followers of the Roman Catholic Church when he became the first pope to resign in almost six centuries, has died. He was 95.

Although Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had a long and illustrious career as one of the Roman Catholic Church’s pre-eminent theologians, he will forever be known as the first pope in 600 years to resign

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales led tributes on Saturday.

When Pope Benedict shocked the Roman Catholic Church in 2013 by announcing he would resign instead of ruling for life, he promised to stay in the Vatican "hidden from the world".

Benedict XVI, who headed the Roman Catholic church for almost eight years, has died at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, a spokesman for the Holy See confirmed.

The German theologian and philosopher Joseph Ratzinger, who was head of the Roman Catholic Church for eight years as Pope Benedict XVI, has died at the age of 95. Benedict resigned as pontiff in 2013 citing declining physical and mental health. He had been seriously ill for some time.

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $121 million reorganization plan for one of the oldest Roman Catholic dioceses in the U.S. as it tries to stem financial losses from clergy abuse claims that date back decades

The world leader of the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis, has warned that the health of his 95-year-old predecessor, Benedict XVl, continues to deteriorate. The pontiff has called on the faithful to pray for a man who "is very sick".

The 20-year criminal investigation of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia has come to a quiet end with the misdemeanor plea of an aging cleric

Bishop Robert Byrne said the role was "too great a burden"