VATICAN CITY - On the evening of Sept. 7, days before U.S. lawmakers vote on President Barack Obama's proposal for a military attack on Syria, Pope Francis will lead thousands in St. Peter's Square in a prayer vigil for peace.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has stuck with a long-standing tradition by appointing a seasoned member of the diplomatic corps to replace Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as the top Vatican official.

WARSAW, Poland - A priest who died of cold and hunger in a communist prison will be beatified as a martyr in Romania.

VATICAN CITY - Archbishop Georg Ganswein, retired Pope Benedict XVI's longtime personal secretary, said a story about the pope resigning after a "mystical experience" was completely invented.

VATICAN CITY - To emphasis that the sacrament of baptism formally brings a person into the church of God and not just into a local Christian community, the Vatican has ordered a slight change of wording in the baptismal rite.

VATICAN CITY - Vatican activities for the Year of Faith begin again in late September with an international meeting of catechists, followed in October by a Marian pilgrimage in the presence of the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a celebration of faith and family life.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will host a meeting of cardinals Sept. 30 to formally approve the canonization of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII; the date for the canonization will be announced at that time, said Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

The eight cardinals Pope Francis chose to advise him on Vatican reform in general have reputations as strong leaders of the Church in their own countries and on their own continents.

VATICAN CITY - Immediately after meeting Pope Francis, Gianluigi Buffon, captain of the Italian national soccer team, and Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina's team, lent their hands -- actually just a finger -- to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

VATICAN CITY - With admiration and big smiles all around, the lifelong soccer fan Pope Francis met the star players and coaches of the Argentine and Italian national soccer teams hoping to compete for the World Cup in 2014.