VATICAN – Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, a longtime Vatican official, died early May 18 in Rome at the age of 88.

While some critics saw the media's sudden fixation on papal fashion as frivolous and a way of trivializing the true meaning behind elegance in ecclesial dress, one top art curator said he saw this spotlight as actually raising "deeper, more profound considerations – namely, the role that dress plays in the Catholic Church and the role that the Catholic Church plays" within the world of fashion's imagination.

VATICAN – Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals have reviewed a complete draft of the apostolic constitution that would govern the Roman Curia, the Vatican spokesman said.

VATICAN – The Vatican Gardens has branched out and added a small orchard to its hillsides, becoming a safe haven for a number of endangered native Italian fruit and nut tree species.

VATICAN – Pope Francis will preside over a consistory to approve several canonizations, the Vatican announced.

VATICAN – After months of investigation, Vatican police arrested Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella, a former staff member at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, on charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography.

VATICAN – During a brief ceremony in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Francis blessed a new statue of a 10th-century Armenian monk he had declared a "doctor of the church" in 2015.

VATICAN – Easter makes it clear that in the life of Jesus, but also in the lives of modern men and women, "death, solitude and fear" do not have the last word, Pope Francis said before giving his Easter blessing.

VATICAN – During a customary visit to a prison on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis revealed that he has cataracts and is planning to have an eye operation to correct them next year.

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The head of Regina Coeli prison in Rome made a comment during the visit about the importance of being “far-sighted” about prisoners’ rehabilitation.

Pope Francis responded, “This is good. Because at my age, for example, cataracts arrive and one does not see reality well. Next year, we will have to have an operation.”

He encouraged the inmates to have clear eyes – what he called “cataract surgery for the soul” – in order to see and spread hope.

Cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s lens that is common as people age, is usually correctable with a routine surgery.

The pope, who turned 81 in December, maintains a rigorous schedule and still makes several international trips per year. He had a portion of one lung removed when he was young, due to an infection, but is considered to be in generally good health.

ROME – Leading a prayer to God for the grace to feel ashamed and repentant for so many sins in the world, Pope Francis highlighted the hope that always comes from Jesus.

VATICAN – Young people want to know they are valued members of the Catholic Church and that their questions and struggles are taken seriously enough that someone will spend time with them discussing issues rather than simply repeating "prefabricated" responses, said delegates to a meeting in Rome.

VATICAN – Young people want trusted guides as they explore their faith and their vocation, said five young adults from the United States attending the Vatican's pre-synod meeting.

VATICAN – After a very public controversy involving the use of a letter by retired Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Msgr. Dario Vigano as prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for Communication.

VATICAN - A “hackathon” is a hacking marathon: a collaborative computer programming event in which a group works under a tight deadline to find software or programming approaches to real-world problems.

ROME –The Catholic Church and Catholic agencies that work with migrants and refugees around the world are called to educate, advocate and seek alternative host countries in the face of a growing "refusal to welcome" newcomers, as the Vatican secretary of state defined the situation.