Pope Francis

U.S. Vice President JD Vance will be in Rome April 18 and has meetings planned with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, his office said.

Carrying the cross means more than bearing personal suffering -- it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them, Pope Francis wrote at the start of Holy Week.

Pope Francis prayed for the victims of a nightclub disaster in the Dominican Republic that claimed more than 200 lives and has provoked mourning across the Caribbean country.

Although they postponed their official state visit to the Vatican because of Pope Francis' health, Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla met privately with the pope April 9, the Vatican press office said.

Jesus loves people as they are, not based on their merit or righteousness, said the text for Pope Francis' weekly general audience.

As Pope Francis continues his recovery at the Vatican, he is very slowly beginning to get back to his old routine of meeting with top Vatican officials, the Vatican press office said.

With thousands of infirmed people and those who care for them gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair and wearing a nasal cannula, made an unexpected appearance to greet the crowd.

Pope Francis' condition remains stable, and an X-ray showed there has been a slight improvement regarding his lingering lung infection, the Vatican press office said.

Even on his worst days in Rome's Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis was governing the Catholic Church, although on some days, he did not seem to have the energy to sign his full name, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Home from the hospital after more than five weeks, Pope Francis is showing "slight improvements" in his breathing, ability to speak and mobility, the Vatican press office said.