Consider the case of Pope Pius XI nearly a century ago. Historian David Kertzer, author of “The Pope At War,” discovered that the ailing Pope Pius XI wrote a speech condemning Italian leader ...

But the Nazis quickly violated its articles. In Lent 1937 Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical "Mit brennender Sorge" (With burning sorrow) with the help of German bishops and Cardinal Pacelli ...

Built on land donated by Pope Pius XI to the theologian and physician Agostino Gemelli in 1934, it has become known as the "Pope's Hospital." John Paul II even nicknamed it "Vatican Three," with St ...

Of those popes, Francis has the ninth-longest papacy so far.Over the past 200 years, the longest papacy reign was that of Pope Pius IX, who served over 31 years from 1846 to 1878. The shortest was ...

March 13, 2025, marks Francis' 12th anniversary as pope. He holds the ninth longest papacy of the past 200 years.