Pope Benedict XVI was to deliver his traditional Christmas Day greeting and Urbi et Orbi message "to the city and to the world" from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica later Thursday.

In a new Vatican exhibition, Pope Pius XII's more mundane belongings - his heavily-worn shoes and portable typewriter - have gone on show, along with World War II-era radio transcripts in which he purportedly denounced totalitarian rule, including Nazism.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated All Saints Day Saturday by urging the faithful to follow the example of the Christian martyrs and other men and women who dedicated their lives to God.

Benedict made the appeal when he delivered the noon Angelus blessing before thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square.

Top Vatican officials, citing Wednesday a new message by Pope Benedict XVI, urged European nations to show more solidarity towards refugees and immigrants from poor countries.

Pope Benedict XVI's bestselling book, Jesus of Nazareth, can help thwart the "confusion" caused by books such as US author Dan Brown's The Da Vinci code, a top Roman Catholic cleric suggested Monday.

Pope Benedict XVI said Monday that the current global market crash should teach humans not to value their career and success above all else and that money is ultimately worth

Pope Benedict XVI marked the opening of a 20-day long gathering in Rome of the world's Roman Catholic bishops, with a Mass during which he urged the faithful to read the Christian bible more closely and more frequently.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke Saturday about the "emptiness" of modern times and called for a "New Europe" in which people, especially the young, could approach the "spir