Vatican announces restoration of chapel with 2 Michelangelo frescoes completed

September 23rd, 2009 Vatican bank has new chairmanVATICAN CITY — The Vatican has named an Italian economist as the chairman of its bank. The Vatican said Wednesday that Ettore Gotti Tedeschi replaces Angelo Caloia at the helm of the bank, formally known as the Institute for the Works of Religion.

September 17th, 2009 Vatican sees end to tensions with Russian OrthodoxVATICAN CITY — Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have vastly improved, possibly paving the way for a papal visit to Moscow or a historic meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch outside of Russia or the Vatican, a senior Vatican cardinal said Thursday. Cardinal Walter Kasper told Vatican Radio "we have overcome all the tensions in recent years." He spoke after meeting with Archbishop Hilarion, head of external relations for the Moscow patriarch's office.

September 8th, 2009 Vatican museums to stay open at night through Oct.VATICAN CITY — The Vatican says Friday nights at its museums have been a great success, so it is extending the initiative to include September and October. The Vatican Museums, which include a visit to the Sistine Chapel, are jammed by tourists during the daytime, so this summer they opened the doors on an experimental basis on July 24.

August 28th, 2009 Vatican: Berlusconi cancels L'Aquila visitVATICAN CITY — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi who is embroiled in a sex scandal has canceled a visit to L'Aquila for a religious service for the remission of sins. Berlusconi was supposed to have participated in the observation Friday alongside Vatican No.

August 18th, 2009 Vatican extends museum nights through OctoberVATICAN CITY — The Vatican says Friday nights at its museums have been a great success and will be extended through September and October. The Vatican Museums, which include a visit to the Sistine Chapel, are jammed by tourists during the daytime.

August 17th, 2009 Catholic sisters under Vatican review want answersSILVER SPRING, Md. — A group representing Roman Catholic sisters in the United States is raising concerns about why the Vatican is investigating them and who is funding the inquiry.

July 10th, 2009 Obama meets with Pope Benedict XVIVATICAN CITY — President Barack Obama is meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Shaking hands with the pope, Obama said it was "a great honor" to meet him.

July 10th, 2009 Obama at Vatican to meet with Pope Benedict XVIVATICAN CITY — President Barack Obama has arrived at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Obama's motorcade arrived at the Holy See on Friday, greeted by Swiss Guards in their colorful uniforms.

July 5th, 2009 Russian president: We want better Vatican tiesVATICAN CITY — Russia's president says Moscow plans to improve its ties with the Vatican. Tensions between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches over property disputes and other issues have so far made it impossible for any pope to visit Moscow.

July 4th, 2009 Vatican runs deficit amid economic crisisVATICAN CITY — The Vatican said Saturday it ran a deficit in 2008 as its finances and donations from across the world were hit by the global economic crisis. The Vatican posted a budget deficit for a second straight year, though the figures improved strongly from 2007.

July 2nd, 2009 Possible Michelangelo self-portrait revealedVATICAN CITY — The restoration of Michelangelo's frescoes in the Vatican's Pauline Chapel may have produced a special prize — a previously unknown self-portrait of the artist. Chief Vatican restorer Maurizio De Luca said Thursday that the face of a man on horseback in the artist's "The Crucifixion of St.

July 1st, 2009 Controversial Brazilian bishop retiresVATICAN CITY — The Vatican has announced the retirement of a Brazilian archbishop who caused a major stir when he declared that those involved in an abortion for a 9-year-old rape victim were excommunicated. The Vatican said Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted the resignation submitted for reasons of age of 76-year-old Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of Olinda and Recife.

June 16th, 2009 Pope taps Ranjith to head Colombo archdioceseVATICAN CITY — The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI has named a Vatican official, Monsignor Albert Malcolm Ranjith, to head the Colombo, Sri Lanka archdiocese. Ranjith takes the seat from the retiring Archbishop Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis at a delicate time in Sri Lanka's history, with a brutal 25-year civil war between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels ending last month.

May 6th, 2009 Vatican Swiss Guards consider opening to womenVATICAN CITY — The Vatican's Swiss Guards swore in 32 new recruits Wednesday amid suggestions from their new commander that women might one day join their ranks. Col. Daniel Anrig said Tuesday he was open to the idea of women serving in the elite, 500-year-old papal security force, reversing the long-held position of his predecessors.

April 22nd, 2009 Vatican to help restore art damaged in Italy quakeVATICAN CITY — The Vatican will help restore paintings, statues and other artworks damaged in the earthquake that devastated central earlier this month. Francesco Buranelli, a top culture official at the Holy See, said experts from the Vatican museums will directly restore some of the works.