Claire Giangravé
Claire Giangravé is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Claire Giangravé

New testimony at Vatican financial trial details intrigue over key witness’s deposition
By Claire Giangravé — January 13, 2023
(RNS) — The credibility of Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, a key witness to the Vatican prosecutors in the financial mega-trial, is currently being questioned.

Cardinal George Pell, conservative force at the Vatican, dies at 81
By Claire Giangravé — January 10, 2023
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pell was praised for his forceful efforts to reform Vatican finances, but his life and career were marred in recent years due to sexual abuse allegations in his native Australia.

Benedict XVI’s quiet exit at odds with his lasting imprint on the pontificate
By Claire Giangravé — January 10, 2023
(RNS) — Many tourists and Roman citizens didn’t know the retired pope had died, despite the massive impact that his life had on the Catholic Church and the popes.

Liturgy for Benedict’s funeral Mass highlights unity in divided church
By Claire Giangravé — January 5, 2023
(RNS) — More than 50,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the emeritus pope, a smaller crowd than has attended the most recent papal funerals.

What to expect at the funeral Mass for Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI
By Claire Giangravé — January 4, 2023
(RNS) — Benedict XVI’s funeral Mass will be a first even in the centuries-old history of the Catholic Church.

Vatican releases Pope Benedict XVI’s spiritual will: ‘Stand firm in faith!’
By Claire Giangravé — December 31, 2022
RNS — The pope, known for his efforts to reconcile faith and reason, urged Catholics to hold on to their faith.

Benedict, the ‘other pope,’ dies at 95, leaving behind a unique and complex legacy
By Claire Giangravé — December 31, 2022
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign in 600 years, paved the way into the new millennium, but struggled to reconcile his traditional Catholic views with a world that he considered to be ‘under the dictatorship of relativism.’

The top 5 Vatican news stories of 2022
By Claire Giangravé — December 29, 2022
(RNS) — Amid wars and polarization, an aging Pope Francis continued to push forward his vision for the church.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI is ‘very sick,’ Pope Francis says, and asks for prayers
By Claire Giangravé — December 28, 2022
(RNS) - The 95-year-old pope emeritus' health declined in the early hours of Wednesday, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis calls Vatican prelates to conversion to fend off ‘masked evil’
By Claire Giangravé — December 22, 2022
(RNS) — The devil, even when cast away, always returns, the pope told cardinals at the Vatican.

Portraitist to the popes wishes to promote peace through her art
By Claire Giangravé — December 21, 2022
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Known as the painter of the popes, Russian-born Natalia Tsarkova also hopes to be ‘a bridge between Russia and the Vatican.’

Pope Francis reflects on his pontificate and legacy in latest interviews
By Claire Giangravé — December 19, 2022
(RNS) — Pope Francis said he has already signed his renunciation if he were unable to act as pope due to health issues or an accident.

Synod’s main themes come into focus as it enters its continental stage
By Claire Giangravé — December 16, 2022
(RNS) — From the participation of lay faithful to the role of bishops’ conferences, the synod on synodality reconsiders ecclesial structures for the new millennium.

‘Silence is golden’: Vatican archivist defends Pope Pius XII’s response to the Holocaust
By Claire Giangravé — December 8, 2022
(RNS) — Vatican archivist Johan Ickx claims that Pius instructed clergy to save the Jews from the Nazis, while failing to provide proof.

Pope unveils Vatican Christmas tree, urging Christians to ‘stay rooted’ in Jesus
By Claire Giangravé — December 5, 2022
(RNS) — With its humility, the nativity scene is a reminder to step away from a 'consumeristic and commercial' Christmas, the pope said.
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