Pope Benedict XVI on Monday sang along to the anthem of his native Bavaria in Germany to celebrate his 85th birthday, which makes him the oldest pope since Leo XIII who died in 1903 aged 93.

The pope

A top Vatican cardinal with a passion for shooting defended his rich collection of rifles and handguns in comments on Thursday to Italian newspapers that have already dubbed him ‘Cardinal Rambo.’

"Th

The pope can't cook but knows how to wash dishes following dinner and practices addresses with a tape recorder, according to his older brother.

Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Rat

Benedict XVI sets off for Mexico and Cuba this week, hoping to win over followers in a region with the largest concentration of Catholics, but where some critics say he has neglected them.

While the

A fake twitter message ascribed to a top cardinal on Thursday announced the death of the pope, a report immediately denied by the Vatican spokesman.

The message, in Italian, said to have been tweeted

Members of the amorphous hacking group Anonymous say they have taken down the Vatican website to protest everything from Catholic doctrine to the sexual abuse of children.

The site, www.vatican.va,

An Indian cardinal on Tuesday urged local authorities in Kerala not to take 'precipitate action' in a row between Italy and India and warned the opposition against trying 'to exploit the situation'.

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday put his stamp of authority on the body that will elect his successor as he appointed 22 new cardinals at a time of roiling tensions in the Vatican administration.

The 84

Pope Benedict XVI could be the target of an assassination plot, according to a document published on Friday by the Il Fatto Quotidiano daily which the Vatican dismissed as "delirious".

The newspaper

A pair of doves seemed to prefer the company of Pope Benedict XVI to the great outdoors on Sunday when he had trouble convincing them to take flight in a traditional peace gesture.

The first dove hes