Italy

By Sabina Castelfranco reporting from Rome ROME, ITALY (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Benedict delivered his traditional Christmas Day "blessing" Friday, December 25, just hours after being knocked to the ground by a woman at the start of Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican said the 82-year-old Benedict XVI was unhurt and that his busy Christmas schedule would remain unchanged.

By Stefan J. Bos Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with reporting from Jerusalem and RomeJERUSALEM/ROME (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The man claiming to be the Messiah miraculously appeared before his friends and followers Sunday, April 1, after He died at a cross on Golgotha hill near Jerusalem's walls.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife at BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with reporting from Italy ROME/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- The Vatican and several Italian church leaders expressed their pain Tuesday, February 10, about the sudden death of a 38-year-old woman who ignited a fierce right-to-die debate that divided Italy.

By BosNewsLife News Center with additional reports from Rome, Vatican City and reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ROME/VATICAN CITY/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- As the doors closed and the Swiss Guards left his summer residence, Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to retire in some 600 years, following a moving farewell address to thousands in which he urged the Catholic Church to remain united in one of the most challenging times in its history.

By Philippa Hitchen reporting from Vatican City VATICAN CITY/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- Rome's most famous landmark, the Colosseum, will be lit up in red on Saturday, February 24, as a sign of solidarity with all those facing persecution for their faith. They include a Pakistani mother of five on death row who is expected to be released soon amid international pressure, family and organizers said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with additional reporting from Vatican and BosNewsLife Research VATICAN CITY (BosNewsLife)-- Pope Benedict XVI, who oversaw the Catholic Church through nearly eight turbulent years, says he will resign on February 28 because of health reasons. "Before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are [no] longer suited to an adequate exercise" of his position as head of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics, he said in a statement Monday, February 11.

By BosNewsLife News Center ASMARA/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- Christian rights activists have expressed concerns over the alleged international efforts by Eritrea's government to intimidate opponents of its policies, after an Italian human rights defender was seriously injured when Eritrean government supporters apparently threw rocks and bottles at her during a demonstration in Rome.

By BosNewsLife News Center ROME, ITALY (BosNewsLife)-- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canceled a trip to Russia and declared a state of emergency after a powerful early morning earthquake in central Italy killed scores of people and left many people injured and tens of thousands of people homeless.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- For the first time in nearly 1,000 years bone fragments of Saint Nicholas, one of the Russian Orthodox Church's most revered figures, have been moved from an Italian church to Russia where huge crowds of Orthodox faithful were expected to visit the relics. The historic move follows talks between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service KHARTOUM/ROME (BosNewsLife)-- A Sudanese mother who was spared a death sentence for refusing to renounce Christianity has been flown to Italy, after more than a month in the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Italian officials confirmed Thursday, July 24.