Religion

A Philadelphia artist has been commissioned to welcome the pope with a public art display. She's reinterpreting one of the pope's favorite pieces of art: a baroque painting of the Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis is set to visit a Catholic school in New York City that used to have a sponsoring church. The parish was closed in 2007 in a region that has been a traditional Catholic stronghold.

The pope will canonize 18th-century Spanish priest Junipero Serra in the U.S. later this month. But descendants of the Mission Indians in California say Serra destroyed their traditional way of life.

John Paul II urged openness during his 1998 tour of the island, but progress has been slow in the 17 years since. Pope Francis, who helped reopen U.S. relations, arrives next week.

About 40 percent of U.S. Catholics are foreign-born or the children of immigrants. The change is having profound effects, from reviving dying parishes to shifting the church's geographical center.

Villanova University students are integral to Pope Francis' U.S. social media team via the college's Vatican internship program. They were part of the launch of the papal Twitter account and the Vatican's ongoing social media efforts.

Pope Francis' upcoming visit to the U.S. has American Catholics excited — but they aren't the only ones. The pope's statements on the environment and social issues have appealed to non-Catholics, too.

John F. Kennedy's presidential bid was challenged by Protestant leaders who charged that he would be a tool of the Vatican. Concerns were widespread about Catholic leaders demanding political loyalty on issues involving church doctrine. But today, the question is whether Catholic voters and Catholic politicians still give deference to Vatican views. Does the Pope still have clout when it comes to pronouncements he makes on key issues?

The poll by the Pew Research Center finds U.S. Catholics are surprisingly open-minded about certain social issues, with majorities often holding opinions contrary to church teaching.