Access to Pope Francis Yields 68,000 Photos

Pope Francis makes a spontaneous, unscheduled visit to the Sistine Chapel on Christmas Day, right after his address to the crowd in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis laughs at a comment from a visitor at one of his crowded general audiences in St. Peter’s Square, held on Wednesdays when he is at the Vatican.

The pope leaves an entrance of the Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican guesthouse where he took a modest apartment, rejecting the more sumptuous official residence in the Apostolic Palace.

Francis greets the Roman Curia, Vatican officials who run the Roman Catholic Church, in Sala Clementina. In 2014, he blasted some in the hierarchy for “spiritual Alzheimer’s.”

The pope blesses the womb of a pregnant woman who was among the recent brides gathered in St. Peter’s Square to receive a papal benediction.

A bishop crouches to greet the pope as he enters a meeting of bishops and cardinals to discuss issues related to family life, such as marriage and divorce.

Inside a Vatican auditorium, Francis, who was once the archbishop of Buenos Aires, meets with United Nations troops from his native Argentina at a general audience.

Francis greets his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict, at a holy mass marking the end of a synod of bishops focused on the family and celebrating the beatification of Pope Paul VI.

Boys from the Sistine Chapel Choir view the tomb of St. Peter under the altar in St. Peter's Basilica after singing during a special service in the crypt on the day after All Saint's Day.

Pope Francis welcomes pilgrims at a general audience in Vatican City. Since the election of the popular pope, attendance at the weekly events has swelled.

Standing on a Vatican balcony, Francis addresses the throngs in St. Peter's Square during the traditional papal "Urbi et Orbi" address on Christmas Day.