VATICAN CITY (AP) — How’s Pope Francis doing? Can you give him my get-well wishes? Can I speak with him directly?
The nuns who operate the Vatican’s switchboard are fielding a growing number of calls with questions like that as the pope remains hospitalized in Rome.
“They feel like children waiting to know about their father,” said Sister Anthony, who runs the operation in a spartan office steps away from St. Peter’s. Basilica. “We tell them to pray for him.”
The Vatican’s central number is public — and the sisters of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master make sure all who call it get a real person, not the “press 1 for English, 2 for Latin” version of the automation that’s become the norm at major institutions and businesses worldwide.
“It’s the Vatican’s voice — a voice that despite the digitalization of communications, the Vatican wants to preserve as a human voice,” said Mother Micaela, the order’s mother superior.
The Pious Disciples sisters are part of the 100-year-old Pauline orders, which are focused on communications, including landmark Catholic publishing operations around the world. In spring 1970, they were called to operate the Vatican switchboard and instructed by the then-mother superior to be “a voice that does good because through the phone wire it communicates Christ himself.”
Today, often with headsets over their veils, the sisters cover the phones for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, in front of large monitors that show the incoming call's country of origin. Gendarmes, the Vatican’s police, take the night shift.
About a dozen sisters hailing from Italy, the Philippines, Poland and elsewhere take calls from around the world, predominantly in Italian, English and Spanish.
Many callers just need to be directed to the right Vatican office or official, and the sisters oblige with the aid of massive yearbooks and directories, as well as a solid knowledge of protocols and a hefty dose of discretion, Sister Anthony said.
Those who call asking for financial help are put through to the Vatican almoner’s office, which has provided aid recently to victims of war in Ukraine, floods in Brazil, and homelessness in Naples in southern Italy.
On a recent afternoon, standing by her office chair decorated with a flower-embroidered pillow, Sister Gabriella took a call from a priest inquiring about jointly celebrating a Mass with other priests as part of his jubilee pilgrimage. Since 2025 is a Holy Year for the Catholic Church, with 32 million pilgrims projected to visit Rome, related calls make up a large part of the 50-70 queries the nuns answer daily.
But then there are callers with questions the sisters can’t just look up or patch through — those in distress or angry or hopeless.
“We never get a call that’s the same as the previous one,” said Sister Simona, who’s worked the switchboard for 15 years.
Francis has built a reputation for eschewing formalities — from his way of dressing to his personal outreach to the poor and marginalized before his hospitalization — that projects more parish priest than head of state and leader of a global religion with 1.4 billion followers.
So some callers ask the nuns to just put him on the line.
“People of simple faith don’t understand that the pope cannot speak with everyone,” Sister Gabriella said.
Others need counseling or comfort. The sisters try to provide it within the boundaries of limited time and not being misconstrued as official Vatican spokespeople.
“But if I can give consolation or hope, I think that’s OK,” said Sister Anthony, who came to the Vatican a year ago from her native Philippines, where she was a provincial superior. “Some calls are very triggering.”
Among those calling with concerns about the pope recently was a woman who told Sister Anthony that she is Muslim but likes Francis, and wanted to inquire about his health.
“That’s very impressive for me,” the sister recalled, while adding that some callers are far less friendly. “Others are angry with the church, so we listen respectfully.”
Across the spectrum of callers, the sisters say they’re particularly happy to provide a woman’s touch.
“Pope Francis often reminds that the church is a mother,” Mother Micaela said. “And to be this voice, this sensibility, this feminine approach gives a sense of reliability.”
About 1,100 women, religious and lay, work at the Vatican. Francis has recently named a few to top posts, even though the priesthood and deaconate — and thus the majority of the church hierarchy — remain exclusively male.
The switchboard sisters find pride in both their unseen service and the increasing visibility of women at the Vatican.
“For me it’s a blessing to be in one community with the pope and serving the universal church,” Sister Anthony said. “Knowing there are more responsibilities for women, we feel very empowered.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
FILE - Pope Francis shares a light moment with "Telefono Amico" support hotline president Dario Briccola during an audience at the Vatican Saturday, March 11, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, saying it was hitting Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January.
The strikes killed more than 320 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.
Hamas warned that Israel’s new airstrikes breached their ceasefire and put the fate of hostages in jeopardy.
The surprise attack shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza.
Here's the latest:
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says he is “shocked” by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and has called for the ceasefire in Gaza to be respected.
Guterres, in a statement, called for humanitarian aid to resume for people in Gaza and for the hostages held by Hamas to be released unconditionally.
Freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari says her “heart is broken, crushed and disappointed” by the resumption of fighting in Gaza. In a story on Instagram shared by Israeli media, she said she would keep fighting for the remaining hostages.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli strikes across the territory have killed at least 326 people. The wave of strikes that began early Tuesday is among the deadliest since the start of the 17-month war.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the ceasefire to be maintained following Israel’s attack on Gaza.
“There’s already been enormous suffering there, which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place,” Albanese told reporters.
“We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region,” he added.
An Israeli airstrike flattened a prison run by the Hamas-led government in Gaza Strip, killing dozens of prisoners and policemen, according to hospital records.
The prison was located in the urban Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. Associated Press footage showed a collapsed building and people trying to reach bodies buried under the rubble.
The bodies of more than three dozen prisoners and guards were taken to the nearby Shifa hospital.
The Hamas-run government operates a police force that numbered in the tens of thousands before the war and quickly returned to the streets after a ceasefire took hold in January.
The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza and move toward the center of the territory after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes across the territory.
The orders issued Tuesday indicate Israel could launch renewed ground operations.
The Hamas-run Education Ministry in the Gaza Strip says classes have been suspended in dozens of schools that had recently reopened.
The decision came after Israel launched a wave of heavy airstrikes across Gaza early Tuesday, shattering a nearly two-month ceasefire.
Schools shut down across Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war, and most were converted to shelters for displaced people.
The ministry said it had resumed classes in around 70 schools in recent weeks.
A United Nations staffer in the Gaza Strip described a “very tough night” as Israel resumed heavy strikes across the territory after a nearly two-month ceasefire.
Rosalia Bollen, a communications specialist with the U.N. children’s agency, said she woke up around 2 a.m. on Tuesday to “very loud explosions.”
She said the UNICEF bass near the southern city of Rafah “was shaking very heavily.” When the strikes subsided, she heard “people yelling, people screaming and ambulances.”
“The bombardments have continued throughout the night,” though at a lower intensity than the initial barrage, she said. “The whole night, there’s been just the constant buzzing of drones and planes flying over.”
She said the strikes hit tents and structures housing displaced families. “We’re seeing, as of this morning, at least several dozen children killed,” she said.
The main group representing the families of hostages held in Gaza has slammed the decision to return to fighting, saying the move shows the government “chose to give up on the hostages.”
The Hostages Families Forum said “military pressure endangers hostages.” It asked the government in a post on X why it “backed out of the agreement” with Hamas that set out a release of all the living hostages in exchange for an end to the war.
“We are shocked, angry, and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the group said.
A key governing partner of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the return to fighting in Gaza.
Bezalel Smotrich had threatened to leave the government if fighting did not resume, which would imperil Netanyahu’s rule. Critics said those political considerations were influencing Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making.
“We remained in the government for this moment despite our opposition to the (ceasefire) deal, and we are more determined than ever to complete the task and destroy Hamas,” Smotrich posted on X.
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 235 people, according to local hospitals.
The toll from the strikes overnight and into Tuesday is based on records from seven hospitals and does not include bodies brought to other, smaller health centers.
Rescuers are still searching for dead and wounded.
North Korea has criticized the United States over its new campaign of airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The state-run KCNA news agency on Tuesday quoted Ma Tong Hui, North Korea’s ambassador to Egypt and concurrently to Yemen, as describing the attacks as a “wanton violation of all international laws including the U.N. Charter and it is an open encroachment upon the sovereignty of other nation that can never be justified.”
He also criticized “U.S. hooliganism.”
Trump during his first term held summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but the diplomacy collapsed over disagreements on US sanctions.
A senior Hamas official says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to launch widespread strikes on the Gaza Strip amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages held there.
In a statement early Tuesday, Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, accused Netanyahu of resuming the war to try and save his far-right governing coalition.
“Netanyahu’s decision to return to war is a decision to sacrifice the (Israeli) occupation’s captives and a death sentence against them,” he said.
He said Israel didn’t respect its commitments in the ceasefire deal reached in January and urged mediators to “reveal facts” on which side broke the agreement.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the militant group “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading mediation efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, had earlier warned that Hamas must release living hostages immediately “or pay a severe price.”
Israeli officials said the latest operation was open-ended and was expected to expand.
“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the “Trump administration and the White House were consulted by the Israelis on their attacks in Gaza tonight.”
“As President Trump has made it clear, Hamas, the Houthis, Iran — all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel, but also the United States of America — will see a price to pay: All hell will break lose,” Leavitt continued, speaking to Fox News on Monday evening.
Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
The bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli army airstrikes is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army airstrikes are brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli army airstrikes is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A dead person killed during an Israeli army strike is taken into the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday March 18, 2025.(AP Photo/ Mohammad Jahjouh)
Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians walk surrounded by the rubble of destroyed homes and building in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
