VATICAN CITY (AP) — For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, it's the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, it's the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

Tens of thousands of people packed St. Peter’s Square when Pope Benedict XVI gave his final Sunday prayer in 2013 before becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, it’s the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter’s ...

FILE- Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Credit: AP ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, it’s the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter’s ...

For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, it’s the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.. The new pope ...

The history of the pope’s Sunday blessing. In 1954, which he had declared a special year of veneration to the Virgin Mary, Pope Pius XII started reciting in public a traditional Catholic midday ...

FILE – Pope Francis gestures on the first Sunday window appearance of his papacy to pray the Angelus and bless the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 17, 2013.