NPR readers of different belief systems share the poignant rituals that make them feel close to their spirituality. For some, it's poetry and gardening, for others, it's meditation and community.

In the image published online by the Holy See Press Office, the pontiff was seated in a wheelchair and praying in the private chapel of Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

Tzedek Chicago calls itself anti-Zionist congregation, meaning it does not support a Jewish nation-state.

The 88-year-old pontiff is responding well to the treatment for double pneumonia and has shown a "gradual, slight improvement" in recent days, the Vatican said Saturday.

On Ash Wednesday, Christians hear the words "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." Those words ring differently for many whose churches and homes burned in the Los Angeles fires.

Pope Francis experienced more respiratory problems and went on noninvasive ventilation on Monday, the Vatican said, as the head of the Roman Catholic Church battles double pneumonia in the hospital.

The Black Gospel Archive at Baylor University is the world's largest digital collection of gospel music. Now, it wants to collect oral histories around its rare recordings.

The Vatican says Pope Francis's condition has worsened after a breathing crisis in hospital on Friday - two weeks after he was first admitted to hospital in Rome with bronchitis.

Martin Marty, one of the foremost interpreters of religion in American public life, died on Tuesday. He was 97 years old.

Thousands of Jews left Syria in 1992, when they were allowed to emigrate. The visit by a small delegation of U.S.-based Syrian Jewish religious figures last week was their first time back since then.

You don't need to be religious to create a meaningful connection to something greater than yourself. If you're interested in examining that relationship, grab a pen and paper and answer these prompts.

The percentage of Christians in the U.S. has dropped dramatically, though that loss may have leveled off in recent years.

Francis, 88, has been in critical condition for several days and he has remained absent from several regular appearances. The church has encouraged worshippers around the world to pray for his health.

Pope Francis' condition remains critical but stable and he was able to do some work while still in the hospital with double pneumonia, the Vatican said in a Tuesday evening update.

Francis, 88, had remained in critical condition throughout the weekend after severe breathing difficulties were reported.