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Italian businessman Marcello De Finizio stands on the dome of St Peter's basilica to protest against austerity measures on May 21, 2013 at the Vatican.

A man climbed onto a ledge on the dome of St Peter's Basilica on Monday and unfurled a banner protesting against a "political horror show," an apparent reference to Italy's embattled coalition struggling with recession and high unemployment.

Identified by police as Marcello Di Finizio, the man unfurled a white banner reading "Stop this massacre!" in English, scrawled in black and red ink, with "Help us Pope Francis" in Italian.

Di Finizio, who was still on the ledge on Tuesday, has staged similar protests in the past. Last October he stayed overnight on the dome with a banner criticizing multinationals, Europe, and former Prime Minister Mario Monti. Read the full story.

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Pope Francis kisses a child after a Mass at the Vatican's St. Peter's Square as part of the Palm Sunday celebration on March 24.

By F. Brinley Bruton and Claudio Lavanga, NBC News

Pope Francis on Sunday led his first major service since his election, calling on the crowd to shun corruption and reach out to "the humble, the poor, the forgotten."

"Let us look around: How many wounds are inflicted upon humanity by evil! Wars, violence, economic conflicts that hit the weakest, greed for money, power, corruption, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation," he said.

The new pope invoked the wisdom of his grandmother and used simple language at the Palm Sunday service, which marks the start of the Holy Week of Easter in celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Pope Francis departed from his prepared text, and when he referred to wealth, said: "You can't take it with you, my grandmother used to say."

Read the full story. 

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People carry palm fronds as they arrive in St. Peter's Square.

Max Rossi / Reuters

Pope Francis uses an aspergillum to sprinkle holy water as a blessing.

Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

The faithful gather in St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis' Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican.

Slideshow: The election of Pope Francis

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Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Osservatore Romano via EPA

Pope Francis waves to the crowd at St. Peter's Square during his first Angelus prayer at the Vatican on March 17.

Max Rossi / Reuters

Newly elected Pope Francis appears at the window of his future private apartment to bless the faithful gathered below in St. Peter's Square during the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican.

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Crowds fill St. Peter's Square as live footage of Pope Francis is projected on a giant screen on March 17.

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

Women rush into St. Peter's Square to see Pope Francis give his first Angelus blessing on March 17 in Vatican City.

Osservatore Romano via Reuters

Pope Francis greets the crowds after conducting a mass in the Saint Anna Church inside the Vatican on March 17.

Slideshow: The election of Pope Francis

Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

Cardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis delivered off-the-cuff remarks instead of reading from a written speech during his first Sunday window appearance before a crowd of 150,000 in St. Peter’s Square.

Earlier in the day, he made an impromptu appearance to the public from a side gate of the Vatican, startling passersby and prompting cheers. Continue reading AP article.

Related Links:

• PHOTOS: The election of Pope Francis
• Pope Francis: His life before the papacy
• A look inside the walls of Vatican City

Osservatore Romano via Reuters

Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, checks out of the church-run residence on March 14, where he had been staying in Rome. Pope Francis returned on Thursday to the Church-run residence where he was staying before becoming pontiff, and insisted on paying the bill, despite now effectively being in charge of the business, the Vatican said.

Slideshow: Pope Francis: His life before the papacy

Marcos Brindicci / Reuters

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected to lead the Catholic Church following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. 

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By Alastair Jamieson and Claudio Lavanga, NBC News

The Latin American pope’s election shattered Europe's centuries-old grip on the papacy, and his choice of name — in honor of the 12th century saint from Assisi — is widely seen as a nod to a new era of simplicity.

Lombardi said Pope Francis declined the official papal car for his first journey from the Sistine Chapel, choosing instead to board a bus with cardinals who had just elected him.

Later, at dinner, the new pope prompted laughter by responding to their toast with the remark: "May god forgive you for what you have done."

Francis returned Thursday to the church-run hostel where he had stayed ahead of the conclave and insisted on paying the bill.

"He was concerned about giving a good example of what priests and bishops should do," a Vatican spokesman said. He did not disclose how much the bill totaled. Read more.

Story: Trading in the bus for a butler: The new pope's new lifestyle

Editor's note: NBC News received this photo on March 15

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The faithful gather in 2005 near St. Peter's to witness Pope John Paul II's body being carried into the Basilica for public viewing.

Michael Sohn / AP

St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

By Carlo Dellaverson, NBC News

In 2005, visitors packed into the expansive boulevard leading up to St. Peter’s Square as Pope John Paul II’s body was carried into the crowd for public viewing in the days following his death. Taken nearly two years before the iPhone debuted, the photo is striking now for its appearance straight out of another era.

For anyone who has ever been to a concert, the photo at bottom, taken Tuesday night as Pope Francis made his inaugural appearance on the Vatican balcony, seems almost ordinary. The two, taken together, reflect a world changing, even as some ancient traditions stay the same.

Also see:

• PHOTOS: The election of Pope Francis
• Pope Francis: His life before the papacy
• A look inside the walls of Vatican City

Emilio Morenatti / AP

A nun reacts after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

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A nun reacts as newly elected Pope Francis appears on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

Nuns react after Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis on March 13, 2013 at St Peter's square at the Vatican.

Guido Montana / EPA

Nuns show their emotions as they hear the news that a new pope has been elected as they join pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square, on March 13, 2013.

Emilio Morenatti / AP

People react after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

People talk in St Peter's Square after newly elected Pope Francis I appeared on the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

People stand in St. Peter's Square as they listen to newly elected pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who will take the name Pope Francis, on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.

Ghazi Balkiz / NBC News

A nun smiles and claps her hands at St. Peter's Square outside the Vatican in Rome as Pope Frances addresses the crowd for the first time, on March 13, 2013.

Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News writes:
As the last puffs of white smoke dissipated at the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, women religious in the United States received the news of the pope's election with a mix of surprise and hope that he would shepherd the church through its current crisis.

Read full story.

Also see:

• PHOTOS: The election of Pope Francis
• Pope Francis: His life before the papacy
• A look inside the walls of Vatican City

Emilio Morenatti / AP

A nun reacts after white smoke billowed from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel indicating that a new pope has been elected in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on March 13, 2013.

AFP - Getty Images

Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio (L), elected Pope Francis I, appearing at the window of St Peter's Basilica's balcony after being elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at the Vatican. Read the full story.

Slideshow: The election of Pope Francis

Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

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A seagull stands on the chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel, during the second day of voting for the election of a new pope at the Vatican on March 13.

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

Birds fly off the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on March 13 in Vatican City.

Birds squatting on the chimney on the Sistine Chapel have stolen the spotlight at the Vatican on Wednesday. Do they have some inside knowledge into who the next pope might be?

Related: Papal Seagull, harbinger of new pope, thrills Internet

Osservatore Romano / Reuters

Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave in order to elect a successor to Pope Benedict, in a still image taken from video at the Vatican March 12. Shut off from the outside world, the 115 cardinals will cast their ballots in a chapel which has Michelangelo's soaring Last Judgment on one wall, and his depiction of the hand of God giving life to Adam above them.

AP

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, cardinals, in red, and faithful attend a Mass for the election of a new pope celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Sodano inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 12. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There's no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems.

Slideshow: Electing a pope

Andrew Medichini / AP

Cardinals from around the world gather in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

Faithful shout slogans as Pope Benedict XVI leads the Sunday Angelus in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, Feb. 17. Pope Benedict, speaking before a larger than usual crowd at his penultimate Sunday address, asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope.

Tony Gentile / Reuters

Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful.

The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. The 85-year-old Benedict, who will resign on February 28, thanked them in several languages.
 

Speaking in Spanish, he told the crowd which the Vatican said numbered more than 50,000: "I beg you to continue praying for me and for the next pope".

-- By Philip Pullella, Reuters

Read the full story.

Updated Mach 5: Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful as he arrives in St. Peter's Square for his final general audience on Feb. 27, in Vatican City. (Christopher Furlong  / Getty Images)

Alessandro Di Meo / EPA

Lightning strikes St. Peter's basilica during a storm in the Vatican City on Feb. 11, 2013, the same day Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation.

Related:

2012 hype reborn in 'last pope' prophecy

Subtle, secretive process to choose new pope set to move quickly

The last time the pope stepped down? It's been a while

Who's next? 8 cardinal contenders who could succeed Pope Benedict