ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- St. Augustine is working toward inviting the Pope to its 450^th birthday celebration in 2015.

St. Augustine touts to be the birthplace of Christianity, specifically Catholicism, in North America.

City leaders believe it's fitting to invite Pope Francis to the old town for the 45^th celebration.

Mayor Joseph Boles and the Catholic Church are working together to properly invite Pope Francis.

Father Tom Willis, Rector at the Cathedral Basilica in St. Augustine, said, "the protocol is simple."

The request requires President Obama to invite the Pope. First Coast News has learned the Bishop of the St. Augustine Diocese has already sent a letter to Rome, requesting that while in the U.S., he'd consider doing something to commemorate St. Augustine's 450^th anniversary.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- A St. Johns County man was convicted Friday for killing a man in the parking lot of a St. Augustine pub in 2011.

Paul Gerald Crookshank, 29, was shot at point blank range in the head by Christopher Fries outside the Giggling Gator. Fries now faces mandatory life in prison.

A St. Johns County jury deliberated an hour and a half before finding Fries, 43, guilty of first degree murder, a capital felony.

According to court documents, an employee of a neighboring business heard the two men arguing and saw Fries pull out a revolver, pointed the gun up against the victim's chin and threatened to kill Crookshank. The witness also said Crookshank had his hands up in the air and Fries had him pinned up against a fence. The employee then went back inside to call 911.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A grandmother is facing a charge of child abuse after the St. Augustine Police Department said a grandchild left in her care had purple bruising up and down her back.

Authorities said the child was at Webster Elementary School and was acting withdrawn and quiet. When staff asked the child was was wrong, the child said her back hurt. Police report that while the child was in the nurses clinic, a staff member saw 4 inch by 2 inch bruising on the child's back.

Authorities said the child told the staff member at the school that her grandmother, Debra O'Sickey, had hit her with a belt that morning.

Debra O'Sickey was arrested and placed under a $10,000 bond.