For those of you devoted to Cardinal John Henry Newman, you may want to circle it on your calendar. October 9th. That was the day of the Cardinal’s conversion to Catholicism in 1845. And Pope Benedict XVI is set to announce it as his feast day when he officially declares the English scholar beatified on ...read more

In less than a month Pope Benedict XVI will be landing in Great Britain. Today the Vatican released the official schedule for the trip. It won’t be the first Papal Visit to the UK; Pope John Paul II visited the UK in 1982, but his visit was strictly pastoral. Pope Benedict’s visit will be pastoral, ...read more

Thirty one thousand decades of the Rosary and one hundred and thirty days of Eucharistic adoration. That’s the amount of prayer that benefactors of the charity Aid to the Church in Need have pledged to Pope Benedict XVI. For those of you keeping count, that prayer total works out to more than six months of ...read more

Castel Gandolfo was busy yesterday as Pope Benedict XVI marked the solemnity of the Assumption. First there was the celebration of Mass at the Church of St. Thomas, located just across from the summer Papal residence.  Later in the day, the Holy Father welcomed the faithful to Castel Gandolfo for his Angelus address. Of course, ...read more

Earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged priests to become familiar with new media as a possible tool for evangelization. In light of this, the United States Conference of Bishops have released guidelines for church-personnel on how to use social media-such as blogs and Facebook pages- as part of ministry. The document said that social ...read more

After his Wednesday General Audience on July 7th, Pope Benedict traveled to Castelgandolfo to begin his summer break. The days leading up to his vacation were quite busy. Catholic News Service’s Carol Glatz and John Thavis explain, and take a look at the two months ahead, in this week’s Vatican Report. To download Flash Player ...read more

The first registrant for World Youth Day Madrid isn’t Spanish, but German. It fact, it’s Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Father registered after a meeting in Rome with Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela of Madrid and other organizers of the August 2011 event. The Pope described World Youth Day as “not just a mass gathering but ...read more

Tuesday marks the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. As always, it is also the day that Metropolitan Archbishops who have been appointed in the last 12 months receive the Pallium. The Pallium symbolizes their role as shepherds and teachers (Fr. Rosica’s offers more on the Pallium in a blog entry from 2009 HERE). This ...read more

Cor ad Cor Loquitur – Heart Speaks unto Heart. That was announced last week as the motto for Pope Benedict XVI’s September visit to the UK. The phrase is an appropriate one — it’s the motto on the coat of arms of Cardinal John Henry Newman. The Holy Father will beatify Cardinal Newman on the ...read more

The Year for Priests officially came to a close last Friday. This week in the Vatican Report, Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden and John Thavis highlight some of Pope Benedict XVI’s words during concluding events for the Year. To download Flash Player please click here – CNS photo/Paul Haring ...read more