Today at 6pm, Pope Benedict arrived at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin for the first Celebration of the Holy Eucharist of this year’s visit to Germany. After arriving and the traditional drive-through, the Holy Father was welcomed by the Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. The Stadium was filled to capacity, with some 70,000 people in ...read more

Today, Thursday, September 22, Pope Benedict began his first State Visit to Germany with a visit to the Bundestag, the lower house of Parliament. This is the third time that a Pope addresses a Federal Parliament: Pope John Paul II addressed the Parliaments in Warsaw and in Rome. The Holy Father reminds German politicians that ...read more

God works in a very timely manner. Thursday was no different. Late in the afternoon, word spread through the office that press tickets were available for the premiere screening of Habemus Papam at the Toronto International Film Festival. A few fellow producers and I finished our work and made our way over to the Bell ...read more

Families and young people will be the beneficiaries of the two social aid projects that will emerge from World Youth Day in Madrid, which starts on Tuesday. Madrid has been the chosen site for building a residential complex for families at risk of social exclusion. The building will have four floors and 127 homes that ...read more

Vatican and WYD launch an invitation system to get people to the event If the success of recent new social media networks is any indication, there is nothing more powerful than receiving an invitation to use a new product or attend an event. The Vatican figured that out, too. Through the Vatican’s social media website ...read more

The following is the full text of the homily of Pope Benedict XVI, preached today at the Mass of Beatification of John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square. Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI Beatification of Pope John Paul II Sunday, 1 May 2011 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Six years ago we gathered in ...read more

Pope Benedict released a flock of doves — a symbol of peace — as he consecrated the Roman parish of St. Corbinian this weekend. Likewise, he revealed that his prayers have been focused on a resolution to the escalating war in Libya. American and British forces launched airstrikes against Libya this weekend. The coalition mission, ...read more

World Youth Day pilgrims are internationally-renowned for being polite. So it must have been in hushed tones that some expressed their dissent. Not to Pope Benedict, who generated enthusiastic responses at the Cologne and Sydney events in ’05 and ’08, respectively. Nor to the selection of this year’s host city, sunny Madrid. But rather, displeasure ...read more

Who killed Jesus? From the Gospels, we know that he was crucified directly by Roman soldiers. But those who want to attribute blame for his death have drawn in a wider pool of suspects: Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish people, and all of humanity. The question of Jewish culpability in “deicide” is particularly charged, ...read more

In my hometown of Deep River, Ontario, my family was usually among the last to put up the Christmas tree. Likewise, we waited weeks before pitching our dessicated fir to the curb. It was not due to the liturgical calendar that we observed the custom later than our neighbhours. We just weren’t in much of ...read more