As many as one million people turned out to see Pope Benedict during his four-day trip to Portugal last week. Catholic News Service’s Carol Glatz and John Thavis take a look at the Holy Father’s second Apostolic Voyage of 2010. To download Flash Player please click here The trip to Portugal was also the topic ...read more

It was an early start Thursday morning for me. Day three of the Holy Father’s visit to Portugal, and perhaps the pinnacle of the trip: Holy Mass at Fatima on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.  Up shortly after 2am, I was in the office just before 4am.  These Apostolic Voyages in different timezones ...read more

At a meeting at Fatima’s “Casa Nossa Senhora do Carmo” today, Pope Benedict encouraged his brother bishops to be “first evangelizers.” This role calls on Bishops to: … understand the diverse social and cultural factors, to evaluate their spiritual deficiencies and to utilize effectively your pastoral resources; what is decisive, however, is the ability to ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI has told 9000 representatives of pastoral and social organizations in Portugal that defending life and marriage is essential to building the civilization of love. The groups gathered at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Fatima today. The Holy Father expressed his “deep appreciation” for the initiatives that combat the: … ...read more

As many as 40-thousand pilgrims gathered at the Esplanade of the Shrine of Fatima to pray the rosary with Pope Benedict XVI.  A sea of candles pierced the dark Fatima sky as the Holy Father led in the recitation of the glorious mysteries.  He was providing an excellent witness of prayer; an act that he ...read more

The faithful of Portugal will have a special guest when they celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima this year. From Tuesday, May 11th to Friday, May 14th, Pope Benedict XVI will journey to Portugal. He’ll mark the 93rd anniversary of the apparitions of Fátima, the 68th anniversary of consecration of the world to ...read more

Monday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York initiated a National Prayer Campaign for Life in the United States. The initiative is co-sponsored by the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus. The announcement came as part of a memorial Mass for John Cardinal O’Connor, a former ...read more

In the mid-1980s, Cardinal John O’Connor visited the Dachau concentration camp. Overwhelmed by the horrors that occurred there, he vowed to do all he could to protect and promote the sacredness of human life. This led him to be a champion of life, in word and action; including the establishment of the Sisters of Life. ...read more

Last week Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the fifth year of his pontificate. What does the future hold? Catholic News Service’s Carol Glatz and John Thavis look ahead in this week’s Vatican Report. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re one of the 1.166 billion Catholics in the world. 1.166 billion! According to the Vatican Publishing House that is the world Catholic population. The numbers have been published in the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, and the data is based on the time period between the years 2000 ...read more