Those who follow Pope Benedict XVI’s daily meetings are well familiar with the ad limina visits. Indeed, regular readers of the Vatican Information Service know that, quite often, the Holy Father is meeting bishops on their quinquennial summons to Rome. (Lately, the pontiff’s schedule has forced some episcopal conferences to wait seven years.) As ...read more

This morning, I asked my colleagues at H2Onews how they celebrated Carnival, the Italian pre-Lenten festival. They shrugged their shoulders. Similarly, I don’t know many Canadians who strictly observe our Shrove Tuesday pancake tradition. Worldwide, I’m guessing that the majority of us can’t find time to party before Ash Wednesday arrives. Still, signs of Carnival ...read more

I surprised even myself by succeeding to catch the 7 AM train on Sunday.  I had woken up at 5:30 AM to do so, knowing that this was my only opportunity to reach the little-known island of Ponza. The ferry website listed just one boat departing from the seaside town of Anzio each morning. My ...read more

Earlier this week I spoke with Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski at an Acton Institute-sponsored event at Rome’s Pontifical Antonianum University. The “State Financing of Catholic Schools” conference asked whether, as an extension of the recognized right to education in accord with conscience, governments were obliged to make alternative religious schools accessible to parents who can’t afford ...read more

If you’ve seen the Salt + Light documentary Mission to the UN, you’ll know that the Holy See and Italy signed the Lateran Accord 80 years ago (on February 11th, to be exact). The treaty settled the longstanding territorial dispute called the “Roman question”, which began in 1870 when Italy overwhelmed the French garrison protecting ...read more

Whenever I walk past St. Peter’s Basilica at night, I look up to see whether the lights are on in the papal apartment. As of 11:30 on Friday night, someone was still awake. I wondered whether the Pope was then tending to the Society of Saint Pius X affair, a controversy that has gathered the ...read more

At least 40 participants had filled Sant’Agnese in Agone–a relatively small, but still magnificent church on the city’s famous Piazza Navona. Even though Holy Mass was advertised to begin 9 PM, the congregation of mostly young adults was only mid-way through a rosary. (The lax schedule is of particular benefit if you get lost in ...read more

On my first day back in Rome since October, I was reminded of the many small details that differentiate this part of the world from Toronto. Even from the plane I could see the statuesque stone pines, a variety so graceful that they can be used in bonsai. I also delight in the tiny cars ...read more

  Boisterous spectators press upon security fences, necks craning for a mere glimpse of the motorcade. Even the most antagonistic press outlets momentarily withhold their cynicism. Belief in this institution having been tested by so many disappointments and scandals, the leader’s faithful now pause, smile and exhale. He’s here. This is what we all saw ...read more

My mind was already on air travel when news broke of “the Miracle on the Hudson”–last Thursday’s casualty-free crash of U.S. Airways Flight 1549. In my quest for a cheap ticket for Rome, I had been searching the airline’s website that morning. According to one source, the odds of dying in an plane accident are ...read more