The man who designed the European Union flag, Arsène Heitz, was inspired by scripture and the image of Mary on the Miraculous Medal. While he never hid the fact that the flag he designed is “Our Lady’s flag”, the European Union itself has offered different explanations for the evocative design. The flag, and the EU ...read more

I am a sister of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame (CND). On April 1, 2013, I left Japan on a one-year assignment to be a member of the International Community located in the Mother House in Montreal. First, let me briefly introduce the history of the CND in Japan. It was in 1932 that five French ...read more

On November 14 – 15, 2014, the Office for English Pastoral Services (OEPS) of the Archdiocese of Montreal, along with the OEPS director and auxiliary Bishop Thomas Dowd, organized the Parish Vitality Conference in Montreal. This event has been taking place under the theme Doors Wide Open aimed at rebooting parish life! For Bishop Thomas ...read more

If there is anything that we learn from reading Scripture is that God calls people. Consistently, every story in the bible, involves a call: Abraham, Moses, Noah, Gideon, Jonah, Samuel, Ruth, Esther, Mary, Paul. Everyone gets called. God may not ‘call’ us the way He called Moses or St. Paul, or the specific way that ...read more

The Vatican bank has repatriated twenty three million euros that were frozen for more than three years, by Italian authorities. The Institute for Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, announced the repatriation of the money in a statement released November 18. The funds were unblocked in 2011 but was not repatriated because ...read more

A Doubly Beautiful Feast On this feast we, as Catholics, commemorate when our Lady dedicated herself to God entirely. One of the best quotes that illustrate the beauty of the presentation of Mary can be found on americancatholic.org. It says,   “Even though the feast has no basis in history, it stresses an important truth ...read more

Even though Michelangelo never intended you to see his drawings the Art Galley of Ontario's latest exhibit, Michelangelo: Quest for Genius which features 30 rare drawings on loan from the Casa Buonarroti, offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness genius at work. ...read more

Early on November 20, 2014, Pope Francis traveled to the headquarters of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome and delivered the following address to the Second International Conference on Nutrition. Full text below: Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased and honoured to speak here today, at this Second International Conference on ...read more

Do you love movies? Do you read film reviews? Check out current film reviews on Reel Faith with David DiCerto and Steven Greydanus, to get a Catholic perspective on the latest Hollywood releases. Watch trailers and hear what their resident film buff, Fr. Robert Lauder has to say about the Great Films chosen by the Vatican.  First ...read more

On November 23, 2014, the Feast of Christ the King, Pope Francis will canonize six blesseds and inscribe them in the roll call of Saints. These blesseds consist of two Indians and four Italians, including one layman and one bishop. The blesseds who are to be canonized on Sunday are: Kuriakose Elias Chavara: A priest and the ...read more