Today in Madrid WYD organizers confirmed the “extra” events on the Pope Benedict XVI's agenda during the event. ...read more

The Diocese of Rome has launched a new website for the beatification of John Paul II. Catholic News Service’s Rome correspondent Cindy Wooden reports on this and other news at the Vatican for February 8th. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

Reporting for S+L, I enjoy a unique vantage point of the subjects we cover. Only once did I feel uncomfortably close to the story. It was during my last assignment in Rome that I met journalist Matt Baglio, who had just released a book titled “The Rite”. Baglio documents his experiences accompanying a priest who ...read more

Pope Benedict addressed the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education today. Among the topics discussed: the internet and seminary formation. Catholic News Service’s Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis has more on this, as well as the Pope’s comments on Egypt, and an American Cardinal takes his titular Church in Rome. To download Flash ...read more

A few days back, Fr. Tom sent around this article from Catholic News Service. The article presents an overview of a recent conference at Fordham University. The goal of the conference was to come up with ways of reaching the Church’s “20-somethings” in order to better meet their (our) needs. For a few reasons, some which ...read more

This Sunday is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary time and around the world, parishioners will hear a Gospel message that is a favourite for us here at S+L. People have gathered around Jesus - Matthew says that it’s on a hillside – and Jesus is teaching the people. He has just told them about how blessed the poor are and how they should rejoice because the Kingdom of heaven is theirs. He then looks at them intensely and says: “You are the salt of the earth; what good is salt if it has lost its taste? And what good is a light if it’s hidden under a basket? You are the light of the world…” ...read more

It was 9pm on a Wednesday evening when I finally arrived in Madrid. Superficially most cosmopolitan cities in developed nations look similar: a main thoroughfare leading into and out of the city, some tall building, billboards, neon signs on top of buildings and the like. What struck me about Madrid’s skyline were two things. First ...read more

General Audience, and the Christmas season comes to an end with the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Catholic News Service’s John Thavis takes a look at happenings at the Vatican for February 2nd, which includes an unexpected greeting for the Holy Father. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

Pilgrims have been walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage for over 1000 years. Its history and significance make it a spiritual epicentre for the Christian faith after Jerusalem and Rome. Tonight’s episode of Catholic Focus features stories of modern pilgrims who have walked one of the longest pilgrimages in the history of the Christian faith ...read more

Since 1997, the Church has celebrated February 2nd, the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, as the World Day for Consecrated Life. In a 2010 homily, Pope Benedict said that the presentation is the “model for every man and woman who consecrate their life totally to the Lord.”  He explained that the purpose of ...read more