BLOG: Advent and Christmas,Pope Francis
By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When the freshly named patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, chose 37-year-old Father Loris Capovilla as his private secretary in 1953, a skeptical adviser told the cardinal that the priest looked too sickly to bear the strain of his new job. “Then he’ll die ...read more
By Raymond Syms Catholic News Service PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (CNS) — Even as he prepares to receive a red biretta from the hands of Pope Francis, Cardinal-designate Kelvin Felix hopes he can continue his ministry as a “country parish priest.” But he admitted he may have a few new assignments from Pope ...read more
  By Ezra Fieser Catholic News Service SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — In naming Spanish Archbishop Fernando Sebastian Aguilar a cardinal, Pope Francis chose an outspoken leader who played an important role in developing the positions of the Spanish church over a career that has spanned six decades. At 84, Cardinal-designate Sebastian, retired archbishop ...read more
SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) — When a cardinal dons his red robes for the first time and is given his red hat, he usually is reminded that the color of the vestments is a call to devote himself completely to Christ and his church, even to the point of shedding his blood if necessary. For ...read more
It’s been a year since Pope Benedict shocked the world by announcing his resignation, and so much has happened since: At not even a year of Pope Francis’ papacy it’s almost as if he’s been Pope forever. Join Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB as he looks back at the historic events of the last year in ...read more
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (CNS) — Ivory’s Coast’s new cardinal is confident his nomination will advance peace after a decade of conflict and instability in the French-speaking West African country. “I ask God to give me the grace of strength, so I can work on the different personal encounters we’ve already begun and continue them until ...read more
By Simone Orendain Catholic News Service MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — The Philippines’ newly named cardinal works in the heart of the country’s Muslim region, and Muslims as well as Catholics praised him and his work. The chief peace negotiator of the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose administrative camp is on ...read more
  By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When Cardinal-designate Beniamino Stella joins the College of Cardinals Feb. 22, he will bring with him decades of experience working in developing nations and handling highly-charged situations of conflict. Twenty years working as a papal nuncio and six years serving as head of the ...read more
A year ago, perhaps this was not the question most people asked themselves. But today we ask, where were you on February 11th, 2013, the day Pope Benedict made the historic announcement that he would be retiring? Today, a year later we seem to have gotten used to a new Pope. It seems that Pope ...read more
By Lise Alves Catholic News Service SAO PAULO (CNS) — Cardinal-designate Orani Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro said he was surprised that Pope Francis named him a cardinal, but friends and thousands of Brazilian Catholics saw it coming. At the end of World Youth Day in July in Rio de Janeiro, several Brazilian newspapers and ...read more