Christian Riesbeck was born in Montreal on February 7, 1970. He grew up in Ottawa, specialized in Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa, and pursued studies for the priesthood in the Companions of the Cross. Ordained to the priesthood in 1996, he did pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Kingston as well as in ...read more

Brother Emile first heard of Taizé in 1974 in his small hometown in Northern Ontario where there was not much to interest young people in Christianity. Accepting an invitation to visit the little community tucked in Burgandy, France, he rediscovered the Christian faith that had been part of his childhood, but that he had abandoned ...read more

Tomorrow,  April 2 we celebrate the 9th anniversary of the death of Bl. Pope John Paul II. The next day, is day-one of this year’s John Paul II International Film Festival, which has been taking place every year since 2009 in Miami, Florida. The inter-faith Festival is inspired by Pope John Paul II’s invitation to ...read more

Above is the video of Pope Francis’ homily from Friday’s Penitential Service, with Vatican Radio translation. ...read more

  The Vatican, the Anglican Communion, the Al Azhar Mosque and the Walk Free Foundation have joined forces to eliminate slavery and human trafficking by the end of the decade. The four parties launched the Global Freedom Network this week at the Vatican. The network aims to get 162 governments commit to endorse it and ...read more

Sister Marianne Cope (formerly Barbara Koob) was born January 23, 1838 and baptized the following day in what is now Hessen, West Germany. The young Sister Marianne worked as a teacher and hospital administrator in New York. In 1870, she was elected superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. Seven years later she became second ...read more

Below is the full text of the catechesis by Maria Voce, leader of the Focolare Movement, as delivered on Day 2 of the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland. Communion in one Baptism Ten years ago I visited Ireland for the first time. I came to be with a dear friend, Lieta Betoño, who ...read more

The following is the full text of the catechesis talk given by Brother Alois, Prior of the Taizé Community, at the Internation Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland in 2012 Passion for the Unity of the Body of Christ Presented by Brother Alois, Prior of the Taizé Community The Christ of Communion The first day of this ...read more

For the past ten years my Christmas begins and ends with the noise and frenzy of an airport, the fuss associated with air travel, and the grogginess of jet lag. It is filled with the excitement of counting down to the days “till I fly home” and then the bittersweet countdown to the day I ...read more

I think the reason we love the Christmas season is because it evokes so many memories from our childhood, whether it’s playing board games, decorating the Christmas tree, singing carols, or just the excitement of a visit from Santa that sparks feelings of generosity and thankfulness in everyone.  But doesn’t it seem like there was ...read more