Father Karol Wojtyla is pictured next to bicycles during an outing in Poland in the early 1950s. His strong interest in outdoor activities continued through his years as Pope John Paul II, until the effects of age kept him away from strenuous pursuits.  Pope John Paul together with Pope John XXIII will be declared saints ...read more

Pope John Paul II appears from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election Oct. 16, 1978. The pope, who died April 2, 2005, will be canonized at the Vatican April 27, 2014.(CNS file photo)  ...read more

On Saturday, February 22nd, 2014, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Francis presided his first ordinary public consistory, creating nineteen new cardinals. Sixteen of them are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to choose the next successor of St Peter. These men reflect the universal nature ...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

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

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

Pope Benedict XVI gave the following homily at an ecumenical prayer service in Erfurt, Germany during his last papal visit to that country in 2011. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through them” (Jn 17:20). According ...read more

On December 31, 2013, Pope Francis prayed year-end Vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica. Vespers began at 5 PM  with Pope Francis presiding over the prayers that constitute the Church’s official, public praise of God in the evening of the last day of the year, to be followed by the singing of the great hymn of ...read more

 Pope Francis offered New Year’s greetings of peace Wednesday to the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to recite with the Holy Father the Angelus prayer at the start of 2014. The Pope said his wishes for the new year are “those of the Church:” Christian wishes that put Jesus Christ ...read more

In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis writes, “I am mission on this earth” [EG 273]. That phrase really stuck with me, partly because I was on my way down to Maracaibo, Venezuela for the 4th Missionary Congress of the Americas (Cam 4) and the 9th Latin American Missionary Congress (Comla 9). In ...read more