The Pope met with Portuguese  academics, artists and others involved in cultural work this morning at the Cultural Centre of Belem in Lisbon.  The Centre is the largest building with cultural facilities in Portugal. The Pope was given a brief musical performance and then greeted with a speech from Manoel de Oliveria, a renowned Portuguese ...read more

Pope Benedict celebrated the first Mass of his Apostolic Visit to Portugal this evening in Lisbon’s Terreiro do Paço. The beautiful and sacred celebration of Mass was set against the picturesque backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean. The sun was just beginning its descent as the Mass progressed with over 100 boats lining the nearby coast. ...read more

The faithful of Portugal will have a special guest when they celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima this year. From Tuesday, May 11th to Friday, May 14th, Pope Benedict XVI will journey to Portugal. He’ll mark the 93rd anniversary of the apparitions of Fátima, the 68th anniversary of consecration of the world to ...read more

On April 19, 2005 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, the popular consensus was that this would be a papacy of continuity; he would ensure that his predecessor’s line of leadership and teaching would be safeguarded. What most people didn’t take into consideration was that Cardinal Ratzinger is a very different personality than Cardinal ...read more

The Gospel for this Sunday was was John 13:31-33a, 34-35: When Judas had left them, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." ...read more

It’s a mysterious and intriguing relic widely believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. It has fascinated Christians for centuries and created controversy and debate among scientists and scholars alike in their attempts to prove and disprove its authenticity. Fact or fiction, the Holy Shroud of Turin, is a historical and scientific phenomenon. ...read more

Over the weekend, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the participants of a national conference in Rome entitled “Digital Witnesses: Faces and Languages in the Cross-Media Age”. This is not the first time that the Holy Father has addressed the double-edged sword nature of the internet and social networking. The Holy Father urged his listeners to overcome ...read more

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday.  As Fr. Rosica explained in this week’s Biblical Reflection, all three liturgical cycles for the Fourth Sunday of Easter offer “a passage from John’s Gospel about the Good Shepherd.”  Traditionally the Church has also identified this Sunday as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Pope Benedict XVI’s message ...read more

I remember rumours that white smoke had been seen, and based on that information me and my friends quickly gathered around the television to see if this was in fact the case. Yes, there was white smoke, and yes Habemus Papam! Moments later, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger emerged on the balcony as Pope Benedict XVI ...read more

Below is the Holy Father’s homily from this morning at the Granaries in Floriana, Malta. The italicized text in brackets was translated from the original Maltese. APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO MALTA Mass at the Floriana Granaries 18 April 2010 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ, [My dear sons and ...read more