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

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

By Elizabeth Krump “Keep the youth close to you: they will keep you young and faithful.” These are telling words that Blessed John Paul II shared with Fr. Thomas Rosica in the later days of his pontificate. John Paul II had a great love for all young people, until the very end of his life. There ...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

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

The following letter from the Superior General of the Society of Jesus was posted on the order’s website.in reaction to the canonization of Peter Faber. On Tuesday December 17 Pope Francis enrolled Peter Faber, SJ in the catalog of saints, performing what is known as an Equivalent Canonization.  Peter Faber was one of the companions ...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

Cardinal Fernando Filoni is the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the congregation of the curia responsible for the transmission and dissemination of the faith throughout the whole world, in particular the coordination and guidance the Church’s diverse missionary efforts and initiatives. Some may know it by its former title, the Sacred ...read more