Sebastian Gomes, Salt + Light writer/producer/director of The Francis Effect, gives us a glimpse into filming the documentary: In the immediate aftermath of the whirlwind 2013 papal transition, everyone was comparing Pope Francis to Pope Benedict, pointing out the many differences and similarities between them. Naturally, nearly all of this commentary was coming from indirect sources, ...read more

  On Sept. 9, 2014, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia unveiled the official icon and prayer of the World Meeting of Families, to take place in Philadelphia in September of 2015. The unveiling took place at the heart of the Archdiocese, the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul, during the Sunday mass, celebrated and blessed ...read more

The Church Up Close is a professional seminar for journalists. The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce) in Rome is offering the fourth edition of its intensive one-week Seminar in English, called The Church Up Close: Covering Catholicism in the Age of Francis. The Seminar, which takes place from Sept. ...read more

Does our religious perspective inform our political perspective, or is it the other way around?  On episode six of The Church Alive: Politics, Cheridan and Sebastian take a closer look at this timely question.  What has become apparent in our culture is the degree to which some Catholics are willing to ignore – or even subvert ...read more

Protruding from the mountainside town of Assisi is the medieval Basilica of Saint Francis. From a distance the basilica looks almost as big as the town itself; a simultaneous testament to the Saint’s widespread influence and modest origins. Still, the basilica is what most moderns would expect from an important medieval church: majesty, stunning architecture ...read more

At a crucial moment in the history of the church and of the world, humanity stands at a crossroads.  We are more technologically and economically advanced than ever before, yet global development and the distribution of resources remains a struggle.  In recent history we have witnessed the ravages of war between nations and peoples, yet ...read more

“Lift high the Cross, the love of Christ proclaim…” That’s a song we all know, but what does it mean? Why do we lift high the Cross? This coming Sunday is the feast of the Triumph of the Cross, also called the Exaltation of the Cross. Did you know that we celebrate this feast? Have ...read more

Cheridan Sanders interviews a young parishioner at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels in Chicago, IL. Why don’t more people attend mass regularly? It’s something I ponder whenever I find myself surrounded by empty pews. Interestingly, the answer came to me when S+L camerman Dave LeRoss, producer Sebastian Gomes, and I were in ...read more

For the past year Catholics across North America and beyond have been watching The Church Alive series in their homes, parishes and schools.  Salt and Light is proud to announce that the award winning series on the New Evangelization is now available on DVD, in time for the 2014-2015 academic year. Included in the package ...read more

Regardless of background, ethnicity or faith tradition, almost everyone in our society today would argue that education is important.  We all acknowledge that becoming an “educated” person is worthwhile.  We spend a huge portion of our earnings and savings (or all of them and more!) on achieving that goal.  But, what does it mean to ...read more