Today is Pope Francis’ 77th Birthday. He has already had several Birthday celebrations over the past few days. The children from the St. Martha Pediatric Dispensary presented him with a birthday cake on Saturday (complete with lit candles). Sunday, before the Angelus, the faithful gathered at St. Peter’s sang Happy Birthday to the pope. This ...read more

At the end of his weekly General Audience on December 11, Pope Francis had this message for the faithful of the American continent. Tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. I would like to greet all my brothers and sisters on that continent, and I do so thinking ...read more

Pope Francis has issued his first Apostolic Exhortation on Tuesday, Evangelii Gaudium, translated into English as The Joy of the Gospel. The 224-page document outlines the Pope’s vision for a missionary Church, whose “doors should always be open”. The Pope speaks on numerous themes, including evangelization, peace, homiletics, social justice, the family, respect for creation, ...read more

This past weekend, I had the great honour to speak at the Inaugural Women’s Conference for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. It was a soulful and joyful experience to be gathered together with women of faith from all walks of life, sharing and learning together. After the talk, several women inquired if the talk would be ...read more

Today’s solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical year, also marks the conclusion of the Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI, to whom our thoughts now turn with affection and gratitude. By this providential initiative, he gave us an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of ...read more

An Austrian farmer and father of four, Franz Jäggerstätter was faced with the choice to serve in Hitler’s army or to face execution. A devout Catholic and loving husband and father, Franz struggled with his responsibilities to his family and to state authority, but in the end felt he could not betray God and his ...read more

By Mary Rose Bacani Valenti We were riding on the subway with a friend of ours a few years ago.  He started to tell the story of Chiara Luce, an Italian teenager who was then recently beatified.  When he mentioned her name, Richard and I immediately looked at each other.  I knew we were both ...read more

Over 100 thousand people gathered with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square for Mass today, Sunday, October 27th, 2013, to mark the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time and the World Family Day at the close of the 21st Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family, which met in Rome this past week to ...read more

Today, Saturday, October 26, Pope Francis gathered with families for the The Pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Tomb for the Year of Faith, an event planned by the Pontifical Council for the Family. Here is the Holy Father’s address: Dear Families! Good evening and welcome to Rome! You have come as pilgrims from many parts of ...read more