He intrigued me. A tall man with an athletic build. His unhurried gaze fixed intensely on the shore line. His back bent low as if to reverence the pebbles on the beach. Occasionally he extends his hand to pick up an obviously – to him at least – exceptional find. On more than one occasion ...read more

On October 5, 2014, Pope Francis presided over the Opening Mass for the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. Below you will find the full text of his address: Today the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel employ the image of the Lord’s vineyard.  The Lord’s vineyard is his “dream”, the plan which he nurtures ...read more

On October 4, 2014, Pope Francis presided over a prayer vigil leading up the the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. Below is the full text of his address: Dear families, good evening! The evening falls on our assembly. It is the hour in which one willingly returns home to the same meal, in ...read more

Earlier this afternoon, Vatican released the full, official English language translation of the “Relatio Synodi” of the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization” (5-19 October 2014). Read the full text of the document below, dated October 18, 2014, the day the text was ...read more

Below you will find the full text of Pope Francis’ opening address of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: Your Eminences, Your Beatitudes, Your Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, I give you my warm welcome to this meeting and I thank you from my heart for your caring and qualified presence and assistance. ...read more

This morning at the Vatican, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of Synod of Bishops, addressed the British Ambassador to the Holy See, H.E. Nigel Baker, and a group of British Parliamentarians on the 2014 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops. The full text of his English language address is found below. It is a good summary of ...read more

In Ottawa, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast reacted to this week’s shooting at parliament hill. In Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario one couple celebrates 10 years of giving up everything to help bring water to campesinos in rural Guatemala. Archbishop Paul Andre Durocher shares his thoughts on the Extraordinary Synod on the Family that just ended in Rome. In Vancouver, ...read more

With the Synod of Bishops wrapped up this week was rather quiet at the Vatican. One surprise did arrive: the Vatican announced that Pope Francis will be visiting Turkey at the end of November. He will fly to Ankara on November 28, where he will meet with government officials. From there he continues on to ...read more

Remember when S+L producers Cheridan Sanders and Sebastian Gomes won a 2014 Gabriel Award for Best Religious Series for The Church Alive? Check out the post below from early June: Salt + Light Television was once again recognized by the Catholic Academy for Communications Arts Professionals and was awarded the prestigious Gabriel Award for the ...read more

Fr. Rob Galea is a Maltese Catholic priest and a Christian singer/songwriter, serving in Australia. Read his blog post below announcing the release of his new album. This October 25th I will be releasing what I consider to be my best music project yet. Four years in the making and we finally have something beautiful ...read more