Pope John Paul II was in many respects a pope of firsts: the first pope to visit the White House, the first pope to visit Cuba, and the most widely traveled Pope in history. He is recognized as helping to end the Communist rule in his native Poland, and eventually all of Europe. He ...read more

Pope John Paul II gestures during his 1980 visit to Paris, France. (CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo)  ...read more

Pope John Paul II holds a koala bear during his 1986 visit to Australia. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) ...read more

On the promotional cover for the documentary John Paul II – I kept looking for you the caption reads, “The World’s Biggest Documentary about the New Saint”… now, usually, I would say that’s just marketing hype, but in this case the documentary lives up it. Once you get past the English dub, which I’ll admit is ...read more

  Pope John Paul II greets youths at the 44th International Eucharistic Congress in Seoul, South Korea, in 1989. The congress provided the opportunity for several Asian bishops to meet with the pontiff to discuss urgent human rights and democracy issues. (CNS file photo by Arturo Mari)    ...read more

Christian Riesbeck was born in Montreal on February 7, 1970. He grew up in Ottawa, specialized in Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa, and pursued studies for the priesthood in the Companions of the Cross. Ordained to the priesthood in 1996, he did pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Kingston as well as in ...read more

With rosary in hand, Pope John Paul II scans the crowd as his helicopter circles Colorado’s Cherry Creek State Park before the closing Mass for World Youth Day Aug. 15, 1993. “Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your compassion and your fortitude at the service of life,” the pope told the hundreds of thousands ...read more

People light candles in Warsaw, Poland, to pay tribute to Pope John Paul II on the second anniversary of his death April 2, 2007. (CNS photo/Katarina Stoltz, Reuters)    ...read more

  Below you will find the English translation of the Stations of the Cross from Rome’s Colosseum this evening. Pope Francis will preside at the ceremony. There is no homily by the Pope at the conclusion of the ceremony. WAY OF THE CROSS AT THE COLOSSEUM LED BY THE HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS GOOD FRIDAYRome, ...read more

“JUDAS WAS STANDING WITH THEM” (JN 18:5) Following the tradition, the homily for this afternoon’s Good Friday Service for the Passion of the Lord is preached by Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa. In the divine-human history of the passion of Jesus, there are many minor stories about men and women who entered into the ray of ...read more