It was 9pm on a Wednesday evening when I finally arrived in Madrid. Superficially most cosmopolitan cities in developed nations look similar: a main thoroughfare leading into and out of the city, some tall building, billboards, neon signs on top of buildings and the like. What struck me about Madrid’s skyline were two things. First ...read more

General Audience, and the Christmas season comes to an end with the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Catholic News Service’s John Thavis takes a look at happenings at the Vatican for February 2nd, which includes an unexpected greeting for the Holy Father. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

Pilgrims have been walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage for over 1000 years. Its history and significance make it a spiritual epicentre for the Christian faith after Jerusalem and Rome. Tonight’s episode of Catholic Focus features stories of modern pilgrims who have walked one of the longest pilgrimages in the history of the Christian faith ...read more

Since 1997, the Church has celebrated February 2nd, the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, as the World Day for Consecrated Life. In a 2010 homily, Pope Benedict said that the presentation is the “model for every man and woman who consecrate their life totally to the Lord.”  He explained that the purpose of ...read more

We Canadians like our summer long weekends.  Once May arrives, we indulge in a monthly long weekend until October! (With the exception of June outside of Quebec.) In an attempt to satiate our long weekend desires, five provinces have a long weekend in February.  Three of those provinces — Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan — celebrate ...read more

The Vatican is among those watching the crisis unfold in Egypt. Nearly 100 people have been killed in a week of political demonstrations. But Catholic News Service’s John Thavis explains the Holy See isn’t likely to offer any immediate comment on the situation: To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI proposed a Christian way for engaging the online world with his message for the 45th World Day of Communications. The message, which was released this week, takes the theme Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age. Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden and John Thavis have the details. To download ...read more

Yesterday I attended the pre-release media screening of the new exorcism movie The Rite. After reading the synopsis of the book it was based on, I went in with fairly high hopes, thinking that this might be a little more educational or insightful than past Hollywood takes on the subject. As I entered the theatre ...read more

On Tuesday we told you about the new pastoral letter from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Living Chastity Today.  The letter can be downloaded from cccb.ca, or you can view it in video form, presented by seven young people.  The video will also be available as a DVD that can be used in the ...read more

Just the other night I was with friends and ended up having a conversation about… guess what? Chastity! Well, love, marriage, sex and relationships. One of my friends explained that he didn’t want to get married because for it to end up in divorce would be a failure. Even though he did not see marriage ...read more