By Most Reverend John Corriveau, OFM Cap. Bishop of Nelson, British Columbia Between 1994 and 2012, I was privileged to participate in five Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. These five Synods touched a variety of challenges in the Church: Consecrated Life and its Role in the Church and the World (1994), Special Assembly for ...read more

The recent extraordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme “Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization” will be remembered as a milestone in the history of the Church. At this world gathering of Catholic Church leaders Synod, Pope Francis invited the universal Church to journey together and reflect on ...read more

It is not unheard of for non-Catholics to visit Catholic churches and shrines. It is less common to have non-Catholics visit those sites, pray alongside the faithful and claim to have received graces through the experience. Sri Lanka’s Madhu Shrine is such a site, and it had a profound effect on Pope Francis. The shrine ...read more

Have you ever sat in mass and prayed really hard – “please God, please. Let this be over soon!” Somewhere between the grumpy greeter, the off-key cantor, the lackluster homily and your own unenthusiastic recitation of the Creed, you realize that there’s something terribly wrong with this picture. I don’t want to be here! Is ...read more

Pope Francis delivered his Christmas present to the Church a little late, but still well within the liturgical Christmas season. On January 4, while leading the Angelus, Pope Francis announced the names of the 15 men under 80 he wants to elevate to the rank of cardinal. Among them are Latin Americans, Africans, Asians, and ...read more

This week the Council of Cardinals met again in Rome, a consistory was announced, a papal interview was published, and Pope Francis delivered a powerful homily for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe . The Guadalupe homily, delivered in Spanish during a mass Pope Francis celebrated at St. Peter’s, packs a powerful punch and ...read more

Below you will find the English language translation of the Holy Father’s address in Italian, delivered this morning at the Colloquium on the complementarity of Man and Woman at the Vatican. Dear sisters and brothers, I warmly greet you. I thank Cardinal Muller for his words with which he introduced our meeting. I would like ...read more

Archbishop John Dew of New Zealand offers a reflection about his experience in the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. See below for full reflection: As I return from the Synod on Marriage and the Family I’m aware that the gathering, the discussion and the topics have caught the attention of the secular media ...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