Today, people around the world are responding to the call of Pope Francis and uniting in the cause for peace through fasting and prayer. We do so with the hope that these offerings may place us in solidarity with those who suffer the tragedies of violence and aggression, especially in Syria. We do so in ...read more

A Reflection for the Feast of Saint Gregory the Great. ...read more

In light of the 20th anniversary of World Youth Day Denver, which drew more than 750,000 people to the Mile High City, I’m sharing the following photos from Catholic News Service with you. Many priests, religious and lay people attribute their vocations to an experience they had at Denver. In fact, reflecting 20 years later ...read more

A few years ago, I picked up a book called The Diet Alternative. The author, Diane Hampton, told the story of how she found herself overweight, resorting to unhealthy eating and living habits, and not knowing how she’d gotten there. Her realization reached her during an eating binge and purge, when she realized she didn’t know ...read more

Those were the three thoughts Pope Francis left with us during the Closing Mass on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. This was the climax of the week, when we gather for the source and summit of our Faith. And after a week of surprises and simple, yet powerful messages, these three thoughts summarised it ...read more

The final days of World Youth Day Rio were an exercise is letting God surprise us all. Days of rain made the field at Guaratiba unusable and the final events were moved to Copacabana Beach. Cariocas (residents of Rio) are used to having parties on the beach. They have two giant parties there every year: ...read more

The Papal Welcoming Ceremony kicks off what some call the World Youth Day Triduum. The event is celebrated on the Thursday evening before the Way of the Cross (Friday evening), Vigil (Saturday evening) and Closing Mass (Sunday morning). The Papal Welcome is a highlight for many pilgrims; there’s always lots of excitement and given that ...read more

As far as I can tell in our day and age, only church councils and papal transitions can attract the kind of global attention for the Catholic Church that is both honest and positive.  While working in Rome in February and March of 2013, I was struck by this reality and by how the intrigue ...read more

Returning home after World Youth Day Rio 2013 there were several things I didn’t miss: the long walk from our accommodations to the media centre because traffic was closed, the language barrier, and the weather that fluctuated between hot beach weather, and damp, winter rain. One thing I discovered I really do miss the incredible ...read more

Pilgrims have returned home, Copacabana Beach has been cleaned and Rio de Janeiro has returned to business as usual, but in the hearts of everyone something has changed. Something has to have changed. This has been my fourth international World Youth Day and every time, something changes. Perhaps it’s an insight, perhaps an emotion or ...read more