At the end of his weekly General Audience on December 11, Pope Francis had this message for the faithful of the American continent. Tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. I would like to greet all my brothers and sisters on that continent, and I do so thinking ...read more

Declaration by Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., regarding the nomination of Pope Francis as “Person of the Year” by Time Magazine This fact is unsurprising, considering the resonance and very widespread attention given to the election of Pope Francis and the beginning of his pontificate. It is a positive sign that one of the most prestigious ...read more

After leading the crowds in Saint Peter’s Square in praying the Angelus, the Pope expressed spiritual closeness to the Church in North America, which is celebrating the 350th anniversary of its first parish: Notre-Dame de Québec. The full translation of his words about the Quebec celebrations are as as follows: “We unite ourselves spiritually to ...read more

  By Clayton Imoo Advent is about waiting.  Anticipating.  Expecting.  Preparing.  Hoping.  This sounds a lot like youth ministry to me. We wait for youth to commit their lives to Jesus.  We wait for them so we can start our youth gatherings.  We wait for their parents to come pick them up at the end ...read more

Below find the telegramme of condolences that Pope Francis sent to the South African President, Jacob Zuma: It was with sadness that I learned of the death of former President Nelson Mandela, and I send prayerful condolences to all the Mandela family, to the members of the Government and to all the people of South ...read more

Pope Francis decided to create a Vatican commission for the protection of minors, a cardinal involved in Curial reform announced this week. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston told reporters on Thursday that the eight member Council of Cardinals which advises the pope on curial reform, had proposed the creation of a commission for the protection ...read more

In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis writes, “I am mission on this earth” [EG 273]. That phrase really stuck with me, partly because I was on my way down to Maracaibo, Venezuela for the 4th Missionary Congress of the Americas (Cam 4) and the 9th Latin American Missionary Congress (Comla 9). In ...read more

In commemoration of Nelson Mandela's 101th Birthday and Mandela Day, we look back at some of the most important mile stones in his life. ...read more

  The following is the thanks expressed by Sebastian Gomes to Cardinal Donald Wuerl on behalf of Salt + Light Television and Assumption University for his talk, which made up part of the Faith and Culture series presented by Assumption University. Thank you very much Your Eminence… By way of conclusion, I have the privilege ...read more

by Elizabeth Krump It’s part of the human condition: we all crave connection. Friendship, fellowship, relationship – these are enormously important concepts to us. We have a desire to understand and be understood, to love and to be loved, not just in a romantic way, but in an emotional and spiritual way. And while it ...read more