I was struck this past June when I read the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document for the 3rd Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place from Oct 5-19, 2014. The Synod, or meeting of Bishops, will focus on “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelisation” which is ...read more

Here’s one from the Salt and Light archives for you! Today’s photo comes from the United Nation’s General Assembly hall. Sebastian Gomes interviews Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations in New York City. The interview was featured in Episode 6: Politics of The Church Alive, a show dedicated to the New ...read more

In 1997 Pope John Paul II established The World Day for Consecrated Life. It’s a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for the invaluable witness that consecrated religious give to the world. We’re all greatly indebted to those men and women who have proclaimed the gospel in a variety of contexts around the globe, throughout the ...read more

Sebastian Gomes, Salt + Light writer/producer/director of The Francis Effect, gives us a glimpse into filming the documentary: There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the current situation in the Middle East is catastrophic, and there’s no end in sight. It’s a volatile mix of religious, political, historical, ethnic, social and economic elements all firing at the ...read more

This week, for the little corner of the church, Opus Dei, all roads lead to Madrid! With the Beatification of Bishop Alvaro Del Portillo, the first successor of St. Josemaria, happening in Spain, there is an estimated 100,000 people (according to the Catholic News Agency) coming to witness this momentous and God-glorifying moment. Every step of the way ...read more

George Hosek, D.O.P,  takes a closer look as we prepare to shoot biblical reflections for  The Church Alive. Here George examines the camera set-up in the chapel of Assumption University. ...read more

The following post was originally published on Sept. 2008 by Matthew Harrison. One of my earliest recollections of encountering the life of a saint was a biography on St. Pio of Pietrelcina, or Padre Pio as he is more commonly known. Though I don’t remember the title, I can vividly recall my mother reading the ...read more

Sebastian Gomes and I recently came across a diary entry of Saint Pope John XXIII entitled “Six maxims of perfection” in his autobiography Journal of a Soul. Some of you may recall that from the age of fourteen until his death at the age of eighty-two, Pope John XXIII kept a journal where he recorded ...read more

During his final engagement of his one-day visit to Albania on Sunday, Pope Francis visited a residential centre for disabled and needy children, run by an Italian charity in the Albanian capital, Tirana. In his address at the Bethany Centre (full text found below), the pope spoke of how faith, working through charity, can dislodge ...read more

Pope Francis urges Albanian youth to say yes to acceptance and solidarity during his Angelus address. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Before concluding this celebration, I wish to greet each of you who have come from all over Albania and from nearby countries. I thank you for your presence and for the witness of your faith. ...read more