CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo This week marks 53 years since St. Pope John XXIII died at the Vatican at age of 81. For most people, the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of the saintly pope’s name is the Second Vatican Council. Yet his pontificate and his priestly ministry left its mark on the ...read more

(US bishops listen to a speaker during their annual general assembly in November 2015. CNS photo/Bob Roller) It’s the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a celebratory yet solemn week when Christians recall what unites them and reflect on the challenges still preventing full, sacramental unity. Over the past few years I’ve had the chance to meet a ...read more

Next week Christians celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The important celebration dates back to 1908 and was inspired by Fr. Paul Wattson and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Graymoor, New York. More advances along the road to unity have taken place over the past century than over the previous 350 ...read more

“What does Christmas mean to you?” This is a common question posed during the Advent season, and one that evokes in many of us fond memories and feelings of gratitude. This week, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council, similar feelings have pervaded me. Many thoughtful and inspiring ...read more

This year marks 50 years since the end of the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of several key documents that shaped the church. There is one document, not part of the official canon of Vatican II documents, that shaped the church just as much yet has been almost forgotten. It is called the Catacombs ...read more

Pope Francis’ Address at Commemorative Ceremony for the 50th Anniversary of the Synod of Bishops – FINAL TEXT October 17, 2015 Paul VI Audience Hall – Vatican City Your Beatitudes, Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, As the Ordinary General Assembly is in full session, this commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the institution of ...read more