Rome, the eternal city, is conveniently located just barely inland from Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast and is surrounded by hills. This combination of geographical features means the summer months are hot, humid and smoggy. By August, it is next to impossible to breathe in the city. Thus Roman residents flee and take refuge in the beach ...read more

Pope Francis has returned to his regular schedule of activities at the Vatican. He held his first general audience this week after taking a one month break. His statement that divorced and remarried Catholics should not be treated as if they have been excommunicated made headlines around the world. However, the real issue that the ...read more

Last week we learned that God not only created Marriage, but He has a design for Marriage. This was the plan from the beginning. When the Book of Genesis says that God created humans male and female in his likeness and image and then he blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply ...read more

Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For June 2015, we join the Holy Father in praying for: Volunteers– That volunteers may give themselves generously to the service of the needy. Outreach to the Marginalized– That setting aside our very selves we may learn to be neighbors to those who find ...read more

Thanks to Colleen Dulle who reached out to me via Twitter and shared this video that was made by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri. Great idea to celebrate marriage! (Maybe Noel in his Weekly Round-up could dig up some other videos people have made about Marriage.) My weekly round-up has been that in the ...read more

A household name for many, the Knights of Columbus have grown into the world’s largest lay Catholic organization. But, surprisingly, there’s still a lot of mystery that surrounds these noble men. In light of the upcoming Supreme Convention, we thought you might want to find out why the Knights remain the ‘Strong Arm of the Church’. ...read more

With one papal trip barely over, attention is already turning to the next papal trip: Cuba and the U.S. The official schedule was released at the end of June. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released the theme and logo of that portion of the trip some time ago. The motto is “Love is our ...read more

(Pope Francis listens attentively to speakers at the World Meeting of Popular Movements in Bolivia on July 9.  Photo courtesy of CNS) In two years Pope Francis has said enough about the global economic system to spark both enormous enthusiasm and heavy criticism.  The story is still developing, but after his recent trip to Latin ...read more

The following is a translation of a reflection posted by Madonna Lee on Pope Francis’ Visit to South America on our Chinese website. Each week, Madonna posts a reflection on what she sees happening in the Church, and many come back each week to read her reflections. Now and then, we would like to share ...read more

Much has been made of the messages Pope Francis delivered during his visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. As always, the pope made reference to local saints and historical episodes in his homilies and addresses, thrilling the locals and confusing foreigners following on television. Here’s a rundown of the some of the people and things ...read more