The Meera’s look like any other family at the ethnically diverse parish of St. Anthony of Padua in Brampton, Ontario. They warmly greet fellow parishioners as they arrive for Mass, as if they have been here a lifetime. But just a few weeks prior, they were stuck in one of the most dangerous countries on ...read more

Most people know Brazil to be the home of the Amazon river and the home of the Amazon rainforest. Brazil is also known for its samba music, their soccer teams, Copacaba beach, the Christ the Redeemer Statue, the favela slums and the annual Carnival celebrations. Brazil is also the fifth largest country in the world ...read more

Yesterday in Rome Salt + Light was awarded the “Capax Dei” Prize at the Mirabile Dictu International Catholic Film Festival, organized annually by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture. The award was presented for Salt + Light’s documentary “In Her Footsteps: the Story of Kateri Tekakwitha,” which premiered in Rome last October. The following story ...read more

Issues of an ecumenical and interfaith nature hold a special place in my heart. In John’s gospel account, I hold Jesus’ words to be true when he speaks with his disciples and says, “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made ...read more

Pope Francis and the British Prime Minister exchange letters in the lead-up to today’s G8 Summit, and highlights from the Gospel of Life celebrations in Rome this past weekend. ...read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters, This celebration has a very beautiful name: “Evangelium Vitae”, the Gospel of Life. In this Eucharist, in the Year of Faith, let us thank the Lord for the gift of life in all its forms, and at the same time let us proclaim the Gospel of Life.  On the basis of ...read more

This weekend, Catholics are gathering at the Vatican to celebrate John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae. Details about the festivities, titled “Believing May They Have Life”, were revealed at a press conference on May 28. “We have given it this name to testify to the grand theme that revolves around the Church’s commitment to the ...read more

On May 22, 2013, Pope Francis’ daily homily in the Chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae was inspired by the passage from the 9th chapter of Mark in which the disciples tell Jesus that they tried to stop someone who was not one of their party from driving out demons. In one section of his homily, ...read more

When you think of religious pilgrimage, the Holy Land comes to mind, or perhaps the Vatican. But there’s another pilgrimage destination where ancient ruins emerge from a dramatic landscape – testaments to an over 1500-year-old Christian tradition. This destination is Ireland, whose heritage was celebrated at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress. Catholic Focus takes a ...read more

On Friday Pope Francis surprised a huge audience of young students from Jesuit schools in Italy and Albania  by setting aside a prepared five-page script and engaging in a question and answer session with his audience in the Paul VI hall.  The assembly consisted of over 9000 students, teachers and staff of Jesuit grade schools ...read more