BLOG: Faith Education,Lent 2016,Lent and Easter,Pope Francis
Your Holiness, One year ago today, the Bishops of Canada along with all the faithful of our great land saw you appear for the first time on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The simplicity of your manner and your words, the humility with which you invited us to pray for you, and ...read more
Special Mass of Thanksgiving on the Occasion of the First Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. His Eminence, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, is the principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio to the ...read more
Below is Pope Francis’ message to the faithful for Lent, 2014. Dear Brothers and Sisters, As Lent draws near, I would like to offer some helpful thoughts on our path of conversion as individuals and as a community. These insights are inspired by the words of Saint Paul: “For you know the grace of our ...read more
With the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on the Pastoral Challenges to the Family there has been much talk by Cardinals, Bishops, and priests about the family. Pope Francis wrote a letter directly to families which was released Tuesday, February 25 by the Holy See about that Synod and the importance of the family. Below is the ...read more
“Merciful Father, by your help, may we be ever attentive to the voice of the Spirit”  (Opening Prayer). This prayer, the opening prayer of today’s Mass, reminds us of something fundamental: we are called to listen to the Holy Spirit who enlivens and guides the Church. By his creative and renewing power, the Spirit always sustains the ...read more
On Saturday, February 22nd, 2014, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Francis presided his first ordinary public consistory, creating nineteen new cardinals. Sixteen of them are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to choose the next successor of St Peter. These men reflect the universal nature ...read more
By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When the freshly named patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, chose 37-year-old Father Loris Capovilla as his private secretary in 1953, a skeptical adviser told the cardinal that the priest looked too sickly to bear the strain of his new job. “Then he’ll die ...read more
By Raymond Syms Catholic News Service PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (CNS) — Even as he prepares to receive a red biretta from the hands of Pope Francis, Cardinal-designate Kelvin Felix hopes he can continue his ministry as a “country parish priest.” But he admitted he may have a few new assignments from Pope ...read more
  By Ezra Fieser Catholic News Service SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) — In naming Spanish Archbishop Fernando Sebastian Aguilar a cardinal, Pope Francis chose an outspoken leader who played an important role in developing the positions of the Spanish church over a career that has spanned six decades. At 84, Cardinal-designate Sebastian, retired archbishop ...read more
SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) — When a cardinal dons his red robes for the first time and is given his red hat, he usually is reminded that the color of the vestments is a call to devote himself completely to Christ and his church, even to the point of shedding his blood if necessary. For ...read more