Vatican Connections Holy Week edition is here! We walk you through the Holy Week liturgies that will happen at the Vatican and tell you about the new Holy Week tradition Pope Francis has started. We also have details about the Pope’s meeting with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Enjoy. ...read more

In less than a week Pope Francis has delivered several surprises: he called the Superior General of the Jesuits, nearly giving the receptionist a heart attack, made an impromptu visit to a nearby hospital to visit his friend Cardinal Mejia, who had a heart attack during the conclave, and decided to celebrate Mass at the ...read more

The announcement of the name Jorge Mario Bergoglio from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica stunned the world and brought Latin Americans to their knees. This week we look back at that moment when we was presented to the world, and we go “to the ends of the earth” to find out more about our ...read more

After white smoke streams out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, the moment the world will wait for is when Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran announces the name of the Cardinal who has been elected pope. Below is list of the names of the Cardinal electors, in Latin. The list was painstakingly compiled by Catholic ...read more

This was perhaps the most highly anticipated and yet unwanted week for the Vatican. On Thursday Pope Benedict’s resignation officially took effect. The days leading up to the unprecedented event were full of papal “lasts”: his last angelus, the last general audience, and his last meeting with the college of cardinals. This week’s edition of ...read more

When the Swiss Guards closed the door to the palace at Castel Gandolfo, signifying the absence of a pope, three cardinals were left with the task of guiding the church until a new pope is elected. The Camerlengo, or Chamberlain, begins his work when the See of Peter is vacant. When a Pope dies, the ...read more

Six degrees of separation. Globalization. Social Media By Karen Hamilton (The Rev. Dr.) General Secretary, The Canadian Council of Churches I could continue to use stereotypical phrases and images that are familiar to us all and that, each in their own way, have some part in explaining some of the ways that we relate to ...read more

It has been nearly two weeks since Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by announcing his resignation. Last week we looked at his announcement and the reaction from the cardinals who were first hand witnesses to the historic moment. This week we look at the questions that have begin to arise: what will happen to ...read more

In the wake of Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise announcement on Monday, this week’s Vatican Connections is dedicated to the unfolding events in Rome. The papal resignation is unchartered territory in many ways: the last pope who resigned was Gregory XII in 1415. This week’s Vatican Connections features reactions from the Cardinals who were in the ...read more

With his announcement February 11, Pope Benedict XVI becomes one of only four popes to resign. The last time a pope resigned from the Chair of Peter was 1415, in effort to end a major schism. The Code of Canon Laws allows for a pope to resign. The only conditions are that the decision be ...read more