Pope Paul VI and Cardinal Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I, are pictured in Venice in 1972. Pope Francis will beatify Pope Paul Oct. 19 during the closing Mass of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family.  (CNS photo/Giancarlo Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)  To learn more about the contributions of these great ...read more

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis Mass of Thanksgiving for the Equivalent Canonizationof Saints François de Laval and Marie de l’Incarnation Sunday, 12 October 2014 We have heard Isaiah’s prophecy: “The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces…” (Is 25:8).  These words, full of hope in God, point us to the goal, ...read more

Pope Paul VI, right, greets Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople during the pontiff’s 1964 trip to the Holy Land. Pope Paul inaugurated many of the bilateral and multilateral ecumenical dialogues that continue today. (CNS file photo) Want to learn more about the Church’s work to promote Christian Unity? Check out episode 8 of The ...read more

President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican July 2, 1963. The White House called Kennedy’s meeting with Paul VI an “unofficial” visit, although the pope spoke to the president about race relations, space exploration, world peace and U.S. aid to developing nations. (CNS file photo) Curious about the role ...read more

Pope Paul VI is seen in an undated official portrait. Pope Francis will beatify Pope Paul Oct. 19 during the closing Mass of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family. The miracle needed for Pope Paul’s beatification involved the birth of a healthy baby to a mother in California after doctors had said both ...read more

These days it’s easy to be discouraged reading the news about never-ending scandals popping up here and there, or about the shortcomings of various role models, or the interviews of well-known people criticizing one another, and so on. I’m sure that we all can think of examples and that we all recognize an overwhelming flow ...read more

Today we celebrate the feast of the Archangels — St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. Take some time today to look up  Scripture references to the different Archangels and meditate on the work of these heavenly messengers. For St. Michael flip to Revelations 12 (there’s also references in Daniel 10 and 12), St. Gabriel of ...read more

The following post was originally published on Sept. 2008 by Matthew Harrison. One of my earliest recollections of encountering the life of a saint was a biography on St. Pio of Pietrelcina, or Padre Pio as he is more commonly known. Though I don’t remember the title, I can vividly recall my mother reading the ...read more

A Reflection on how Fr. Michael McGivney was a model for the New Evangelization. ...read more

On Wednesday August 6, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor. We also remember with gratitude Venerable Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) who died this day thirty-six years ago at the age of 80. The Final Years of Pope Paul VI Excerpt from his Apostolic Exhortation “GAUDETE IN DOMINO” ...read more