Today in his farewell address at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, the Holy Father made direct reference to the political unrest in Cyprus saying that his accommodations at the Apostolic Nunciature, which is located in the United Nations buffer zone, provided a vantage point from which he witnessed Cyprus’ pronounced division first-hand. “Having stayed these past ...read more

While most of us here in Toronto were still tucked in our beds, Pope Benedict XVI’s schedule for his second day in Cyprus had already kicked into high gear and thus the day for the S+L Cyprus crew began at 2:30 am ET. The Holy Father’s itinerary and the groups with whom he will be ...read more

This morning, Pope Benedict XVI landed on Cyprus, a Mediterranean island located south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon. Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, welcomed the Holy Father at 2pm local time. The country’s president, Orthodox clergy, politicians and select Roman Catholic faithful were among those present for the ...read more

Today marks Day 1 of the Holy Father’s three-day visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This being the first time a pope has ever set foot on Cyprus, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit is highly-anticipated, though not without substantial political and ecumenical implications. Cyprus has been a country divided for over 30 years following a ...read more

At the Wednesday General Audience Pope Benedict sent a greeting to those gathered in New Orleans for the Catholic Media Convention.  What he said is a great reminder for call Catholic communicators: The theme of your meeting, “Spreading the Good News — Byte by Byte,” highlights the extraordinary potential of the new media to bring ...read more

As many as one million people turned out to see Pope Benedict during his four-day trip to Portugal last week. Catholic News Service’s Carol Glatz and John Thavis take a look at the Holy Father’s second Apostolic Voyage of 2010. To download Flash Player please click here The trip to Portugal was also the topic ...read more

Let me just say it: I did some traveling this past weekend. I went to Oberammergau, Germany after being invited to attend the premiere of the Passionspiele, the Passion Play that happens once every ten years. (You can find out more about our Salt + Light sponsored trip in August to see the Passion Play ...read more

Pope Benedict’s four day Apostolic Visit to Portugal has come to an end.  The trip was comprised of 13 major events, three open-air Masses and an estimated one million participants overall. The Holy Father set forth on his visit to promote the evangelization and missionary work that needs to be done on behalf of the ...read more

The city of Porto was the last stop on Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Voyage to Portugal. Porto is located in the north of Portugal and is the  country’s second largest metropolitan city  after Lisbon. The Holy Father arrived at the airport via helicopter this morning from Fatima where he was greeted by the Bishop of ...read more

At a meeting at Fatima’s “Casa Nossa Senhora do Carmo” today, Pope Benedict encouraged his brother bishops to be “first evangelizers.” This role calls on Bishops to: … understand the diverse social and cultural factors, to evaluate their spiritual deficiencies and to utilize effectively your pastoral resources; what is decisive, however, is the ability to ...read more