Fr. Mark Francis, a liturgist at the St. Anselm Pontifical College in Rome and superior general of the Viatorian Fathers, once told to me why seemingly insignificant things in the mass can sometimes cause a great uproar when changed. “As we pray,” he explained, “so we believe.” The Nicene Creed and the Apostles creed we ...read more

Tonight on Perspectives: Pope Benedict reflects on Psalm 118, we tell you why Quebec could follow Greece and Italy, and the Church commemorates the dedication of one of the world’s foremost basilicas. ...read more

It’s been about two years now that we Vatican observers have been covering the new translation of the Roman Missal. It was in April of 2010 that I had a chance to talk to Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa when he was in Rome for one of the final meetings of Vox Clara (the commission ...read more

I grew up in a trilingual household. My mother spoke to me in Spanish, my father spoke to me in Italian, and I spoke to them in English. This made for some interesting scenes when I was talking to my monolingual school friends. Often I would use words in English that didn’t quite make sense ...read more

During my time living in Rome over the last decade, a funny thing happened. When I would return home for visits, my family, friends, and even Canada Customs agents would inevitably ask, “Hey, is it true that (fill in the blank with random question about the Vatican)?” My solution, finally, was to produce a Catholic ...read more

These are the Church’s three newest saints: a bishop with a missionary heart, a rope-maker who taught women, and a spirited priest from Como, who became a missionary of sorts in his 70s. They share a few features: they all founded religious orders and they all felt called to serve the disadvantaged, whether they were ...read more

Watch live streaming video from cccb2011 at livestream.com Every year, the Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops begins with the president’s report. Bishop Pierre Morissette, whose term as head of the CCCB ends this week, outlined the work that has been done over the past year and the challenges that lie ahead. ...read more

Did you know that aside from being a world famous icon of an exotic and fascinating city, the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over Rio de Janiero actually belongs to the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro and is officially a Catholic sanctuary? Although construction began on the statue in 1922, the idea ...read more

In my time covering the Church, I’ve had the opportunity to meet bishops from around the world, of all different leadership styles and personalities. I’ve often been struck by stories I hear from bishops in Africa. I’ve been told that in Africa, the bishop is not just an authority figure. He walks with the people; ...read more

About a month has passed since World Youth Day ended and I’ve had the chance to talk to pilgrims from various places. The one thing that inevitably comes up is the Cuatro Vientos vigil. The two most asked questions: (1) Did you make it in? and (2) Did you get drenched? So when I received ...read more