At 10 am today, Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Father Pope Francis presides in Saint Peter’s Square at the solemn celebration of the Mass of the day. At the celebration, which begins with the ritual of “Resurrexit,” faithful of Rome and pilgrims from all over the world particpate in this ...read more

EASTER MESSAGE OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Venerable Brothers and Sisters, Dearly Beloved in Christ of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Christ is Risen! The first-born male from the virginal womb – Christ, who, as a man, has been called Lamb and unblemished, not having the stain of sin. He is our ...read more

On the morning of Holy Thursday, Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of Chrism at St Peter’s Basilica. During the Holy Mass, the Holy Father blessed the sacred oils (Chrism, the oil of catechumens, and the oil of the sick), which will be used during the Easter Vigil, and in liturgical celebrations throughout the year. In ...read more

(Guest host Sebastian Gomes interviews Fr. Peter Galadza of the Sheptytsky Institute about the ecumenical implications of finding a common date for Easter between the churches of the east and west.) In May of 2014, Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt sent a letter to Pope Francis. In it he ...read more

It is not hard to find images of new life everywhere to highlight the joy and Good News of Easter – especially in this part of the world in at springtime! (Maybe these bunnies are a bit too much, but you get my point – and they are cute.) But recently, I’ve been doing quite ...read more

Pope Francis did not give a homily at the Easter Sunday Eucharistic celebration this morning in St. Peter’s Square due to the long “Urbi et Orbi” address that followed the mass.  The English language version of his address – to the city and the world – is found below. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Jesus Christ ...read more

I set out to deacon-struct Holy Week and soon found that I was faced with a monumental task. I looked at each of the key moments of the Passion: the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Gethsemane, the trial, the way of the Cross and crucifixion… the burial… there is so much there. I have ...read more

So far in part 1, we looked at questions people have regarding fasting and abstinence, in part 2 we looked at suffering and in part 3 we looked at what Scripture has to tell us about why Jesus had to suffer.  I think when people think of Lent, that’s what they think about: fasting, abstinence ...read more

“JUDAS WAS STANDING WITH THEM” (JN 18:5) Following the tradition, the homily for this afternoon’s Good Friday Service for the Passion of the Lord is preached by Capuchin Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa. In the divine-human history of the passion of Jesus, there are many minor stories about men and women who entered into the ray of ...read more

As a 22 year old, it is always humbling to have to ask for money from those whom I know, in many cases, are struggling financially themselves. There seems to be a financial need everywhere these days – coming to us from places like our homes, workplaces and places of worship. It is sobering to ...read more