BLOG: Apostolic Journeys,Mary,Special Events
Upon Pope Benedict’s arrival at the International Airport of Guanajuato, Mexico the region has reason to celebrate. Although Blessed Pope John Paul II visited Mexico five times, he never went to Guanajuato – known as the most Catholic state of Mexico. In his opening address the Holy Father warmly greets the Mexican faithful as a ...read more
At first impact the phrase “the Cuban Church” sounds like an oxymoron, or a misnomer and thoughts of an underground catholic presence might spring to mind. That might have been true at some point. However, Pope Benedict XVI’s planned visit to the Island nation later this month shows that is not the case today, and ...read more
I have to be honest, I’ve never really had a great devotion to Mary. I didn’t grow up with one, although, as I’ve written before, my parish at home was “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” As a teenager I heard and read a lot about Medjugorje, and while I understood what the Church teaches about apparitions, ...read more
It’s easy to take ecumenism for granted in Canada, even during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Of course, the full expression of visible unity has not been achieved, and won’t likely occur within our lifetime. But we have grown so accustomed to respectful relations and cooperative efforts on social issues that our prayers ...read more
With any announcement of a consistory comes a flurry of media activity around the new Cardinal-designates. In New York, Archbishop Timothy Dolan appeared on NBC’s morning show with Matt Lauer in what is probably one of the Cardinal-designate’s most memorable interviews. ...read more
On the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Pope Benedict XVI announced he will visit Mexico and Cuba in 2012.  Today the Mexican Bishops’ Conference and the Cuban Bishops’ conference each released a preliminary itinerary of the Holy Father’s visit to their nations. Pope Benedict will arrive in the Mexican city of  Leon on ...read more
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York delivered this eloquent homily at the funeral Mass for Cardinal John Foley at Pittsburgh’s Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. He described the late Cardinal as “the voice” who spoke the Eternal Word in everything he did and with his very being. ...read more
December 12th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the most important feasts for the Church in Latin-America. This feast day was always a big one in my life, as my parish in Panama was named Our Lady of Guadalupe. I wrote about this four years ago. Perhaps this story is new ...read more
There are no words to describe how incredibly uplifting these past few days have been. Not only has it been uplifting for the people of Benin but for Africa and the universal Church, as a whole. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, Pope Benedict set out on a mission. It ...read more
The following is Pope Benedict XVI’s farewell address, as delivered at the Cardinal Bernardin Gantin International Airport. Mr President, Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Authorities and Dear Friends, My Apostolic Journey to Africa has now come to an end.  I thank God for these days spent among you in joy and friendship.  I thank you, ...read more