Pilgrims have returned home, Copacabana Beach has been cleaned and Rio de Janeiro has returned to business as usual, but in the hearts of everyone something has changed. Something has to have changed. This has been my fourth international World Youth Day and every time, something changes. Perhaps it’s an insight, perhaps an emotion or ...read more

I don’t want to run to the Cross. I want to run from the Cross. And today, the Monday after WYD the Cross beckons me. Today, exhausted, after a week of 16-hour days, I complained to Jesus that I had to do all the work by myself. Actually, I didn’t even complain to Jesus; I ...read more

Worshipping God on Copacabana Beach: A Reflection on the Final Mass from World Youth Day Rio, 2013. ...read more

Today on Perspectives Pope Francis addresses life issues, a special delivery is made to Rio de Janeiro and a look at the Christ the Redeemer statue. ...read more

Tonight on Perspectives Pope Francis urges us to proclaim the gospel generously and simply. ...read more

God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”: that is, of Christ Jesus. Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth: God graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation ...read more

Beatified by Blessed John Paul II in 1980, Kateri Tekakwitha was proclaimed the first Native woman saint by Pope Benedict XVI on October 21, 2012. Saint on October 21, 2012 ...read more

Music has a special way of drawing people together, whether it be in Church at Mass or in the public realm. But can priests be active musicians? More than that, do priests have an obligation to promote music in the life of the Church? Fr. Robert Galea is a Maltese-Australian singer and songwriter. He has ...read more

This post was written in 2010, just after Ontario hosted the G20 summit. Kris Dmytrenko reflects on how that event and the WYD2002 Way of the Cross changed the city. It takes a powerful force to interrupt the flow of a city like Toronto. If streets are closed for a parade, drivers find other routes ...read more

How John Paul II was close to me in WYD 2002 In 2002, I was 16 years old and had just finished grade 10. That summer was my first time attending World Youth Day. My parents raised me Catholic and every Sunday we went diligently to mass. I remember often resisting mass, and just felt ...read more