Although separated from her by three centuries, an ocean and major cultural differences, Jesuit Father Paolo Molinari absolutely loves Kateri Tekakwitha, the Native American who became a saint in late October. While the 88-year-old Italian Jesuit was forced to hand over to his successor most of the sainthood causes he still was actively promoting when he [...]
Kateri Tekakwitha was a young Mohawk woman who lived in the 1600s. The story of her conversion to Christianity, her courage in the face of suffering and her extraordinary holiness are an inspiration to all Christians. Many private miracles have been centered around Blessed Kateri, known as the Lily of the Mohawks, and the holy grounds [...]
Kateri Tekakwitha, daughter of a Mohawk war chief and a Christian Algonquin mother, canonized October 21. A statue of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be certified a saint by the Catholic Church, at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, near Quebec City. Pope Benedict XVI on October 21 canonized seven new saints, including [...]
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, speaks with Vatican journalist Anna Artymiak. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), many questions remain open, many issues unresolved. Pope Benedict himself, as an “eyewitness” of the Council, spoke in [...]
The Aurelia station (to be clearly distinguished from Valle Aurelia station in the direction of Bracciano and Viterbo), the first stop on the train line from St. Peter’s station to Civitavecchia, is a hub for many pilgrims and students. There are several hotels and university campuses in this leafy suburban area of Rome lying to the [...]
And raises eyebrows when he speaks of the Council with criticism as well as praise. What is his intent? Pope Benedict celebrates Mass opening the Year of Faith in St. Peter’s Square on October 11. The headline of a Catholic News Service story from early October said it all: “Pope Benedict Recalls Vatican II [...]
An interview with Bishop Giuseppe Andrich of the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre. You were born at Canale d’Agordo, the hometown of the man who was to become Pope for one month in 1978 with the name of John Paul I. When did you meet Albino Luciani? Monsignor Giuseppe Andrich: I had heard about him before meeting him. [...]
Interview with Armindo Pedro Simoes, currently chargé d’affaires of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of East Timor to the Holy See. “We, Timorese people, are very proud to be known as one of the most Catholic nations, not only in Asia, but in the world.” —Armindo Pedro Simoes, chargé d’affaires of the embassy of [...]
Interview with Ingrid Stampa by the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera of Milan (October 7, 2012). Ingrid Stampa is sometimes referred to as “the Pope’s former housekeeper,” but she is much more than that. She is a scholar of medieval music and a bass viola teacher, and she has edited and translated many of Joseph Ratzinger’s [...]
The Pope has set up a new Latin academy. A talk with Msgr. Daniel Gallagher, an American Latin expert in the Vatican’s secretariat of state, on the use of Latin in the Vatican. “Habemus Papam! (“We have a Pope!”) With these two Latin words, the senior Cardinal Deacon of the Catholic Church, speaking from the central [...]