Pope Francis kisses a figurine of the baby Jesus as he celebrates Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2020. The Mass was not open to the general public and began at 7:30 p.m. local time so that the limited number of attendees could return home in time to [...]
Stefano Navarrini illustration By Mother Martha In early November I received a press release from Sarah Lemieux, the Publicity Coordinator of Sophia Institute Press about its recent publication, The Vatican Christmas Cookbook. It’s the sequel to its best-seller The Vatican Cookbook, which I reviewed in ITV’s August/September 2018 issue. Both volumes are sponsored by [...]
Pope Francis during the Angelus (Vatican Media) Pope Francis tells Christians they have the duty and the responsibility to be a living presence in society, inspiring it with the Gospel. October 18, 2020 Pope Francis called on Christians to dedicate themselves generously to the promotion and defense of human dignity in today’s world, bearing [...]
Loggia of the Blessings on the night of the election of Pope Saint John Paul II The anniversary of John Paul II's election to the papacy falls this year on the centenary of his birth: two events celebrated by Churches around the world. The Vatican Publishing House and the Osservatore Romano preserve the memorable [...]
Pope Francis appeals for Lebanon during the General Audience on September 2, 2020 (CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters) One month after a massive explosion at a fertilizer storage facility tore through Beirut and reopened Lebanon’s old wounds, Pope Francis expresses his and the Church’s solidarity with the troubled nation and calls for a worldwide [...]
The round circle of water marks the crater left by the explosion. The large building in the middle foreground was not demolished, and to a certain extent, protected the city to the right of that building from a shockwave. A powerful explosion and subsequent shock wave which spread more than six miles killed more [...]
CNS photo/Vatican Media Pope Francis celebrates the 7th anniversary of his visit to the migrants in the Italian island of Lampedusa with a Mass in the Casa Santa Marta chapel. July 8, 2020 Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Christians to discover the face of Jesus in the migrants, refugees and the displaced who are [...]
Vatican Media Pope Francis reflects on the Gospel reading of the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time noting that the solace that Christ offers to the weary and the oppressed is not merely psychological relief or almsgiving. July 5, 2020 Pope Francis addressed a scattering of the well-distanced faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday [...]
CNS photo/Michaela Rehle, Reuters The elderly Bavarian priest had been hospitalized in Regensburg, in Bavaria, where he lived and where he received his brother Joseph’s final visit, with whom he had been ordained on the same day. July 1, 2020 Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of the Pope emeritus, died Wednesday morning, aged 96. [...]
Retired Pope Benedict XVI is seen in a file photo praying with his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, 96, in his private chapel at the Vatican. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters) Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, traveled to Regensburg today to be alongside his brother Georg, accompanied by Archbishop Gänswein, the vice commander of the Vatican [...]
