Photo Essays to explain what words cannot describe.
Benedict XVI carries the Paschal candle as he enters St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass on April 7. The night before Easter Sunday, the Vigil of Easter, the Holy Father presided over a majestic 3-hour liturgy inside St. Peter’s Basilica. The liturgy began with the entire Church in total darkness and [...]
Benedict XVI presided at the Good Friday service in St. Peter’s Basilica April 6, and chanted the solemn prayers of intercession for the Church, for himself and for the world, but during the homily he sat and listened. In fact, the homily was delivered by the preacher of the papal household, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa. In [...]
Pope Benedict carries the Holy Eucharist to the Altar of Repose after the Chrism Mass on April 5. Benedict XVI breathes over chrism oil, a gesture symbolizing the infusion of the Holy Spirit, during Holy Thursday Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Among the many accomplishments of Joseph Ratzinger before and after [...]
Holy Father, Cardinal Sodano, my brothers in Christ: Sia lodato Gesù Cristo! [“Praised be Jesus Christ!”] It is as old as the final mandate of Jesus, “Go, teach all nations!”, yet as fresh as God’s Holy Word proclaimed at our own Mass this morning. I speak of the sacred duty of evangelization. It is “ever [...]
US Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien receives a red biretta from Benedict XVI on February 18. On February 18, in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals from 13 countries — including three from the United States and Canada — placing red hats on their heads and calling them to lives of even greater [...]