The heart of every Christian is the site of a “struggle”. Each time the Father “draws us” toward Jesus, there is “someone else waging war with us”. Pope Francis highlighted this message in his homily at Santa Marta on Thursday morning, 19 January. Reflecting on the day’s Gospel passage (Mk 3:7-12), the Holy Father focused on [...]
A Franciscan Capuchin, the archbishop of Smyrna, Turkey (and, since the murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese on June 3, 2010, apostolic administrator of Anatolia), Ruggero Franceschini, 73, is a witness to the life of the Catholic Church in Turkey. Here, he speaks of the difficulties facing Christians in a Muslim country and expresses hope that new [...]
From 1980 to 1995, Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes was vice president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. For the German cardinal, it was a chance to get in touch with new movements: “I slowly discovered these new groups. I have seen their strength and zeal, I have seen how they were bound to the Lord [...]
On May 18 and 19, Catholic movements and lay associations will meet with Pope Francis in Rome during the Year of Faith. The idea was born some months ago when Benedict XVI was still Pope, and has been kept by his successor, Francis. Reflecting on this, the different organizations decided to propose not just a “meeting” [...]
The present and former Popes met, in a moment without precedent, on March 23. And the words which remain are the ones spoken by Pope Francis to Benedict: “We are brothers.” As Nicole Winfield put it in her comprehensive Associated Press dispatch: “The two men in white embraced and showed one another the deference owed a [...]
EVENTS HOLY SEE DEBUTS PAVILION AT VENICE BIENNALE For the first time in history, a major secular arts festival will include an exhibit from the Holy See. The president of the famous Venice Biennale, Paolo Baratta, spoke about the Vatican’s presence at this year’s May 2013 Biennale. There is no shortage of artistic inspiration within the Vatican’s walls, [...]
“The greatness and power of Michel Agnolo, the sweetness and beauty of Raphael, and the very colors of Nature herself” —An evaluation of the Italian artist Titian by Ludovico Dolce (1508/10-1568), Dialogue on Painting On until June 16 at the Quirinal Palace’s scuderie, or stables, is a splendid retrospective of the most important Italian artist [...]
The Eternal City usually begins to wake up from its winter torpor in mid-March; this year, however, Rome suddenly woke up as early as February, jolted out of sleep by an event which put it in the limelight. Pope Ratzinger’s unexpected decision to resign, announced in Latin during an ordinary consistory on February 11, opened up [...]
Assisi awaits Pope Francis (it is expected in Rome that the new Pope, named Francis, will travel to Assisi in early October). Already, many people are traveling to Assisi to rediscover the life and writings of St. Francis and to pray at the saint’s tomb. It is a pilgrimage which is best done quietly, on your [...]
“To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers. So it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches.” —St. John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D Lectio divina, an ancient method of praying while reading the [...]