Some news from the Pope emeritus, via the Vatican: Pope emeritus Benedict has sent a short letter to the editor of the Italian news daily Il Corriere della Sera. The Pope emeritus was responding to the many inquiries from readers as to how he is spending “this last period of his life.” Noting the “slow decline” of his “physical strength,” Benedict says in the letter that “interiorly, I am on a pilgrimage towards Home.” The former Roman Pontiff admits that... Read more

Don’t make your congregation end up like Mr. Bean (the inimitable Rowan Atkinson, in the classic clip above). During today’s General Audience, Pope Francis had these words of wisdom for anyone who dares climb into the pulpit: One who gives the homily must fulfill well his ministry – he who preaches, the priest, or the deacon or the Bishop –, offers a real service to all those taking part in the Mass, but those who hear him must also do... Read more

Tellingly, the miracles attributed to the pope known for his encyclical about birth control both involve the healing of unborn children during difficult pregnancies. Details via Aleteia’s Kathleen Hattrup:  A baby in the fifth month of pregnancy being carried by a mother who had a disease that put the life of both of them at risk was born in good health and is now a healthy, growing girl — and her miraculous life is attributed to the prayers of Paul... Read more

Yes, you can now buy socks with saints, thanks to a little company called Sock Religious (not to be confused, evidently, with sacrilegious). From their website: Sock Religious is a Mom and Pop online store. Scott and Elisabeth launched their business at NCYC 2017 and aren’t looking back. It all started with Scott always trying to match his sock with the holiday, time of the year, or special event. We love our Catholic faith which celebrates more feasts than anyone... Read more

From The New York Times: The Rev. Peter M. Colapietro, a Roman Catholic priest and outsize New York personality whose late-night presence as a regular at celebrity hangouts contrasted with his low-key work in parishes in Manhattan, died on Monday night. He was 69. The cause was emphysema, said Dr. Joseph Platania, his cardiologist. Father Colapietro had been in a rehabilitation facility for about a year. He was assigned to St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church, known as the Actors’ Chapel,... Read more

This popped up on Facebook tonight, courtesy writer Cathleen Falsani Possley. (Huge h/t to Frank Weathers for sending it my way!) She posted a long piece on the late, great John Mahoney, best known as Martin Crane, the plaid-shirt-wearing dad on “Frasier.” Mahoney died today at the age of 77. And he was, it turns out, a profoundly spiritual, even religious man. This comes from her book “The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux,... Read more

From WOOD-TV: On Super Bowl Sunday, the Schwandt household was like many others: They made food, enjoyed each other’s company and argued over who was going to win. But there’s a big difference in Jay and Kateri Schwandt’s home compared to most: They have 13 kids. All of them are boys. The large Rockford family made national headlines a couple years ago. “I would love to have a girl, but I just don’t think it’s in the cards,” Jay Schwandt... Read more

After the headline-making tour of 2017, the Saint Pio Foundation has announced a new tour of the relics for this year. In a press release, the foundation says the relics will tour in two parts: from February to May, and from September to November. Check out the foundation’s website to see all the tour dates and stops and to learn how you can see them. Meantime, the video below, from the 2017 tour, gives a preview of what to expect.... Read more

Watch this remarkable speech—and check out what happens at about the 2:00 mark, when coach Doug Pederson asks the team to kneel. Together, they pray The Lord’s Prayer. I couldn’t help but notice  the ESPN feed of this moment that was posted on YouTube deletes the prayer, but includes everything else around it. Why? Read more

Another great truck ad—this one, with an overt religious theme. This, from Toyota. Read more