Eye-popping headline aside, this is an interesting look at how one parish in New York City is reaching millennials:  A few years ago, Mark Ciolli was headed to Sunday Mass with a pal when they ran into two female acquaintances. “He invited them to Mass,” recalls Ciolli of his friend. “One girl said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve heard about that Mass. That’s the sexy Mass.’ We just looked at each other and laughed.” While it may seem sacrilegious to say it,... Read more

Details:  Artists have long interpreted Jesus’ final meal with his apostles, from Leonardo da Vinci’s classic 15th-century mural to Ron English’s 2010 image featuring Ronald McDonald and Bart Simpson. This week, an artist working in Scotland unveiled his oil painting, which features the faces of some of the most marginalized members of society. Thirteen men in need sit around the table in artist Iain Campbell’s version of The Last Supper. The men depicted in Campbell’s painting are regulars at the... Read more

The Hindustan Times looks at the reasons why: For five years, Omar Fernandes worked as a member of the ground staff at the Mumbai airport. The end of each day was marked by coffee and conversations with colleagues. “Most of the men I worked with were in their 40s and 50s,” says the 30-year-old. “They would talk about how miserable they were at work, how they were struggling to provide for their families. It seemed like such a hard life.”... Read more

It’s the guy on the left (seen here last summer in Buffalo). From Rocco:  While this week before Christmas has seen two Stateside nods slip under the door, the Pope’s saved the best present for last: at Roman Noon this Saturday, word came that Francis had appointed Msgr Paul Tighe, 57 (left) – the Dublin-bred #2 at the Pontifical Council for Social Communications since 2007 – to the new post of adjunct secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, elevating... Read more

From CNA:  On Wednesday Pope Francis met with members of the organization in charge of promoting the cause for canonization of Antoni Gaudi, known as “God’s architect,” telling them that he hopes the cause moves forward quickly. “The meeting with Pope Francis was an unforgettable experience; he told me that ‘Gaudi is a great mystic’ and that he hopes he will be declared Venerable soon,” Jose Manuel Almuzara told CNA Dec. 18. Almuzara heads the Association for the Beatification of... Read more

Finally, the weeks of yearning, waiting, dreaming and wondering have come to an end. The restless longings of the world are fulfilled. At long last, the new “Star Wars” movie has opened. I haven’t seen it yet, and will probably wait a couple weeks until the crowds thin. But I remember seeing the original movie in a theater 38 years ago. We think of it now as simply “Star Wars,” but true aficionados know it by its full title: “Star... Read more

The scene above (which I snapped with my cellphone a few days ago) can be viewed on the window of the Madison Restaurant near my office (First Ave. & 54th St.). As far as I know, it hasn’t received much attention or comment. That’s a far cry from this McDonald’s window in Tennessee.  Details:  A McDonald’s in Spring Hill, Tennessee gained a lot of attention after the restaurant was decorated for the holidays. A window at the McDonald’s features a painted... Read more

A look at a teenager’s unexpected conversion, via Huffington Post:  About five years ago Natalie Thomson, an attractive, popular, well-adjusted 16-year-old girl made this surprising announcement. It was surprising for two reasons: at the time the Catholic Church, in the throes of the pedophilia scandal, was losing members much faster than it was gaining them; and her parents, while loving and supportive, had long been turned off by organized religion and might have been expected, by their example, to nudge... Read more