Is this a sign of things to come? From the Los Angeles Times: Pope Francis is on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, where instead of tooling around in the popemobile, he’s making his rounds in a borrowed 20-year-old Fiat Campagnola. He also has let it be known how he feels about priests and nuns who drive fancy cars: It pains him. That has to be a kick in the pants for Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, who just last week... Read more
Attractive, isn’t it? Details: A life-size sculpture of Pope Francis was installed yesterday on a patio outside Buenos Aires’ cathedral, where Jorge Bergoglio presided over daily Masses before he became pope in March. The sculpture, made of fiberglass and resin, is in a courtyard closed to the public, but can be glimpsed from the street, where the pontiff appears to be smiling and waving. It is part of a project by artist Fernando Pugliese to populate Buenos Aires with variously... Read more
From The Tidings in Los Angeles: Deacon Valentin Saucedo is thoughtfully silent when asked if he recalls the first time he thought of becoming a priest. His three sisters in the room listen quietly. Then Saucedo breaks the ice. “I’ve been crazy since I was little,” he jokes. In fact, the veteran associate director of the archdiocesan Office of Diaconate Formation was blessed, he says, to have grown up surrounded by “profound religiosity” of his mother, Elvira Favela de Saucedo,... Read more
Details: The Most Rev. Gregory L. Parkes ordained nine men from across Northwest Florida as permanent deacons on June 1 during a sacred Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola. Permanent deacons function in support of the bishop, and serve at parishes to assist at worship and to serve those in need. The men, and the parishes at which they will serve, are: Michael J. Theobald, 56, St. Dominic Parish, Panama City Michael R. Brown, 56, St.... Read more
An interesting nugget or two here, from Cindy Wooden at CNS: “I hope people understand the meaning of this gesture,” Pope Francis told his aides after arriving in Lampedusa yesterday. In what the Vatican newspaper described as the first pastoral trip of his pontificate, Pope Francis knew his arrival would create the climate of a celebration, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman. But that wasn’t the point. “For the pope, the most important thing was and remains — as he... Read more
I saw the striking image above, from the pope’s Mass yesterday, with those unusual vestments and plain altar, and think that’s something of what The Crescat is talking about in her latest post: Every time I read about how humble Francis is I take it personally, as a slight meant to imply that his predecessor was some how not. And every time he shuns the trappings of the office of Pope I spiritually die inside a little more… …It’s more... Read more
Details: On July 1 Pope Francis invited a group of 200 homeless individuals to dinner at the Vatican, where they were served in his name by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello. Cardinal Bertello, president of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State, spent the entire evening with the special guests, with whom he chatted at length and shared personal experiences, according to the July 3 edition of L’Osservatore Romano. “I welcome you in the name of the Pope. As you know, this is your... Read more
Details: The Most Rev. Gregory L. Parkes ordained nine men from across Northwest Florida as permanent deacons on June 1 during a sacred Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola. Permanent deacons function in support of the bishop, and serve at parishes to assist at worship and to serve those in need. The men, and the parishes at which they will serve, are: Michael J. Theobald, 56, St. Dominic Parish, Panama City Michael R. Brown, 56, St.... Read more
Details: The St. Louis Cardinals have done away with religion at Busch Stadium after a fan raised hell over Christian symbols on the pitching mound. Michael Vines, who was watching on TV, noticed what appeared to be a cross and an ichthus — better known as a Jesus fish — etched on the mound next to the cleat scraper and contacted the Riverfront Times’ news blog to express his outrage. Vines, who describes himself as a lifelong Cardinals supporter, took... Read more
Seriously: Erika said heads turned and cameras clicked when Otter, in her white tutu and matching flower, pranced down the aisle with the ring bearer and flower girl. “Then she went to the first pew by my mom and stepdad,” Erika said. “He held the leash and she just lay there, watching the ceremony.” When the couple approached the Rev. Peter Jankowski, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Joliet, with the idea, Jankowski agreed Otter should participate in the... Read more
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The Deacon's Bench
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