2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

From Switzerland, some eye candy for mid-December: The Abbey of St. Gall, founded by St. Othmar on the spot where St. Gall had his hermitage, contains one of the richest medieval libraries in the world.  The interior of the cathedral is one of Europe’s most important baroque monuments, in the Rococo style with carved polished wood, stucco and an elaborately painted ceiling.  Since 1983 it’s been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the most valuable documents in the library’s collection... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

This morning in St. Peter’s Square, a man doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire. A Jesuit priest standing nearby attempted to smother the flames with a jacket, before police officers stepped in with fire extinguishers.  The two police officers were successful in extinguishing the flames, but they suffered smoke inhalation and burns to their hands and are now hospitalized for treatment. The 51-year-old man was treated at a nearby hospital, then transported to a larger one.  He... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

I know.  There are piles of great books for Catholic mothers out there.  I’ve read a bunch of them, in hopes that I’ll do a better job. In the last week before Christmas, though, I thought I’d highlight just a couple of great titles.  You know, just in case you’re looking for another last-minute gift to tuck under the tree. A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism First, a great book to read en... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

For Harold Camping, the world has finally come to an end.  At least, for him. Harold Camping was the fundamentalist minister and radio broadcaster who first predicted that the world would end in 1994.  Seventeen years later, he took to the airwaves on Camping’s own Family Life Radio to proclaim that the world would end on May 21, 2011.  When that didn’t happen, he revised his math and changed the date to October 21.  And when that date also passed... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

Just in time for Pope Francis’ birthday, the Vatican Internet Office created this special photo album. Click here to see the entire 32-page album, featuring some of L’Osservatore Romano‘s best shots of the Holy Father at prayer, with children, waving to crowds…. in short, doing what he does every day.   Happy Birthday, Papa Francesco! Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

When 20th Century Fox approached independent filmmaker Casey Neistat, asking him to help in promoting Ben Stiller’s new movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Neistat made a bold proposal. “You give me your money,” he responded, “and I’ll go spend every penny of it to help the folks in the Philippines whose lives are in upheaval after the worst Typhoon in recorded history.” To their credit, 20th Century Fox bought it.  They gave $25,000 to Neistat, and he and... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:51-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

Pope Francis began his 77th birthday as he begins every other day:  by celebrating Mass in the chapel at the Domus Sanctae Marthae. This morning, though, the faithful who gathered to pray with him were not cardinals or foreign dignitaries.  Joining the Pope for Mass and a special birthday breakfast were his household staff, four homeless men and a dog.  Also attending and concelebrating the Mass with the Pope were Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, and Cardinal Angelo... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:52-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

Deacon Greg Kandra brought this up: Just how many times are we going to see Pope Francis smiling from the cover of a magazine as we pass through the supermarket checkout line?  Wow, he’s right! Pope Francis was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year, and he was featured on the cover of this week’s issue of the magazine. Then he was featured in the New Yorker magazine, and there he was again, smiling at us from the front cover. And... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:52-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

Pope Francis has been making a list and checking it twice.  On his first Christmas as Pope, the Holy Father is giving 2,000 prepaid telephone cards and 4,000 day tickets for the Metro, Rome’s underground rail system, to Rome’s poorest and most marginalized citizens. Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of His Holiness, will deliver 2,000 envelopes to locations and shelters in Rome where aid is offered by the Sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and by volunteers.  The Sisters and volunteers... Read more

2016-09-30T15:53:52-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:53 pm   By

In the 1200s, St. Francis of Assisi created the first Christmas Creche, which helped to make the local townspeople aware of the Christmas story.  St. Bonaventure, bishop and Doctor of the Church who died in 1274, told the story in his biography of Francis: It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of Grecio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, [St. Francis] determined to keep it with... Read more

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