The universal Church remembers the poverello of Assisi, Saint Francis, these days. Loved by millions throughout the world, it is a special privilege to celebrate his feast day in the town he loved so much, and close to the many sights connected to his earthly life. On a night like tonight, October 3rd, 1226, twenty years after his conversion to Christ, Francis asked to be taken to the chapel of Saint Mary of the Portiuncula located a walking distance from... Read more
I approached the train ticket counter at the airport of Paris, and after uttering some words in broken French, which the young lady behind the counter could hardly understand, I had a train ticket in my hand to the small northern French town of Lisieux. That evening, after several hours of travel from Rome, I reached the hometown of one of the modern world’s favorite saints: Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, also known as Saint Therese of Lisieux or... Read more
This morning, Thursday, September 29th, Cardinal Sean O’Malley ordained thirty seminarians of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy to the diaconate. Hailing from various dioceses in the United States, Deacon Andrew Larkin of the Diocese of Savannah was among them. Cardinal O’Malley stressed that for deacons, the towel must be as important as the stole. This beautiful image serves as a reminder that deacons are ordained primarily to serve the people of God, not only to fulfill a... Read more
El Padre Tomas Rosica, asistente de la Oficina de Prensa del Vaticano para angloparlantes, afirmó que el mayor logro del Papa Francisco es el cambio de imagen del catolicismo a nivel mundial. Hace unas semanas tuve oportunidad de escuchar al Padre Rosica comentar sobre el papado de Francisco durante una conferencia en Atlanta. Rosica dijo que hoy estudian al Papa Francisco en universidades seculares como un estudio de caso, por haber relanzado la imagen de la Iglesia. Los esfuerzos del... Read more
Father Thomas Rosica, the English language assistant of the Vatican Press Office, stated that Pope Francis’ greatest achievement is the rebranding of Catholicism at a global level. I had the opportunity to hear Father Rosica comment on the Papacy of Francis during a conference in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Rosica stated that the current Pope is being considered as a case study for rebranding in secular universities. His efforts however are not measured nor guided by an image consultor,... Read more
El 11 de febrero del 2013, el Papa Benedicto XVI sorprendió al mundo entero cuando anunció a los cardenales reunidos en la Capilla Sixtina que debido a su avanzada edad renunciaría al ministerio de Obispo de Roma. Este Papa quienes muchos sostienen como el campeón de la tradición, terminó su papado con una acción nada tradicional. Esa mañana mientras oía las noticias, pensaba como haber escuchado de la muerte de Benedicto no me hubiese sorprendido, pero me encontraba en shock... Read more
On February 11th, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world when he announced to Cardinals gathered at the Sistine Chapel that due to his advanced age he would resign from the ministry of Bishop of Rome. The Pope who many hold up as the champion of tradition ended his Papacy with a most untraditional act, resignation. That morning as I heard this news on the radio, I considered I would not have been shocked to hear of the Pope’s death,... Read more
There it is. Nothing fancy. In it you find the phone numbers for Vatican employees who work in the various offices of Vatican City. It’s simple as that! Picture is mine, all rights reserved. Read more
En una mañana de domingo hace diez años durante mi visita a la fascinante ciudad de Estambul, me dirigí a una de las pocas iglesias católicas de la ciudad para asistir a la Misa. Fui temprano ya que no tenía la dirección exacta, pero el portero del hotel si me había explicado un poco donde se encontraba la iglesia. Caminé varias veces por las dos mismas cuadras de una avenida muy transitada de la ciudad y no pude encontrar la... Read more
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Happy Feast Day from Assisi
Today the Italian region of Piemonte came on pilgrimage to honor the patron saint of Italy, Saint Francis. Each year, a different region presents the oil that will burn at the tomb of the saint. The Archbishop of Turin, Cesare Nosiglia, celebrated the 10am Mass at the Upper Basilica and the Mayor of Turin, Chiara Appendino, presented the oil, asking for it to be blessed. After Mass, various authorities addressed the crowd from a balcony, including the Mayor of Assisi... Read more