The First Image of St. Francis of Assisi
High above the Aniene Valley, the Monastery of the Sacro Speco clings dramatically to the rock. Built around the grotto where Saint Benedict of Nursia once lived as a young hermit, the “Holy Cave” is a cradle of Western monasticism — a place where silence, prayer, and work shaped the future of the Church. Yet […]
Hope of the Poor: On the Streets of Mexico
On the edge of Mexico City, a vast landfill known as El Bordo has become a place of survival. Among mountains of discarded plastic and metal, families search for recyclables they can sell. Street children battle addiction. Many live without running water or electricity, in conditions few can imagine. For Craig Johring, Danny Leger, and […]
Vatican Issues Stamp Honoring Ukrainian Catholics
The stamp features the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. A new Vatican stamp issue honoring Ukrainian Catholics marks three major milestones for the Catholic Church in Ukraine, even as the country continues to endure the ongoing war. The stamp features the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Resurrection of […]
Pope Leo XIV Thanks Varden After Lenten Retreat
Bishop Erik Varden closed a weeklong retreat for the Roman Curia with meditations on the cross and hope. Pope Leo XIV closed the Vatican’s weeklong Lenten spiritual exercises Friday by thanking retreat preacher Bishop Erik Varden and urging those gathered to live out St. Paul’s exhortation to “behave in a manner worthy of the Gospel […]
Pope Leo XIV Urges Diplomacy Amid Iran Tensions
The pontiff warned that “stability and peace are not built with mutual threats” and appealed for dialogue to avert a wider crisis. Pope Leo XIV voiced concern on Sunday about developments in the Middle East and Iran, urging the parties involved to stop what he called a “spiral of violence” before it becomes an “unbridgeable […]
Pope Leo XIV Urges ‘Unconditional Love’ in Rome
Visiting a parish in Rome, the pope preached on the Transfiguration and Abraham’s journey of faith. Pope Leo XIV spent Sunday afternoon with parishioners in Rome’s Quarticciolo neighborhood, meeting young people and families touched by addiction before celebrating Mass and urging Catholics to embrace what he called “the logic of unconditional love.” The pope arrived […]
Pope Leo XIV on Seeking God and Atheism
This week, Pope Leo XIV addressed a striking question from an atheist who paradoxically described himself as someone who loves God. Writing in the February issue of the magazine Piazza San Pietro, the Holy Father responded by quoting a well-known line from St. Augustine’s Confessions: “You were within me and I was outside and there […]
Saint Francis Lives On: Pilgrims Flock to Assisi
The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi shelters one of the most sacred places in the Christian world: the Porziuncola, the small chapel where Saint Francis understood his vocation and founded the Order of Friars Minor. Within the same basilica, however, stands another site that many pilgrims pass without noticing — the Chapel […]
Holy Year of Saint Francis: 8th Centenary of his Life
With a papal decree, Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a Jubilee Year dedicated to Saint Francis, to be celebrated from January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027. The year marks eight centuries since the death of the Poor Man of Assisi and invites Christians across the world to rediscover and live his message of peace, […]
Varden: Angels Don’t Indulge Our Whims
The Cistercian bishop reflected on angels as mediators of God’s providence and on St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s realism rooted in mercy. Bishop Erik Varden continued leading the Vatican’s Lenten spiritual exercises on Feb. 26 with meditations on angels, trust in God, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s path from lofty ideals to what Varden described as […]