James Oldo experienced a radical conversion that led him to become a Franciscan tertiary, and later a priest. He was born in 1364 into a rich family in Lodi, Italy. He married at a young age, and he and his wife both led a very self-indulgent lifesyle. One day, a …

by Pope Francis Vatican City, Apr 17, 2022 / 04:45 am On Easter Sunday 2022, Pope Francis gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi benediction from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. “Urbi et Orbi” means “To the City [of Rome] and to the World.” It is a special apostolic blessing given by …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Apr 17, 2022 / 04:30 am In his Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter 2022, Pope Francis lamented an “Easter of War” as he prayed for peace in Ukraine and around the world. “Today, [Jesus] alone has the right to speak to us of peace. Jesus alone, …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Apr 17, 2022 / 04:00 am Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated Easter Mass for around 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square — the first Easter Mass with the public after two years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. On a sunny and windy morning in Rome, Pope …

by Joe Bukuras, Shannon Mullen Cambridge, Massachusetts, Apr 16, 2022 / 09:03 am One convert’s journey to Catholicism began with an invitation to an ice-cream social. Another says he instantly believed in the Real Presence the moment someone explained what the round object was that everyone was staring at during eucharistic …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Apr 16, 2022 / 01:00 am 1. Benedict XVI was born on Holy Saturday Benedict XVI was born on Holy Saturday, April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria. According to CNA’s count, this year is his fourth Holy Saturday birthday; the last time his …

by CNA Staff Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 15, 2022 / 07:26 am Pope Francis has called God’s mercy “an abyss beyond our comprehension.” “God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones ( Ez 37:1-14),” the pope said in his very first …

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 12, 2022 / 06:00 am More than 70 bishops from around the world have released a “fraternal open letter” to Germany’s bishops warning that sweeping changes to Church teaching advocated by the ongoing process known as the “Synodal Path” may lead to schism. The letter expresses …

by CNA Staff New York City, N.Y., Apr 12, 2022 / 11:20 am Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn urged prayer for those injured in a shooting at a subway station in the New York City borough on Tuesday, and for the first responders and transit workers. “On this Tuesday of …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Apr 12, 2022 / 08:55 am Pope Francis has advanced the beatification cause of an Italian laywoman who was neglected by her parents, abused by her husband, and suffered prolonged health problems. Maria Aristea Ceccarelli was born in northeastern Italy in 1883 to an illiterate and …