Author Archive
Pennsylvanians remember Flight 93 passengers who perished 15 years ago
IMAGE: CNS photo/Mary Seamans, The Catholic Accent By Elizabeth Fazzini SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (CNS) — Fifteen years after United Flight 93 crashed in an open field in southern Pennsylvania, a small group of Catholics quietly gathered in the stillness of the site to remember the people who sacrificed their lives …
Ukrainian parish in Paris offers community, including for immigrants
IMAGE: CNS photo/Ian Langsdon, EPA By Mariana Karapinka PARIS (CNS) — On Sundays, the Saint-Germain-des-Pres quarter of Paris — known for its artistic cafes, expensive boutiques and numerous bookstores — is filled with people in embroidered shirts who speak Ukrainian. Since 1943, the Ukrainian Catholic community has prayed at the …
Minnesota woman lit prayer candle daily for 27 years for missing boy
IMAGE: CNS photo/Dianne Towalski, The Visitor By Dianne Towalski ALBANY, Minn. (CNS) — Agnes Imdieke awakened the morning of Sept. 3 in her apartment on the outskirts of Albany and got ready for the day. As she did every day, she lit a candle and said a prayer for the …
Jesus suffers with all, pope says after confirming sick teen
IMAGE: CNS/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a brief outdoor ceremony, Pope Francis administered the sacrament of confirmation to 16-year-old Giuseppe Chiolo, who had come to the Vatican by ambulance from Florence. Chiolo, who is being treated in the oncology ward of a Florence hospital, had …
Papal commission steps up work to educate church about abuse
IMAGE: CNS/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Members of the pope’s commission for child protection, including an abuse survivor, have been speaking with new bishops and major Vatican offices as part of a mandate to develop and educate the church about best practices. Pope …
Iconographer’s curiosity about God led to growing her faith through art
IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Allana Haynes WASHINGTON (CNS) — Colette Kalvesmaki is trained in the ancient art of iconography, combining her knowledge of theology and her love of art to pass down stories of inspiration to future generations. Growing up in a small town in a nonreligious family, she …
Retired pope says aging brings intense prayer, awareness of judgment
IMAGE: CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As he prays in his house in the Vatican Gardens and, especially, as he ages, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he finds many Scripture passages “more challenging in their greatness and gravity.” Retirement has given the 89-year-old Pope Benedict …
Recalling martyrs, group looks for ways to protect Middle East Christians
By Rhina Guidos WASHINGTON (CNS) — It’s becoming increasingly difficult for Chicagoan Mary Jennett to see and hear daily about the hardship and persecution Christians face, especially in the Middle East. So Jennett decided to do something about it by attending a Sept. 7-9 convention in Washington organized by In …
Exploring the final frontier, Star Trek offered peace, paper says
IMAGE: CNS photo/Paramount By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Honoring Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, the Vatican newspaper said the overwhelmingly popular series gave the world a model of peace, tolerance and cooperation at a time of global tensions. The show — whose first episode aired Sept. 8, 1966 — …
Creative Commons: Monastic life serves God, fires imagination
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Though generally renown for Gregorian chant, curating libraries and offering quiet retreats, some Benedictine monks also brew beer, run farms or play electric guitar, like Abbot Primate Nokter Wolf. Ending his third and final term as leader of the confederation …