IMAGE: Nancy Wiechec By Chaz Muth WASHINGTON (CNS) — Catholic missionaries played a large role in bringing European values and religion to North America in the 18th century. The role of the Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans and other Catholic religious orders was to set up missions that became economic, political and …

IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Respond to the crisis of vocations with intensified prayer, not despair or a lax admissions process, Pope Francis told women and men religious. He said he is tempted to lose hope, too, asking God, “What is happening? Why is the …

National Catholic Schools Week 2016 will be celebrated across the United States Jan. 31- Feb. 6 with the theme “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” “Catholic schools are a vital aspect of the church’s mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and so an important aspect of …

By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More than 1,000 “missionaries of mercy” from all over the world will receive a special mandate from Pope Francis to preach and teach about God’s mercy, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella. About 700 of the missionaries who were chosen by Pope Francis will be …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Praying for a loved one’s health and healing, tenderly caring for them and asking very human questions about why people suffer are experiences Christians, Muslims and Jews all share, Pope Francis said. In his message for the World Day …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Loyola Press By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Children may say the darnedest things, but when it comes to questions about faith they can make even the most learned parents and priests pause. “These are tough,” Pope Francis said when presented with questions from 30 children …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jay Rommel Labra, EPA By Simone Orendain CEBU, Philippines (CNS) — Two Asian church leaders urged participants in the 51st International Eucharistic Congress to follow the example of Pope Francis, working to reach people on the periphery. The pope’s envoy to the congress, Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Azure Agency By MARRAKESH, Morocco (CNS) — Muslim leaders from around the world adopted a declaration defending the rights of religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries. Participants said the Marrakesh Declaration, developed during a Jan. 25-27 conference, was based on the Medina Charter, a constitutional contract between the …

By Dennis Sadowski TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) — Every time Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno looks through a telescope at a deep sky object or examines a piece of a 4-billion-year-old meteorite that found its way to Earth, he says he’s exploring a mystery that spans both science and faith. Not that …

By Dennis Sadowski TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) — For a long time, Father Timothy Martinez felt alone. Not so much in his priesthood and his responsibilities as pastor of Risen Savior Parish in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but because of his passion for astronomy and his concern about the media-driven divide between …