Posts Tagged
Courtney Mares
Pope Francis appoints Bishop Lewandowski as new bishop of Providence, Rhode Island

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Apr 8, 2025 / 09:40 am Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Bruce Lewandowski as the new head of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, the Vatican announced Tuesday. Lewandowski, 57, currently serves as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He will be installed in …
‘Go to Joseph’: What popes from Blessed Pius IX to Pope Francis have said about St. Joseph

By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Mar 19, 2025 / 04:00 am The proclamation of the Year of St. Joseph by Pope Francis in December 2020 coincided with the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the universal Church by Blessed Pius IX on Dec. 8, 1870. “Jesus Christ Our …
Why the Church has celebrated the Chair of St. Peter feast for 1,600 years

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Feb 22, 2025 / 11:00 am Every year on Feb. 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a tradition that dates back more than 1,600 years. The feast honors not just a physical chair but what it represents: the authority …
Elon Musk’s brother pitches jubilee year drone show in Rome

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Jan 28, 2025 / 11:30 am Kimbal Musk, entrepreneur and younger brother of Elon Musk, met with Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri over the weekend to propose a drone-based musical light show for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee, according to Italian media. Donning his signature cowboy hat, …
Pope Francis ‘deeply saddened’ by New Orleans attack, offers prayers

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Jan 2, 2025 / 09:40 am Pope Francis offered his condolences after 15 people were killed in New Orleans when a U.S. Army veteran drove a pickup truck with an Islamic State flag into a crowd celebrating the New Year. The pope sent a condolence message …
Here is the miracle that now paves the way for Pier Giorgio Frassati’s canonization

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Nov 25, 2024 / 12:45 pm Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s intercession on Monday, paving the way for his canonization as a saint during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee of Youth next summer. Frassati, who died at the age of 24 …
Pope Francis announces 2025 canonizations for Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati

By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Nov 20, 2024 / 05:58 am Pope Francis announced Wednesday that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, two young Catholics beloved for their vibrant faith and witness to holiness, will be canonized during two major jubilee celebrations dedicated to young people. The surprise …
Historic ‘Chair of St. Peter’ on public display in Vatican basilica for first time in 150 years

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Nov 9, 2024 / 06:00 am For the first time in over a century, the historic Chair of St. Peter, a wooden throne symbolizing the pope’s magisterial authority, has been removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St. Peter’s Basilica to be displayed for public veneration. …
These are the 14 people who will be canonized saints this weekend

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Oct 17, 2024 / 18:10 pm Among the 14 people who will become the Catholic Church’s newest saints on Sunday is a priest whose intercession led to the miraculous healing of a man mauled by a jaguar, a woman who convinced a pope to call for …
Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including archbishops of Tehran and Toronto

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Oct 6, 2024 / 07:41 am Pope Francis announced on Sunday that he will create 21 new cardinals, including the archbishops of Tehran, Tokyo, and Toronto, at a consistory on Dec. 8. The 87-year-old pope made the announcement from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square after …