By Courtney Mares Vatican City, May 22, 2023 / 11:15 am The Catholic Church is one step closer to canonizing a surfing saint. Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtue of Brazil’s “Surfer Angel” Guido Schäffer in a decree issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Saturday. Schäffer was …

By Shannon Mullen, Courtney Mares Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 19, 2023 / 13:47 pm The shooting death of Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell Saturday is being investigated as a homicide, authorities have confirmed. “This incident is being handled as a murder investigation,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said …

By Shannon Mullen, Courtney Mares Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 18, 2023 / 23:08 pm Los Angeles Auxilary Bishop David O’Connell, a popular priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for many years known for his work ministering to immigrants, the poor, and victims of gun violence in South LA, was shot and …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Jan 25, 2023 / 08:10 am Pope Francis has reiterated that homosexuality is “not a crime” in a new interview published Wednesday. The interview with the Associated Press covered a wide range of topics, including laws that criminalize homosexuality and sodomy. “Being homosexual is not a crime. …

By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Jan 19, 2023 / 12:15 pm Pope Francis declared six Catholics as venerable servants of God on Thursday, moving them each one step closer to canonization. In a decree signed on Jan. 19, the pope recognized the heroic virtue of an Italian stigmatist, four 20th-century priests, …

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Jan 5, 2023 / 08:36 am Catholics from Germany, France, Ghana, India, Australia, Uganda, and many more countries who attended the funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Thursday have shared their favorite memories of the late pope and why some decided to join in …

By Hannah Brockhaus, Courtney Mares Vatican City, Jan 5, 2023 / 04:50 am Tens of thousands of people were present in St. Peter’s Square for the funeral Thursday of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a leading theologian of the 20th century and the first pope to resign from office in nearly 600 years. …

By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Jan 1, 2023 / 12:10 pm The late Benedict XVI was known for his intellectual acumen as a theologian and philosopher, but perhaps his most relatable quality was that he was a cat person. As we remember the life and legacy of the pope, here is …

By Zelda Caldwell, Courtney Mares Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 1, 2023 / 12:12 pm The last words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as he lay on his deathbed were “Lord, I love you!” according to the late pope’s longtime personal secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Vatican News reported. At about 3 a.m. on …

By Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Dec 31, 2022 / 13:54 pm The Vatican published Benedict XVI’s spiritual testament on Saturday night in which the late pope underlined “the reasonableness of faith.” “What I said before to my countrymen, I say now to all those in the Church who have been entrusted …