On February 8, the Church commemorates the life of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Canossian Sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan. Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869, in a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was kidnapped while working in the fields with her …

CNA Staff, Oct 22, 2020 / 06:00 am MT (CNA).- A Polish city has unveiled a giant mural of St. John Paul II in honor of the birth centenary of the pope whose feast day is celebrated Thursday. City authorities in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland, commissioned the portrait, which is …

Vatican City, Oct 16, 2020 / 05:00 am MT (CNA).- St. John Paul II accurately predicted the problems facing the world today, his longtime personal secretary said Friday, the anniversary of the Polish pope’s election. In an essay marking the election on Oct. 16, 1978, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz said that …

CNA Staff, Jun 20, 2020 / 07:00 am MT (CNA).- The Church in Poland will celebrated the centenary of the baptism of St. John Paul II Saturday. The future pope was baptized on June 20, 1920, in the Chapel of the Holy Family of the Basilica of the Presentation of …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2020 / 03:47 pm MT (CNA).- One hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II. In a new book …

Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 04:15 am MT (CNA).- St. John Paul II was a man of prayer who was close to the people and loved justice, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass Monday. Celebrating Mass at the saint’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope noted that …

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, May 18, 2020 / 05:00 am MT (CNA).- “Thirty-nine years ago today I was on my way into St. Peter’s Square when the pope was shot,” Joan Lewis said over the phone on May 13. It is just one of many vivid memories Lewis has …

CNA Staff, May 16, 2020 / 12:00 pm MT (CNA).- The Polish bishops’ conference is encouraging the faithful to participate in a social media campaign to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope St. John Paul II on Monday. Pope St. John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla …

by Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, May 15, 2020 / 02:00 pm MT (CNA).- Pope St. John Paul II— who would have turned 100 years old May 18— was a man of great humility, whose nearly 27-year pontificate nevertheless left a lasting impression on the Catholic Church and the world, according …

CNA Staff, May 15, 2020 / 03:00 am MT (CNA).- John Paul II was a “liberating restorer of the Church” in the turbulent years after the Second Vatican Council, Benedict XVI has said in a letter marking the 100th anniversary of the saint’s birth. In a message to Cardinal Stanisław …