by Mary Farrow Denver, Colo., Dec 31, 2020 / 04:01 pm MT (CNA).- While the COVID-19 pandemic has turned life upside down for many people in 2020, it’s not the first time the Church has gone through a major health crisis. In the middle of the 14th century, the plague …

Today is the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket on December 29, 1170. Thomas Becket was a statesman, a scholar, a chancellor, a priest, an archbishop, and a lion of religious liberty. Before the Magna Carta was drafted, before the right to free exercise of religion was …

by Mary Farrow Lafayette, La., Dec 23, 2020 / 04:00 pm MT (CNA).- Three Cajun Catholics from the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana are on their way to becoming canonized saints after a historic ceremony earlier this year. During the Jan. 11 ceremony, Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of Lafayette officially opened …

Blessed Pope Urban V was born Guillaume de Grimoard at Grisac in Languedoc, 1310. He studied canon law and theology in Avignon and became a Benedictine monk. He was named abbot of his monastery in 1352, and served as a papal diplomat and was eventually sent as an ambassador to …

On November 28, the Church honors St. Catherine Labouré, the humble Daughter of Charity to whom Mary appeared, requesting that the Miraculous Medal be stamped so that all who wear it would receive great graces. Saint Catherine Labouré was born in France on May 2, 1806. She was the ninth …

The Solemnity of All Saints is celebrated on the first of November. It was instituted to honour all of the saints, both known and unknown, and, according to Pope Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of saints’ feasts during the year. In the early days of …

Anthony Claret was born in Spain in 1807 and like his father, he was a weaver by trade. In his spare time, he studied Latin, and at the age of 22, he entered the seminary, and was ordained in 1835. He preached and worked in the missions for 10 years …

On July 26 the Roman Catholic Church commemorates the parents of the Virgin Mary, Saints Joachim and Anne. The couple’s faith and perseverance brought them through the sorrow of childlessness, to the joy of conceiving and raising the immaculate and sinless woman who would give birth to Christ. The New …

One of the Eucharistic Prayers has a long list of saint names. What is the history of this prayer and why does it name so many saints? The Eucharistic Prayer with the lengthy list of saints is known as the First Eucharistic Prayer. Also called the Roman Canon because of …

Today’s Video looks at St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers, St. Thomas More died when he he chose God’s law over that of King Henry VIII.