by Jessica Rinaudo It’s not every day that the apostolic nuncio, the Vatican’s ambassador to the U.S., visits Cincinnati. But in November, Father Earl Fernandes, his former assistant at the nunciature, invited him to make the trip to Southwestern Ohio from Washington, D.C. During his visit, Archbishop Christophe Pierre took …

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter celebrates the papacy and St. Peter as the first bishop of Rome. St. Peter’s original name was Simon. He was married with children and was living and working in Capernaum as a fisherman when Jesus called him to be one of the …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Jan 12, 2021 / 09:00 am MT (CNA).- The Vatican gave guidance Tuesday about how priests can distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published a note Jan. 12, directing priests to …

by Andrea Gagliarducci Vatican City, Jan 25, 2021 / 07:56 pm MT (CNA).- Increasing rumors from multiple Vatican sources say the Vatican communications department might experience a shakeup shortly, and that Pope Francis might try a new redesign of the dicastery that handles Vatican media. On Jan. 16, Paolo Ruffini, …

by Andrea Gagliarducci Vatican City, Jan 23, 2021 / 03:01 pm MT (CNA).- Earlier this month the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples sent a letter to the bishops of some 1,100 Catholic territories and announced the gradual reduction of the financial support they regularly receive from the Vatican. Since …

by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Jan 15, 2021 / 12:40 pm MT (CNA).- The United States ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, met with Pope Francis Friday as she prepares to leave Rome in tandem with the end of Donald Trump’s presidency. She will leave the post Jan. 20 …

by Andrea Gagliarducci Vatican City, Jan 14, 2021 / 05:45 pm MT (CNA).- Pope Francis might soon choose a new Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, to replace Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who turned 77 in September. His replacement, according to Vatican observers, may bring a broader generational change that could involve …

CNA Staff, Jan 11, 2021 / 07:30 am MT (CNA).- On Sunday, Jan. 10, the internet was abuzz with false reports of an overnight blackout at the Vatican, accompanied by a series of claims concerning Pope Francis, the Italian police, and the FBI. The claims were widely shared by conspiracy …

by Courtney Mares Vatican City, Jan 11, 2021 / 04:05 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis issued a motu proprio Monday changing canon law to allow women to serve as lectors and acolytes. In the motu proprio “Spiritus Domini,” issued on Jan. 11, the pope changed canon 230 § 1 of …

by Courtney Mares Vatican City, Dec 24, 2020 / 01:00 pm MT (CNA).- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis said that the poverty of Christ’s birth in a stable contains an important lesson for today. “That manger, poor in everything yet rich in love, teaches that true nourishment in life comes …