This essay was given as a homily on November 16, 2019, at the Mass of the Americas at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, directly over the spot where our Lord’s Cross stood, there stands a Greek altar.... Read more

A long time ago, a man of resourceful and relentless kindness saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. He trusted me when I thought I was untrustworthy, and took an interest in me that went beyond my initial interest in him. He was the first person I ever wrote about who became my... Read more

France’s Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill on the rebuilding of Notre-Dame Cathedral— three months after a fire destroyed the church’s roof— even amid disagreement on the best way to proceed with the restoration. The April 15 fire destroyed the wooden roof of the cathedral as well... Read more

This year, the fifth annual Eucharistic Procession known as the Fête-Dieu du Teche is set to take place on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thursday, August 15. While the feast day is an important celebration for all Catholics, it is especially so for the faithful of... Read more

Clerical sexual abuse of minors; sexual harassment and assault in the film industry; Catholic traditionalist and modernizing impulses; homosexuality and the definition of marriage; populism vs. elitism; strict anti-abortion laws: Somehow the life of Franco Zeffirelli, who died June 15 at age 96,... Read more

These 500-year-old boxwood miniatures from the 16th century are tiny religious carvings created in Flanders (Netherlands) that require researchers to view them using micro-CT scanning, Advanced 3D analysis Software, and even X-rays. Market demand for profitable religious 16th-century carvings... Read more

The archbishop wore a hard-hat helmet, burnt wood debris was still visible and only about 30 people were let inside, but Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday held its first Mass since the devastating April 15th fire that ravaged its roof and toppled its masterpiece spire. Exactly two months after... Read more

The Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, is renowned for his calm demeanor and easy-going manner. That made it all the more significant when, during a recent radio interview following President Emmanuel Macron’s address to the nation about the burning of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Aupetit expressed... Read more

ROME — For the first time in almost three centuries, the stairs that Jesus is said to have climbed to receive his death sentence from Pontius Pilate are accessible to pilgrims in their original version. Since 1723, at the request of Pope Innocent XIII, the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairway) was... Read more

Architecturally, the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris spanned the age of endurance to the era of transcendence. Begun in 1163 when the sturdy Romanesque style demanded chunky columns and low slung arches, it flowered into the Gothic eventually soaring 115 feet off the ground. This new... Read more