There are two things that can safely be said about the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II. One, that here was a man steeped in the love of God and love for the Church, which he governed for 27 years with wisdom and courage. Two, that his many years spent as Vicar of Christ were similarly... Read more

The Catholic Church has thousands of canonized saints. Many are well-known: St. Patrick, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux are some of the most famous people who ever lived. But many more are obscure; perhaps they were only known in the region where... Read more

St. John Paul II was the most traveled pope in history, logging some 700,000 miles and visiting nearly 130 countries. One of the first countries the pope visited after his election was the United States. As Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, he had visited the US in 1976, two years before his election,... Read more

 Pope St. John Paul II embraced suffering with love, even during his illness, a cardinal and the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica said on the 15th anniversary of the saint’s death. The spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and the growing number of infected and dying people “has... Read more

If you were alive and over the age of reason, you probably remember where you were fifteen years ago today April 1, 2015. The world stood still for hours as we kept vigil over a man whom the entire world – men and women, young and old, Catholics, Christians, people of different faiths and of... Read more

More than half a million people took part Sunday in the rededication of England to Our Lady Sunday, organizers have said. The English bishops had originally asked Catholics to gather in churches and cathedrals for the rededication at noon March 29. They were forced to change their plans when... Read more

Twenty-four countries on Wednesday were consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Fatima, Portugal. In a March 25 ceremony that included the recitation of the rosary and a litany asking the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for... Read more

King Richard II (1377-1399), in the 14th century, formally dedicated England to Mary, giving the country into her care as her Dowry. This has long been of great importance for Catholics in England. A painting, known as the Wilton Diptych, shows the king kneeling before Our Lady, with a... Read more

Imagine a world where no Christian is named for St. Joseph, where no church or religious organization bears his name. Picture St. Joseph absent from the Mass, the Breviary, the Church's calendar, and the Litany of the Saints. No shrines, no special devotions, no hymns, no solo images, no... Read more

The first time I that read the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, I was particularly struck by the adaptability of the Rule to family life. This is not to say that a family should follow the Rule to a T. Rather, in our home life we should emulate the virtues that are needed for... Read more