As the first days of Pope Francis’ term of office dawned, there was a great deal of excitement about who this stranger from a far land was, what is going to be his main focus, what new initiatives will he bring to the life of the church? The research started …

See most recent stories on the pope and the Catholic Church here By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph Memes, almost by their very nature, are modern. The world means “a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes” but as we’ve reported …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Despite the rain, thousands of people filled St. Peter’s Square after dark March 12, the first evening of the conclave, to witness the black smoke that signaled the Catholic Church’s 115 cardinal electors had failed, as expected, to elect a …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like the rest of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, including the 5,100 bishops and 412,000 priests, the pope exercises what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls his “baptismal priesthood” by participating in “Christ’s mission as priest, prophet and …

UPDATE FROM CNS: Voting for new pope to begin March 12 By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal electors assembled in Rome will begin voting for the next pope March 12. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, announced the date for the start of …

By Carol Zimmermann Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After completing their third pre-conclave meeting, the College of Cardinals still had not announced a date for the conclave. Instead, they used the March 4 and 5 meetings to discuss needs of the church. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Chanting the Litany of the Saints, asking a host of holy men and women to help them, the cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel in procession, aware of their enormous responsibility to elect a new pope. Less than half of the …

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The period immediately following a pontificate is one of excited speculation, more or less loose, about the identity of the next pope. Though secrecy rules do not forbid cardinals from naming their preferences, custom and prudence effectively do. In …

On March 1, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr celebrated mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains in downtown Cincinnati. The video above is his homily from that mass. Included below is the complete text of Archbishop Schnurr’s homily. Mass for Pope Benedict XVI Homily of Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr …

By John Stegeman The Catholic Telegraph When the papacy of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, ended at 8 p.m. Rome time Thursday, immediate changes took place in the digital realm. When the doors were closed at Castel Gandolfo, the 39 tweets sent out by Benedict XVI as @Pontifex were …