by Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Dec 26, 2021 / 06:50 am Pope Francis on Sunday sent his condolences for the death of retired Anglican Archbishop and anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu. Tutu, who fought for an end to racial segregation in his native South Africa, died Dec. 26 at the age …

by Joe Bukuras Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 25, 2021 / 09:00 am Venerable Fulton Sheen once said that in order to understand the meaning of Christmas, two philosophies of life must first be considered. One philosophy, Sheen said in one of his many television monologues, is that of man who …

by Kate Olivera Denver Newsroom, Dec 25, 2021 / 15:00 pm The coronavirus pandemic has suspended efforts to save the Chapel of the Snows at McMurdo Station, the hub of the U.S. Antarctic Program. But one Catholic who regularly serves at the station has said he hopes the chapel has …

Just after Christmas, the Catholic Church remembers its first martyr, and one of its first deacons, Saint Stephen. Roman Catholics celebrate his feast Dec. 26, while Eastern Catholics honor him one day later. In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke praises St. Stephen as “a man full of faith …

by Pope Francis Vatican City, Dec 25, 2021 / 04:50 am On Christmas Day 2021, Pope Francis delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” address and blessing from the central balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The following is the full text of the pope’s Christmas message. Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Christmas! …

by Pope Francis Vatican City, Dec 24, 2021 / 14:00 pm Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered Dec. 24, 2021 in St. Peter’s Basilica. In the darkness, a light shines. An angel appears, the glory of the …

The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131; in Latin Dies Natalis. Early Celebration Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Sts. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts, and Origen, glancing …

by CNA Staff Denver Newsroom, Dec 21, 2021 / 12:28 pm As much as some of us would like a few extra days to prepare, Christmas 2021, ready or not, is Saturday, Dec. 25. “How will I possibly finish my shopping and house cleaning by then?” is not the only …

In the first ages, during the night before every feast, a vigil was kept. In the evening the faithful assembled in the place or church where the feast was to be celebrated and prepared themselves by prayers, readings from Holy Writ (now the Offices of Vespers and Matins), and sometimes …

by JD Flynn Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2018 / 01:22 pm MT (CNA).- After communion at Mass this morning, our parish school choir began one of my favorite hymns. The first line filled my heart. “Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand.” It was darling …