Pope Francis has written an Apostolic Letter on the meaning and importance of the nativity scene. He signed the Letter during his visit on Sunday afternoon to the Italian town of Greccio. By Vatican News Greccio is the mountain village where Saint Francis of Assisi created the first crib scene …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy of Maria Elena Bergoglio via Reuters By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In Caravaggio’s painting of Matthew, the sinful tax collector being called by Jesus to "Follow me," Pope Francis sees the same unexpected, grace-filled moment found in his own call to the priesthood. A 17-year-old …

By Christine Rousselle Duluth, Minn., Dec 1, 2019 / 12:44 pm (CNA).- Bishop Paul Sirba of the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota died on Sunday, after suffering a heart attack before offering Mass. He was 59 years old. “It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I must inform you of …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A Nativity scene is a simple reminder of something astonishing: God became human to reveal the greatness of his love "by smiling and opening his arms to all," Pope Francis said in a letter on the meaning and importance …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Jim West By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — Fifty years ago, the White House sponsored a Dec. 2-4 conference on food, nutrition and health designed to set the groundwork for a national nutrition policy and to advise President Richard Nixon on the best ways to eliminate hunger and …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis led prayers for the people of Albania after the country was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake. "I would like to send my greetings and my closeness to the dear people of Albania who have …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Knights of Columbus By Andrew Fowler Father Dennis Callan’s health was rapidly declining. His situation was so dire that his dentist refused to even pull a tooth out of fear that the he would bleed to death. The cause? Advanced cirrhosis of the liver. A Divine Word …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Michael Alexander, Georgia Bulletin By Andrew Nelson CONYERS, Ga. (CNS) — There’s the father who regularly visits his buried son with a bag of doughnuts for the staff. There’s the request by a mother for Honey Creek Woodlands staff to tell her buried child "she still loves him" …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Paul Haring By Cindy Wooden ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM JAPAN (CNS) — Questions about Vatican finances, especially those involving a real estate deal in London, are serious, but they also are a sign that reforms begun by Pope Benedict XVI are working, Pope Francis said. "This is …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters By Cindy Wooden TOKYO (CNS) — Pope Francis spent his last morning in Japan at the Jesuit-run Sophia University, celebrating Mass with his Jesuit confreres, visiting aged members of the Jesuit community and addressing students and staff. Once again he invoked the spirit of …