By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — A holy year as a time of spiritual renewal has its biblical roots in the jubilees observed by the Jewish people at 50-year intervals, when debts were pardoned and slaves were freed. The term “jubilee” itself comes from the Hebrew word …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis announced an extraordinary jubilee, a Holy Year of Mercy, to highlight the Catholic Church’s “mission to be a witness of mercy.” “No one can be excluded from God’s mercy,” the pope said March 13, marking the second anniversary of …

Staff Report Known for his humility, deep faith and international charity work, Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras recently visited the archdiocese of Cincinnati. During his visit, the University of Dayton honored the cardinal with the Archbishop Oscar Romero Human Rights Award. Cardinal Rodríguez is the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa …

By Walt Schaefer For The Catholic Telegraph  Keeping youth involved in the faith ranks as one of the key concerns of the church in today’s secular society. After all, today’s young Catholics will be the leaders of tomorrow’s church. Four parishes in the archdiocese will be the first in the …

By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY  — “Joy” is not a word people usually associate with strict fasting and penance — unless they are Eastern-rite Catholics. In the Eastern church, the penitential period that prepares believers to celebrate Easter, is called “Great Lent,” and its prayers invite the …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Seeing the elderly only as a burden “is ugly. It’s a sin,” Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience. “We must reawaken our collective sense of gratitude, appreciation and hospitality, helping the elderly know they are a living part of …

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A homeless man who faithfully attended Mass at a church inside Vatican City for decades was buried in a Vatican cemetery after it was discovered he had died and was left unidentified in a hospital morgue. Willy Herteleer was well-known …

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service  VATICAN CITY — A homily at Mass is not a mini catechism class, the Vatican says in a new document on homilies, but it is an opportunity to explain church teaching using the Scripture readings and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “In the …

Staff Report On Sunday, Feb. 22, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will celebrate the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion with 857 adults and children seeking entrance into the Roman Catholic Church.

Dear Father: I’m a “southerner” as far as the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is concerned and at a recent visit to a northern area parish I observed an unfamiliar custom. The faithful receiving communion often knelt before the priest and received on the tongue. What does the church say about this …