IMAGE: CNS photo/Vatican Media By Junno Arocho Esteves VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The most important members of the Catholic Church are not the ones who hold lofty titles and high positions but rather those who humbly serve others, Pope Francis said. "Who is the most important person in the church? …

By the time you read this, I will be two months into Exodus 90. I’ll also be hungry – very, very hungry. In case you’re wondering, no, there are not 90 chapters in the Book of Exodus. Exodus 90 is a 90-day spiritual exercise for men, a kind of personal …

Lent is upon us. Even those who do not share our faith or celebrate this penitential season are typically aware of it. They see “Lenten specials” offered at restaurants and hear their friends refer to what they “gave up for Lent.” Yes, Lent is a time for small sacrifices in …

La Cuaresma está sobre nosotros. Incluso aquellos que no comparten nuestra fe o celebran esta temporada penitencial son típicamente conscientes de ello. Ven los “especiales de Cuaresma” que se ofrecen en los restaurantes y escuchan a sus amigos referirse a lo que “renunciaron por la Cuaresma”. Sí, la Cuaresma es …

IMAGE: CNS photo/Flavio Lo Scalzo, Reuters By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With the biggest two days of celebration and costume parades left, the famous pre-Lenten “Carnevale” of Venice was canceled as were Ash Wednesday services and even funeral Masses throughout the diocese. The Archdiocese of Milan also issued …

IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Becket Religious Liberty for All By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Feb. 24 that in its next term it will examine if the city of Philadelphia can exclude a Catholic social services agency from the city’s foster care program because the agency …

Ash Wednesday is February 26, 2020. In Today’s video we take a look at last year’s 11:30 a.m. Mass at St. Peter in Chains, Cathedral:

Repair scaffolding on Notre-Dame de Paris, November 2019. Credit: Vicente Sargues/Shutterstock.
Paris, France, Feb 21, 2020 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- French officials are hopeful that parts of the plaza of Notre-Dame de Paris, as well as the church’s crypt, will be re-opened roughly a year after a fire ravaged the roof and much of the interior of the cathedral. Emmanuel Grégoire, …

By Courtney Mares Vatican City, Feb 22, 2020 / 08:30 am (CNA).- The Vatican announced Saturday the approval of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager and computer programmer, who died in 2006. The miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian child suffering from …

By Hannah Brockhaus Vatican City, Feb 24, 2020 / 03:34 am (CNA).- There is an urgent need for personal conversion, without which the temptations of Satan, and the presence of evil, create a “hell here on earth,” Pope Francis said Monday in his 2020 Lenten message. “Christian joy flows from …