Today’s snapshot comes from Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Voyage to Benin. In this photo Pope Benedict XVI kisses a child during his visit at the St. Rita Parish of Cotonou, Benin on November 19, 2011. – CNS photo/LOsservatore Romano via Catholic Press Photo ...read more

The following is an article taken from Vatican Radio, published on February 14. The original article can be found here (Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has met parish priests and clergy of the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Led by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini and auxiliary bishops, they greeted Benedict XVI ...read more

Watch Fr. Robert Barron’s new video on Pope Benedict’s Legacy. ...read more

In today’s snapshot of Pope Benedict’s papacy we remember his meeting with children on March 24, 2012 in Peace Square, Guanajuato, Mexico. A joyous occasion marked with tremendous significance for the Church, in Mexico, and around the world. CNS photo/Paul Haring ...read more

With his announcement February 11, Pope Benedict XVI becomes one of only four popes to resign. The last time a pope resigned from the Chair of Peter was 1415, in effort to end a major schism. The Code of Canon Laws allows for a pope to resign. The only conditions are that the decision be ...read more

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 When this story broke, I started receiving texts from all my friends, many of them far from church-minded, asking what this meant. I suppose in a world ...read more

Pope Benedict announced earlier today in Rome that he will resign as Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome on February 28th, 2013. Benedict, the 265th pope in the history of the Church, is the sixth German to serve as Supreme Pontiff and the first German since the 11th century. He became pope in 2005 – ...read more

You see, the Catholic Church has extraordinary soap: the gospel, the sacraments, prayer. The gospel read and lived; the sacraments celebrated in the right way; prayer well used, would be a marvellous soap, capable of making us all saints. We are not all saints, because we have not used this soap enough. Let us try ...read more

A few weeks ago, during a homily, I suggested that we should take the opportunity of this Year of Faith to do what the Holy Father has proposed: That we learn about our Faith; that we live our Faith and that we share our Faith. Soon after, I thought, ‘why don’t we make this a ...read more

Catholic New Service reported yesterday on the opening of the Pontifical Council for Culture’s plenary meeting. Here is that  report. By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When the head of the Pontifical Council for Culture said he wanted to listen to what today’s young people had to say, he wasn’t afraid ...read more