Pope Benedict XVI made a pastoral visit earlier today to the Marian Shrine of Loreto, in Italy. There, he entrusted the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization and the Year of Faith to the Blessed Mother. Published below is a copy of the homily he delivered during Mass at the Shrine of Loreto. ...read more

From the Office of daily readings for October 4th, the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi. From a letter written to all the faithful by St Francis of Assisi It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious ...read more

Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik is renowned for his stunning mosaics.  His bold, colourful icons bridge Eastern and Western traditions in a jubilant mix of art that is both new and ancient.  In fact, in 1993 when Pope John Paul II saw his work he was so taken that he invited Fr. Rupnik to decorate the Redemptoris ...read more

The last several months, the phrase “The New Evangelization” has come up in many different spheres here in our Salt + Light office. I cannot comprehensively cover all the ins and outs of our efforts on this – as this is in some sense what we do everyday! What I will say is that this ...read more

Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Benedict XVI. For October 2012, we join the Holy Father in praying for: New Evangelization. That the New Evangelization may progress in the oldest Christian countries. World Mission Day. That the celebration of World Mission Day may result in a renewed commitment to ...read more

Who do you think of when you think of “disciple”? I think of a lot of holy and wise men and women and all the Saints: People of great sacrifice, humility, compassion – people who pick up their cross and follow Jesus. of course, I also think of the 12 apostles. They were hand-picked by ...read more

Of all human activities, man’s listening to God is the supreme act of his reasoning and will. Pope Paul VI – Credit: CNS photo ...read more

As we get closer to marking the opening of the Year of Faith, Cardinal Collins of Toronto has released the following pastoral letter to each parish and ministry within the Archdiocese of Toronto. This being the feast day of St. Michael, the Cardinal’s intention was to help everyone celebrate and live out the coming year. ...read more

UPDATED: Tonight’s new episode of Perspectives: The Weekly Edition is now streaming online above. There’s a food crisis in Africa right now, but odds are you probably don’t know about it. The Sahel region of West Africa is suffering the consequences of a drought that devastated farmers’ crops. Many communities have used up all their ...read more

Below you will find the homily that Archbishop Richard Smith, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, gave this morning during the Plenary Assembly’s morning mass. Like many of you I have succumbed to the temptation to use a mobile device for communications. Mine has a feature called “auto-correction”. When I am composing emails or ...read more