St. Clare of Assisi was born in Assisi on July 16, 1194, as Chiara Offreduccio, the beautiful eldest daughter of Favorino Sciffi, Count of Sasso-Rosso and his wife Ortolana. Tradition says her father was a wealthy representative of an ancient Roman family and her mother was a very devout woman belonging to the noble family of Fiumi. As a young girl, Clare dedicated herself to prayer. At 18-years-old, she heard St. Francis of Assisi preach during a Lenten service in the church of San Giorgio ...

Settler attacks have become a recurring reality in Taybeh, Palestine’s last remaining all-Christian village. Father Bashar Fawadleh, who has served as the Latin parish priest of Christ the Redeemer for the past five years, fears that local families will be forced to abandon their land.

Read all

 

Ahead the 2,000th anniversary of Jesus’ baptism, civil and religious leaders come together in Jordan to begin preparations for the landmark event.

Read all

 

In much of Asia, Catholics live as a small minority. But for Archbishop Budi Kleden, SVD, this is not a reason for discouragement. It may, instead, be one of the Church’s particular graces—an invitation to discover new and humble ways of witnessing to the Gospel.

Read all

 

The year was 258 A.D. It was a difficult beginning for what would become the First Christian Millennium. Hostility against the early followers of Jesus Christ was growing. The barbarism and severity of pagan Rome had begun to reach a fever pitch. It would soon lead to a blood lust. The newborn Christian Church, faithful to the One who had given Himself for the life of the world, continued the work of His redemption. Roman authorities charged Christians of that era with "odium humani generis" ...

The apostolic administrator of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta reflects on the recent crisis there, and invites all parishes to hold a prayer vigil so that it might bring about a “new cultural beginning.”

Read all

 

Young people from across the Mediterranean are meeting in southern Italy from 10 to 14 August for the eleventh edition of the 'Carta di Leuca', an international initiative promoting dialogue and fraternity.

Read all

 

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)Virgin and Martyr Edith Stein, born in 1891 in Breslau, Poland, was the youngest child of a large Jewish family. She was an outstanding student and was well versed in philosophy with a particular interest in phenomenology. Eventually she became interested in the Catholic Faith, and in 1922, she was baptized at the Cathedral Church in Cologne, Germany. Eleven years later Edith entered the Cologne Carmel. Because of the ramifications of politics in ...

In his weekly Angelus address, Pope Leo tells the crowds of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square that “the presence of Jesus changes everything”.

Read all

 

Following the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV expresses his concern over the ongoing violence in Sudan, Ukraine, and Russia. He calls for the conversion “of those who sow violence” and an end to “an ever-growing number of civilian casualties.”

Read all