Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will give an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing this week with the opportunity for Catholics to receive a plenary …
Pope Francis: As humanity trembles from pandemic, let us unite in prayer
Pope Francis looks out at an empty St. Peter’s Square. Credit: Vatican Media. Pope Francis has asked Christians around the world to unite in praying …
Syria’s Hidden Victims – Seta Kale
Seta Kale. Courtesy photo. The Syrian civil war has led to one of the largest refugee crises of modern times and presented unique problems for …
Pope Francis offers this spiritual communion prayer during coronavirus pandemic
Pope Francis’ televised Mass and Eucharistic Adoration on March 21, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media/CNA. As more Catholics around the world find themselves unable to receive …
How to stay isolated, stay married, and keep your friends
The policy of social distancing means that the newly-homebound are seeing less of coworkers than they did just weeks ago. They’re seeing fewer friends too. …
Vatican: Easter date can not be changed, despite coronavirus
The Vatican department for liturgy published guidelines yesterday for bishops and priests on the celebration of Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter liturgies during the …
Coronavirus may cause ‘grave necessity’ for general absolution, Vatican says
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, has said that the coronavirus pandemic may justify the use of general absolution, in extraordinary circumstances, for …
Holy See grants indulgence to coronavirus patients and Catholics who pray for them
The Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary has granted a plenary indulgence for people with COVID-19 and for those who care for them, including medical staff and family …
Why have Mass with no one there?
With public Masses suspended in many countries, many Catholics have been told to stay home, make a spiritual communion, and maintain a prayer routine until …
Cardinal encourages consecrated Catholics to protect their health, and to pray
The prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life has encouraged religious to intensify their prayer during the coronavirus outbreak, and to obey requests …
“We’ll remember this Lent for many years,” Bishop Philip Egan
The bishop of Portsmouth, has encouraged his flock to remain steadfast in prayer during the COVID-19 outbreak, telling Catholics they will remember how they lived …
Confession by phone, Skype? Could it happen during coronavirus pandemic?
As much of the world faces quarantines, social distancing, and “shelter in place” orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, Catholics have faced unexpected challenges in accessing …
UPDATE: Coronavirus update from Cardinal Nichols
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, so many aspects of our lives must change. This includes the ways in …
French Catholics begin novena as Lourdes closes for the first time in history
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes has closed for the first time in over a century following new restrictions in France to slow the …
Ireland’s Msgr. Hugh O’Flaherty, a Vatican ‘defender of the weak’
Msgr. Hugh O’Flaherty, an Irish priest who hid Italian Jews from the Nazis and went on to baptise the former head of the Gestapo in …
Primate of All Ireland calls for ‘outpouring of works of mercy’ on St. Patrick’s Day
You are never alone, even in the isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic, the Primate of All Ireland told the country’s Catholics on St. Patrick’s Day. …
How to watch Mass online during coronavirus pandemic
The day may come when public Masses will be suspended due to the outbreak of COVID-19, or you need to stay at home during the …
In Italy, at least 10 priests are dead of coronavirus, and 1 bishop is recovering
At least ten priests have died in Italy after contracting COVID-19. More than half of them were from the Diocese of Bergamo, a town outside …
French bishop tests positive for coronavirus after Vatican visit
A French bishop who visited the Vatican last week has tested positive for coronavirus, his diocese announced Monday. Bishop Emmanuel Delmas of Angers tested positive …
Pope Francis makes walking prayer pilgrimage for coronavirus pandemic
Pope Francis prays before the crucifix of the Church of San Marcello al Corso March 15, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media. Pope Francis on Sunday took …