LATEST ARTICLES
NEWS BRIEF: Workshop retreat to form new Catholics a big success
Nearly 100 people, representing 42 parishes in the Diocese of Phoenix, took part in a day-long retreat featuring speakers and workshops at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Phoenix on Saturday, that was designed to help parishioners and staff evangelize and form new Catholics. Attendees, including formation leaders, catechists and Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) team members listened to keynote speakers Fr. Kwame Assenyoh of the Diocese of Oakland and Fr. Ron Oakham, a member of the Carmelite Order.
Christ’s birth brings light to a troubled world, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God's unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and illuminate even the darkest corners, Pope Francis said. Despite being born into a world "where there is a great need for light, for hope and a need for peace, a world where people at times create situations so complicated that it seems impossible to get out of them," Jesus, the pope said, opens windows of light "even in the darkest nights of humanity."
God does not reject, forget anyone, pope says on feast of Epiphany
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as the star over Bethlehem called to and welcomed everyone to encounter the newborn Jesus, God today calls on the faithful to welcome everyone, creating safe, open spaces to find warmth and shelter, Pope Francis said. The star is in the sky not to remain distant and inaccessible, he said, "but so that its light may be visible to all, that it may reach every home and overcome every barrier, bringing hope to the most remote and forgotten corners of the planet," he said.
“Here is God, here in His creation”
I can remember the first time I truly recognized God in nature. I was 16 years old and was white water rafting. Being equally terrified and thrilled by the rapids, I found so much joy in the adventure and anxiety at the thought of falling out of the raft (which, of course, happened). After several hours of mixed emotions, the rapids slowed and we were floating down the calm river.
A beacon of light: St. Anthony Mission
It was not even a month after being declared a pilgrimage site in 2000 that St. Anthony Mission in Sacaton, Ariz., was up in flames, the fire caused by arson. Because of the fire, St. Anthony did not have that year of pilgrimage. Now, 25 years later, the new St. Anthony Mission Church stands as a beacon of hope not just for the Gila River Indian Community but for the whole Diocese of Phoenix. It was at the dedication Mass in June of 2024 that Bishop John Dolan announced that St. Anthony Mission would be a pilgrimage site during the 2025 Jubilee year of hope.
Bishop ushers in Jubilee Year at cathedral, launches sweeping diocese evangelization plan
With descriptions such as “wonderful,” “beautiful” and “exciting,” worshippers formally welcomed Bishop John Dolan’s seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization and the opening of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee year in the Diocese of Phoenix on Saturday night at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix. Bishop Dolan presided at the first of six opening Masses throughout the diocese, launching his blueprint and ushering in the Jubilee year of hope declared by Pope Francis earlier this year.
Caritas, Jubilee USA present Holy Year debt-relief project
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A key part of a jubilee in the Bible was releasing prisoners, and Catholics today can join a global campaign to press for the release of thousands of people imprisoned in poverty because of their nations' foreign debt, said an official of Caritas Internationalis. Victor Genina Cervantes, director of integral human development at Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization for national Catholic charities around the world, presented the campaign "Turn Debt into Hope" at a Vatican news conference Dec. 23, the eve of the opening of Holy Year 2025.
Pope tells young people to regain ‘wonder’ during Christmas season
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cautioning against the monotony of routine that dims the capacity to appreciate the extraordinary, Pope Francis urged young people to experience Christmas as a time to develop a sense of wonder. "Let us learn to be amazed," he told young members of the Italian Catholic Action movement during a meeting at the Vatican Dec. 20. "Let us learn never to take anything for granted, especially love: that of God and that of the people we meet."
Pope declares 16 new saints killed during French Revolution
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has declared as saints 16 Carmelite martyrs executed by guillotine during the French Revolution and confirmed the martyrdom and heroic virtues of five others in a series of decrees published Dec. 18 .Using what the Vatican called an "equipollent" or equivalent canonization, Pope Francis approved adding to the canon of saints Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine and 15 other members of the Carmelites of Compiègne killed during the French Reign of Terror.
Jesus is the path and destination for Jubilee pilgrims, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on Catholics to focus their Holy Year 2025 pilgrimages on Jesus Christ, who is both the path and destination for Christian hope. At his general audience Dec. 18, the pope began a new series of talks on "Jesus Christ our hope," which he announced will the theme for his weekly catechesis throughout the Jubilee Year, which is set to begin with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 24.