The traditional iconography of the Immaculate Conception depicts Mary dressed in white and blue. White, the color of purity, represents the candor that the Virgin enjoys, as she is unstained by original sin. The light white robe is then covered by the deep blue mantle, the color of the sky. Blue, therefore, becomes a […]
In the encyclical Quas Primas, Pope Pius XI proclaimed the Solemnity of Christ the King for the Universal Church. To celebrate the Solemnity, the Holy Father requested that mankind be dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus because Christ must reign in the hearts of men so that His Kingdom may come on earth. The […]
A Special Indulgence for the Holy Souls. November is the time in the Liturgical year when the Church calls us to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. With the feasts of All Saints and Holy Souls on the 1st and 2nd of November respectively we are drawn to think about that eternal link that […]
As the 31st October approaches we see little devils, witches, skeletons, pumpkin lanterns and such things filling the shops. To some it seems ‘harmful fun’, to others, a ‘commercial exercise,’ but what should the Catholics view of the festivities of Halloween be? Halloween is thought to have originated from the Celtic festival of Sambain which […]
Pope Innocent XI instituted the feast of the Holy Name of Mary on the 12th September to thank Our Lady for the victory of the famous battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire on the 11th September 1683. On this day, Europe found itself on the brink of distruction. The Ottoman forces had invaded Vienna […]
The Navicella, by Giotto di Bondone (1266/7 –1337),which illustrates the scene from St Mathew’s Gospel when St Peter walks on water towards Christ, (Mt 14:22-33) is one of St Peter’s Basilica’s most important works. This icon of faith has greeted visitors leaving the Basilica since the early 14th Century onwards. The mosaic that remains today, […]
St Joseph’s fountain, realised in 2010 by architects Giuseppe Facchini and Barbara Bellano in collaboration with artist Franco Murer, brings the number of fountains in the Vatican city to 100. The fountain was commissioned because the Vatican Gardens, so rich in artistic patrimony from every epoch, was not blessed with a monument in honour of […]
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lc 22, 31-32). For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is […]
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:68-69) For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church […]
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just […]