November is the month when we remember the Holy Souls in purgatory. The Church calls on us to pray and offer ‘suffrages’ or prayers for the Holy Souls who have died in God’s grace but require final purification before entering Heaven. Over the centuries, countless Saints have called on the faithful to pray for these […]
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 […]
On the Solemnity of All Saints the Church presents all those men and women who have lived their Christian lives to an heroic level and now are enjoying the eternal beatitude in heaven. It is, one might say, a roll call of the Church’s heroes! In this Solemnity, the Church places before us all those […]
Today’s society makes the 31 October a big feast. However, there are two types of feast on this day which emphasises the clash of the two primordial “principalities” – between good and evil. On the one hand, the Church celebrates the Vigil of the Feast of All Saints where we rejoice with those who imitated […]
Once more this year the problem arises whether to celebrate Halloween on the 31st October or the Solemnity of All Saints on the 1st November. Is there something intrinsically wrong with Halloween? Is it incompatible with the Solemnity of All Saints? Many celebrate both anniversaries without even thinking twice about it. However, a serious problem […]
“Never Stop Saying the Holy Rosary. I am always with you to help you” Virgin of Revelation, 1947, Rome. With these words, in 1947 at Tre Fontane Rome, Our Lady, under the title of Virgin of Revelation, taught the then anti-clerical Protestant, Bruno Cornacchiola, the importance of praying the Holy Rosary assuring us of […]
The Rosary is the favourite prayer of Popes and saints alike. It is therefore not surprising that we find a very powerful image that symbolises the power of the Rosary in Michelangelo’s Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, which is the Main Chapel of the Popes. Looking closely at the detail we can see two […]
In Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, pilgrims venerate the statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace, a powerful symbol of hope in a world marred by war and violence. The Statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace Inside the basilica, the remarkable statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace draws the faithful […]
The feast of the Queenship of Mary, was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1954. In reality, the Church has always believed that Our Lady shares in the victory of Christ and reigns with Him in heaven. Her power is not her own, but flows from her unique vocation: she is the Mother of […]
Dear friends, Each year we celebrate the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven and so it is fitting that we, like the Apostles who all gathered around her during her lifetime, come together around our celestial Mother to celebrate this great feast. Eventually, the time came also for Mary to pass from this world […]