The 21st November is the World Day of Cloistered Life —Pro Orantibus Day (“For Those Who Pray”). It was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1953 on the day in which we celebrate the liturgical feast of the presentation of Mary in the Temple. To honour this special day, we visit the Chapel of the […]
St John Lateran’s Basilica in Rome is the “Mater et Caput”, ‘Mother and head’, of all churches in Rome and the world. This fact is solemnised by the relief that adorns the entrance to the Basilica. The name “Lateran” is derived from the fact that this Basilica was constructed on the territory that belonged to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The month of October is especially dedicated to the Holy Rosary. This tradition originates from Pope St Pius V who wanted to dedicate a feast to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary following the victory at the Battle of Lepanto against the Turkish fleet on the 7th October 1571. Conscious of the great power of […]
“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 […]
Sr Emanuela was interviewed on Relevant Radio on the Solemnity of the Assumption and she talked about the Mosaic of the Dormition of Mary in St Mary Major’sBasilica Rome.