Estranged Families Walk the Way of the Cross...
Many people whose children or parents have decided to “go no contact” with them see themselves in these famous words of the Prophet Isaiah. Their own way of the cross may not include the physical torture of the Lord, but they bear His loneliness, rejection, and desolation. For most Christians, today marks the celebration of Palm Sunday and the beginning of what is called Holy Week...
How You Walk Might Reveal Your Risk of Death...
Seeing and Believing: A Reflection on Easter Sunday...
Jesus is nowhere visible. Yet today’s Gospel tells us that Peter and John “saw and believed.” What did they see? Burial shrouds lying on the floor of an empty tomb. Maybe that convinced them that He hadn’t been carted off by grave robbers, who usually stole the expensive burial linens and left the corpses behind. But notice the repetition of the word...
Jerusalem Churches Reach Temporary Deal with Israeli Authorities over Holy Week Access...
Pope Leo at Palm Sunday Mass: ‘Jesus Does Not Listen to Prayers of Those Who Wage War’...
The 1966 Romantic Comedy That Accidentally Became a Pro-Life Classic...
Inadvertently, is Alfie (1966) the most pro-life film ever made? Abortion is a key plot device — but it is also far more than that in what unfolds on screen. On release, Alfie — famously marketed with the line, “What’s it all about, Alfie?” — was billed as a romantic comedy. Watched 60 years on, however, there is only tragedy.
The Saving Sadness of Christ...
This week we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation on March 25. But March 25 is also significant for another reason: it’s the traditional date of Our Lord’s crucifixion. Someone who knew this tradition very well was the novelist J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was a devout Catholic. It’s therefore no coincidence that in his literary world of The Lord of the Rings...
Pope Leo XIV Makes First Papal Visit to Monaco in 500 Years...
‘Something’s Happening’: Catholic Converts Surge in Many U.S. Dioceses...
Many U.S. dioceses are expecting heavy increases in people joining the Catholic Church at Easter 2026, including some with record highs, a survey by the Register found. “Something’s happening,” said John Helsey, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, which is expecting a 57% increase in unbaptized people becoming Catholics at Easter — from 635 in 2025 to nearly 1,000 in 2026.
The Donatist Comeback...
My Lenten reading has included an interesting, if somewhat odd, book about the greatest of the Latin Fathers of the Church: Augustine the African by Catherine Conybeare, a philologist currently teaching at Bryn Mawr. The interesting part of the book reframes Augustine as a North African provincial who sees the world differently...
Mary’s Way of the Cross: An unusual tradition recounting the Blessed Mother’s daily pilgrimage along the Via Dolorosa...
In the numerous pilgrim accounts up through the early 13th century, there is no indication of a fixed Way of the Cross as we know it today. By the late 13th and 14th century there are some hints of a route taken by Christ to Calvary, with certain moments noted. These include the earliest mentions of the place where Simon helps carry the cross, where Jesus met the weeping women, and where Mary swooned, but they are merely noted as holy places, not as a unified Way to follow...
Venerable Fulton Sheen Beatification Set for Sept. 24 in St. Louis...
Shia Culture of Martyrdom Is Key to Understanding Iran...
Boys Town Founder Father Flanagan Moves One Step Closer to Canonization...
Pope Leo’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Like Lazarus, May We Hear the Lord’s Call to New Life’...
5 Lines You May Have Missed Reveal the Meaning of Lazarus...
The American Catholic Philosophical Association at 100...
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage registration opens; schedule released...
Rome’s Colosseum gets a fresh look that recreates the footprints of long-gone columns...
Lay Leader Who Criticized Cardinal Cupich Phased Out of Catholic Conference Board...
100 Pop Songs Every Catholic Should Hear: ‘Ablaze’ by Alanis Morissette...
Vatican Appeals Court Declares Mistrial in ‘Trial of the Century’ Against Cardinal Becciu...
St. Patrick’s Breastplate and the Terrors of Mid-Lent...
Pope Leo XIV Appeals for Ceasefire and Dialogue in Middle East War...
Vatican Awaits Pope Leo’s Next Moves...
This Sunday, Jesus Escaped Death Long Enough To Help Us See...
Why Does John’s Gospel Not Mention the Institution of the Eucharist?
The Triumph of Sentimentality in the Church of England...
What St. Frances of Rome Saw in Heaven...
Pope Leo Calls Father Pierre al-Rahi, Maronite Priest Killed in Lebanon, ‘a True Shepherd’...
NBC Poll: Pope Leo XIV Held in Highest Esteem Among Public Personalities...
Something Beautiful Has Changed...
The moment someone recommends a change in your life, the reaction can either be met with resignation, realizing that change is necessary, or resistance because you simply do not want to. The human perspective on change in relation to God involves a tension between a personal human desire and the desire for God in our lives. When Israel was liberated from Egyptian bondage, as recorded in the book of Exodus, change was about to occur...
Fake Cops, Fake Judges: The Hollywood-Style Scam Poised to Go Global...
An Invitation to Know Jesus...
When I began my time in the Diocese of Colorado Springs, I said I was fascinated by Jesus Christ, and I have been for much of my life. What was true then, and what was true in the Scriptures, is only truer today. I am fascinated by the way that Jesus makes himself present in our world today. I am fascinated by Jesus’ words...
This Sunday, the Passion Means the Innocent Die for the Guilty, Even Now...
Christianity is set up such that the innocent die for the guilty. That is the shocking but ultimately comforting lesson of the readings for Palm Sunday of the Passion, Year A. Here are six takeaways drawn from Sunday Readings columns at this site and the Extraordinary Story podcast. First: Palm Sunday Mass is a mini-Holy Week. None of the other Holy Week Masses is obligatory for Catholics...
All Is Fulfilled: A Reflection on Passion Sunday...
In Holy Week, Life’s Indignities Reveal Our Eternal Dignity...
I am just back home from an unexpected trip to my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, where I was needed by my siblings to aid in getting my 90-year-old mother, who has advanced Alzheimer’s, into a nursing home. She had fallen at home in the bathroom and cracked five ribs and punctured a lung, which, beyond her major injuries, indicated that my father...
Cuba looks to Vatican for help to ease US oil embargo, Washington Post reports...
Living Lent, the Single Life, and the Price of Authenticity...
As we head into Holy Week, this is the traditional point at which many of us start expressing shock and dismay that Lent is almost over and we — me — have failed to make the most of it. I had lofty ambitions just under 40 fasting days ago, to be sure, and a penitent’s sincere desire to live the season fully. But, not for the first time, I’ve found myself living Lent as a period of rather dry exercises, rather than clearing space and time...
Our Quest to Live Forever...
“Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves.” God created us to live forever. Our longing for eternal life unfolds as a continuum of human love finding its fulfillment in divine union...
Mission Received, Mission Given: Archbishop James Golka Installed as Archbishop of Denver...
Pew Research: What Do Americans Consider Immoral?
I Stole a Lemon on St. Joseph’s Day — Will It Bear Fruit?
St. Joseph’s Day has come and gone. The novenas are finished, the festive outfits retired and perhaps most tragically, the brief Lenten excuse to eat pastries without guilt has expired. But Catholics aren’t meant to forget St. Joseph after one day. The Church dedicates the entire month of March to him, after all.
Why Does the Annunciation Loom so Large in Catholicism?
‘A Cathedral in Print’: The Rise of the Catholic Premium Bible...
100 Questions Jesus Asked and You Should Answer...
Pope Leo Calls Bishops to Rome to Discuss Families, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ in October...
Sin is the monster in the room. Suffering is our personal encounter with it...
Watch: Robot plays tennis with humans, returns shots with 96% accuracy...
What the Vatican court ruling means for papal sovereignty, and Cardinal Becciu...
Pray for Gina, and the Florida Feast...
At the Tomb of Lazarus: A Reflection on the Fifth Sunday of Lent...
Pope Leo Meets Gareth Gore, Author Urging Investigation of Opus Dei...
Human or Divine? A Battle of the Wills...
From Doo-Wop to Doctrine: Rock Legend Dion’s Musical Friendship With Mike Aquilina...
Pope Questions Christians’ Role in Wars, Implies Need for Confession...
Missed Masses, Marquesses, and Mullets...
St. Gregory of Nazianzus Warns: Don’t Think Too Highly of Yourself...
Pope Leo XIV Names Benedictine from St. Meinrad’s as Bishop of Belleville in Illinois...
Death Is Not The End: Remembering Francis Bergsma...
Faith and Science Are Not Enemies — and Young People Need to Hear It...
Cardinal Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran, Evacuated From Iran to Rome...
Why Does Jesus Weep at the Tomb of Lazarus?
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The Complete List of Popes
- St. Peter (32-67)
- St. Linus (67-76)
- St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)
- St. Clement I (88-97)
- St. Evaristus (97-105)
- St. Alexander I (105-115)
- St. Sixtus I (115-125)
- St. Telesphorus (125-136)
- St. Hyginus (136-140)
- St. Pius I (140-155)
- St. Anicetus (155-166)
- St. Soter (166-175)
- St. Eleutherius (175-189)
- St. Victor I (189-199)
- St. Zephyrinus (199-217)
- St. Callistus I (217-22)
- St. Urban I (222-30)
- St. Pontian (230-35)
- St. Anterus (235-36)
- St. Fabian (236-50)
- St. Cornelius (251-53)
- St. Lucius I (253-54)
- St. Stephen I (254-257)
- St. Sixtus II (257-258)
- St. Dionysius (260-268)
- St. Felix I (269-274)
- St. Eutychian (275-283)
- St. Caius (283-296)
- St. Marcellinus (296-304)
- St. Marcellus I (308-309)
- St. Eusebius (309 or 310)
- St. Miltiades (311-14)
- St. Sylvester I (314-35)
- St. Marcus (336)
- St. Julius I (337-52)
- Liberius (352-66)
- St. Damasus I (366-84)
- St. Siricius (384-99)
- St. Anastasius I (399-401)
- St. Innocent I (401-17)
- St. Zosimus (417-18)
- St. Boniface I (418-22)
- St. Celestine I (422-32)
- St. Sixtus III (432-40)
- St. Leo I (the Great) (440-61)
- St. Hilarius (461-68)
- St. Simplicius (468-83)
- St. Felix III (II) (483-92)
- St. Gelasius I (492-96)
- Anastasius II (496-98)
- St. Symmachus (498-514)
- St. Hormisdas (514-23)
- St. John I (523-26)
- St. Felix IV (III) (526-30)
- Boniface II (530-32)
- John II (533-35)
- St. Agapetus I (535-36)
- St. Silverius (536-37)
- Vigilius (537-55)
- Pelagius I (556-61)
- John III (561-74)
- Benedict I (575-79)
- Pelagius II (579-90)
- St. Gregory I (the Great) (590-604)
- Sabinian (604-606)
- Boniface III (607)
- St. Boniface IV (608-15)
- St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) (615-18)
- Boniface V (619-25)
- Honorius I (625-38)
- Severinus (640)
- John IV (640-42)
- Theodore I (642-49)
- St. Martin I (649-55)
- St. Eugene I (655-57)
- St. Vitalian (657-72)
- Adeodatus (II) (672-76)
- Donus (676-78)
- St. Agatho (678-81)
- St. Leo II (682-83)
- St. Benedict II (684-85)
- John V (685-86)
- Conon (686-87)
- St. Sergius I (687-701)
- John VI (701-05)
- John VII (705-07)
- Sisinnius (708)
- Constantine (708-15)
- St. Gregory II (715-31)
- St. Gregory III (731-41)
- St. Zachary (741-52)
- Stephen II (III) (752-57)
- St. Paul I (757-67)
- Stephen III (IV) (767-72)
- Adrian I (772-95)
- St. Leo III (795-816)
- Stephen IV (V) (816-17)
- St. Paschal I (817-24)
- Eugene II (824-27)
- Valentine (827)
- Gregory IV (827-44)
- Sergius II (844-47)
- St. Leo IV (847-55)
- Benedict III (855-58)
- St. Nicholas I (the Great) (858-67)
- Adrian II (867-72)
- John VIII (872-82)
- Marinus I (882-84)
- St. Adrian III (884-85)
- Stephen V (VI) (885-91)
- Formosus (891-96)
- Boniface VI (896)
- Stephen VI (VII) (896-97)
- Romanus (897)
- Theodore II (897)
- John IX (898-900)
- Benedict IV (900-03)
- Leo V (903)
- Sergius III (904-11)
- Anastasius III (911-13)
- Lando (913-14)
- John X (914-28)
- Leo VI (928)
- Stephen VIII (929-31)
- John XI (931-35)
- Leo VII (936-39)
- Stephen IX (939-42)
- Marinus II (942-46)
- Agapetus II (946-55)
- John XII (955-63)
- Leo VIII (963-64)
- Benedict V (964)
- John XIII (965-72)
- Benedict VI (973-74)
- Benedict VII (974-83)
- John XIV (983-84)
- John XV (985-96)
- Gregory V (996-99)
- Sylvester II (999-1003)
- John XVII (1003)
- John XVIII (1003-09)
- Sergius IV (1009-12)
- Benedict VIII (1012-24)
- John XIX (1024-32)
- Benedict IX (1032-45)
- Sylvester III (1045)
- Benedict IX (1045)
- Gregory VI (1045-46)
- Clement II (1046-47)
- Benedict IX (1047-48)
- Damasus II (1048)
- St. Leo IX (1049-54)
- Victor II (1055-57)
- Stephen X (1057-58)
- Nicholas II (1058-61)
- Alexander II (1061-73)
- St. Gregory VII (1073-85)
- Blessed Victor III (1086-87)
- Blessed Urban II (1088-99)
- Paschal II (1099-1118)
- Gelasius II (1118-19)
- Callistus II (1119-24)
- Honorius II (1124-30)
- Innocent II (1130-43)
- Celestine II (1143-44)
- Lucius II (1144-45)
- Blessed Eugene III (1145-53)
- Anastasius IV (1153-54)
- Adrian IV (1154-59)
- Alexander III (1159-81)
- Lucius III (1181-85)
- Urban III (1185-87)
- Gregory VIII (1187)
- Clement III (1187-91)
- Celestine III (1191-98)
- Innocent III (1198-1216)
- Honorius III (1216-27)
- Gregory IX (1227-41)
- Celestine IV (1241)
- Innocent IV (1243-54)
- Alexander IV (1254-61)
- Urban IV (1261-64)
- Clement IV (1265-68)
- Blessed Gregory X (1271-76)
- Blessed Innocent V (1276)
- Adrian V (1276)
- John XXI (1276-77)
- Nicholas III (1277-80)
- Martin IV (1281-85)
- Honorius IV (1285-87)
- Nicholas IV (1288-92)
- St. Celestine V (1294)
- Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
- Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04)
- Clement V (1305-14)
- John XXII (1316-34)
- Benedict XII (1334-42)
- Clement VI (1342-52)
- Innocent VI (1352-62)
- Blessed Urban V (1362-70)
- Gregory XI (1370-78)
- Urban VI (1378-89)
- Boniface IX (1389-1404)
- Innocent VII (1404-06)
- Gregory XII (1406-15)
- Martin V (1417-31)
- Eugene IV (1431-47)
- Nicholas V (1447-55)
- Callistus III (1455-58)
- Pius II (1458-64)
- Paul II (1464-71)
- Sixtus IV (1471-84)
- Innocent VIII (1484-92)
- Alexander VI (1492-1503)
- Pius III (1503)
- Julius II (1503-13)
- Leo X (1513-21)
- Adrian VI (1522-23)
- Clement VII (1523-34)
- Paul III (1534-49)
- Julius III (1550-55)
- Marcellus II (1555)
- Paul IV (1555-59)
- Pius IV (1559-65)
- St. Pius V (1566-72)
- Gregory XIII (1572-85)
- Sixtus V (1585-90)
- Urban VII (1590)
- Gregory XIV (1590-91)
- Innocent IX (1591)
- Clement VIII (1592-1605)
- Leo XI (1605)
- Paul V (1605-21)
- Gregory XV (1621-23)
- Urban VIII (1623-44)
- Innocent X (1644-55)
- Alexander VII (1655-67)
- Clement IX (1667-69)
- Clement X (1670-76)
- Blessed Innocent XI (1676-89)
- Alexander VIII (1689-91)
- Innocent XII (1691-1700)
- Clement XI (1700-21)
- Innocent XIII (1721-24)
- Benedict XIII (1724-30)
- Clement XII (1730-40)
- Benedict XIV (1740-58)
- Clement XIII (1758-69)
- Clement XIV (1769-74)
- Pius VI (1775-99)
- Pius VII (1800-23)
- Leo XII (1823-29)
- Pius VIII (1829-30)
- Gregory XVI (1831-46)
- Blessed Pius IX (1846-78)
- Leo XIII (1878-1903)
- St. Pius X (1903-14)
- Benedict XV (1914-22)
- Pius XI (1922-39)
- Pius XII (1939-58)
- St. John XXIII (1958-63)
- St. Paul VI (1963-78)
- John Paul I (1978)
- St. John Paul II (1978-2005)
- Benedict XVI (2005-2013)
- Francis (2013-2025)
- Leo XIV (2025—)