World News

I first met Fritz Wilhelmsen in the summer of 1970, falling at once under the spell of his magic. Such a long time ago that was! Yet I remember it all as if it were but yesterday. There I was, this utterly naïve college student, strangely catapulted by circumstance (and God) to Catholic Spain. In ... read more

St. Benedict, whose feast the Catholic Church celebrates on July 11, endured constant attacks from the enemy throughout his life. Portrait of St. Benedict (1926) by Herman Nieg (1849–1928); Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria; “Exorcism of St. Benedict,” by Spinello Aretino, late 14th century. | Credit: Public domain ... read more

Temptations in a fallen city, memories of a beautiful woman, a poisoned chalice, the attacks of an envious priest, curses from a pagan priest, a rock that won’t budge and another that falls on a young monk, a kitchen in flames, a dragon that lurks to devour a fleeing monk, threats from Gothic warlords, and ... read more

While a deficit of women's writings and a mostly cloistered lifestyle leaves the female experience of Augustinian spirituality something of an enigma, four saints model a spirit of devotion, courage and mysticism. ... read more

Soul Seeing - As we struggle both individually and collectively as a church to figure out synodality, might Henry David Thoreau be another voice we need to heed? ... read more

The saints are our cheering section in heaven, rooting for us to finish the race and win the victor’s crown. They can show us how to be better people, better Catholics, and better husbands and wives. Although many saints come from the ranks of the priesthood and the religious life, there are more than 100 ... read more

He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. — St. Benedict ... read more

Today is the Memorial of St. Benedict (480-547), who was born at Nursia in Umbria in about 480 and was sent to Rome to be educated, but soon left the world to live a solitary life at Subiaco. After living in a cave in the mountains for two years as a hermit, he had acquired ... read more

Despite the loss of 307,117 Catholics in 2025, German dioceses received additional revenue from the Kirchensteuer (Church tax). Revenue rose from 6.628 billion euros ($7.58 billion) in 2024 to 6.751 billion euros ($7.72 billion) in 2025. “In Germany, religious communities that are corporations under public law have a right to levy taxes on their ... read more

Weeks after he removed Msgr. Stephen Rossetti as an archdiocesan exorcist, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., said in an interview that the dismissal ultimately “wasn’t touching on the question of UFOs” and that “my major objection is that I think the traditional role of an exorcist is a very private one. It’s a ... read more

Echoing a February letter to leaders of the House Agricultural Committee, the chairmen of two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops warned that the Senate’s current Farm Bill proposal “falls short of the Farm Bill’s historic bipartisanship.” Archbishop Shelton Fabre, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, ... read more

French philosopher Rémi Brague in a May 2017 photo. (Images: Wikipedia) I am intrigued by Catholics living out their vocations. When I come across someone who is, I pay attention. I do so to see God at work and to glean lessons and encouragement for myself. The last means that I have ... read more

Seventy-six Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, are holding their final Sunday Masses this weekend. In April, the archdiocese announced that it would halt Sunday Mass at 84 of its parishes as it consolidates its parishes—163 in number, according to The Official Catholic Directory—into 24 pastorates. ... read more

A Nigerian bishop charged that the nation’s government is “unserious” about fighting terrorism. “In the security challenges that we are facing, we all know that the government is unserious,” Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of Yola said to a journalist on July 7. “You cannot say that the government doesn’t have a hand in ... read more

The Commission for Canon Law and Legislative Texts of the Latin-rite Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) clarified canonical norms on biritual faculties, according to Catholic Connect, a CCBI website. The commission stated that bishops do not have the authority to confer biritual faculties but must seek permission from the Apostolic See. Such ... read more