Epiphany means “manifestation.” Traditionally this feast is observed twelve days after Christmas on January 6, although in the United States it is typically moved to the nearest Sunday. The Epiphany is a very ancient part of the Church’s liturgical calendar—even older than the celebration of Christmas...

A parish built on the successes of past generations may actually be in trouble today because of those successes. That may sound strange—even ungrateful. After all, many of our parishes were built by faithful Catholics who sacrificed, prayed, and served generously. We inherited schools, buildings, programs, and traditions that once bore tremendous fruit...

I would like to thank His Excellency Ambassador George Poulides, dean of the Diplomatic Corps, for his kind and respectful words on your behalf. I welcome all of you to this meeting for the exchange of greetings at the beginning of the new year. This is a traditional occasion in the life of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See; but it is a new experience for me...

If you used a digital camera in the early 2000s, there's a good chance whole chapters of your life have been erased. A generation of photos has vanished on broken hard drives and defunct websites. For my 40th birthday, I asked my friends and family members for one gift: pictures of me in my early 20s...

Human ambition has always had a vertical component. From ancient monuments to modern megastructures, the desire to reach higher seems inseparable from our idea of progress. Here is our look at the tallest skyscrapers standing today, followed by a closer look at the tower that is poised to redefine what “tall” even means.

Only a few minutes separated President James A. Garfield from the beginning of his summer break from the business of the White House. Starting from the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Station on the morning of Saturday, July 2, 1881, he planned to retreat to his farm in Mentor, Ohio. But first, the president needed to attend his 25th-year reunion at Williams College...

“War is back in vogue and the zeal for war is spreading,” Pope Leo XIV said in a January 9 speech to the Vatican diplomatic corps. Basing his address on the thought of St. Augustine, the Pontiff made an appeal for a new approach to international collaboration, which “cannot depend on mere circumstances and military or strategic interests.” The annual audience at which the Roman Pontiff speaks to the diplomats...

When most people think about where God is, they look to the sky or point to a mountaintop. God is ON HIGH. But the reality of the incarnation flips that vision upside down. Christ dwelt among us. God came to the lowest of places to meet us in our brokenness and heal our sin. Did you know the spot where Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River is literally one of the lowest places on earth? That can't be an accident...

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Feast date: Jan 22

St. Vincent was Deacon of Saragossa, and a martyr under Diocletian in 304. This most renowned martyr of Spain is represented in the dalmatic of a deacon, and has as emblems a cross, a raven, a grate, or a fire-pile. He is honored as patron in Valencia, Saragossa and Portugal. Very little can be confirmed about his life.

By order of Governor Dacian, Vincent and his bishop were dragged in chains to Valencia and kept in prison there for a long time. Then Valerius was banished, but Vincent was subjected to many cruel torments including the rack, the gridiron, and scourgings. After suffering these, he was again imprisoned in a cell strewn with shards of broken pots. He was then placed in a soft and luxurious bed, to shake his constancy, but there he expired.

After peace was restored to the Church, a chapel was built over Vincent's remains outside the walls of Valencia.