Supporters of the traditional Latin Mass have welcomed hints of an easing of restrictions, while cautioning that traditionalist practices still face tough resistance from some church leaders. “Bishops already have discretionary powers to request permits for the Latin Mass — but many have chosen instead to reduce it to just one or two locations,” said Joseph Shaw, chairman of the London-based Latin Mass Society.

The world’s tallest monument dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima was inaugurated and blessed on Nov. 13 during the closing Mass of the Marian Jubilee in Crato, located in Ceará state in northeastern Brazil.The 177-foot-tall statue was created by the artist Ranilson Viana, inspired by the replica of the pilgrim image venerated in the cathedral of Our Lady of Penha, a work by the Portuguese sculptor Guilherme Ferreira Thedim.

Every diocesan bishop in the world is obliged to make a pilgrimage — every five years — to pray and offer Holy Mass at the tombs of the apostles, Peter and Paul. It’s an ancient tradition for bishops to make themselves pilgrims at the tombs of those holy men, in the Roman basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul Outside the Walls. And that tradition has been for centuries a normative expectation.

November is a month for gratitude, the time of harvest and remembrance of the dead. In the United States, Thanksgiving Day calls us to pause, gather as families, and thank God for his many blessings. Earlier in the month, Martinmas Day, in honor of St. Martin of Tours, serves as a Catholic celebration of the fall harvest and its new wine. Giving thanks is at the heart of our faith through the Eucharist...

Gender Studies professor has secretly booked rooms for Irish 4 Reproductive Health (I4RH) using a fake club name. I4RH, an unofficial student group, uses the reservations to meet and distribute contraceptives on campus—a direct violation of university rules. Professor Pamela Butler, Associate Director and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Gender Studies Department...

I was wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when I was born, and decided to create this website for fun. The purpose is to show people what was going on when they were born. With this website I've found out that it was a pretty slow news day on my birthday, but I bet it would feel cool to know a historical event happened on your birthday.

I believe that the Virgin Mary is the Co-Redemptrix. And I think Rome was quite right not to define her as such. For all (or most) of the reasons the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) stated in Mater Populi Fidelis (“The Mother of the Faithful People of God”). The reactions against Mater Populi Fidelis are, to my eyes, overwrought...

The University of Notre Dame has removed its long-standing expectation that staff should “understand, accept and support” its Catholic mission. In a press release, the University of Notre of Dame explained that it was removing its Catholic mission statement for staff. It will be replaced with a streamlined set of secular values that no longer makes explicit reference to the religious character of the institution.

A title card at the beginning of The Carpenter’s Son informs us that the movie is based on The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which “describes events missing in the gospel timeline.” That’s certainly an interesting way to characterize this obscure early text, already mined by Anne Rice for her novel Christ the Lord...

The Biblical tradition of presentation in the temple is something which has always appealed to me, aesthetically and spiritually, though we tend to think of it most in the context of its fulfillment in the presentation of Christ by his earthly parents, prompting Simeon’s famous prayer. Though, in a sense, the presentations of Mary and Christ, while complementary parts of the history of salvation, are rather distinct.