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...

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.

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...

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...

Yesterday I experienced once again the astounding Byzantine liturgy of Epiphany. Among other things, there was the special blessing of water, wherein the entire natural world is invoked as a chorus of witnesses to its Creator. This gives occasion to ask whether we really see the natural world for what it is, or has our perception been dulled by a pervasive bad science, or our lack of attention, or some other cause.

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...

Last weekend, spread across three locations, 26,000 young adults gathered for SEEK, the annual conference sponsored by FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students), to learn and celebrate the faith, to adore the Eucharistic Jesus, and to be inspired to live as missionary disciples. They showed what several popes and scores of youth ministers...

Pope Leo has announced that he will hold an annual consistory for discussion and consultation with the world’s cardinals, beginning this year in June. The announcement was made Jan. 8, at the conclusion of Leo’s first extraordinary consistory. The pope plans to hold a second consistory this year, followed by annual, slightly longer meetings of the College of Cardinals starting next year...

Dr. Anthony Lilles, Julie Enzler, and Dominican Father Ignatius Schweitzer pray the ‘Oblation to the Trinity,’ written by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity on Nov. 21, 1904.

Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues on the agenda. In his opening address to the consistory yesterday...