March 2026

Historian reflects on Michelangelo's 'Last Judgement' with Sistine Chapel restoration underway

Courtney Mares · March 1, 2026

The Vatican Museums announced that restoration work has begun on Michelangelo's "The Last Judgement" in the Sistine Chapel, a fresco an art historian describes as "a clarion call to the cardinals of what it means to be Catholic."

Tallying the price of living family

Andrea Mrozek · March 1, 2026

Having children is intended to happen with social support, first from the father, who is more likely to stick around if he is married to the mother, and then from an expanding network: a village of the family’s choosing.

Culture à la Carte

Death is made good by God’s grace

Sr. Helena Burns · March 1, 2026

Ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, we were born to die (Adam and Eve chose death for all their descendants). But because of Jesus’ Sacrifice, because we live A.D., death is no longer the same. The gates of heaven are opened to us (if we want to be with God), and so…”O death, where is your sting?”

Editorial

Catholics changing the world

March 1, 2026

The great 20th century journalist G. K. Chesterton famously noted that the proof of Original Sin is the front page of the daily newspaper.

Sorrow, shock, prayer for Catholics in Middle East as US and Israel strike Iran; Khamenei now dead

Gina Christian · March 2, 2026

Catholics across the Middle East are reeling with shock and sorrow, and responding with prayer, amid joint strikes Israeli and U.S. forces launched on Iran Feb. 28.

Prayer, diplomacy needed in Middle East, U.S. bishop says

Gina Christian · March 2, 2026

The leader of the U.S. Catholic bishops has echoed Pope Leo XIV's call for deescalation and dialogue in the Middle East, following the joint attacks on Iran launched Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel.

Pope Leo warns of 'irreparable abyss' in Iran, Middle East

Paulina Guzik · March 2, 2026

Pope Leo XIV issued a fervent appeal for return of diplomacy in "these dramatic hours" in the Middle East and Iran, condemning use of weapons that cause "destruction, pain, and death."

In the face of the mystery of evil, Christians must be signs of hope, Pope Leo says

Carol Glatz · March 2, 2026

Life is a journey that requires trust and reliance on Jesus, who sometimes asks his disciples to leave everything behind, Pope Leo XIV said.

Bishops, Christian leaders call for peace, urge diplomacy as Middle East conflict escalates

Junno Arocho Esteves · March 2, 2026

As the United States and Israel continued their campaign against Iran, bishops and Christian leaders appeal for peace before the conflict escalates any further.

'God lives in Ukraine today'

Faith helps a battered population endure more than four years of war

Quinton Amundson · March 2, 2026

Hearteningly, Fr. Roman Ostrovsky, the rector of the Kyiv Three Saints Seminary, has heard multiple Ukrainian soldiers express an interest in the consecrated life once the war with Russia comes to an end.

Lebanese archbishop: Innocents are 'paying the price' of Middle East war

Junno Arocho Esteves · March 3, 2026

As the scourge of war spreads across the Middle East, including Lebanon, the ones paying the ultimate price are the innocent men, women and children who want to live in peace, said Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre.

Iran peace will come with a cost, says MP

Quinton Amundson · March 3, 2026

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told The Catholic Register that the Iranian diaspora in Canada has relayed that the interventions by the U.S. and Israel “are a source of joy and cautious optimism”.

Manitoba Knights aid reserve affected by wildfires

More than 2,000 forced to flee community as flames approached last year

Quinton Amundson · March 3, 2026

Blessed with the long-running Coats for Kids program and partnerships with Sleep in Heavenly Peace and the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation, Manitoba State Deputy Mark Desjardins of the Knights of Columbus sought an opportunity to unite coats, beds and wheelchairs in a single humanitarian initiative.

Church is holy by Christ's presence, not human perfection, Pope Leo says

Josephine Peterson · March 4, 2026

The Catholic Church is both a community made up of fragile and limited human beings and a divine reality, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly general audience.

Vatican synod study group proposes creation of pontifical commission for new technologies

Courtney Mares · March 4, 2026

A Synod on Synodality study group has recommended the creation of a new “Pontifical Commission for Digital Culture and New Technologies” in the first of 15 synod study group reports expected in the coming weeks.

Religious groups seek more clarity in amended Bill C-9

Quinton Amundson · March 4, 2026

Catholic and Christian organizations are expressing appreciation for the federal government’s willingness to refine Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, to remedy religious freedom concerns, but want this spirit more explicitly conveyed in the text of the legislation.

Religious freedom watchdog annual report spotlights 'terrifying crisis of religious violence' in Nigeria

Kate Scanlon · March 5, 2026

Nigeria is facing "a terrifying crisis of religious violence," the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its 2026 annual report, released March 4.

Drone strike on Iraqi Catholic church complex reopens old wounds

Dale Gavlak · March 5, 2026

The Catholic community in northern Iraq has been shaken by the attack of an explosive drone hitting the Chaldean Catholic complex in Ankawa, outside of Irbil.

Inside the synod: a synodal diary

Quinton Amundson · March 5, 2026

At a special event on March 26 at Toronto's University of St. Michael’s College, respected Canadian Catholic academic and writer Michael Higgins will unveil Synod Diary: Sixty Days That Shook the Church.

Calgary’s St. Mary’s plans to double in size

Aiming high, school looks to be Canada’s pre-eminent Catholic university

Quinton Amundson · March 5, 2026

St. Mary’s University in Calgary is poised to significantly grow its student population and campus space over the next several years.