TORONTO - It is halfway through second period and I’m lying on my classroom floor, away from all of the windows and doors, alongside other classmates. The room is silent. Luckily, this is just a practice lockdown drill that schools must go through in case of an emergency.

TORONTO - The organizers for World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, have discovered that the Toronto experience holds some valuable lessons. As the officials from Down Under who were in town just before Easter learned, the two cities have a lot in common.

Imagine getting the chance to study astronomy at the Vatican Observatory. It may seem hard to do, but it isn’t so hard for Nathan Deg, whose dreams have recently become a reality.

MONTREAL, Que. - Laura Hughes walked into a Taizé prayer session by accident and has been hooked ever since.

TORONTO - Three years ago Larissa Olinda moved to Toronto to open the first Canadian chapter of the Shalom Catholic Community. Within the year two other missionaries, Reimar Barata and Emanuela Gomes, followed.

OTTAWA - While a relic is often labelled as a thing of the past, as Carlos Martins explains, these sacred objects have relevance today. The fourth-year Companions of the Cross seminarian uses his extensive relic collection to teach about them. A former atheist, Martins came to the Catholic Church almost 11 years ago during a mystical dialogue with God before the Blessed Sacrament. Two years later, his relic ministry began.

TORONTO - With a thick Philadelphia accent, Rocco Palmo talks a mile-a-minute rattling off quick facts about Vatican hierarchy or a quip about the latest hot-button Catholic issue. This is a guy who spends his day keeping up with the goings-on of the Catholic Church.

WINNIPEG, Man.  - At an early age Ian Garcia started doing drugs, drinking, partying and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Eventually his family disowned him.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Youth members of the International Catholic lay movement Focolare will host a variety show to raise money for Zilma School in Haiti.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Lucy Anacleto was abused by her parents as a child. To escape the abuse, her two older sisters left home, leaving the then seven-year-old alone with her parents.