IDA GROVE, Iowa – Leo "Doc" Samson will note two anniversaries June 2.

MEXICO CITY – A priest was stabbed at the altar while celebrating Mass May 15 in Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral.

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church pulls out all the stops for the Easter Vigil, the Mass celebrated on Holy Saturday.

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican office which governs the use of the extraordinary form of the Roman rite has given priests permission to say a special Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima this year, noting the importance of the apparition's centenary.

Happy New Year! Growing up in Canada, I had a largely typical North American childhood experience, but it was also infused with the traditions of my Chinese heritage.

Every year St. Michael’s Cathedral fields an RCIA class of 20 to 30 for adult baptisms and confirmations. A lot of that success starts on Christmas Day, according to cathedral rector Fr. Michael Busch.

Most of us go to church to pray. But beware, some prey.

When I was a graduate student in Belgium, I was privileged one day to sit in on a conference given by Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Brussels.

ROME – Priests in central Italy were instructed to celebrate Mass outdoors following another devastating earthquake that rocked the region and brought one its most spiritually and historically significant churches tumbling down.

There used to be a time when I thought of Mass as just an obligation; something I had to attend to please God. It was after going to Madrid for World Youth Day 2011 that my eyes were opened. I understood that I had been approaching the Eucharist in the wrong way.

“This is holy ground,” Cardinal Thomas Collins declared as he rededicated St. Michael’s Cathedral, capping off a five-year, $128 million restoration of the 168-year-old home of Toronto’s Catholics.

WASHINGTON – Recent comments by a high-ranking Vatican official have sparked questions about the direction priests should face while celebrating Mass.

There is always resistance to the surprises of the Spirit, but it’s the Spirit who continues to lead the Church forward. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Thursday at the Santa Marta chapel as he reflected on the reading about division and resistance within the early Church in Jerusalem.

Pope Francis presiding over a Jubilee Mass for Teens in St Peter's Square on Sunday told them "the true friends of Jesus stand out essentially by the genuine love that shines forth in their way of life." He also told the 13 to 16 year olds that although love is the path to happiness, it is not an easy one and requires effort. He also said, happiness has no price.  "It cannot be bought: it is not an app that you can download on your phones nor will the latest update bring you freedom and grandeur in love."

VATICAN CITY - As the death toll from the Brussels terror attacks rose on March 24, Pope Francis began three days of solemn observances leading to Easter Sunday by denouncing those who help fuel terrorism the way some once backed Judas against Jesus.