SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- COVID-19 put a damper on last year’s celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of St. Oscar Romero’s martyrdom, but a continuing pandemic couldn’t stop this year’s festivities.

OXFORD, England -- A commission of Catholic bishops warned religious freedom is threatened in the European Union, as restrictive laws are imposed in the wake of COVID-19.

A year into COVID and Martyrs’ Shrine director Fr. Michael Knox is looking ahead, imagining how we might pray after the pandemic comes to an end.

Restrictions on places of worship in grey lockdown zones will be loosened and churches will be able to host services with up to 15 per cent of their capacity as of March 15.

How many times over the past year have you heard the phrases “getting back to normal” and “putting COVID-19 behind us”?

Fr. Wilson Andrade’s smile is as broad, his laugh as ready and his intense interest in people as alive as it ever was. But he confesses that a year of lockdowns, online Masses and separation from his St. Ann’s parishioners in Toronto’s East Chinatown neighbourhood hasn’t been easy.

The landmark one-year anniversary dates for COVID-19 in Canada are Jan. 25 and March 8 — the former  being the day we recorded our first official pandemic case, and the latter being the first death.

VATICAN CITY -- For believers, the ability to practice their faith and receive spiritual guidance are "the highest of essential services," and pandemic practices over the past year have shown they are not automatically super-spreader events, the Vatican foreign minister said.

VATICAN CITY -- Two days after the Iraqi government announced stringent COVID-19 precautions, including the closure of mosques and churches “until further notice,” the prime minister met with the Vatican nuncio to discuss preparations for the scheduled visit of Pope Francis.

VANCOUVER -- Catholic lawyers in the Archdiocese of Vancouver are adding their voices to the growing numbers calling for the B.C. government to end its ban on worship services.

A small Canadian startup hopes to help to bridge the COVID-19 vaccine divide between rich and poor nations.

The end of our long COVID crisis may be in sight, but until we get there churches and faith leaders still have a job to do, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam told over 1,300 faith leaders on a Jan. 20, nationwide Zoom call.

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January, giving priority to its health care workers, security personnel, employees who deal with the public and older residents, employees and retirees.

There’s no question the strain of the pandemic is hitting every area of Canadians’ lives as the year draws to a close.

VATICAN CITY -- Two top Vatican officials -- Cardinal Konrad Krajewski and Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello -- have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, Italian media reported, and a Vatican source confirmed.