Vatican News

Lent a time of grace, defeating temptation, Pope says

February 22, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The 40 days of Lent are a time of spiritual renewal in preparation for Easter, but they also are a time to recognize that evil is at work in the world and even the Catholic Church faces temptations, Pope Benedict XVI said. The Pope explained the meaning of Lent during his weekly general audience Feb. 22, Ash Wednesday. Like the people of Israel during their 40-year exodus and like Jesus during His 40 days in the desert, the Catholic Church and its members experience the grace of God, but also are besieged by evil around them and are tempted by power and selfishness, the Pope said.

Canonization Mass in October will bring seven new saints including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

February 21, 2012

VATICAN CITY — Like Pope Paul VI and Blessed John Paul II often did, Pope Benedict XVI will mark World Mission Sunday in October by creating new saints. In the United States and Canada, many people are aware that the saints to be proclaimed Oct. 21 at the Vatican include Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.

Church leaders called to preserve tradition, Pope tells new cardinals

February 21, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Leaders and members of the Catholic Church do not have the authority to determine its teaching and structure but are called to ensure its fidelity to Jesus and to the faith passed on by the apostles, Pope Benedict XVI told the 22 new cardinals he created. "The Church is not self-regulating, she does not determine her own structure, but receives it from the Word of God, to which she listens in faith as she seeks to understand it and to live it," the Pope said in a homily Feb. 19 during a Mass concelebrated with the new cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope, new cardinals concelebrate Mass

February 19, 2012

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI and the 22 new cardinals he created yesterday concelebrated Mass this morning in St. Peter’s Basilica. The pope used Bernini’s sculpture of the Chair of St. Peter to illustrate his homily since the Mass marked the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a liturgical solemnity that highlights Jesus giving Peter the authority to lead the church in love. The statue is topped by a window with a stained-glass dove representing the Holy Spirit.

Cold feet, warm hugs: Pilgrims do what it takes to see new cardinals

February 19, 2012

VATICAN CITY - More than 10,000 friends, family and supporters bore chilly morning temperatures, pressing crowds and long lines to get a chance to see Pope Benedict XVI place a red hat on their favorite cardinal. Only a few thousands got to see it happen in person. “We arrived at the main gate at 6 a.m. just like good little pilgrims, in the freezing cold,” said Annette Zaralli Parsons from Richmond, Va. But then they opened a different gate to let people into St. Peter’s Basilica for the Feb. 18 consistory to create 22 new cardinals from 13 countries “and so the people who had gotten in line later got in. So you should make your headline read: ‘Pilgrims freeze, miss consistory,’” she told Catholic News Service.

Pope creates 22 new cardinals, calls them to love, service

February 18, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals from 13 countries -- including three from the United States and Canada -- placing red hats on their heads and calling them to lives of even greater love and service to the church. The churchmen who joined the College of Cardinals Feb. 18 included Cardinals Timothy M. Dolan of New York; Edwin F. O'Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and former archbishop of Baltimore; and Thomas C. Collins of Toronto.

Of cardinal importance: new princes of the church on their role

February 18, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Practically everyone knows two things about cardinals -- that they wear red hats and elect the Pope. But what other purpose do these men serve in the Catholic Church? On the eve of the Feb. 18 consistory where Pope Benedict XVI was scheduled to expand the College of Cardinals by 22 new members, the three North Americans among them shared some thoughts on the meaning of their new role.

Cardinal-designate Dolan leads cardinals' reflection on evangelization

February 17, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Secularism has had an easy time spreading through many traditionally Christian cultures because so many Christians do not know their faith and do not grasp the truth it teaches, Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan of New York told the College of Cardinals. While the New York prelate did not downplay the challenges the church faces in reviving the faith of its members and bringing the Gospel to those who have never heard it, he delivered his assessment Feb. 17 with his characteristic smile and broad gestures, telling Pope Benedict XVI and the cardinals that evangelization requires joy and love.

Pope says no future without children, urges support for large families

February 15, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI called on governments and communities to help large families, saying children represent hope and the well-being of every nation. "There is no future without children," he said at the end of his general audience Feb. 15 in a greeting to members of an Italian association of large families. "In today's social context, a family made up of many children constitutes a witness of faith, courage and optimism," he said.

Pope: Vocations are born from openness to the love of God

February 13, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Love of God nurtures love of neighbor, especially in people with vocations to the priesthood or religious life, said Pope Benedict XVI in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The papal message for the 49th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will be observed April 29, was released Feb. 13 at the Vatican.