VATICAN – Pope Francis asked people to give thanks to God for the gift of so many men and women living a cloistered life of total dedication to prayer.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage has appointed an independent commission to review all personnel files of clerics and religious men and women who have served in the Archdiocese of Anchorage since its canonical establishment in 1966.

For cloistered communities like the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood, interaction with the outside world can be very limited. Yet, vocations in Canada are growing for the order. 

QUEBEC – Daylight illuminates the monastery's long corridors, seeping through the old windows dotting its thick walls. The floor responds to the slightest step with an enveloping rustle, as today's Ursulines follow the footsteps of their predecessors. But this uninterrupted cycle that dates back to 17th-century New France is coming to an end.

VANCOUVER – An innovative program has revamped religious education at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Vancouver.

The Toronto Sisters of Life are opening up a new chapter in their ministry in the heart of the city.

VANCOUVER – On a continent where some longtime religious communities are suffering a decline in numbers, at least one congregation is truly flourishing.

VICTORIA, B.C. – Over the past 160 years, the Sisters of St. Ann have taught thousands of students, treated thousands more patients, and multiplied social justice efforts in B.C.

Of course Mario Biscardi was given prior notice that he was to receive the highest honour the Vatican bestows on any layperson. 

EDMONTON – Sr. Elizabeth Kass is being remembered as a fearless woman who spent decades ministering to her fellow members of the deaf community, culminating in what she called the answer to her prayers — the ordination of Canada’s first deaf priest.

As a child, I wanted to be famous. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to be well known or revered. Rather, I wanted my life to matter. In my limited childhood understanding, fame was the reward for a life that mattered.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Esmeralda Solís Gonzáles is a young Mexican woman who was crowned last year as a beauty queen in her native town – and now she's joined the Poor Clare Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament.

It is never too late to answer God’s call to religious life.

ATHLONE, Ireland - The Catholic Church is "no longer a safe haven for child abusers," said a top priest psychologist who advises the U.S. bishops on child sexual abuse.

Br. Nathan Wayne had an atypical road to the religious life.

A self-described “total jock” during his high school years in Syracuse, N.Y., he was a star player on the Christian Brothers Academy basketball team, a school renowned for its athletics, and also enjoyed football and skiing.  The now 26-year-old member of the Legion of Christ credits a few committed recruiters with leading him to where he is today, serving youth across Ontario.