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(Vatican Radio) A campaign to immortalise Scotland’s only post-Reformation Catholic martyr is growing, more than forty years after he was canonised by Pope Paul VI.Saint John Ogilvie was born in 1579 to a family of Scottish nobility. He was raised a Calvinist, but converted to Catholicism at Louvain in 1596. After receiving an education at several Catholic institutions, he joined the Society of Jesus. He was ordained in 1610 in Paris and requested that he be sent back to Scotland, by this time marked by a hostility to the Catholic Faith. He was betrayed by someone posing as a Catholic and was imprisoned for treason.The Jesuit priest was tortured by his captors in an attempt to find out the names of other Catholics in the area. They deprived him of sleep and pushed needles under his fingernails. When he refused to betray his people, he was sentenced to death. He was hanged at Glasgow Cross on 10th March 1615. The date is remembered every year as the saint’s feast day.He...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon, in a private audience at the Vatican on Thursday.A communique from the Holy See Press Office said their discussions were "cordial"."During the cordial discussions, the existing good relations between the Holy See and Cameroon were evoked, as was the important contribution the Church offers to the development of the country, especially in the fields of education and healthcare. Taking into consideration the peaceful co-existence and mutual respect between the various religious groups, attention was focused on the importance of promoting national cohesion, enhancing the richness of the various historic and cultural traditions of the country, with respect for human and minority rights."The Pope and the president also exchanged "views on some themes of international interest, with particular reference to the current challenges affecting the region".President Biya...
(Vatican Radio) Listen to the Word of God to avoid the risk of a hardened heart. That was Pope Francis’ message in his homily at morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Thursday. The Pope pointed out that when we turn away from God and are deaf to His Word, we become unfaithful or even “Catholic atheists.”Pope Francis drew inspiration from the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah to meditate on the importance of listening to the Word of God. “When we do not stop to listen to the voice of the Lord we end up moving away, we turn away from Him, we turn our backs. And if we do not listen to the voice of the Lord, we listen to other voices.”The Holy Father suggested that if we do not listen to God’s voice, then in the end we listen to the voices of idols. He noted bitterly that eventually, “we become deaf: deaf to the Word of God.”“And all of us, if we stop a little today and look at our hearts, we will see how many times...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has officially recognized the miracle attributed to the intercession of two Fatima children - Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto. He also approved the canonizations of 30 Brazilian and 3 Mexican martyrs.The Pope will visit Fatima in Portugal on 12-13 May. Click here to see the schedule of his visit.During an audience on Thursday with Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the following decrees:- the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Angelo da Acri (né Luca Antonio Falcone), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, born 19 October 1669 and died 30 October 1739);- the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Francisco Marto, born on 11 June 1908 and died on 4 April 1919, and Blessed Jacinta Marto, born 11 March 1910 and died 20 February 1920, children of Fátima;- the...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is set to receive 27 European Union heads of State and government at a private audience in the Vatican’s Sala Regia on Friday evening.The encounter takes place on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome.Leaders will be joined at the audience by representatives of EU institutions.These include Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.Pope Francis will address the group after speeches made by Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Antonio Tajani.
Vatican City, Mar 23, 2017 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After four people died in an apparent terrorist attack in London yesterday, Pope Francis has voiced his sorry and solidarity for the victims and their families, entrusting them and the nation to God’s mercy.“Deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and of the injuries caused by the attack central London, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his prayerful solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy,” a March 23 letter signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read.The Pope commended the souls of those who died “to the loving mercy of Almighty God,” and prayed for “divine strength and peace upon their grieving families,” while assuring of his prayer for the entire nation.Francis’ letter comes the day after a deadly March 22 attack on London’s Parliament took the lives of four people.During the attack, a car apparently plowed into pedestrians on Wes...
Vatican City, Mar 23, 2017 / 06:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday Pope Francis approved the second and final miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the Fatima Marian apparitions.The Pope approved the miracle in a March 23 audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during which he advanced six other causes, approving one other miracle, two causes for martyrdom and three of heroic virtue.In addition, the Pope also approved a positive vote from members of the canonization for six martyrs who are already Blessed, but do not yet have a second miracle for their cause.However, the most significant of the causes approved is that of Francisco and Jacinta Marto. With the approval of the second miracle, the two may now be canonized Saints. It is likely Pope Francis will preside over their canonization himself while in Fatima May 12-13 for the centenary of the apparitions.Franci...
Charlotte, N.C., Mar 23, 2017 / 09:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new, epic narrative about the life of Mary, Queen of Heaven has just been released with the hope of drawing individuals closer to the Mother of God during the upcoming 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.“We wanted to tell the story of Fatima. But, what the story of Fatima is really is the story of a battle,” Rick Rotondi, Vice President of New Business at Saint Benedict Press, told CNA.“That battle goes a long way back to the very beginning of the Bible, with enmity with the serpent. It’s a long story and that’s what we are trying to tell: the battle that Our Lady is engaged with in modern times,” he continued.The new program is titled Queen of Heaven: Mary's Battle for You and was released by Saint Benedict Press only a few weeks ago. The video series is broken down into eight different segments, in a document-style format and is hosted by Leonardo Defilippis...
IMAGE: CNS/Gregory A. ShemitzBy BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Cardinal WilliamH. Keeler, the retired archbishop of Baltimore who was known for his vital role in ecumenical and interreligious relations, died early March 23 at St. Martin'sHome for the Aged in the Baltimore suburb of Catonsville. He was 86.The Baltimore Archdiocese saidfuneral arrangements were being finalized."One of the great blessingsin my life was coming to know Cardinal Keeler," said Baltimore ArchbishopWilliam E. Lori in a statement. "Cardinal Keeler will be greatly missed. Iam grateful to the Little Sisters for their devoted care for the cardinal."Cardinal Keeler was the bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when he was appointed the 14th archbishop of Baltimore in 1989. Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 1994. He retired in 2007. As presidentof the U.S. bishops' conference from 1992-95, he participated in a wide rangeof national and international issues.As part of his work with what isnow the U.S. Conference of Cathol...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Mark R. Cristino, EPABy Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Notlistening to God's voice can distance Christians from him and lead them instead to seeksolace in worldly idols that offer only doubt and confusion, Pope Francis said. When Catholics are"deaf to the word of God," their hearts are hardened, and "theylose the meaning of faithfulness," the pope said March 23 in his homilyduring morning Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae.The pope began his homily by reflecting on the day's firstreading from the prophet Jeremiah in which God laments the unfaithfulness ofhis people who "walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turnedtheir backs, not their faces, to me.""Not listening to and turning our backs -- whichhardens our heart -- takes us on that path of unfaithfulness," the popesaid.In the reading,"the Lord says: 'Faithfulness has disappeared,' and we become unfaithfulCatholics, pagan Catholics and, even worse, atheist Catholics" without the necessary reference...
