Articles by Courtney Mares
Assisi in Advent: illuminated frescoes and a nurse in a nativity scene
Dec 9, 2020 / 13:00 pmAssisi unveiled a nativity scene Tuesday made of 50 figurines of shepherds, angels, and barn animals with a new addition this year: a life-size figure of a nurse in scrubs wearing a mask.
Belarus to be consecrated to Mary on Immaculate Conception feast
Dec 7, 2020 / 10:30 amThe metropolitan archbishop of Minsk has asked all churches in Belarus to pray an act of consecration of Belarus to the Immaculate Heart of Mary after Mass on Dec. 8.
Australia celebrates 10th anniversary of St. Mary MacKillop’s canonization
Dec 7, 2020 / 09:30 amAustralia is celebrating the 10th anniversary this year of the canonization of the country’s first and only saint, St. Mary MacKillop.
Pope Francis will travel to Iraq in 2021
Dec 7, 2020 / 05:55 amThe Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will travel to Iraq in March 2021. He will be the first pope to ever visit the country, which is still recovering from the devastation inflicted by the Islamic State.
Patriarch Pizzaballa makes solemn entry into the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
Dec 4, 2020 / 13:00 pmPatriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa made a solemn entry into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Friday as the new Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Notre-Dame choir to return to fire-damaged cathedral for Christmas concert
Dec 4, 2020 / 08:30 amNotre-Dame Cathedral choir will return to the damaged cathedral on Christmas Eve to perform a concert that will be broadcast live from Paris.
Catholic bishops welcome ‘realistic’ new measures for public Masses in France
Dec 3, 2020 / 09:00 amBishops in France have welcomed new government measures that will allow more people to attend public Masses during Advent.
Catholic priest in Nigeria released after being held captive for 10 days
Dec 3, 2020 / 05:00 amA priest who was kidnapped in Nigeria has been released after being held captive for 10 days.
Pope Francis prays for victims of Islamist attack in Nigeria that left 30 beheaded
Dec 2, 2020 / 11:30 amPope Francis said Wednesday that he was praying for Nigeria following a massacre of at least 110 farmers in which Islamist militants beheaded an estimated 30 people.
Pope Francis: God is patient and never stops waiting for a sinner’s conversion
Dec 2, 2020 / 04:00 amPope Francis said Wednesday that God does not wait for us to stop sinning to start loving us, but always holds out hope for the conversion of even the most hardened sinner.
Rwanda’s first cardinal sees family as key to planting the seeds of peace
Dec 1, 2020 / 09:00 amRwanda’s first cardinal lost seven members of his immediate family in the 1994 genocide. Now he is using his role as archbishop of Kigali to plant “seeds of peace” by promoting the family as the foundation for building a peaceful future.
French Catholic bishops win appeal against 30-person Mass limit
Nov 30, 2020 / 10:00 amThe French Council of State has ruled that a proposed 30-person limit on Masses and other forms of public worship is a “disproportionate” government measure and must be modified by Dec. 2.
Pope Francis briefed on Lebanon’s ‘bitter economic crisis’ by Maronite patriarch
Nov 30, 2020 / 07:30 amPope Francis met with Lebanon’s Maronite patriarch at the Vatican this weekend and told the pope of the challenges facing Lebanon as it experiences political instability and a “bitter economic crisis.”
Pope Francis asks for prayer for Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region
Nov 29, 2020 / 08:30 amPope Francis has asked people to pray for Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where the United Nations has said that “a full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding.”
Pope Francis: 'Advent is the season for remembering the closeness of God'
Nov 29, 2020 / 05:40 amOn the first Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis recommended a traditional Advent prayer to invite God to draw close during this new liturgical year.
French bishops launch second legal appeal to reinstate public Masses for all
Nov 27, 2020 / 13:00 pmThe French bishops’ conference announced Friday that it would submit another appeal to the Council of State, calling the proposed 30-person limit on public Masses during Advent “unacceptable.”
Artist offers to restore beheaded statue of Virgin Mary in Germany
Nov 27, 2020 / 10:20 amAn art restorer in Germany has offered to restore a decapitated statue of the Virgin Mary free of charge.
Catholic archbishop: Pray for priest kidnapped in Nigeria
Nov 27, 2020 / 08:20 amA Nigerian archbishop has asked for prayers for the safe release of a priest kidnapped in Abuja earlier this week.
Twitter criticized as ‘Burn the clergy’ hashtag trends in Spain
Nov 25, 2020 / 12:00 pmOn the same day that Pope Francis approved the beatification of 127 Catholics killed in Spain in hatred of the faith in the 20th century, a hashtag calling for Catholic priests to be burned was trending on Twitter in Spain.
French bishops press government to review 30-person Mass limit
Nov 25, 2020 / 07:00 amAfter a strong reaction by French Catholics to the government’s decision Tuesday night to limit Mass attendance to 30 people per church during Advent, French bishops are in negotiations with the government to determine a more “realistic gauge” for a gradual resumption of public Masses.