Pope venerates statue of the Immaculate Conception in Rome
Concluding the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the opening of the Holy Door, Pope Francis prayed that through Mary, Christians may recognise the victory of divine mercy over sin. Amid tight...
View ArticlePope Francis opens Holy Door in Basilica of St Mary Major
On Friday Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at the papal Basilica of St Mary Major. The Pope celebrated Mass at the basilica in Rome, which is also known as Our Lady of the Snows, on the Solemnity of...
View ArticleFull text: Pope’s homily at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
We have just heard how Mary went to meet her cousin Elizabeth. She sets out without delay, without doubts, without lessening her pace, to be with her relative who was in the last months of her...
View ArticlePope makes long-awaited visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe
On Saturday Pope Francis fulfilled his much-desired wish to pray in silence before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. After celebrating the first Mass of his papal trip to Mexico, the Pope...
View ArticleThe wonder of Walsingham
I was delighted to hear last week that the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham has received a donation of £4 million for its building development fund. It is a great blessing on the shrine and...
View ArticleCardinal Nichols announces new shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has announced a new diocesan shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary at St Dominic’s Priory, Haverstock Hill. He will officially inaugurate the shrine at a Mass on October...
View ArticleHow to tell the story of St Patrick
Growing up in Ireland, we learnt in primary school that one of St Patrick’s stellar achievements was banishing the snakes from Ireland. We drew pictures of a statuesque bishop in grass green robes...
View ArticleThe Feast of the Annunciation delivers an unequivocal pro-life message
At Mass in our church today the Feast of the Annunciation was celebrated. Its official date is March 25 but because of the date of Easter this year it has been delayed. In the Liturgical Year the...
View ArticleFrancis: Annunciation is feast of saying ‘yes’ to God
When people do not want to say “yes” to God, they usually hide like Adam and Eve did after they sinned, Pope Francis said. “Today is the feast of ‘yes,'” the Pope said during his early morning Mass on...
View ArticleIt may get you called a freak, but Marian devotion is indispensable
If you ever want proof that I’m in the Densa category, reference this fact: it has taken me the past 10 days to figure out ways to develop my love for Our Lady during this month of May which is...
View ArticleBooks blog: Catholics need to talk loudly and proudly about Mary
For Catholics who don’t have ready (or perhaps any) answers for the teachings of their faith, the Catholic Truth Society has produced a series of very useful booklets at £2.50 each, entitled 20 Answers...
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Around the world devotion to Our Lady is growing
Stories of decline, church closures and a shortage of priests are a regular feature of Catholic life in our generation. Despite the apparent gloom there is one area where there seems to be new growth:...
View ArticleParishes across Britain are reviving May processions in honour of Mary
It was several years ago now that the suggestion came from my parish branch of the Union of Catholic Mothers that we have a May procession and devotion in honour of Our Lady. Older members of the...
View ArticlePope Francis offers prayers for those killed in Italy train crash
Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the families of the victims of Tuesday’s train crash in Italy. Twenty-three people have been confirmed to have died and dozens more hurt after the head-on...
View ArticleLike the Fatima visionaries, we should meditate on hell
What are we to make of the vision of hell which was seen by the Fatima children on July 13, 1917? The vision was revealed in Sister Lucia’s Third Memoir – which was written in the summer of 1941 – when...
View ArticleA pilgrimage through an English landscape charged with the grandeur of God
Author Joseph Pearce, who has written biographies of Hilaire Belloc, CS Lewis and GK Chesterton among many other writings, has just published a deeply personal account of a private pilgrimage he made...
View ArticleVatican releases Pope’s schedule for Fatima visit
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Francis will lead the evening recitation of rosary and celebrate Mass on the anniversary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima...
View ArticlePortsmouth launches diocesan app
The Diocese of Portsmouth launched its own diocesan app on Easter Sunday in an effort to better involve parishioners in the life of the diocese. The app is a digital guide to live events in the diocese...
View ArticleA reminder that prayer works miracles
I have a longstanding dispute with an agnostic friend. He raises the Inquisition, the Crusades and how cruel the Church was to the inoffensive Cathars; I then patiently explain the actual historical...
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