Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas of Myra (d. 346). Not much is known about this 4th century bishop, but that doesn’t diminish his popularity around the world, both in the East and West. It is known that Nicholas was born in Lycia in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and died in … Read more
Chris Pratt speaks at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con International for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. / Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons CNA Staff, Dec 6, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA). American actor … Read more
Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice, president of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference, blesses the new mosaic of Our Lady of Sorrows in the Vatican Gardens at a ceremony attended by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and Vatican officials on Dec. 5, 2025 / Credit: Bohumil Petrík EWTN News, Dec 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). Just before … Read more
Today the Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Sabbas (439-532), an anchorite who dedicated his life to prayer and manual labor. He is pictured as an abbot with an apple, as he was once tempted to eat an apple outside of the prescribed mealtime, whereupon he vowed never to eat apples again. In Jerusalem he built a … Read more
null / Credit: Yury Dmitrienko/Shutterstock ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 16:07 pm (CNA). The Vatican announced on Dec. 4 a new decision by Pope Leo XIV regarding fundraising for the Holy See. Through the new chirograph Vinculum Unitatis et Caritatis, the Holy Father is eliminating the current Commissio de Donationibus (Donations Commission) structure … Read more
The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene (676-749), who was a learned theologian who carefully gathered together and transmitted to us the teaching of the Greek Fathers, and is thus one of the most trustworthy witnesses to oriental tradition. He also wrote many liturgical hymns still in use today. St. John Damascene … Read more
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. / Credit: Xosema (CC BY-SA 4.0) ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 13:37 pm (CNA). The Vatican published on Dec. 4 the summary of the work carried out by the commissions studying the possibility of admitting women to the diaconate, presented to Pope Leo XIV by Cardinal Giuseppe … Read more
Pope Leo XIV speaks with reporters on his flight from Beirut to Rome on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Elias Turk/EWTN CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2025 / 18:21 pm (CNA). On the papal plane on the way home from his first international trip, Pope Leo XIV referenced a book that has greatly influenced his spirituality … Read more
Now I am going to tell you about something that until I did this article I knew next to nothing about — Advent fasting customs of the Eastern Rite. All I knew is that the period of Advent starts way sooner than Advent in the West. Instead of the Sunday after the Solemnity of Christ … Read more