Feast date: Oct 29 Helen Kafka was born in 1894 to a shoemaker and grew up in Vienna, Austria. At the age of 20, she decided to join the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and took the name Restituta after an early Church martyr. In 1919, she began working as a surgical nurse in Austria. When the … Read more
Pope Leo XIV greets pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the recitation of the Angelus on Dec. 28, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 28, 2025 / 09:49 am (CNA). Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged Christian families to “cherish the values of the Gospel” and protect the “flame … Read more
Held in the Waiting: A 33-Day Devotional Trusting God’s Heart When Healing Is Delayed and Strength Feels Thin Day 1 — When the Path Is Hidden Theme: Faith in Uncertainty Scripture (Douay-Rheims Bible) Proverbs 3:5–6 “Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence.In all thy ways think … Read more
I. Scripture Reading — Luke 11:9–13 (RSV-CE) And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.What father among you, if his … Read more
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Feast date: Jan 04 Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was the foundress and first superior of the Sisters of Charity in the United States. She was born to Episcopalian parents into New York City high society on August 28, 1774. Her father, Dr. Richard Bayley was the first professor of anatomy at … Read more
The most striking way I have seen the Church with the sick is in the person of Pope St. John Paul II. In his later years, he was a sick man among the sick. Confined to his wheelchair, with disease overtaking his body, he stood before the people and showed us the dignity of human … Read more
Today is Ember Wednesday, the beginning of the Spring or Lent Embertide. There are two principal objects for the Ember Days of this period of the year: the first is to offer to God the season of Spring, and, by fasting and prayer, to draw down His blessing upon it; the second is to ask … Read more
Petition Prayer of Protection to Our Lady of Perpetual Help O Blessed Mother of Perpetual Help,you whose loving gaze never turns away from your children,I come before you with a humble heart,seeking your powerful intercession and maternal protection. Cover me, O Mother, with your mantle of mercy;shield me from all harm, danger, and evil snares.Dispel … Read more
A close-up of the tomb of St. Ceclia at the basilica dedicated to her in Trastevere, Rome, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA Vatican City, Nov 22, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). St. Cecilia, widely known as the patron saint of music and musicians, is buried in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in the Roman neighborhood … Read more
St. Andrew, Apostle Feast date: Nov 30 On Nov. 30, Catholics worldwide celebrate the feast of St. Andrew, apostle and martyr. A fisherman from Bethsaida and brother of Simon Peter, St. Andrew is said to have spread Christianity in Russia and Asia minor after Pentecost in the first century. He was crucified by the Romans in … Read more