April 8th is the optional memorial of Saint Julie Billiart. For the little girl who loved to play “school” as a child, founding a religious order dedicated to the education of the young was something that God apparently had in mind for her all along. Although her own formal education was very rudimentary, St. Julie Billiart was very well versed in the teachings of the Catholic faith, and she dedicated her life to passing them on to the generations that came after her.

The statistical yearbook of the Vatican registers an overall increase of 1,285 million of baptized Catholics in 2015. 49 per cent live in the Americas. For the first time since 2000, a decline of priests.
decline of priests.

Georg Gänswein in a TV interview denies the latest allegations on the renunciation: “It was a free decision. What has been recently said is invented.” The two Popes theory? “The Pope is one, Ratzinger was pope and has renounced”

Benedict XVI’s ninetieth birthday is approaching and monsignor Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and his private secretary, denies all the rumors and recent interviews about alleged pressure that led Joseph Ratzinger to resign. Gänswein was interviewed during Matrix an Italian late night TV show, broadcasted Wednesday, April 5, 2017.

Recalling an extraordinary gesture of Pope Montini while waiting for Francis’ Pilgrimage to the African country.

As Jesus hangs on the cross, naked, dying, and at the climax of his earthly ministry he cries: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.'

The phrase appears in both Matthew's and Mark's account of Jesus' death and both include a transliteration of what Jesus said: 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' before adding, 'which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"'.

Jesus, the son of God, who has led a life in perfect union with God the Father, is abandoned by him at his most desperate moment.

The cross is a sign of God’s love for humankind and not just an emblem of Christianity or a piece of jewellery to display, Pope Francis said.

The cross is a symbol of “the power of God who made himself sin to heal us,” and its significance can be lost due to a lack of faith in its saving power or the desire to show off, the Pope said on April 4 during his morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

There is something fascinating about famous last words. Some are merely interesting: “All my possessions for a moment of time” (Queen Elizabeth I); “Josephine” (Napoleon Bonaparte); “I have tried so hard to do the right” (Grover Cleveland). Some are even humorous: “I should never have switched from scotch to martinis” (Humphrey Bogart), while others are troubling: “Don’t you dare ask God to help me” (Joan Crawford).

At the general audience, on Wednesday, April 5, Pope Francis also remembers the attack in St. Petersburg. "Mobsters respond to evil with evil because they have no hope".

When a group of Christians from different denominations get together to pray, it is easy to figure out who is Catholic. Instead of diving right into prayer by addressing God the Father, the Catholic uses his hand to trace a cross over his body or forehead.

Why is that?

First of all, let’s look at the history behind it.

One of the favorite stories from the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima a century ago this year is how Our Lady was compelled gently to correct the three shepherd children for “cheating” on how they were praying the Rosary.

The eldest, at the time ten-year-old Lucy, described in her eventual Memoires what they were doing and why.