With a sister who is a Doctor of the Church and parents set to be canonized in October, Leonia Martin could be the fourth member of her family declared as a saint after her own cause for canonization was recently launched.

Yesterday morning, Leonia’s cause was officially opened by Bishop Jean-Claude Boulanger of Bayeux-Lisieux in the chapel of the Visitation Monastery at Caen, France, where Leonia spent the majority of her life and where she died. Mass was celebrated following the cause opening.

In the first speech of his apostolic visit, Pope Francis reiterated that "no one else but Jesus shines of His own light". He presented Latin America too with the image of a Church that is not self-sufficient because it is always dependent on the grace of Christ

Upon his arrival in Quito, Francis called for “differences” to be appreciated and participation without exclusion to be endorsed, in order to ensure “the steps forward in the direction of progress and development guarantee a better future for everyone”. But he also sent a message to the Church, calling for it to help the poor more

Francis is on his way to Latin America where he will visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay: Poor countries that are struggling to better their conditions after years of military dictatorship and political and economic instability

It looks like a plan concocted by the braintrust of a political campaign.

First, the mission statement: a sweeping critique of economic injustice and environmental exploitation, published in the form of a papal encyclical, one of the Catholic Church's most important teaching documents.

Then the missionary, one of the most popular people on the planet, takes the message to the masses in places burdened by the very plights he has condemned, where he'll be cheered by millions as a hometown hero.

A few days ago, it was announced that the Pontiff approved decrees permitting the canonization of the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieu, and that a celebration marking their canonization would be held at the Vatican Square on October 18 which is the date close to the anniversary of St. John Paul II’s election on October 16 and his Apostolic Letter proclaiming their young daughter “a Doctor of the Church” in 2000.

A Christian businessman has built a monument in Karachi that has sparked a controversy first and foremost in the Church: is it a religious symbol or a show of power, destined to provoke Islamists?

It is going to be the biggest cross in Asia. A giant 43-metre-high cement cross has altered Karachi’s skyline. The port city in South Pakistan is the capital city of Sindh province.

The Chaldean Church raises the alarm in light of the escalating violence and persecutions unleashed by the Caliphate.

“Things are getting worse for us Christians and other religious minorities. The situation in Iraq is getting worse by the day.” It was the Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad who raised the alarm bells about the escalating violence and persecution at the hands of the Caliphate.

At the presentation of the Pope’s upcoming trip to South America, the Vatican spokesman set the record straight on the participation of gay groups at the meeting in Bolivia and the use of coca leaves to prevent altitude sickness.

Pope Francis caused great joy to all the faithful with the recent announcement about the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, the spouses Louis and Zelie Martin. They will be canonized on 18 October, thus becoming the first couple of modern saints, raised to the honors of the altars when the Synod on the family will be in full swing.