Catholic greens had reason to sound exclamations of joy at today rsquo s inaugural papal Mass From the announcement of the new pope rsquo s name Francis there was speculation about whether Pope Francis would show the same sensitivity for nature that saint who preached to the birds loved the wild

Good day from Rome on the sixth day of the pontificate of Pope Francis Nearly 200 000 Catholic pilgrims gathered under a brilliant blue sky in St Peter 39 s Square this morning to witness the installation of the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio S J as the 266th successor of Saint Peter marking the

We received from the Jesuit Curia today this account of the meeting between Pope Francis and Adolfo Nicol s SJ Superior General of the Society of Jesus which took place yesterday at the Casa Santa Marta nbsp The account was written by Father General himself nbsp We offer it in several langua

In case you weren 39 t able to rise early this morning you might have missed Pope Francis 39 s quot Mass of Inauguration quot which just concluded nbsp Drew Christiansen SJ has already noted with his usual acuity the ecumenical dimensions of the day in a post below nbsp Celebrating the

Pope Francis began his inaugural celebrations suitably with prayer at the Tomb of Saint Peter But the prayer was also a symbol of church unity Accompanying were the Catholic patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Churches and Bartholomew the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople For the

You’ve probably noticed that in many paintings of the Adoration of the Magi, the youngest of the three kings is a black man. You may know that this convention began in the last quarter of the 15th century, and also that “Balthazar,” as he came to be named, represented Africa, while

ROME VIS - The main part of the press conference at the Vatican today was dedicated to how the Mass inaugurating the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome will be celebrated ldquo The correct term for the ceremony rdquo Fr Lombardi clarified ldquo is not enthronement but inauguration As s

There has long been a playful rivalry among religious orders in the Catholic Church This may surprise people accustomed to thinking of members of religious orders as a dull lot their faces stuck in their Bibles or their eyes cast heavenward far removed from such mundane matters as hellip humor

Good day from Rome on the fifth day of the pontificate of Pope Francis Crews are hard at work in Saint Peter rsquo s Square readying the place for what is expected to be the biggest papal installation ceremony in history Italian newspapers say that a million people might turn up for the event tom

LORD GRANTHAM I rsquo ve called you all together family and servants because I have just been handed a telegram by Carson It seems there has been a papal election and a Jesuit has been chosen DAISY Ooh I lsquo ope it rsquo s Father James Martin lsquo E rsquo s such a nice smile MRS PATMOR

Good day from Rome during the first weekend of the pontificate of Pope Francis The city is even more maddeningly difficult to navigate today In addition to the thousands who rsquo ve turned out to see Pope Francis preside over his first angelus many thousands more are taking part in the Rome mara

In the first installment I looked at the ldquo Judases rdquo and ldquo Jameses rdquo in the New Testament There seems only one good option for whom the Judas Jude to whom this letter is attributed could be the Judas Jude who is the brother of Jacob James and Jesus nbsp Modern scholarship h

Reconsidering Pope Francis's relationship to "liberation theology" and looking at the complexities of the news reports about his past, present, and future.

Cambridge MA Lent is rolling along but we are also nearing the end of the second chapter of the Yoga Sutras the chapter I am proposing for our Lenten reflection Right now we are half way through the ldquo eight limbs rdquo of yoga practice we introduced in our fifith Lenten blog on yoga last

An answer the question I’ve been asked for over two decades: What’s a Jesuit anyway?

I rsquo ve been given permission by the Jesuit Curia to reprint this story sent around to Jesuits worldwide written by Lisbert D rsquo Souza SJ who works in our Jesuit Headquarters in Rome From the Jesuit General Curia nbsp RomeAt around 10 00 a m this morning our receptionist a delightful yo

nbsp Cambridge MA As Rachel Donadio wrote today in the New York Times Pope Francis made a small and sensitive gesture today that might bode well for a fresh relationship with people of other faiths and none In his conversation with journalists ndash see the whole of his remarks here ndash h

A pastor of small gestures, stories from a dark time, waiting for confirmation

Good day from Rome on the second day of the pontificate of Pope Francis Style is substance in these first hours of Francis rsquo reign the talk here is about all things sartorial What is he wearing What is he not wearing As The New York Times reported yesterday Pope Francis asked the cardinal

Although somewhat unexpected the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to succeed Benedict XVI has the air of a safe compromise decision At age 76 he does not have the physical vibrancy and personal dynamism that a younger man might have brought to Rome Vatican watchers did not consider Be