Dolores R. Leckey, who was founding director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for the Laity in 1977 and at the time one of the highest ranking women in the U.S. Catholic Church, died peacefully of natural causes Jan. 17 in her home in Arlington.

Lengthy, abstract homilies are “a disaster,” so preaching should be limited to 10 minutes, Pope Francis said to diocesan liturgical directors on Jan. 20.

Many Argentines have been rooting vocally for their national team, but taking care to pray to the country’s many folk saints.

With most of the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic removed, Pope Francis is scheduled to return to a full slate of public liturgies in December and January.

The Gospel teaches people how to live while awaiting death and God’s judgment, loving because he is love, Pope Francis said during a Mass at St. Peter's on All Souls' Day.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI wrote that Vatican II was both meaningful and necessary for the post-war Church, in a letter to a conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville.