The day before this issue went to press, we watched on our newsroom monitors the devastating fire at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.

Our Lady, who stood weeping at her son’s crucifixion, surely weeps for the cathedral dedicated to her name.

The history of the magazine spans the entire life of Paramount Pictures.

Magazines like America are not really the first draft of history. But from time to time, when the publishing planets align, we break news as well as analyze it.

Matt Malone, S.J., is traveling abroad. But I also suspect he let me be the pinch-hitter for this column in America’s special sports issue out of pity.

In 1909, the editors relied on the telegraph to stay connected to their international network. Today, even the editor in chief can use his iPhone to file a column from a bus en route to Bethlehem.