While Catholics have been accustomed to the famed silver papal staff featuring the suffering of Christ crucified and used by the pontiffs for decades, a new staff, or crosier, used by Pope Leo XIV, emphasized the victory of the risen Christ over death.
Liturgy
Posted inNews
New Communion rules spark debate over bishop’s authority in Charlotte diocese
The letter has exposed divisions in the Diocese of Charlotte over liturgical authority, leadership style and worship practices that predate Bishop Martin’s letter.
Posted inExplainer
Why is New Year’s Day a holy day of obligation?
Q: If the church’s new year begins on the first Sunday of Advent, then why is the secular New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) a holy day of obligation? A: You are correct that the church’s liturgical new year usually begins in late November with the first Sunday of Advent, and you are likewise correct that […]
Posted inMusic
Praise and worship: the modern soundtrack of the U.S. Catholic Church
Across denominations, praise and worship music can be found both in Sunday morning church services and on Spotify playlists.
Posted inFaith in Focus
The Mass is a constant. But we experience it differently over time.
If Catholics can accept the imperfections of the humans running Mass, they are likely to keep going.
Posted inExplainer
Analysis: Why is Pope Leo letting Cardinal Burke say the Latin Mass at the Vatican?
U.S Cardinal Raymond Burke will celebrate a traditional Latin Mass for pilgrims in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, Oct. 25, with Pope Leo XIV’s permission. The pilgrim group, which makes annual trips to the Vatican, did not receive permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II rite in St. Peter’s during its 2023 or 2024 pilgrimages. The […]
Posted inFaith and Reason
Pope Leo’s Latin Mass Problem
Pope Leo’s predecessors took markedly different approaches to liturgical reform. Leo must chart a course between them while settling on which is fundamentally the correct path.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Kilian McDonnell, a Benedictine monk whose life’s work was Christian unity
Alongside his ecumenical work, McDonnell was devoted to the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church, and served for two decades as a consultant to the U.S. bishops’ on the charismatic renewal.
Posted inIdeas
A Jesuit architect visits the new Notre-Dame
The craftsmanship is extraordinary—woodwork, stonework, metalwork and glasswork. Even with a trained eye, it is almost impossible to distinguish the parts that were replaced from those that survived the fire.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Leo’s message to Gen Z: ‘You are a sign that a different world is possible’
At a Mass for the Jubilee of Youth outside Rome, Pope Leo exhorted over a million young people to be “seeds of hope” and a “sign that a different world is possible.”