VATICAN CORNER The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based Papal Foundation is a stellar charity which supports the Holy Father and the Catholic Church in its help of the poor that are mostly in developing countries throughout the world. Beginning in 1988, during the papacy...

VATICAN CORNER Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice, while in their twenties, wrote the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The musical is sung throughout with no dialogue. Because the producers were afraid to gamble their money on such a different...

VATICAN CORNER For 32 years the solemnity of Easter has been celebrated in Saint Peter’s Square decorated with flowers, plants and trees transported there from the Netherlands. That country is the world’s largest exporter of flowers and has been in charge of the...

VATICAN CORNER On March 3, 2018 in Vatican City at the Paul VI Audience Hall, Pope Francis spoke to thousands of Italian nurses who were members of the Federation of Professional Nursing Colleges, Health Assistants, and Child Wardens. He greeted them and thanked them...

VATICAN CORNER The Vatican Bank, formally known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) is a private bank inside Vatican City run by a Board which reports to a Supervisory Commission of Cardinals and the Pope. The Bank’s purpose is “to provide for the...

VATICAN CORNER The Vatican and Rome were covered with a blanket of snow of over 2 inches on the morning of February 26, 2018, a rare event since they typically experience mild Mediterranean winters. It was the biggest snowfall in six years and is due to a storm dubbed...

VATICAN CORNER On February 12, 2018, Pope Francis signed a document know as a Motu Proprio, which is Latin for “by his own initiative.” It is a new Vatican law entitled “Learn How to Resign” in which Francis has ordered Vatican officials and bishops around the world,...

VATICAN CORNER Ash Wednesday may be the busiest church day of the year, possibly beating out Easter and Christmas for attendance, and yet it is not a holy day of obligation. It is the first day of Lent and it always falls forty-six days before Easter. It is a...

VATICAN CORNER Ash Wednesday may be the busiest church day of the year, possibly beating out Easter and Christmas for attendance, and yet it is not a holy day of obligation. It is the first day of Lent and it always falls forty-six days before Easter. It is a...

VATICAN CORNER In 1951 the mainland Chinese government ended diplomatic relations with the Vatican shortly after the atheist Communist Party took power. The government had been threatening to breakaway the “independent Catholics.” The government apparently...

VATICAN CORNER Following the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the entire St. Peter’s Basilica began to be used for celebrations. Before that time, papal celebrations were held in the Sistine Chapel, which had no organ, or were held in the...

VATICAN CORNER The widely reported “spontaneous” wedding performed by Pope Francis flying over Chile may not have been as spontaneous as it appeared, and may have been planned well in advance. The December 19, 2017 edition of the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio had an...