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...

VATICAN CORNER After accepting the invitations of the two countries’ leader and their bishops, eighty-one-year-old Pope Francis will be visiting Chile and Peru from January 15th through 21st, 2018. This is his fifth visit to La n America, and his 22nd visit abroad....

VATICAN CORNER  In Christianity, the mortal remains of deceased saints are associated with the holiness of their souls which await reunion with their bodies in the resurrection; therefore those mortal remains should receive special care and veneration (deep respect)....

VATICAN CORNER This year the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square is not getting rave reviews from some people. It is criticized for not being the peaceful scene of a silent night, all cozy calm and bright. Ever since Pope Saint John Paul II moved the Nativity to the...

VATICAN CORNER Christmas 2017 is being celebrated with a new postage stamp series jointly created by the Vatican and the principality of Monaco. The stamps feature the artwork of Stefano Morri, and show the Annunciation of Our Lady, and the Virgin & Child, while...

VATICAN CORNER The Vatican’s Christmas tree this year is a 60 year old giant 69 foot high red fir which lost its !p when it was hit by lighting some years ago. It was given by the archdiocese of Elk, in northeastern Poland. A member of the forestry service cut down...

VATICAN CORNER In another round of sick propaganda, Islamic State terrorist have threatened the Vatican and Pope Francis in a poster that was placed on social media showing a masked man in a rear view mirror looking through a car windshield at the Vatican. He has...

VATICAN CORNER On November 27, 2017, Pope Francis took his 21st trip outside Italy and flew 10 hour to Southeast Asia to visit Myanmar (also known as Burma) and then to Bangladesh 3 days later. This trip replaced his visit to India which fell through. Myanmar is...

VATICAN CORNER Pope Francis celebrated the first ever World Day of the Poor in St. Peter’s Basilica on November 19, 2017. There were between 6,000 and 7,000 people attending Mass, and about 4,000 of them were poor people who had been the invited special guests. Those...

VATICAN CORNER Vatican Press Office announced on November 9, 2017 that Pope Francis has decided to put a stop to the sale of cigarettes and tobacco in its duty-free stores. The reason given was that the Holy See “cannot be cooperating with a practice that is clearly...

VATICAN CORNER On All Souls Day, October 2, 2017, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the World War II Neptuno American War Cemetery 38 miles south of Rome. It is the site where 7,860 American soldiers are buried, the majority of which died in the liberation of Sicily...

VATICAN CORNER On October 26, 2017, in an office in the Vatican, Pope Francis held a 20 minute video interview with the six astronauts currently orbiting the Earth 250 miles high in the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is the most complex international...