by sjchurchadmin | Jan 11, 2015 | News and Info, Vatican Corner
Pope Francis has found a way of clearing out the unwanted and unneeded gifts he receives and at the same time raising money for the poor. The Vatican began selling raffle tickets for a chance to win one of those unwanted gifts. Sales began in November, making a ticket...
by sjchurchadmin | Jan 2, 2015 | News and Info, Vatican Corner
In 2015, the Vatican is planning to conduct public tours of the working farm at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence. The estate is about 1.25 times the size of the Vatican and located about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Rome. At the request of Pope...
by sjchurchadmin | Dec 26, 2014 | News and Info, Vatican Corner
The unit of measurement that man has historically used to measure short periods of time is the day, one revolution of the earth about its axis. For longer periods of time, the year is used, one revolution of the earth around the sun. The year is not a whole number of...
by sjchurchadmin | Dec 19, 2014 | News and Info, Vatican Corner
Christmas trees are not really an Italian tradition, but are starting to become more popular in Italy. Some shops, hotels, and restaurants display small trees and decorations are usually fairly simple, often just lights. In addition to the always grand tree at the...
by sjchurchadmin | Dec 10, 2014 | Vatican Corner
On Sept. 20, 2014 Pope Francis named Bishop Blase Cupich, 65, to be the new archbishop of Chicago. Before this appointment he was the Bishop of Spokane, Washington, and he is considered a “moderate” within the Church. But when asked about “moderate”, he said “I am...
by sjchurchadmin | Dec 5, 2014 | Vatican Corner
On November 31, 2014 Pope Francis concluded a three-day trip to the cities of Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey. The trip was primarily to meet again with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of over 250 million Orthodox Christians, whose Church broke away from...
