VATICAN CORNER The first LED (Light Emitting Diode) that produced visible light was invented by a General Electric Co. engineer in 1962. LEDs are basically tiny light bulbs without a filament to burn out, and they shine without making much heat. The illumination comes...

VATICAN CORNER   The number 2 man at the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, is preparing for a trip to Russia in late August, 2017. Parolin explained that “I go to Russia as a collaborator to the Pope …who wishes to build bridges in order to...

VATICAN CORNER Vatican authorities have turned off 100 fountains, including two Baroque masterpieces in St. Peter’s Square as well as the interior fountains, including those in the Vatican Gardens. The purpose of the shut-offs is to save water during the prolonged...

VATICAN CORNER Two works of art painted by Raphael, the Renaissance master, have been hiding in plain sight within the Vatican for 500 years, and have now been discovered. Both oil paintings are part of frescos on the walls of the Hall of Constantine, a banquet room...

VATICAN CORNER  Pope Francis has decided not to have Cardinal Gerhard Müller serve any longer as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) as his 5 year term has ended. Pope Benedict in 2012 appointed Müller to lead that Congregation. No new...

VATICAN CORNER Cardinal George Pell, 76, the thirdranking official at the Vatican and a senior adviser to Pope Francis, has taken a leave of absence to return to Australia, his home country to fight historical sexual assault charges against him. In 2013 he was one of...

VATICAN CORNER On April 10, 2017 it was the first grand opening of a laundromat by a pope. Inside the “People of Peace Center”, a former hospital complex near the Vatican in the central Trastevere area of Rome, Pope Francis celebrated his latest gift to the city’s...

VATICAN CORNER Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is widely recognized as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. He along with Haydn and Beethoven make up the first Viennese School of classical music. Amadeus’ talent for music was remarkable and at the...

VATICAN CORNER Pope Francis issued a statement June 13, 2017 inviting Christians and people of other faiths around the world to celebrate the first World Day of the Poor on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, which falls on November 19th this year. He wrote that “The...

VATICAN CORNER Under Pope Francis, more than ever before, the Vatican has adopted an open door policy regarding politicians, rock stars and famous people who want to meet with him, regardless of their history or personal religious beliefs. An example is the 2016...

VATICAN CORNER continued … After her meeting with Pope Francis, Melania Trump went on to the Bambino Gesú children’s hospital in Rome, a Vaticanaffiliated hospital where she met with children patients, prayed in the hospital chapel and laid flowers at the feet of a...

VATICAN CORNER On his first foreign trip as president, Donald Trump met with Pope Francis at a private audience at the Vatican on May 24, 2017. Trump’s stop at the Vatican was one of many on his trip which included Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. There were...