VATICAN CORNER A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy at 3:36 AM on Wednesday August 24, 2016, killing more than 290 people. The region located about 65 miles northeast of Rome with its the picturesque mountain towns of Norcia, Lazio, Umbira and Le Marche...

VATICAN CORNER …continued The first woman to be hired to work at  the Vatican was Anna Pezzoli who in 1915  had a job planning papal celebrations. The  biggest hiring push came after the Second  Vatican Council in the 1960s. Today there  are about 750 women working...

VATICAN CORNER There are about 750 women working in the Vatican which is about one fifth of all Vatican employees, and those women are not doing the cleaning jobs, those jobs are done by men. Most of the women are academics, such as archivists, art historians, office...

VATICAN CORNER Hundreds of  thousands of pilgrims from around the  world came to Krakow, Poland joining the  native Polish youth July 26th through July  31st, 2016 for the Catholic event know as  World Youth Day. It is a huge youth  encounter focused on faith and is...

VATICAN CORNER  continued … In 1950 it  was determined that the bones found in a tomb  many feet beneath high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica  were not those of St. Peter as originally thought. But  the archeologists did conclude that it was indeed St.  Peter’s grave...

VATICAN CORNER  The religious  devoted always believed the altar of St. Peter’s  Basilica was erected directly above the actual  tomb of Peter. But the experts merely smiled,  considering this an improbable fairy tale.  History tells us that in the year 49 AD Peter ...

VATICAN CORNER Pope Francis routinely praises the virtues of dialogue and building bridges, and he did just that by welcoming to the Vatican a figure from his native Argentina who has been not only one of his most vocal critics, but who once actually occupied his...

VATICAN CORNER In a June 28, 2016 interview with a journalist from La Nación, an Argentinian newspaper, Pope Francis said he won’t be slowed down by resistance from those in the Church who “say no to everything.” He rejects “conflict with them,” saying “they do their...

VATICAN CORNER Why is there a four thousand year old Egyptian obelisk in the center of St. Peter’s Square? An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument made from a single stone with a pyramid-like shape at the top. There are 28 obelisks still standing...

VATICAN CORNER … continued Mrs. Audrey Toguchi’s recovery from cancer was found by the Vatican’s medical investigation to be quick, complete, lasting and inexplicable. Miracle tribunals are perhaps the only form of investigation whose goal is to end with no...

VATICAN CORNER …continued Mrs. Audrey Toguchi, afflicted with cancer, began praying for a miracle from the late Father Damien, the “the self-exiled priest” who tended to his flock of lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Audrey spoke to her longtime friend and...

VATICAN CORNER According to Catholic doctrine, God is the ultimate source of all miracles, but in heaven, someone who lived a heroically virtuous life and is a prospective saint may be able to intercede (plead) with God and have miracles delivered. Two miracles are...