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...

VATICAN CORNER From a recent study of cat genes that span the last 9,000 years, scientist found that wild cats and domestic cats of the past had no major genetic differences. Therefore, scientists think that cats domesticated themselves. They think cats came to live...

VATICAN CORNER Things not to do when visiting The Vatican / Rome (continued) Don’t expect to get tap water at your restaurant table. Most locals and visitors buy inexpensive bottles of water when dining out, either acqua natural or acqua frizzante (sparkling). Roman...

VATICAN CORNER Things not to do when visiting The Vatican / Rome (continued) 6. When visiting, don’t take your eye off your bag, do not carry large sums of money, and be sure to hide your money and credit cards from pickpockets, who are frequently women and children....

VATICAN CORNER  Don’t come in June and July, the high peak crowd months. Your precious !me could be wasted in the sluggish pace of the crowds and in July the temperature can be extremely hot  and humid making traveling and sightseeing uncomfortable. Rome like many big...

VATICAN CORNER During the Mass, bread and wine is blessed and changed into the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ (transubstantinated ). It is a ritual that first began at the Last Supper, when our Savior Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his...

VATICAN CORNER The last Pope to have a beard was Pope Innocent XII who died in 1700. Since then, all subsequent Popes have been clean-shaven. Roman Canon tradition encourages clean-shaven clergy for the reason that facial hair could possibly disrespect the blood of...

VATICAN CORNER The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), in 1965, established the principle of greater participation by the laity in the celebration of the Mass. It authorized significant changes in the texts, forms, and language used in the Mass and in the sacraments....

VATICAN CORNER On Sept. 7th thru 11th, 2017 Pope Francis visited Colombia. The last visit by a pope to that country was in 1986. His journey had the moto: “Let’s take the first step.” The moto meaning that a#er 52 years of terrible internal fighting, with an estimated...

VATICAN CORNER Former Pope Benedict, who shocked the world when he resigned in 2013, turned 90 years old this last April 16, 2017. In a recent interview it was reported that he is remarkable well for his age, with only minor ailments from! Me to! Me. He is in good...