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...

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...