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...

VATICAN CORNER Workmen digging in the Va can’s Belvedere Courtyard, in February 1962 discovered pieces of a large jaw bone and a large tooth. They thought they had found a dinosaur, but the bones were not fossilized and when examined were found to be from an elephant....

VATICAN CORNER On August 11, 2017, Pope Francis ordered the Belgian Brothers of Charity, a Catholic Charity Group, to stop offering euthanasia in its psychiatric hospitals. Euthanasia is the intentional painless killing of a patient who is suffering from an incurable...

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...