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...

VATICAN CORNER On May 12, 2017 Pope Francis traveled to Fátima, Portugal, 90 miles north of Lisbon, to canonize two Portuguese shepherd children during a Mass celebrating 100 years since the children and their cousin saw the Virgin Mary there. The children, Jacinta...

VATICAN CORNER continued …The Swiss have historically been famous for mercenary soldiers. Switzerland was a poor country and its young men often sought their fortunes in other countries. The Swiss soldier had a reputation for discipline and loyalty, and they were...

VATICAN CORNER At the Vatican on May 6, 2017, Pope Francis and the president of Switzerland, Doris Leuthard, held a cordial discussion on such subjects as: the reception of migrants, youth employment, terrorism, environmental protection and the fate of Europe. Their...

  VATICAN CORNER On April 28th & 29th, 2017, the 80 year-old Pope Francis made a brief visit to Egypt. The main theme of the visit was to promote tolerance, peace and dialogue between Christians and Muslims in the Arab world’s largest country. It was nearly...

VATICAN CORNER How many Vatican worker does it take to change a light bulb? Well, in St. Peter’s Cathedral it takes 4, because the chandeliers have to be lowered a distance of 33 floors. Behind the scenes at the Vatican there is a small army of workers performing the...