The practice of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was spread due to Jesus’ private revelations to St Margaret Mary Alacoque, a nun of the Paray le Monial Convent in Paris, and was propagated by her confessor the Jesuit, Fr Claude de la Combiere (1641-1682). The feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated for […]
The account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles is filled with powerful imagery. The Holy Spirit overcomes the confines of the Upper Room where the Apostles are gathered and, with the sound of wind and the appearance of tongues of fire, descends on each of them. The effects are instant. The Church is […]
In the early days of a new papacy, some of the most telling indicators of a Pope’s mission and vision come not through speeches or documents but in the quieter symbolism of his chosen motto and coat of arms. These heraldic and textual signs offer a profound synthesis of the Pope’s personal spiritual journey and […]
Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, better known as Pietro Perugino (1450-1523), was an Umbrian painter of the High Renaissance who realised the exceptional fresco entitled ‘The Handing of the Keys to St Peter’ between 1481/2 in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome. The fresco forms part of a series of mural decorations that gave the Sistine […]
From 9.00pm on the 21 April 2025 the Seat of Peter became known officially as Apostolica Sedes Vacans, awaiting the election of the new Holy Father. The preparations are now underway to elect the new Pope in the historic setting of the Sistine Chapel. As the Conclave approaches, the Sistine Chapel – “la Cappella Magna” […]
27 April marks the Sunday of Divine Mercy, Feast instituted by John Paul II in 1992. John Paul II deeply loved the Divine Mercy and the message that Jesus himself had left the young Sister Faustina Kowalska of Cracow, who died in odor of sanctity, in 1938. John Paul II was aware of the story […]
“I am who I am in the divine Trinity. I am the Virgin of Revelation. Loved by the Father because I am the daughter. Loved by the Son because I am His Mother. Loved by the Holy Spirit because I am the spouse.” Meditation There is an extraordinary relevance, or we could say, modernity of […]
“Sing in joy, read the Truth and psalms in sorrow, pray in gladness and affliction. Always pray because prayer is the oxygen of the spirit.” “I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart, for you have listened to the cry I uttered. In the presence of angels I sing to you, I bow down before […]
“With this soil of sin I will convert the most obstinate sinners. Their conversion is dear to God.” “I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (Lk 15:7) Meditation The Virgin of […]
“Be Missionaries of the Word of Truth.” “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20) Meditation With this invite the Virgin urges us to imitate her […]