Pope Innocent XI instituted the feast of the Holy Name of Mary on the 12th September to thank Our Lady for the victory of the famous battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire on the 11th September 1683. On this day, Europe found itself on the brink of distruction. The Ottoman forces had invaded Vienna […]
The Navicella, by Giotto di Bondone (1266/7 –1337),which illustrates the scene from St Mathew’s Gospel when St Peter walks on water towards Christ, (Mt 14:22-33) is one of St Peter’s Basilica’s most important works. This icon of faith has greeted visitors leaving the Basilica since the early 14th Century onwards. The mosaic that remains today, […]
St Joseph’s fountain, realised in 2010 by architects Giuseppe Facchini and Barbara Bellano in collaboration with artist Franco Murer, brings the number of fountains in the Vatican city to 100. The fountain was commissioned because the Vatican Gardens, so rich in artistic patrimony from every epoch, was not blessed with a monument in honour of […]
In this month of June, in which we are preparing to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, we will delve into the explanation of the Disputation of the Blessed Sacrament (1509) by Raphael that was realized in one of what is commonly recognised as Pope Julius II apartments in the Vatican: the room of the […]
To rediscover and recover our faith it is necessary to start from the very foundations which are expressed in the Symbol of the Faith, which is the Creed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that from the very origins of Christianity “the apostolic Church expressed and handed on her faith in brief formulae normative […]
The Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated in the Catholic Church on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, in some places, it is transferred to the Sunday. The feast was instituted to honour the Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament. There were 2 separate miracles that lead to the institution of the feast in […]
Today’s liturgy gives us the opportunity to meditate on three key words: Ascension, go and heaven. These words can help us to contemplate the mystery of the Ascension of the Lord. First and formost, there is the word, “Ascension”. Both the first and second readings from today’s Solemnity speak of the Lord’s Ascension: “[…] […]
Our devotion to Mary and our Marian devotions. The month of May is the Marian month par excellence, rich with feasts dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. It is a time when there are frequent pilgrimages to shrines and there is a deep desire to pray to Our Lady in a special way. It is also […]
In our meditation for the month of May we would like to share the beautiful words that Pope Francis spoke at St Mary Majors Basilica, Rome on the 4th May 2013. The Holy Father reminds us that the Virgin Mary watches over us and helps us to mature. Mary is the model for every mother, […]
All four evangelists record the fact that the Lord rose “on the first day of the week” (Jn 20:1, Lk 24:1, Mt 28:1, Mk 16:2). It was on this day, that the Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb (Jn 20:14), the Lord walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13) […]