The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday because, in the words of the entrance antiphon, we are called to, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” (Ph 4:4-5) In St Peter’s Square, Rome there is another tradition that emphasises the closeness of the Lord and brings […]
Francesco Podesti (1800 –1895), the skilled painter and portrait artist, was entrusted with the task of realising a work to commemorate the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the Vatican. The work was to be frescoed onto the walls of the Borgia Tower, in a room that is adjacent to Raphael’s Fire […]
On Christmas Eve 1223, in Greccio, a small place approximately 60km to the northeast of Rome, the practice of creating Nativity scenes was born. The first, requested by St Francis, was a live re-creation of the cave of Bethlehem complete with a living ox, ass and donkey! It is thought that the poverello of […]
Since the 4th Century the Church has honored St Cecilia, a Virgin, spouse and martyr who is often remembered as the Patron Saint of musicians. Surprisingly to some, Cecilia was no musician! Her “song” was that of love, love of Christ and Christian witness and this music can still strike a chord that resonates with […]
On the Solemnity of All Saints the Church presents all those men and women who have lived their Christian lives to an heroic level and now are enjoying the eternal beatitude in heaven. It is, one might say, a roll call of the Church’s heroes! In this Solemnity, the Church places before us all those […]
In this month of September, we celebrate the memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary and, in the city of Rome, there is a magnificent Church dedicated to her name in the Trajan Forum. In 1683, the news of the siege of Vienna arrived in Rome and this brought with it the expectation that […]
The Battle of Vienna is a huge, imposing oil canvass that stands 9m by 4.5m in the John Sobieski room of the Vatican Museums. The masterpiece recounts the ending of the Turkish siege of Vienna by the Catholic army led by the Polish King, John Sobieski, on the 11th September 1683. The polish painter, Jan […]
“We have decided to institute the liturgical feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen. This will afford a climax, as it were, to the manifold demonstrations of Our devotion to Mary, which the Christian people have supported with such enthusiasm. […] As We have already mentioned, Venerable Brothers, according to ancient tradition and the […]
In this month of July, continuing with the series of articles for our twentieth anniversary, we want to focus on the way in which the Three White Loves – the Eucharist, the Immaculate Virgin Mary and the Pope – are present in the life of the MDR. “The true Church of my Son is founded […]
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is intimately connected to the apparition of the Virgin of Revelation who told Bruno, “The nine first Fridays to the Sacred Heart, a divine promise, has saved you.” In fact, during the apparition on the 12th April 1947, the Virgin of Revelation spoke of devotion to the Sacred […]