To celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is to remember and renew an epochal event that profoundly shaped the history of Christianity. The anticipated announcement of Pope Leo XIV’s visit, soon to be made official by the Holy See, strengthens our faith and invites us to rediscover the treasure handed down to…
While millions of Catholics around the world kept their eyes glued to the Sistine Chapel for the election of the new Pope, 73-year-old Cardinal Sebastian Francis of Malaysia silently entered the heart of history. Hailed as a national hero, he became the first Malaysian citizen to participate in the sacred assembly that decided the fate…
The rebirth of Sri Lanka passes through the respect of values such as honesty, truth and justice. Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith, 78, Archbishop of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, is firmly convinced of this. Cardinal Ranjith is a leading exponent of the Catholic Church in what, 700 years ago, the Venetian traveller Marco Polo…
Paolo Affatato The watchword: harmony. For 79-year-old Pakistani Cardinal Joseph Coutts, a musical metaphor best expresses his vision, his evangelical spirit — indeed, his very faith. It is also how he looks to the future of Christians in Pakistan: with hope, through harmony. “Harmony” is the word he chose as his episcopal motto — not…
Paolo Affatato The best time to visit Genazzano, a picturesque medieval town in Lazio, about 45 km south of Rome, is early July — when the streets themselves bloom beneath your feet. The town is famous for its Infiorata, a traditional flower festival held on the first Sunday of July to mark the feast of…
Paolo Affatato He is a man who has skilfully woven the threads of dialogue throughout his apostolic ministry as bishop and president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. Today, 80-year-old Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop Emeritus of Mumbai – one of 37 Asian cardinals who took part in the General Congregations before the Conclave and…
PaoloAffatato Pope Leo XIV is by no means a stranger in Asia. This brings hope to believers in the nations and territories of the largest and most plural continent, where two thirds of humanity live. His familiarity with Asian contexts deepened significantly during his tenure as Prior General of the Order of St Augustine. As…
Paolo Affatato Walking through Viterbo, a charming town 40 km north of Rome, one has the feeling of taking a fantastic journey through time. In the historical centre, embraced by imposing and intact walls erected after the year 1000, the buildings, churches and palaces, all built with the local volcanic stone, the dark grey ‘peperino’…
He campaigned for peace in Myanmar, the former Burma, the troubled Southeast Asian country that has always been torn by conflict in its 70-year history. All the more so now, as the country – much loved and often cited by Pope Francis – is torn by civil war after the military coup of 2021, and…
Beauty will save the world, and the Church too: Portuguese Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, until now (in Bergoglio’s pontificate) Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for culture and education, truly believes this. Beauty, says and expresses the 60-year-old cardinal in his vision and pastoral praxis, will save the Church in its relationship with the world,…