Justin Robinson OSB So many people walk across the courtyard of Al Azhar mosque in Cairo that its white marble has become highly polished, the floor below reflecting an almost mirror image of the mosque’s architectural wonders that tower above. I’m sitting in the carpeted arcade around the vast courtyard, watching worshippers milling around in…
St Laurence O’Toole, known in Irish as Lorcán Ua Tuathail, born in 1128 at Castledermot, Co. Kildare, Ireland, became renowned as a reformer, peacemaker, and man of deep faith. Laurence’s early life was marked by hardship; at just ten, he was handed over as a hostage to the King of Leinster, a political practice intended…
Gerard Bennett Every now and then, you realise that you are part of something historic, quite possibly, a once-in-a-lifetime moment. In that situation, you don’t want to miss anything; you know you want to recall each part of this special time. So it was when the relics of St Bernadette visited the Oblates of Mary…
A Catholic priest executed by the Nazis in 1944 who’s today a candidate for sainthood will be memorialised in November, along with four other figures, in a “Garden of the Righteous of the World” located on the island of Sicily. Fr Alcide Lazzeri will be honoured in a ceremony on November 29, which will feature…
Despite 54% of Catholic – and 60% of non-Catholic Christians – voting for Donald Trump, according to exit polls, it would be naïve to rely on him to preside as a Christian leader of the world’s most powerful country. However, the voting trends which saw the President-elect win the election with a popular vote surplus…
Bishop Niall Coll There is a long tradition in the Church that each new bishop picks a motto, normally chosen from Scripture, which seeks to encapsulate his thoughts, prayers and priorities as he begins his new ministry. When I arrived in Ossory in January of last year, the one I chose was ‘Christ Jesus our…
Michael R. Heinlein What do we do when we return to the pew after receiving Holy Communion? Having welcomed the Lord of the universe into our own corner of it, in the humblest yet profound of ways, how should our prayer be directed? For years, I’d attempt various strategies hoping to make the most of…
Russell Shaw Lately I’ve had occasion to read two books by St John Henry Newman. One is Newman’s first novel, Loss and Gain, while the other is that classic “history of my religious opinions” (Newman’s words), the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. Although the two volumes could hardly be more unalike in most respects, both…
Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín is one of the key figures of the Synod on Synodality. Pope Francis appointed him undersecretary of the event, which the Spanish prelate says he has experienced as “an offer of grace” and a call “to personal conversion”. With the recent meeting in Rome already concluded and the final…
Fr Alan Hilliard Several years ago, I attended a conference in Melbourne Australia. It related to world religions and there was a specific section on Indigenous people. I was enthralled by a leader from the Inuit community. Though they live simple lives, it has its complexities. They are herders and nomadic, so they walk with…