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A rare look inside the Sistine Chapel for a private concert about angel encounters

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel hosted a concert on a recent Sunday evening, debuting a composition focused on interactions with angels found throughout the Bible. The Vatican so...

Pope Leo moves Father Flanagan of Boys Town fame closer to possible sainthood

Pope Leo XIV put the Rev. Edward Joseph Flanagan a step closer to possible sainthood Monday as he proclaimed the “heroic virtues” of the founder of Boys Town, a Nebraska home for at-risk you...

As religious tensions rise, synagogues and other houses of worship in Maine look to beef up security

It’s been seven years since Scott Nussinow became the chair of a new safety and security committee at Temple Shalom, a synagogue in Auburn, and started thinking of ways to make the congregat...

Giant Baby Jesus statue visits Mexico City’s Tepito neighborhood with message of peace

MEXICO CITY – His face and body resemble those of a newborn. Yet the Baby Jesus statue towers 16 feet tall and travels across central Mexico spreading a message of peace. The giant figure ar...

Pope announces resignation of U.S. bishop accused of embezzling $270K from California parish

EL CAJON, Calif. – The bishop of a small Chaldean Catholic community in the San Diego area has resigned amid charges that he embezzled $270,000 from his parish, Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesda...

The travertine quarries that built ancient Rome are carving rock for a new generation of temples

TIVOLI, Italy – Long ago, when Romans wanted to build a new temple, they would head to the nearby quarries of Tivoli, chisel out blocks of porous rock called lapis tiburtinus – now known as ...

Display of St. Francis of Assisi’s bones confirms enduring appeal of relics for Christians

ASSISI, Italy – The bones of St. Francis of Assisi went on public display for the first time Feb. 22, capping an 800-year saga over his bodily remains and confirming the enduring appeal to C...

Kosovo’s Catholics and Muslims mark Ash Wednesday and Ramadan in one week

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Kosovo’s religious diversity came to light this week as the Balkan nation’s Christian and Muslim communities both embarked on a traditional period of fasting and spiritual...

Pope laments ‘ashes of international law’ left by today’s conflicts in Ash Wednesday liturgy

ROME – Pope Leo XIV opened the church’s penitential Lenten season by presiding over Ash Wednesday and lamenting the “ashes of international law and justice” that have been left by today’s wa...

Emerging artists making rap, Afrobeats and R&B music push Christian genre boundaries

A new wave of artists is transcending traditional notions of Christian music, drawing young global audiences to faith-based rap, Afrobeats and R&B. Often boosted by social media, many of the...

From southern India to Canada’s far north: New archbishop serves Indigenous Catholics

As a teenager in southern India, Susai Jesu led 4:30 a.m. prayer services in his small Catholic village before the farmers went into the fields. He directed the choir, helped at Mass and soo...

Anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church leads to arrests but no charges for journalist Don Lemon

MINNEAPOLIS – A prominent civil rights attorney and at least two other people involved in an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church have been arr...