How the Pope Became the Final Word on Sainthood...
Around the 1250s a French Dominican priest heard from local women during confession about “St. Guinefort,” an object of devotion in the region near Lyons. “As I thought that this was some holy person, I continued with my enquiry and finally learned that this was actually a greyhound ...” the priest, Stephen of Bourbon, later wrote. As the story goes...
Polite Talk on Islam Is Not Going to Be Enough...
It was one of those online flare-ups common to our digital age. A “liberal” cardinal in the Catholic Church made some remarks, a “conservative” bishop responded, and the usual suspects lined up on one side or another. But underneath the ire of the moment lies a serious issue: What should Catholics know and do about Islam? The clash began with an English translation...
Photo Essay: When the Saints Become Your Friends...
In my tiny office, in a drawer just to the left of my desk, there’s a lock of my daughter Amy’s hair. I can’t remember how many years it’s been there. But I remember how it got there. “Daddy, can you cut my hair?” She was about 10. She’d brushed her long blond hair straight and gathered the bottom four inches with a rubber band. My job was simple: Find the sharpest scissors I owned and cut straight...
This Sunday, Saints Prove That Good Is More Interesting Than Evil...
Is evil really more interesting than good? Everyone from Tolstoy (“All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”) to Billy Joel (“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints”) has said so. Even Bart Simpson claimed that “All the best bands are affiliated with Satan.” They’re all wrong...
Halloween Is Over. But the Real Catholic Celebration Has Just Begun...
We’ve grown to think of our American experience of Halloween, with its focus on horror themes, costumes, candy, and decorations, as normative. In fact, it’s a product of the 20th century media-saturated consumer-oriented appropriation of Catholic feasts for mass consumption, which strips things of their true meaning. Like secular Christmas and Easter, it’s a hollowed out thing that emphasizes pleasure while downplaying devotion.
Carrie Gress: Feminism Promised Women Happiness. Did It Deliver?
Pope Leo XIV Welcomes Thousands from Notre Dame, Villanova to Vatican Ahead of Historic Game...
Pope Leo XIV Becomes First Pope to Vote in an American Election...
The Gospel, Not ‘Listening,’ Is the Message...
Toward the end of the recent Roman meeting to discuss the Church’s 21st-century mission to marriage and the family, Pope Leo XIV asked the participating bishops to share their reflections on that experience. Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, did so in a post on his indispensable blog, Coram Fratribus...
Chiara Luce Badano is Gen X’s first blessed, and today is her feast day...
Sometimes we’d prefer that our lives be a different story than the one God seems to be writing. In our fragile existence, it doesn’t take much to turn a romance into a drama, or an adventure into a tragedy. At a glance, the story of Chiara Badano, an only child conceived after 11 years of marriage, who died at 18 of a painful form of bone cancer...
Notre Dame Clears Dorm Rector of Anonymous Misconduct Allegations Posted on Instagram...
Is a Change Looming for the Vatican’s Second-in-Command?
Pope’s Visit Confirmed: ‘I Look Forward to Returning to Latin America’...
Pope Leo’s Wednesday Audience: ‘We Must Urgently Protect Families and Marriage’...
5 Ways to Make Sure You Get Prayers and Masses After Your Death...
“Can your family decide not to have a funeral Mass for you against your stated wishes?” The answer to the question asked of a Catholic speaker who worked at a funeral home was: “Unfortunately, yes.” A couple of generations ago, it was unthinkable for a faithful Catholic not to be given a funeral Mass. The speaker shared that she has seen cases of even daily communicants not having a funeral Mass...
Kite Parades, Born Again Again, and Staying Outside...
In 1963, He Said Mass for JFK. The Communists Sentenced Him to Death...
Getting Low, Rorsach Report, and Virtually Prolife...
The wisest priest of my acquaintance is fond of reminding people in confession that pride is the great force multiplier of all sin. It is the underlying driver of almost every bad action to which I am disposed, and the great barrier between me and reconciliation with God at any given moment. The opposite of pride, in every respect, is humility, which is always disposed to receive the love of God...
7 Ways Every Mother Can Learn to Say Yes Like Mary...
Pope Leo’s Sunday Angelus for All Saints Day: ‘Holiness Is Not a Privilege Reserved for a Few’...
When Things Go Bump in the Night, Who Do People of All Faiths Call? A Catholic Priest...
Are You Worshipping God — or the God You Want Him to Be?
Does America have an official religion? Not “officially,” of course. But, at least according to one expert, we definitely have an American religion. And it is very widely practiced. Sociologist Christian Smith, some 20 years ago, conducted a study on the religious beliefs and habits of 3,000 American teenagers entitled Spiritual Life of American Adolescents...
Cardinal Blase Cupich's Cynical Move With Michael Sacks Award...
You may know me as the annoying church lady who’s always trying to find common ground. Sometimes, that’s constructive. Other times, I have to surrender. Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, is scheduled to give Michael Sacks the Nostra Aetate Award at the Rerum Novarum Awards Dinner on Thursday. The event is a fundraiser for Mundelein Seminary...
Religion Remains Stable in the U.S., With Mixed Signals for Young Adults...
As Vatican Leaders Retire, Who Will Leo XIV Choose to Fill Their Seats?
With doctors having cleared Pope Leo XIV for most of his scheduled activities, it remains to be seen how curial reforms will unfold in the coming months as leading Francis-era prelates surpass retirement age. The news that Leo will not require any additional treatment for his adenocarcinoma reached journalists late Rome time on the evening of Oct. 21...
Spain Mourns More Than 60 Killed in High-Speed Train Collision...
Why Catholics Need to Talk About Angels Again...
Pope Leo’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Love for Neighbor Begins With a Personal Relationship With God’...
Pope Hope, That’s Entertainment, and Getting Ahead in the CIA...
AI’s Architects Are Confused About What Makes Us Human. The Catholic Church Must Evangelize Them...
‘Exorcist Files’ Priest Sues Catholic Commentators Who Questioned His Credentials...
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The Complete List of Popes
- St. Peter (32-67)
- St. Linus (67-76)
- St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)
- St. Clement I (88-97)
- St. Evaristus (97-105)
- St. Alexander I (105-115)
- St. Sixtus I (115-125)
- St. Telesphorus (125-136)
- St. Hyginus (136-140)
- St. Pius I (140-155)
- St. Anicetus (155-166)
- St. Soter (166-175)
- St. Eleutherius (175-189)
- St. Victor I (189-199)
- St. Zephyrinus (199-217)
- St. Callistus I (217-22)
- St. Urban I (222-30)
- St. Pontian (230-35)
- St. Anterus (235-36)
- St. Fabian (236-50)
- St. Cornelius (251-53)
- St. Lucius I (253-54)
- St. Stephen I (254-257)
- St. Sixtus II (257-258)
- St. Dionysius (260-268)
- St. Felix I (269-274)
- St. Eutychian (275-283)
- St. Caius (283-296)
- St. Marcellinus (296-304)
- St. Marcellus I (308-309)
- St. Eusebius (309 or 310)
- St. Miltiades (311-14)
- St. Sylvester I (314-35)
- St. Marcus (336)
- St. Julius I (337-52)
- Liberius (352-66)
- St. Damasus I (366-84)
- St. Siricius (384-99)
- St. Anastasius I (399-401)
- St. Innocent I (401-17)
- St. Zosimus (417-18)
- St. Boniface I (418-22)
- St. Celestine I (422-32)
- St. Sixtus III (432-40)
- St. Leo I (the Great) (440-61)
- St. Hilarius (461-68)
- St. Simplicius (468-83)
- St. Felix III (II) (483-92)
- St. Gelasius I (492-96)
- Anastasius II (496-98)
- St. Symmachus (498-514)
- St. Hormisdas (514-23)
- St. John I (523-26)
- St. Felix IV (III) (526-30)
- Boniface II (530-32)
- John II (533-35)
- St. Agapetus I (535-36)
- St. Silverius (536-37)
- Vigilius (537-55)
- Pelagius I (556-61)
- John III (561-74)
- Benedict I (575-79)
- Pelagius II (579-90)
- St. Gregory I (the Great) (590-604)
- Sabinian (604-606)
- Boniface III (607)
- St. Boniface IV (608-15)
- St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) (615-18)
- Boniface V (619-25)
- Honorius I (625-38)
- Severinus (640)
- John IV (640-42)
- Theodore I (642-49)
- St. Martin I (649-55)
- St. Eugene I (655-57)
- St. Vitalian (657-72)
- Adeodatus (II) (672-76)
- Donus (676-78)
- St. Agatho (678-81)
- St. Leo II (682-83)
- St. Benedict II (684-85)
- John V (685-86)
- Conon (686-87)
- St. Sergius I (687-701)
- John VI (701-05)
- John VII (705-07)
- Sisinnius (708)
- Constantine (708-15)
- St. Gregory II (715-31)
- St. Gregory III (731-41)
- St. Zachary (741-52)
- Stephen II (III) (752-57)
- St. Paul I (757-67)
- Stephen III (IV) (767-72)
- Adrian I (772-95)
- St. Leo III (795-816)
- Stephen IV (V) (816-17)
- St. Paschal I (817-24)
- Eugene II (824-27)
- Valentine (827)
- Gregory IV (827-44)
- Sergius II (844-47)
- St. Leo IV (847-55)
- Benedict III (855-58)
- St. Nicholas I (the Great) (858-67)
- Adrian II (867-72)
- John VIII (872-82)
- Marinus I (882-84)
- St. Adrian III (884-85)
- Stephen V (VI) (885-91)
- Formosus (891-96)
- Boniface VI (896)
- Stephen VI (VII) (896-97)
- Romanus (897)
- Theodore II (897)
- John IX (898-900)
- Benedict IV (900-03)
- Leo V (903)
- Sergius III (904-11)
- Anastasius III (911-13)
- Lando (913-14)
- John X (914-28)
- Leo VI (928)
- Stephen VIII (929-31)
- John XI (931-35)
- Leo VII (936-39)
- Stephen IX (939-42)
- Marinus II (942-46)
- Agapetus II (946-55)
- John XII (955-63)
- Leo VIII (963-64)
- Benedict V (964)
- John XIII (965-72)
- Benedict VI (973-74)
- Benedict VII (974-83)
- John XIV (983-84)
- John XV (985-96)
- Gregory V (996-99)
- Sylvester II (999-1003)
- John XVII (1003)
- John XVIII (1003-09)
- Sergius IV (1009-12)
- Benedict VIII (1012-24)
- John XIX (1024-32)
- Benedict IX (1032-45)
- Sylvester III (1045)
- Benedict IX (1045)
- Gregory VI (1045-46)
- Clement II (1046-47)
- Benedict IX (1047-48)
- Damasus II (1048)
- St. Leo IX (1049-54)
- Victor II (1055-57)
- Stephen X (1057-58)
- Nicholas II (1058-61)
- Alexander II (1061-73)
- St. Gregory VII (1073-85)
- Blessed Victor III (1086-87)
- Blessed Urban II (1088-99)
- Paschal II (1099-1118)
- Gelasius II (1118-19)
- Callistus II (1119-24)
- Honorius II (1124-30)
- Innocent II (1130-43)
- Celestine II (1143-44)
- Lucius II (1144-45)
- Blessed Eugene III (1145-53)
- Anastasius IV (1153-54)
- Adrian IV (1154-59)
- Alexander III (1159-81)
- Lucius III (1181-85)
- Urban III (1185-87)
- Gregory VIII (1187)
- Clement III (1187-91)
- Celestine III (1191-98)
- Innocent III (1198-1216)
- Honorius III (1216-27)
- Gregory IX (1227-41)
- Celestine IV (1241)
- Innocent IV (1243-54)
- Alexander IV (1254-61)
- Urban IV (1261-64)
- Clement IV (1265-68)
- Blessed Gregory X (1271-76)
- Blessed Innocent V (1276)
- Adrian V (1276)
- John XXI (1276-77)
- Nicholas III (1277-80)
- Martin IV (1281-85)
- Honorius IV (1285-87)
- Nicholas IV (1288-92)
- St. Celestine V (1294)
- Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
- Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04)
- Clement V (1305-14)
- John XXII (1316-34)
- Benedict XII (1334-42)
- Clement VI (1342-52)
- Innocent VI (1352-62)
- Blessed Urban V (1362-70)
- Gregory XI (1370-78)
- Urban VI (1378-89)
- Boniface IX (1389-1404)
- Innocent VII (1404-06)
- Gregory XII (1406-15)
- Martin V (1417-31)
- Eugene IV (1431-47)
- Nicholas V (1447-55)
- Callistus III (1455-58)
- Pius II (1458-64)
- Paul II (1464-71)
- Sixtus IV (1471-84)
- Innocent VIII (1484-92)
- Alexander VI (1492-1503)
- Pius III (1503)
- Julius II (1503-13)
- Leo X (1513-21)
- Adrian VI (1522-23)
- Clement VII (1523-34)
- Paul III (1534-49)
- Julius III (1550-55)
- Marcellus II (1555)
- Paul IV (1555-59)
- Pius IV (1559-65)
- St. Pius V (1566-72)
- Gregory XIII (1572-85)
- Sixtus V (1585-90)
- Urban VII (1590)
- Gregory XIV (1590-91)
- Innocent IX (1591)
- Clement VIII (1592-1605)
- Leo XI (1605)
- Paul V (1605-21)
- Gregory XV (1621-23)
- Urban VIII (1623-44)
- Innocent X (1644-55)
- Alexander VII (1655-67)
- Clement IX (1667-69)
- Clement X (1670-76)
- Blessed Innocent XI (1676-89)
- Alexander VIII (1689-91)
- Innocent XII (1691-1700)
- Clement XI (1700-21)
- Innocent XIII (1721-24)
- Benedict XIII (1724-30)
- Clement XII (1730-40)
- Benedict XIV (1740-58)
- Clement XIII (1758-69)
- Clement XIV (1769-74)
- Pius VI (1775-99)
- Pius VII (1800-23)
- Leo XII (1823-29)
- Pius VIII (1829-30)
- Gregory XVI (1831-46)
- Blessed Pius IX (1846-78)
- Leo XIII (1878-1903)
- St. Pius X (1903-14)
- Benedict XV (1914-22)
- Pius XI (1922-39)
- Pius XII (1939-58)
- St. John XXIII (1958-63)
- St. Paul VI (1963-78)
- John Paul I (1978)
- St. John Paul II (1978-2005)
- Benedict XVI (2005-2013)
- Francis (2013-2025)
- Leo XIV (2025—)