Leo’s Consistory, Francis’ Legacy...
The world’s cardinals are gathered in Rome this week for the extraordinary consistory of the college, convened by Pope Leo XIV to mark the beginning of his first full year as Bishop of Rome. Cardinals, bishops, and curial staffers across the Vatican have, in the months since the conclave which elected Leo, reported that the new pope consciously decided to close 2025 before embarking on any major tone-setting or shifting projects.
When Movie Stars Face Mortality...
Reject Sameness. It’s the Key to Preserving Marriage...
The idea that marriage is simply a kind of equal partnership between a man and woman is a model that Western culture purchased a long time ago and at a high price. Such a pattern isn’t a model for integrating a family together into an organic unit but is a road map for divorce with divisions from the start. Separate responsibilities, career goals, and bank accounts make it a challenge to truly weave a couple together...
Grok’s Not Sorry, The News, and 20-Year Advice...
You might have read in recent days that the flu is surging across the U.S., thanks to a new flu strain that’s causing a lot of problems. Well, our family loves jumping into a good trend, so we spent most of the Christmas octave down with that very flu ourselves, including spending most of Christmas day in the ER with an acutely sick kid.
God Desires Constant, Loving Communication With You — So Listen...
There is an important point St. Paul makes about the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where he states that no one has the right to claim it for himself.[1] His entire discourse emphasizes the important relationship between hearing the Word of God and believing in it. St. Paul expresses an urgency about confirming the relationship between the Word of God and faith in God through His Son, Jesus Christ...
Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication Launches New ‘Pray With the Pope’ Project...
Cardinals Gather in Rome for First Extraordinary Consistory of Pope Leo XIV...
Russell Shaw, Veteran Catholic Journalist and Author, Dies at 90...
Cutting Off Contact With Your Parents Is Identity Politics, Not ‘Boundaries’...
Family estrangement has moved from the margins to the mainstream and this shift is now visible across popular culture and media alike. Oprah recently gave airtime to the “rising trend” of adult children who have severed ties with their parents. The New York Times offered suggestions for how to cope with family estrangement, especially around the holidays...
Roman generals gave kittens and piglets as gifts to their pet monkeys...
From Stars to Stable: Augustine, Astrology, and the True Light of Christmas...
How Can Angels and Demons Fight if They Don’t Have Bodies?
At the beginning of creation, all of the angels were united in serving God. But a time came when Lucifer, the most senior of all the angels, grew resentful towards God. Catholic tradition holds that this resentment arose when Lucifer realized God’s plan for humanity and the role which human beings, and in particular Our Lady, were destined to play as the crowning glory of all creation.
Pope Leo XIV Closes St. Peter’s Holy Door, Concluding Jubilee of Hope...
Live Updates: US Strikes Venezuela, Captures Maduro...
Pope Leo XIV Surprises SEEK26 Attendees With Message: ‘What Do You Seek?’...
The Top 25 National Catholic Register Stories of 2025...
It happened again: Why would anyone want to edit ‘It’s a Wonderful Life?’...
Every now and then, someone sends me a URL pointing to some kind of abomination with a butchered movie running somewhere on basic cable or hidden deep inside the bowels of a streaming service website. It’s easy to mutter, “We live in a sinful, fallen world.” Frankly, it’s amazing that bored people handling off-hour broadcasts don’t fall asleep at key switches more often...
Keeping the Heat On: How Finances Work in the Diocese of Fairbanks...
US Executions Rise in 2025 Amid Shifting Public Opinion...
Secularism, Security, and ‘Civilizational Erasure’...
South Korea is choosing self-destruction — and the world should learn its lesson...
Surviving Your Current Chaos With Confidence...
This Sunday: Mary and Joseph Reveal the High Purpose and Hard Work of Family Life...
Architect Frank Gehry and the Cathedral That Might Have Been...
What are plenary indulgences and how can I get TWO this New Year’s?
‘As You Wish’: Truth and True Love in Rob Reiner’s ‘The Princess Bride’...
God wants to give you two great gifts for Christmas: Himself, and His mission...
Pope Leo XIV Restores Christmas Day Mass at St. Peter’s for First Time Since 1994...
An Exclusive Interview With Santa Claus...
Christ at the Center: How Tradition Anchors the Development of Doctrine...
What G.K. Chesterton wrote to his wife when she entered the Church...
First Things First: What the Consistory Reveals About Pope Leo’s Priorities...
When Pope Leo XIV announced this week’s consistory in Rome — somewhat earlier and more unexpectedly than most Vatican watchers predicted — it sent ripples of surprise and speculation through the Church. Yet perhaps the consistory shouldn’t surprise us at all. In fact, it may well offer a window into the inner logic of a pontificate that is only beginning to reveal its shape.
Facing Impending Death, Dilbert Cartoonist Scott Adams Announces Conversion to Christianity...
Do the Stars Really Stand in Attendance?
Yesterday I experienced once again the astounding Byzantine liturgy of Epiphany. Among other things, there was the special blessing of water, wherein the entire natural world is invoked as a chorus of witnesses to its Creator. This gives occasion to ask whether we really see the natural world for what it is, or has our perception been dulled by a pervasive bad science, or our lack of attention, or some other cause.
“Christmas Is Over!” Scowled the Stranger Who Taught Me That It Never Really Is...
“Christmas is o-vah!” he shouted, in his thick New England accent, two days after Christmas. Of course, Christmas was very much not over. In the Catholic Church, the Christmas season lasts until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord — and that was weeks away. Those words, in that accent, and the whole story that followed, have become a yearly Christmas tale in my house...
How to Deal With the ‘Sundown Scaries,’ When Your Problems Seem Bigger at Night...
Why wait a week for disappointment when you can lose the lottery every second?
Arthur Brooks at SEEK 2026: ‘Your Job Isn’t to Win Arguments, It’s to Win a Soul’...
Anointed Ones: A Reflection on the Baptism of the Lord...
Jesus presents himself for baptism in today’s Gospel not because He is a sinner, but to fulfill the word of God proclaimed by His prophets. He must be baptized to reveal that He is the Christ (“anointed one”)—the Spirit-endowed Servant promised by Isaiah in today’s First Reading. His baptism marks the start of a new world, a new creation...
The 4-Word Trick to Avoiding an Awkward Goodbye...
A Consistory to Revitalize the College of Cardinals...
During a decade of service at the Vatican Secretariat of State, I was constantly perplexed by the Holy See’s unwillingness or inability to utilize already existing ecclesial structures for effective governance. As the Cardinals meet in Rome over the next few days, it’s worth taking a hard look at some recent ways in which the Church has been operating...
How To Get Along With (Almost) Everybody...
A good definition of frustration: The difference between the way we want things to be and the way they are. It is the gap between expectations and reality. Expecting others to act well is understandable. Treat me well, as I treat you. You would agree that I treat you well, wouldn’t you? A plea I hear repeatedly as a psychologist...
Priest who spread holy water in end zone gets credit for Steelers win...
Indiana’s Star QB Fernando Mendoza: Meet the Heisman Trophy Winner Who Never Misses Sunday Mass...
From Franz Schubert to Roger Staubach: The Hail Mary Through History...
How old is the Hail Mary? It depends. If you mean the words addressed to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth by the Archangel Gabriel — which will be referenced in the gospel assigned for Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God — then the Hail Mary is 2,025 years old, more or less...
Pope Leo XIV Ends 2025 Urging Catholics to Examine Conscience and Entrust the New Year to God...
Jan. 1 Mass Readings: Follow Mary, Mother of God, and Mary of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’...
More Than 3 Million Faithful Visited the Vatican in 2025, Says Papal Household...
4 Habits to Help You Get Along Better With Others...
The Day Our Daughter Disappeared...
Ranked: The World’s 30 Largest Cities by Population...
The Family That Prays Together Grows Holy Together...
On Feast of the Holy Family, Pope Leo XIV Warns Against the ‘Herods’ That Threaten Families Today...
Cardinal Reina Closes Holy Door at St. John Lateran, Urges Rome to Live Jubilee’s Mercy...
When does Christmas really end?
God Became a Burden to Take Away Our Burden...
Which of these aerial masterpieces should win the Great Grinch Sky Art Showdown?
How Feminism Has Escaped Public Scrutiny...
Why the Birth of Jesus Matters...
Christmas Mass Readings: Baby Jesus Prepares You For Battle...
Worldwide Prayer Network Releases Pope Leo XIV’s Monthly Prayer Intentions for 2026...
How Changing Your Language Can Change Your Relationships...
Through Snow and Sacred Darkness: The Xavier Society for the Blind at 125...
3 Ideas for a Richer Christmas Celebration...
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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—)
