Commentaries
A message from St. Valentine: Sacrifice yourself in love for others
Msgr. Ralph Chieffo recalls two models of love, the story of the ancient saint’s defiance of the emperor, and an adult graduate of his parish school.
Kids, stop nagging parents to move into senior housing
In their Marriage Matters column, Deacon Paul and Helen McBlain discuss how an elderly couple, happy in their family home, hear the pleas of adult children who think Mom and Dad should downsize.
Ash Wednesday begins Lenten season
Lent is a time when Christians are called to begin an inner journey of conversion of heart through prayer, fasting and charitable works. See CatholicPhilly.com's Lent 2016 section for tools to help you pray and live deeply these 40 days.
Giving to the poor is part of Year of Mercy, pope says
"I'll tell you something," Pope Francis said, "if this jubilee doesn't reach our pockets, it's not a real jubilee. Do you understand? This is in the Bible, eh, this pope isn't inventing that. It's in the Bible."
Pray with Pope Francis in February
Watch a video of the pope's February prayer intention for care of creation, and see our prayer resources.
Mardi Gras: In New Orleans, and around the world
On Fat Tuesday communities from Louisiana, U.S.A., to Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines marked festivities one day ahead of Ash Wednesday -- see our photo gallery.
Journey through Lent with CatholicPhilly.com
UPDATED -- Our package of resources, devotions and other aids to prayer, fasting and charitable giving aims to deepen your Lenten pilgrimage with the church throughout these 40 days.
Ashes: An urgent call for our souls
Although church attendance numbers are high on Ash Wednesday, it's not a holy day of obligation, explains Carolyn Woo. But it is an invitation to begin a journey to soften our hearts.
New Catholic-Muslim dialogue formed; Chicago archbishop named co-chair
"As the national conversation around Islam grows increasingly fraught, coarse and driven by fear and often willful misinformation, the Catholic Church must help to model real dialogue and goodwill," said Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Springfield, Massachusetts, who is chairman of the committee.
Woman to lead theological-pastoral aspect of Vatican communications
The director of the new theological-pastoral department of the Vatican Secretariat for Communications is Natasa Govekar, a theologian who specializes in the communication of faith through images.