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Schools
By Anna Harvey
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge blessed the campus and new library and media center of the Basilica School of St. Mary in Alexandria Dec. 8. The blessing concluded the diocesan school’s “Mary, Lead Us Campus Transformation” campaign, which funded two phases of school renovations over the last four years. The Basilica school annually enrolls more than […]
Local
Schools
By Anna Harvey
Queen of Apostles School needed a facelift. Several of the bathrooms dated back to the Alexandria school’s founding in 1966. New energy-efficient lights were needed in the school gym, which is often used as an event space for the parish. With limited resources, the school could not afford such a large project. Then Principal Kristie […]
Pope Francis
By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said he has decided to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major instead of in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and that he has simplified the rites for a papal funeral. In a Dec. 12 interview with Mexican news outlet N+, the pope, in good humor, discussed […]
Global
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has upheld a rule mandating that the ashes of the deceased be preserved in a consecrated place, but it also said family members could request “a minimal part of the ashes” be kept in a sacred place “of significance for the history of […]
Global
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican Museums has launched an initiative to give visitors — online and in person — a “backstage” peek into the secrets, curiosities and insights discovered by their art restorers. When cleaning, repairing and analyzing major works of art up close or with X-rays or infrared radiation, experts often find unexpected and […]
National
By Daniel Payne
A Catholic priest in Nebraska died Dec. 10 after being stabbed at a parish rectory, the Archdiocese of Omaha said. Police identified a suspect in the case late Dec. 10. The archdiocese said in a statement that Father Stephen Gutgsell was assaulted “during an invasion at the rectory of St. John the Baptist Parish in […]
National
President Emeritus Marianne Evans Mount was named a Dame of the Order of St. Gregory the Great at the Catholic Distance University 40th anniversary gala Nov. 17. The award is the highest honor a layperson can receive from the Catholic Church. Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, presented the award to Mount […]
Pope Francis
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY — Away in a cave near Greccio, Italy, St. Francis of Assisi had the first Nativity scene — a live one — staged for the faithful on Christmas Eve in 1223. A 15th-century fresco now decorating the cave inspired the Nativity scene erected in St. Peter’s Square for the 800th anniversary celebrations. Before […]
Pope Francis
By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY — To connect with God, Christians must disconnect from the “pollution of vain words and chatter” that reach them through social media and instead seek silence in the desert, Pope Francis said. The desert is “the place of silence and essentials, where someone cannot afford to dwell on useless things, but needs to […]
The forerunner’s mission