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National
The Saint John Paul II National Shrine will offer a temporary display on the exemplary life of the Ulma family beginning Jan. 12 and continuing through at least March 24, 2024, the 80th anniversary of their martyrdom. The display, titled: “The Good Samaritans of Markowa: The Sacrificial Love of the Ulma Family” is centered on […]
Local
By Zoey Maraist
Each year, the Porres family uses paint, dried flowers and herbs, dabs of glue, insulation sheets and hundreds of Italian figurines to create their own little town of Bethlehem. Water cascades down a miniature mountain and flows beside a vineyard and an olive grove. Merchants sell their wares, shepherds tend their flocks, birds fly on […]
Global
By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY — Millions of pilgrims flock to Rome every 25 years to mark a Holy Year, or jubilee, the Catholic Church’s more modern celebration of an ancient Jewish practice of forgiveness. And through partnerships with prisons and incarcerated persons, the Vatican hopes to show those visitors that the spirit of forgiveness remains front and […]
Art
The Kid’s Connection will capture the attention of your little ones. Click here to download the latest issue and please let us know on our social media if your kids succeed in solving it! We’d love to hear about it.
Local
Parishes
What’s distinctive about your parish? One of the striking things about Holy Family Church is that it is a hidden gem amid a busy, well-traversed area. Prince William County near Potomac Mills is a well-known traffic route. Despite this, you can find a quiet, wooded area shielded from that traffic maelstrom. It is sort of […]
Global
Pope Francis
By Justin McLellan
Exchanging Christmas gifts and organizing holiday parties are all well and good, but Christians should contemplate the scene of Jesus’ birth to recover what is truly important during the Christmas season, Pope Francis said. At his weekly general audience Dec. 20, just five days before Christmas, the pope told people that “the risk of losing […]
Local
By Anna Harvey
After a nearly 30-year career in international development, Eugene McCarthy began a new one: advising and supporting the Holy See’s mission in the Americas. Some 15 years later, the Holy See bestowed a high honor upon him during a ceremony in Washington Dec. 7. McCarthy received the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” (“For Church and Pope” […]
Pope Francis
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY — A Catholic priest can bless a gay or other unmarried couple as long as it is not a formal liturgical blessing and does not give the impression that the Catholic Church is blessing the union as if it were a marriage, the Vatican doctrinal office said. The request for a blessing can […]
Local
Catholics across the diocese participated in Wreaths Across America Dec. 16, laying wreaths at the gravesites of deceased veterans while praying for the repose of their souls. For the third year in a row, the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax organized a ceremony honoring 84 Catholic veterans buried in […]
Local
By Ann M. Augherton
This year, the Fourth Week of Advent is Dec. 24, one day only. As the fourth candle (the third purple candle) on the Advent wreath is lit, the evergreens, poinsettias, holly and ivy are waiting in the wings, just feet away. A suggested prayer for the lighting of the fourth candle, either the night before […]
