Articles by Courtney Mares
Pope Francis to visit Mother Teresa's birthplace in 2019
Dec 13, 2018 / 05:39 amThe Vatican announced Thursday that Pope Francis will travel to Bulgaria and Macedonia May 5-7, 2019, with a stop in Mother Teresa's hometown of Skopje.
Our Lady of Guadalupe remains a 'teacher of the Gospel' through her image
Dec 12, 2018 / 10:37 amPope Francis celebrated the Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe Wednesday, reflecting on how Mary continues to evangelize Latin America through her ubiquitous image.
Faith is not ‘decorative,’ Pope Francis says
Dec 12, 2018 / 04:00 amPope Francis gave an Advent reminder Wednesday that faith should not be just a “decorative” addition to daily life by pointing to how the ‘Our Father’ prayer embodies the essence of life itself.
Did angels really carry the Holy House of Mary to Loreto, Italy?
Dec 10, 2018 / 10:25 amWhat do Galileo, Mozart, Descartes, Cervantes, and St. Therese of Lisieux have in common? They all traveled hundreds of miles to step inside the Virgin Mary’s house, which is preserved inside a basilica in the small Italian town of Loreto.
Pope Francis: Advent demands conversion, recognizing our mistakes
Dec 9, 2018 / 06:46 am“To prepare the way for the Lord who comes, it is necessary to take into account the demands of conversion,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address Dec. 9.
On feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis points to Mary’s trust in God
Dec 8, 2018 / 08:43 amOn the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to imitate Mary’s deep trust and openness to God when faced with serious problems.
Pope Francis explains symbolism of Vatican Christmas tree and sand nativity
Dec 7, 2018 / 09:30 amAs the Vatican illuminated its 65-foot Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square Friday, Pope Francis shared the deeper meaning found in the traditional festive spruce.
Researchers find 'evidence of genocide' against Rohingya
Dec 6, 2018 / 10:50 amAs new evidence emerges of atrocities committed in Burma's Rakhine state, the president of Caritas International visited Monday a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Pope Francis to visit Abu Dhabi in February 2019
Dec 6, 2018 / 05:16 amPope Francis will travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates Feb. 3-5 to participate in an international interfaith meeting, the Vatican announced Thursday.
‘A man of faith and humility’ Catholics remember President George H.W. Bush
Dec 3, 2018 / 13:30 pmIn the days following the death of President George H. W. Bush, Catholics around the country remembered the 41st president for his character and family values.
‘We must not hide from suffering,’ Iraqi archbishop says on Red Wednesday
Nov 29, 2018 / 16:00 pmIn Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics and Church leaders from four continents gathered Wednesday to pray solemn vespers for the persecuted Church.
A look at blasphemy laws around the world
Nov 14, 2018 / 03:05 amWhile the world awaits the fate of Asia Bibi, who remains in hiding in Pakistan following the acquittal of her death sentence for blasphemy, religious freedom advocates are calling for an end to blasphemy laws across the globe.
Pope Francis marks World War I centenary with message of peace
Nov 11, 2018 / 05:22 amThe bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out in unison with thousands of other church bells around the world Sunday afternoon as Pope Francis commemorated the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I.
Pope and Assyrian Patriarch: Blood of Middle East martyrs is ‘seed of Christian unity’
Nov 9, 2018 / 12:00 pmPope Francis and the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Gewargis III have pledged ecumenical unity in support of persecuted Christians in the Middle East in a joint statement released Nov. 9.
Pope Francis advocates for global access to clean drinking water
Nov 8, 2018 / 13:01 pmPope Francis spoke of the importance of increasing access to clean drinking water around the world Thursday, calling current statistics “a huge shame for the humanity.”
Catholic mother Asia Bibi moved from prison to Islamabad amid death threats
Nov 8, 2018 / 06:01 amPakistani Catholic Asia Bibi was released from prison and moved to Islamabad late Wednesday as her family seeks asylum due to the riots and death threats following her acquittal of blasphemy charges.
Pope says entrepreneurship needed in face of 'scandalous poverty'
Nov 7, 2018 / 04:47 am“If there is hunger on earth, it is not because food is missing!” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Square Nov. 7. “What is lacking is a free and far-sighted entrepreneurship, which ensures adequate production, and a solidarity approach, which ensures fair distribution,” he continued.
Seventy-nine students kidnapped in Cameroon
Nov 6, 2018 / 11:49 amArmed separatists kidnapped 79 students from a Christian boarding school in Cameroon Monday.
Pope Francis: 'A Christian cannot be an anti-Semite'
Nov 5, 2018 / 06:48 amPope Francis strongly condemned anti-Semitism, recalling the living memory of the Holocaust in Europe, during a meeting with rabbis at the Vatican Monday.
Pope Francis mourns victims of attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt
Nov 4, 2018 / 05:13 am“I pray for the victims, pilgrims killed just because they are Christians, and I ask Holy Mary to console their families and the whole community,” Pope Francis said Nov. 4.