John Paul II will become patron saint of World Youth Day. The announcement came from Pope Francis in his message for the 29th World Youth Day. “He will be the great patron of the World Youth Days which he inaugurated and always supported,” Pope Francis said. “In the communion of saints he will continue to Read more
The decision by Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary to publish a books of the late Pope’s personal notes is attracting controversy and moral indignation in Poland. Pope John Paul II’s last will and testament requested his notes be burnt. However his former secretary, now Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, is soon due to publish a book Read more
A relic containing the blood of Blessed John Paul II, which was stolen last Sunday from an Italian church, has been been safely returned and the local bishop has forgiven the thieves who took it. The small piece of blood-soaked cloth, taken from from Pope John II’s cassock after he was shot by an assassin Read more
“every person is immensely holy and deserves our love. Consequently, if I can help at least one person to have a better life, that already justifies the offering of my life. It is a wonderful thing to be God’s faithful people. We achieve fulfilment when we break down walls and our heart is filled with faces Read more
Cardinal Francis Arinze grew up in Nigeria, and in 1965 became the youngest bishop in the world at the age of 32. He was the first African cardinal to head a Vatican office and served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2002 to 2008. He is the Read more
Elevating John XXIII and John Paul II to sainthood is political and divisive. It’s time the church closed its dead popes society, says Paul Vallely. The date for the arrival of two more saints within the Catholic church will be announced on 30 September. So what’s two more, given the recent deluge from the Vatican? Read more
Pope Francis will declare Popes John Paul II and John XXIII saints on April 27 next year. The announcement was made on Monday during a meeting with cardinals. The Associated Press reported that analysts have said the decision to canonize the two popes together was aimed at unifying the church because each has his own Read more
The last years of the long papacy of John Paul II may have led us to forget the younger man. This video of John Paul’s visit to Australia shows him dancing with young people at the end of a liturgy. There is also a photograph of him hold one of Australia’s national icons. Have a look
The Vatican this week said Pope Francis will host a meeting of cardinals on September 30 to formally approve the canonization of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII. Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said the date for the canonization will be announced after the meeting. He said only Pope Read more
The third and final installment in a series on social justice in Catholic social doctrine: When the Italian Jesuit Father Luigi Taparelli D’Azeglio (1793-1862) coined the term “social justice” in the middle of the 19th century, he probably could not have foreseen its mention in an 1894 curial document and a 1904 encyclical, nor the Read more