For nearly 30 years, the Cookie Connection tradition has brought Christmas cheer to the homebound or those unable to bake. This year, however, the tradition changed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Sweet Christmas cookie tradition connects members of Alexandria community
Ways to attend/watch Christmas Mass this year
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to limit the ways worshippers can safely gather, the diocese, parishes and area religious communities are doing what they can to make Christmas Mass accessible to all.
Advent Week 4: Come Lord Jesus! From the Annunciation to Christmas
“Pondering the Gospel scene of the Annunciation prepares us to welcome the newborn Jesus through the eyes of the graced woman who prepared most intimately for our Lord’s birth, his mother Mary.”
Nativity scene is reminder of hope amid suffering, pope says
Meeting with delegations from Castelli in Italy’s Abruzzo region and from Kocevje, Slovenia — responsible, respectively, for the Nativity scene and Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square — the pope said that Christmas “reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort.”
Long Prairie parish celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe
St. Mary of Mount Carmel Parish in Long Prairie celebrated the eve of the feast Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 11 with a special Mass and telling of the story of the Virgin Mary’s appearance before Saint Juan Diego in a vision in Mexico in 1531.
The Big Question: What is the situation of Christians in the Holy Land?
Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, who served in the Holy Land for the last six years, explains the challenges, exacerbated due to the pandemic, that Christians face there.
Pope proclaims year dedicated to St. Joseph
Marking the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being declared patron of the universal church, Pope Francis proclaimed a yearlong celebration dedicated to the foster father of Jesus.
Harvest of Hope parishes give wings to traveling crane prayer chain
“Our parishioners have been feeling very disconnected, not being able to be together at Mass or share in sacraments with family members. But creating our own 1,000-crane chain, each with a prayer, could help us feel like a community again.”