Rome

“From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church” is a collection of essays from scholars and Jewish Catholics that speaks into this confusion with beautiful clarity.

Celebrating almost six decades of Catholic-Methodist theological dialogue, the Vatican publishing house has released a book summarizing the issues dialogue members have agreed on and briefly outlined the issues where work is ongoing.

While he speaks at times of his own experience, Pope Leo XIV is much more squarely focused on the church’s life and mission and what his office offers to it.

Local woman, nephew and friends are inspired after Pope Francis’ death altered their travel plans.

While members of the College of Cardinals famously take an oath, so do Vatican staff members, including the elevator operator, doctors and attendants, who will be assisting with the everyday tasks and needs of the cardinals during the conclave which begins May 7.

Abbot Donato Ogliari of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome was invited by the cardinals to offer a spiritual meditation April 29 at their general congregation meeting before the conclave begins May 7. The rules for preparing a conclave require the cardinals to invite a cleric known for his “sound doctrine, wisdom and moral authority” to offer meditation.

The conclave is set to begin May 7, but the public only knows its end by iconic white smoke billowing out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.
The best place to watch for the smoke is in St. Peter’s Square itself, but the Vatican will also livestream the smoke on its YouTube channel, Vatican Media Live.

The works of art hanging over ornate altars and displayed in crowded halls are of great theological significance and have even inspired revolutions in artistic expression. To the casual observer, however, some of the lessons of these masterpieces remain mysterious as they become less well known over the passage of centuries.