On New Year's Eve, at St. Peter's in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Vespers in thanksgiving for the year gone by. You can watch this live, without English translation, Thursday, December 31st at 12pm ET/9am PT.
January 1st of each year marks new beginnings for many of us, but for the Church it is a day that we honour our Blessed Mother -- in fact, in Canada, like in many countries, it's a
Holy Day of Obligation. It is also a day that the Church recognizes as the World Day for Peace. Having given thanksgiving for 2009 at First Vespers the night before, Pope Benedict will open the new year with Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. You can watch that on Salt + Light Television at Friday January 1st , at 10am ET/7am PT, with English translation.
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Photo: Children bring up gifts during Mass marking feast of Mary, Mother of God, January 1st 2008. CNS photo/Giampiero Sposito, Reuters.