Eight hundred years ago, at Christmas in 1223, Saint Francis organized the living Nativity scene in Greccio.
The Gospel we have just heard is preceded by the account of a difficult moment in Jesus’ mission, which we might call one of “pastoral desolation.”
To my Venerable Brothers Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity Sharing the concern of my beloved brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, for the future of creation (cf. Laudato Si’, 7-9), and at the suggestion […]
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Like their Orthodox brothers and sisters, Catholics formally will mark Sept. 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis has decided. The day of prayer, the pope said, will give individuals and communities an opportunity to implore God’s help […]
In 2007 I was a fresh-faced reporter at a diocesan newspaper. My editor assigned me to write a piece on the history of the nativity scene. I tracked down a priest and professor of church history and set off interview him about the history of the nativity scene. I did not do a Google search […]