WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rep. Nancy Rep. Pelosi’s ascent to the post of speaker of the House puts her in the spotlight for a variety of "firsts." She’s the first woman, the first Italian-American and the first Californian to hold the post. At a Jan. 3 Mass at Trinity University in Washington, Rep. Pelosi’s alma mater,...Read More

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, has asked all Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to hold a special collection for the victims of last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In a March 14 letter to all parishes, the Archbishop also called on Catholics to pray for “the suffering people of...Read More

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- It is time for U.S. churches to combat racial injustice in their country and among their congregations, says a Catholic priest from Nigeria who has studied the problem. Holy Ghost Father Cajetan Ngozika Ihewulezi resides at Sts. Teresa and Bridget Parish in North St. Louis and serves as a hospital chaplain...Read More

A total of 727 catechumens and candidates participated in the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion March 13 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, St. Ann in Hagerstown and St. John Neumann in Annapolis.Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican and the Polish bishops are convinced Warsaw's new Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus was not a spy for the secret police under Poland's former communist regime, the Vatican said. "In deciding to nominate the new metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, the Holy See took into consideration all the circumstances of his life,...Read More

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A newly revised Bible hit bookstore shelves on Ash Wednesday across the United States, thanks in part to St. Benedict Press/Tan Books in Charlotte.Read More

The small woman wearing layers of clothes, a worn jacket and a ragged knit cap has been homeless for the past five years and has yet to qualify for public assistance to move into a stable living situation. She has slept in shelters, transitional housing and even city public parks, but has found that being...Read More

VATICAN CITY – Wishing all Christians a “happy Lenten journey,” Pope Benedict XVI said fasting, almsgiving and prayer are traditionally suggested for Lent because they have proven to be effective tools for conversion.Read More