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I’ve always been touched that the first words the risen Lord spoke to the Apostles in the upper room were: “Shalom! Peace!” In my humanness my first words might have been something like: “Hey, where were you guys? Weren’t you the ones who said you would stay with me, even if it meant dying with me?”

At the beginning of Lent, I was sent a moving account of the recent funeral procession of a young American soldier, which took place near his hometown in the South. The most striking section read as follows:

The last several years, as each very special Chrism Mass approaches, I have found food for the soul in a 2002 Chrism Mass homily offered by Baltimore’s proud native son Bishop Victor Galeone of St. Augustine. I thought I should share it with you and am grateful to my good friend, the Bishop of St. Augustine, for permission to do so:

The St. Agnes Foundation hosts its annual spring gala, Caritas, on April 5 at the home of the Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium.

BEIRUT, Lebanon – An unprecedented wave of Christian emigration from Lebanon is upsetting the country’s demographic balance, said participants at a conference of Christian leaders.

Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming apostolic journey to the United States will soon make headlines, locally, nationally and internationally. How will we, the Catholic faithful, welcome and celebrate the presence of the successor of St. Peter among us? Why do we look forward to the pope’s April 15-20 visit to Washington and New York as so much more than a media event? How might this papal visit become an occasion of grace for each one of us personally and for the Church in America – a moment of intense faith, greater charity and renewed hope?

Pope Benedict XVI will visit Washington and New York shortly after Easter. The timing of this papal visit raises the question: Is the ministry of the pope affected or even shaped in a particular way by the resurrection of the crucified Jesus? Is preaching the risen Lord at the heart of what St Peter and his successors do for the Church?

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32). Our Lord Jesus addressed these words to St. Peter as the time of His death drew near. Once when preaching on this text, St. Augustine interpreted the phrase “the brethren” in a broad way to include the Church itself. Augustine remarked that Peter certainly has strengthened us by his apostolate, martyrdom, and letters (Sermon 210.6). Examining Peter through the ages, we can see various ways in which the popes as the successors of St. Peter have indeed strengthened us.

From the very beginning, when Jesus chose St. Peter and declared him to be the “rock” upon which he would build his Church, the pope has had a unique role in teaching, sanctifying and governing the Christian faithful. This has taken many different forms over the centuries and has developed into the practice we have today. The pope is the visible head of the Church and the source of unity among all the Christian faithful. He is the one we look to for sound teaching, proper liturgical celebration, and governance, especially through the appointment of bishops throughout the world.

Every Sunday at Mass, Catholics throughout the world profess their common faith by praying together the ancient Nicene Creed. In that creed, we profess our faith in “One, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” The ministry of the pope, founded upon the ministry of St. Peter himself, is an essential and central component for preserving and promoting the Church’s unity, its holiness, its universality and its apostolic teaching.