Pope Francis: Christ’s resurrection brings hope amid “Easter of war” (CNS) The joy of Christ’s resurrection is needed now more than ever in a time when war in Ukraine and other parts of the world makes the hope for peace seem like an illusion, Pope Francis said before giving his Easter blessing. Like the disciples who were at first doubtful of Jesus rising from the dead, “our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war,” the pope said as he prepared April 17 to give his Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (“to the city and the world”). “We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,” he said…
Arizonans help return baptism font to church in Mexico (AP) More than eight decades after a sacred baptismal font mysteriously disappeared from a historic Catholic church in Caborca, Mexico, two Prescott men were successful in their years-long mission to return the vessel to its rightful home…
Mundelein to mark 100th anniversary (Daily Herald) Over the last century, the Mundelein Seminary has educated more than 4,000 parish priests for about 80 Catholic dioceses worldwide from its idyllic, 1,000-acre campus on the grounds of the University of St. Mary of the Lake. The seminary community will celebrate that legacy Thursday with a ceremony at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. At the event, descendants of Cardinal George Mundelein, the visionary archbishop of Chicago who founded the seminary in 1921, will be presented with a service award in his honor…
Finding faith at Harvard: Easter conversion stories (CNA) Their paths differed but led them to the same destination: St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they were among 31 people fully initiated into the Catholic Church during the Easter vigil Mass on Saturday, April 16. That number of initiates is a record high for St. Paul’s, a nearly century-old Romanesque-style brick church whose bell tower looms over Harvard Square…
Never too old: seniors join the Church (Catholic Review) Kenneth “Ken” Davis, 90, started attending Sunday Mass at the Oak Crest Catholic Community five years ago with his best friend, Phylis Welsh, 80, also a resident of the senior living community in Parkville. As Davis watched Catholics reverently receiving Communion, the lifelong Protestant wanted the same thing. He began joining the Communion line with his arms crossed to receive a blessing, longing for the day he could receive the body of Christ…