As the days grow shorter, the Catholic Church's liturgical calendar directs our attention toward the mystery of eternal life.

Feast day Oct. 22

Across the piazza from the Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, stands a large statue of Saint Francis, hands raised in prayer, facing the basilica.

The miracle of Archbishop Fulton Sheen Sixteen years ago, on Sept. 16, 2010, in Peoria, Illinois, a baby boy was stillborn with no measurable heartbeat or breathing.

We celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross each year on Sept. 14. While it commemorates the recovery of the True Cross by Saint Helen in the 4th century, it is a feast that invites us to direct our eyes to the salvation won by Jesus Christ on the cross.

On a December visit to the parish of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago Atitlán last winter, Stanley Rother’s presence loomed large everywhere I ventured, including the surrounding countryside.

Each year on Aug. 10, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saint Lawrence, one of the most beloved martyrs of the early Church.

Pope Francis has invited the entire Church to celebrate a Year of Jubilee. For all of 2025 we have been promised a unique outpouring of God’s goodness and grace, a wealth of blessings.

The theme of Jubilee Year 2025 – “Pilgrims of Hope” – summons each of us and the whole Church to renew our commitment to Jesus Christ and to one another. We are pilgrims together.

People choose Catholic education for many reasons. Some families choose it for excellence in academic instruction. Some choose it for the tight-knit community. Some choose it so their children will be taught according to a moral compass with an emphasis on virtue.