Wednesday, 8 February, is the Feast of St Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese nun, who as a child had the traumatic experience of being a victim of human trafficking. Organised by Talitha Kum , the Unions of Superiors and Superiors General of Religious Institutes together with representatives from an international group of partner organisations, are promoting a Day of Prayer and Awareness ...

St. Brigid of Ireland, Brigid also spelled Brigit or Bridget, also called Brigid of Kildare or Bride (Irish Bríd) was born, according to tradition in Fochart, near Dundalk, County Louth. She died c. 525, in  Kildare. Her feast day is February 1.  She is remembered as virgin and abbess of Kildare, one of the patron saints of Ireland. Little is known of her life but from legend, myth, and folklore. According to these, she ...

The World Day for Consecrated Life is a day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life. The celebration is attached to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. This feast is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed symbolising Christ who is the light of the world. Similarly, consecrated men ...

Speaking with the heart ~ “The truth in love” (Eph 4:15) After having reflected in past years on the verbs “to go and see” and “to listen” as conditions for good communication, with this Message for the 57th World Day of Social Communications (21 May 2023), the focus by Pope Francis is on “speaking with the heart”.  (See full text HERE) ...

We reach the final day of the octave of prayer for Christian Unity (18 to 25 January 2023). The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) is celebrated, as an ecumenical initiative in which Christians from all over the world belonging to different traditions and confessions, gather spiritually in prayer for the unity of the Church.  The theme of this ...

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) is traditionally celebrated between January 18 and January 25 – originally the octave of St Peter and St Paul. ‘Be-Longing: Praying for Unity amidst Injustice’ is the theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) 2023. “As we join with other Christians around the world for this year’s Week of ...

“ … when tragic events seem to overwhelm our lives, we are called to keep our hearts open to hope and to trust in God, who makes himself present, accompanies us with tenderness, sustains us in our weariness and, above all, guides our path.” There is light even in our darkest hour In mid-December Pope Francis released his message for ...

This feast of the Epiphany (the moment when the Magi, wise men from the East, came to visit the baby Jesus) is a reminder to us that Christmas does not end. They bring us with them. As we become more attentive to the presence of God in every aspect of our lives – ‘the star’ of His presence guides our ...

From the December 7th to 19th, scientists, rights advocates and delegates from nearly 200 countries are gathering in Canada to tackle one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues: the loss of biodiversity and what can be done to reverse it. For years, experts have sounded the alarm over how climate change and other factors are leading to an “unprecedented” ...

As we progress through the 16-day campaign focus on activism against Gender-Based Violence (25 November to 10 December) – “UNITE to end violence against women” is the theme for this year.  This focus serves also as a reminder that: “We must talk about the scourge of gender-based violence against women every day of the year, not just on 25 November. ...