Christian News

The Christmas season is officially over this Sunday on the The Baptism of the Lord (Year A). In our house, that means the decorations come down (see this special prayer). The house goes from glistening with beauty and mystery to an ordinary-looking home again. The good news is that Christmas, with its the grace and wonder, won’t go away; it will just move deeper inside, down in the basement of the house, and into the hearts of the family. That’s what baptism does...

“Christ is baptized ... in the Jordan!” So rang out the liturgy on Jan. 6 ... at the Canadian Museum of History. Both the place and the time would have surprised most (Latin-rite) Catholics in Canada. But not Ukrainian Catholics, who have their own distinctive calendar. And local Ukrainian Catholics in Ottawa know that once a year for “Theophany” (“Epiphany”), their Divine Liturgy is celebrated at the museum...

Carrying on a 45-year-old tradition, Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 children of Vatican employees in the Sistine Chapel. Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, the administration of the Sacrament took place during a Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps on Jan. 9, setting out his diplomatic priorities for the year. The address, traditionally given at the start of the year, is often described as a papal “state of the world” speech. This year’s speech carried particular weight...

Many Catholics who have been personally impacted, or deeply unsettled, by the “liturgy wars” dividing our Church are understandably disappointed that liturgical matters were not, in the end, discussed during Pope Leo XIV’s now-concluded meeting with the College of Cardinals in Rome.

When most people think about where God is, they look to the sky or point to a mountaintop. God is ON HIGH. But the reality of the incarnation flips that vision upside down. Christ dwelt among us. God came to the lowest of places to meet us in our brokenness and heal our sin. Did you know the spot where Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River is literally one of the lowest places on earth? That can't be an accident...

Human ambition has always had a vertical component. From ancient monuments to modern megastructures, the desire to reach higher seems inseparable from our idea of progress. Here is our look at the tallest skyscrapers standing today, followed by a closer look at the tower that is poised to redefine what “tall” even means.