Sunday reading

For the first time, a Christmas tree from Ukraine will be installed in the Vatican. It will be delivered as a gift to Pope Benedict XVI from Transcarpathia, and trees for the Apostolic Palace will be delivered from the Lviv region.

Not only Ukrainian Catholic bishops of Latin and Byzantine rites but also representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will attend the unveiling of the Vatican Christmas Tree. Read more »

The author of an exhaustive study on the Virgin Mary's 1917 appearances in Portugal says her words are being fulfilled by the rise of aggressive secularism and loss of religious freedom in the West.

“Mary, as I see it, pointed out at Fatima that these things were going to happen,” said Fr. Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal and the author of “Fatima For Today” (Ignatius Press, $19.95), in an interview one day before the 94th anniversary of the last apparition in the Portuguese city. Read more »

Archaeologists say they've discovered the ruins of what is believed to be Peru's oldest Roman Catholic church.

The church outside the northern coastal city of Piura was built in 1534 but its mud walls deteriorated over time as Spanish conquistadors abandoned the area, said archaeologist Cesar Astuhuaman of Piura University. Read more »

Why did the Vatican become the Vatican? What was this place originally? What used to be there?

Vatican, in ancient times, was the name of a hill in Rome, which was situated on the right bank of the River Tevere.

It was an unsound and damp place with stretches of wild, uncultivated fields. Agrippina the Elder had created gardens there and Emperor Nero had built a small private circus. Read more »

Pope Benedict is calling on young people in Madrid to become missionaries for the faith and one group of young people has already begun taking up the challenge as they make their way to World Youth Day celebrations in Spain.

Some 100 young men and women from the Manhattan, New York parish of St. Colomba are in London for a couple of days before heading on to France and then Spain, bringing the Good News to a country rattled by some of the most violent rioting and wanton violence in its recent history. Read more »

Hidden among the paving stones of St. Peter's Square there is a simple clock and calendar. All you need is a sunny day.

The 83-foot stone obelisk in the middle of the square acts as a sundial that can accurately indicate midday and the two solstices thanks to a granite meridian and marble markers embedded in the square. Pope Benedict XVI proudly pointed out the hidden timepiece during an Angelus address he gave on the winter solstice a few years ago. Read more »

The Jesuits have sold the historic St Cuthbert Gospel – believed to be the oldest intact book produced in Europe – to the British Library for £9 million.

The British Province of the Society of Jesus agreed to sell the late seventh-century Anglo-Saxon manuscript to raise funds to restore a historic church and pay for educational work in London and Glasgow, Scotland. Read more »

The tomb of Saint Philip, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ was discovered in Pamukkale (the ancient city of Hierapolis), in Turkey.

Vatican Insider reports that Italian archaeologists Francesco D’Andria who headed the team pointed out that the tomb has not yet been opened but that it will be sooner or later. The report further quotes D’Andria who said that the discovery is “of primary importance to archaeology and to the Christian world.” Read more »

The curtains came down on St. Thomas More, The Musical, after 6 shows held over two weekends, namely, the weekends of 24 &25 June and 2 & 3 July 2011.

The casts made up of very talented actors and actresses both young and old gave a timely reminder of what it meant to be, God’s Servant.

The story begins in a present day home, where a mother expresses her disappointment with her children’s denial of God when their faith was challenged. Read more »

So why is everyone getting excited over this Musical? What’s the big deal?

Is it because :
1.  It’s the FIRST fully homegrown Musical on our patron saint, St Thomas More?
2.  It features the talents from among our own BEC children, youth and adults?
3.  It has taken a year long journey as we waited for the Opening of our Church? Read more »