London, July 31, 2020: A leading UK organization which advocates for generous charitable giving has said that churches have seen a dramatic drop in their income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Stewardship said that churches who are without an adequate online giving platform have been worse affected, asContinue Reading
By Matters India Reporter Agartala, July 31, 2020: The first priest from the Bengali community in the northeastern Indian state of Tripura was ordained on July 30. Bishop Lumen Monteiro of Agartala ordained Deacon Sekhar Robin Das for the Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, commonly referred toContinue Reading
Matters India Reporter San Antonio, Texas, July 30, 2020 : Salesian Sisters the world over are now dealing with COVID-19. Some of their own blood families have gotten sick and Salesian Sisters all over the world, including in San Antonio Texas are fighting the virus. As of 2016, Salesian SistersContinue Reading
Vatican City, Jul 28, 2020: The cardinal leading the Vatican’s congregation on consecrated life said Monday that contemplative religious communities are needed and will not disappear, even as more than 30 monasteries closed in Spain last year. “Contemplative life is not destined to disappear, but must reflect with transparency theContinue Reading
Carfin, July 25, 2020: A church in Scotland has installed a contactless holy water dispenser in a bid to keep its congregation safe from the spread of Covid-19. St Francis Xavier in Carfin, just outside Motherwell, has reintroduced the Catholic practice of blessing by holy water four months after itContinue Reading
Istanbul, July 24, 2020: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 24 led the first Muslim prayers attended by thousands in Hagia Sophia since the controversial reconversion of the iconic Istanbul cathedral into a mosque. The highest administrative court revoked the sixth-century monument’s status as a museum on July 10Continue Reading
Stockholm, July 24, 2020: The Church of Sweden has announced that the majority of its priests are now women. Of the 3,060 priests currently ministering in the denomination, 1,533 are female, which equates to 50.1 percent. Cristina Grenholm, secretary for the Church of Sweden, told AFP: “From a historical perspective,Continue Reading
By Matters India Reporter Bhubaneswar, July 16, 2020: The 33rd plenary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops’ of India (CCBI), which was scheduled to take place early next year in Odisha, has been postponed because of Covid-19 pandemic. The bi-annual CCBI assembly of Latin Rite bishops was supposed to takeContinue Reading
By Christopher Wells Lourdes, July 15, 2020: The Marian Shrine at Lourdes will host the first online world pilgrimage on July 16, the anniversary of the final apparition to St Bernadette Soubirous more than 150 years ago. In 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young French girl, BernadetteContinue Reading
Vatican City, July 14, 2020: An Italian laywoman, who was once believed to be demonically possessed, is among five whose sainthood causes were advanced by Pope Francis. In a meeting July 10 with Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the Pope recognized a miracle attributedContinue Reading