It’s not uncommon to see dozens of cassocks moving up and down a street in Rome, Italy. Clerics are always coming and going in the center of the Catholic world. But Rome during a papal conclave is another matter. Nearly 30 million pilgrims are expected to visit during the Jubilee Year of 2025, and the …
The extent of the pope’s authority is a common question for those unfamiliar with the Catholic Church and even for Catholics trying to understand what they are actually bound to believe. When people hear that the pope is “infallible,” they often assume that everything he says must be unquestionably true, or that Catholics are obligated …
The Industrial Revolution changed more than just how goods were made. It changed how people worked, how they lived, and even how they saw themselves. Although it may seem like a distant chapter in a history textbook, the questions raised during the Industrial Revolution are similar to the questions we wrestle with today: What is …
For people across Eastern Europe, the Cold War was a time of disconnection, anxious whispers, and uncertainty. Countries within the Eastern Bloc, behind the ‘iron curtain,’ had no guarantee of sovereignty. This was highlighted by the Prague Spring uprising in 1968, which was ruthlessly put down by the Red Army. Soviet hegemony was clear. These …
In 2013, the first member of the Society of Jesus, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was elected to ascend to the Chair of Peter and took the name Francis. A member of an order once doubted and subject to suspicion by the Vatican became the Pope. This event is significant in a broad view of Church history, …
In recent centuries, the papacy has slowly but surely begun to reflect the global nature of the Catholic Church. In 1978, the world saw the election of Pope John Paul II, a Pole whose papacy broke the Italian monopoly and brought fresh energy to the Vatican. After him came Pope Benedict XVI of Germany and …
The most recent conclave comes on the heels of a very rare event in the history of the Papacy: two popes living at the same time. As the papacy is a sacred office typically carried out until death, it is rare that two legitimate popes’ lifetimes overlap. Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign is one …
The death of a pope is one of the most consequential events in the life of the Church on earth. When a pope dies, a series of events are set in motion to notify the faithful, secure the institutional church for the period without a pope, and begin the process of selecting his successor. Here’s …
