As worshippers entered the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington for the noon Mass March 2, they saw at the base of the sanctuary a large portrait of a bespectacled, smiling Pope Francis, with a vase in front of the portrait bearing gold and white flowers — the colors of the Vatican flag.
This year, the national March for Life in Washington Jan. 19 promises to empower women facing unexpected pregnancies with the message that they are not alone — and that the pro-life movement is ready and waiting to help them choose life for their baby.
It should come as no surprise that the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a Catholic church in Washington dedicated to Mary as the patroness of the United States, is filled with images of her.
Bishop Robert Brennan led a group of more than 3,000 of the faithful from the Diocese of Brooklyn on a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday, Oct. 22 — marking the first time the diocesan went on a pilgrimage to the shrine since the pandemic.
Ten months after a marble statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Rosary Walk and Garden outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was vandalized and destroyed beyond repair, a replacement statue was blessed Oct. 23 by Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory.
During the 81 years of life for Francesco Forgione, who later became known and venerated as “Padre Pio,” he wasn’t able to visit the United States. While the saint’s relics have toured across the country and even throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn, for the first time, his relics will be displayed at the nation’s largest Catholic church in Washington D.C., May 21-22.
As palm fronds burned in a crackling fire at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, Atonement Father Jim Gardiner called attention to a more sinister fire burning in another part of the world.
On a day when the world saw the heart-rending images of Russia launching a brutal invasion of Ukraine, people gathered at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family in Washington Feb. 24.
Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory criticized a light show projected onto the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception by Catholics for Choice and other supporters of abortion as thousands of faithful gathered for Mass during the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life, Jan. 20.
The Catholic Church and its people stand ready not only to help expectant mothers bring their pregnancies to term but to assist women who have had abortions, said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
