Every two years the U.S. Postal Service issues a traditional first-class Christmas stamp showing Mary and Jesus, and this year’s stamp features an oil-on-panel painting from the first half of the 16th century titled “Virgin and Child.”
Virgin Mary
Only In Print: ‘Our Lady of…’ What’s In a Name?
If the name is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the answers to this question have filled libraries around the world.
Text of Prayer of Consecration for Ukraine, Russia
Here is the Vatican text of the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, sent by the Vatican to bishops throughout the world. Pope Francis has invited bishops and the rest of the world to join him when he recites the prayer March 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis Will Consecrate Humanity, ‘Especially Russia and Ukraine,’ to Mary, Text Says
While Pope Francis and bishops around the world will consecrate themselves and all humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, they will include the phrase, “especially Russia and Ukraine.”
Russian Catholics Cautious About Opinions but Welcome Consecration to Mary
Although Russia’s Catholics hold different views about the conflict in Ukraine, a spokesman for the country’s bishops said all are united in welcoming Pope Francis’ plan to consecrate their country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary March 25 in a service at the Vatican.
Pope Francis to Consecrate Russia, Ukraine to Mary
Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a penitential prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica March 25, the Vatican said.
Resurrection Church Employee Assaulted; Teen Suspect Arrested
A church employee was the victim of an assault in which a teenage girl bit her on the chest during a confrontation outside the rectory on July 28, according to its pastor.
At Rosary, Pope Francis Prays Resources Move From Military to Pandemic Prevention
Under the gaze of a seventh-century icon of Mary, Pope Francis launched a monthlong, global recitation of the rosary, pleading for Mary’s intercession for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. And he prayed May 1 that Mary would move people’s consciences “so that the enormous amounts spent to increase and perfect weapons are instead used to promote research to prevent similar catastrophes in the future.”
Pope Francis Calls for ‘Freeing’ the Virgin Mary From the Devotion of the Mafia
The Pontifical Academy has promoted a conference to officially launch the Department of Analysis and Study of Criminal and Mafia Phenomena. The scope of the interdisciplinary body is to stop the influence of the underworld on religious events and places dedicated to the Virgin, including the “detours” taken by some Marian processions in southern Italy to salute mafia bosses under house arrest.
Latin America Turns to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Plea for Peace
With much of Latin America in the throes of months of social and political unrest, the continent’s bishops have turned to the “Empress of the Americas” to lend a hand in the effort for peace.
