Jeanie Hannaman

By John Clark, National Catholic Register - It’s terribly unfortunate when Catholic feast days and holydays become secularized and disconnected from any Christian meaning. St. Valentine’s Day becomes just “Valentine’s Day,” Easter is somehow about bunnies, and Christmas is about new electronics. And though March 17 is still known to the world as St. Patrick’s Day, the secular representation of the day tends to focus more on leprechauns and beer than on St. Patrick himself.

By  AC Wimmer, Catholic News Agency - The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis has approved a special Ecclesial Assembly for October 2028 to evaluate how Catholic communities worldwide have implemented the recently concluded Synod on Synodality recommendations... Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, detailed the plans in a letter to bishops worldwide, emphasizing that this gathering will not constitute a new Synod but rather serve as the culmination of a structured three-year implementation process.

By Daniel B. Gallagher, Crisis Magazine - At 252, the College of Cardinals is at an all-time high, with members hailing from a record 94 countries. Since 1975, only those under the age of eighty are permitted to vote. Paul VI also capped the total number of electors at 120. The current number of those eligible now stands at an unprecedented 137. Assuming all of them will remain alive and will be able to attend the next conclave, the number of electors will eventually shrink back to 120 when Cardinal Juan José Omella of Spain turns eighty on April 21st of next year.