A novel fundraising approach to restore one of the most iconic monuments in the world, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, enables donors to have a piece of history.

“Our aim is to serve and inspire the ongoing revival of Catholic letters in our time,” said co-founder James Matthew Wilson, outgoing professor of humanities at Villanova University near Philadelphia.

St. Leo the Great in Little Italy is unsure when it will again be able to host one of its traditional street festivals. When it does, however, visitors will be able take in the majestic imagery of the “Glorification of the Canonization of St. Leo the Great” and adjacent murals that have been restored in its apse.

Perez got the commission, did some quick and intense research on the nonprofit and Pope Francis, brainstormed with McGrory, and came up with a concept meant to convey the pope’s loving concern for the poor throughout the world: He would paint the pope in the company of Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi and people of different ages and ethnic groups.

Looking for some good Lent hymns and songs to use for meditation and reflection? Here are some favorites.

George Matysek picks some of his favorite Christmas carols you may never have heard.

The human figures in the Nativity scene are made of rings of ceramic stacked on top of each other. They are cylindrical, not curvy like a natural human form. And the presence of an astronaut and a knight carries the whole thing to another level of untraditional.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s baldacchino or baldachin is one of the most noticeable features in the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The massive bronze structure was built to signify the importance of the main altar and the tomb of St. Peter, which is directly under the main altar.

Looking for some good Advent hymns and songs to use for meditation and reflection? Here are some favorites.

Although the Vatican knows Christmas may be very different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it already has chosen its stamps and the Nativity scene and tree that will stand in St. Peter’s Square.