Evangelizing through culture is a challenge for the church, especially in societies where faith is seen as “something alien,” participants said at a Vatican-sponsored discussion on faith and culture.

The annual New York Encounter opened on Valentine’s Day evening with a love letter to Notre Dame Cathedral, presented by its restoration architect, Philippe Villeneuve.

Artists and cultural figures must be “custodians of the beatitudes,” embracing their vocation to create beauty, reveal truth and inspire hope in a troubled world, Pope Francis wrote to people participating in the Jubilee for Artists and the World of Culture.

The Catholic Church and cultural institutions must work together to overcome the “crisis of transmission” that prevents people from recognizing the artistic and religious value of art in museums, said the Vatican’s key liaison with the world of culture.

The Chicago-based Catholic Extension Society has learned a thing or two over the years about the importance of sacred spaces.

Catholics cannot confine their faith to the liturgy but must fully engage and dialogue with the culture that surrounds them, said the cardinal responsible for the church’s engagement with the world of culture.

By the afternoon of Feb. 2, there were 67 crosses standing under a leaden gray sky — one for each victim from the Washington aviation disaster, 64 on the jet and three crew on the helicopter.

The Fashion Workers Act, signed into law Dec. 21 by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, takes effect in June. It will afford models a host of employment safeguards in an industry where many say they have previously felt mute and isolated.

“The Rosary in a Year” chart-topping podcast is a step-by-step journey to a deeper relationship with the Lord, its host told OSV News.

After Notre Dame Cathedral’s splendid reopening, the attention of Paris Catholics turned to the nearby Church of Notre Dame de Boulogne Jan. 12 as it was solemnly elevated to the rank of minor basilica, following a decree from Pope Francis, signed June 29.