The sacrifice of five Catholic priests who gave their lives ministering to people in Shreveport during the 1873 yellow fever epidemic is memorialized in stained glass at Holy Trinity Church in downtown.
World News
Pope says Catholics can receive plenary indulgence for Guadalupe devotion
With the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe closed for her feast to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Pope Francis said Catholics still can receive a plenary indulgence Dec. 11 and 12 for their Marian devotion if they follow certain conditions.
Jupiter, Saturn to put on ‘Christmas Star’ show at winter solstice
A once-every-two-decade conjunction involving the solar system’s two gas giants will give earthbound observers a look at a so-called “Christmas Star” on the winter solstice.
Michigan project to replicate Padre Pio’s famed hospital in Italy is underway
Thanks to the vision, faithfulness and tenacity of several Catholic health care organizations, individuals and the patronage of Lansing Bishop Earl A. Boyea, the Howell project, known as “Casa USA,” seeks to duplicate St. Pio’s hospital complex for the first time outside of Italy, including an exact replica of the great Capuchin Franciscan saint’s original friary church.
Pope proclaims year dedicated to St. Joseph
Marking the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being declared patron of the universal church, Pope Francis proclaimed a yearlong celebration dedicated to the foster father of Jesus.
Cardinal Piacenza upholds ‘probable invalidity’ of confession by phone
Even though the world is facing a pandemic that may limit many people’s ability to celebrate the sacraments, particularly those people who are in isolation, quarantining or hospitalized with COVID-19, confession by phone is still most likely invalid, said Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Pope plans to visit Iraq in March
Barring any obstacles caused by the global pandemic, Pope Francis is set to begin international travel again in 2021 by visiting Iraq in March, which would make him the first pope to visit this nation.
U.S. gives grant to Catholic groups helping poor cope with pandemic
The U.S. government’s foreign aid agency awarded thousands of dollars in assistance to two Rome-based Catholic organizations assisting the poor in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.
Movie Review: ‘The Croods: A New Age’
The most entertaining Stone Age family since the Flintstones returns to the big screen in “The Croods: A New Age” (Universal), a delightful animated comedy suitable for almost all ages.
Young Salvadoran speaks of what he learned from murdered U.S. women
Childhood memories for Felipe de Jesus Abrego include celebrating each Dec. 2 with his grandmother at the tomb of two U.S. women religious buried in the local cemetery.
Detroit ‘families of parishes’ plan moves ahead; Pittsburgh announces mergers
Heroic trust in the Holy Spirit and a firm resolve to move forward “on mission” are at the heart of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s transition to “families of parishes,” Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron said Nov. 22 in a new pastoral note.
Catholic leaders decry additional federal execution measures
A move by the Department of Justice to expand how it carries out federal death sentences — to include electrocution, gas or firing squads along with lethal injections –was sharply criticized by Catholic anti-death penalty activists.