The solution for competing solemnities is to transfer the liturgical celebration of the non-Sunday holy day to the first subsequent available date. Thus, in the year 2024, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated in our liturgy on Monday, Dec. 9.
Worship & Sacraments
An unfailing treasure 60 years later: ‘Lumen Gentium’ and the universal call to holiness
The dogmatic constitution from the Second Vatican Council, entitled “Lumen Gentium,” promulgated 60 years ago on Nov. 21, 1964, sets forth the nature and mission of the church.
Traditional Latin Mass will no longer be celebrated at cathedral in Tyler, Texas
The Mass according to the 1962 Missal will no longer be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, Texas, after Nov. 30, but it will continue at a nearby parish in care of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
Pope: Make sure confirmation is not last time parish sees young people
The Catholic Church must put more effort into ensuring that the sacrament of confirmation is not the “sacrament of goodbye” for young people, who receive it and then do not come to church again until they want to get married, Pope Francis said.
Sacred Heart encyclical hailed as a ‘simple and powerful cure’ to rekindle love
Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus is being hailed as “a simple and powerful cure” for a fractured world, said the president of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference — and that sentiment was echoed by other experts on devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Confession is a witness of a welcoming church, pope says
The availability of confession, even in churches heavily frequented by tourists, presents the Catholic Church as a welcoming space for an encounter with God, Pope Francis said.
Vatican statistics show decline in baptisms, clergy, religious, worldwide
The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2022, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms declined, according to Vatican statistics.
Holy Spirit’s gifts can guide the work of law, homilist says at annual Red Mass
Just as the nation’s founders relied on God’s providence, so too must all those serving in the U.S. legal profession and government today depend on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, said the homilist during the 72nd annual Red Mass Oct. 6 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.
Vatican announces visitation of Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
The Vatican dicastery charged with overseeing and assisting religious orders confirmed that it plans to conduct an apostolic visitation of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which was founded in 1988 by traditionalist priests wanting to maintain the old liturgical rites while remaining in full communion with the pope.
New texts for eucharistic adoration, Communion outside Mass aim to promote unity
Three years after being approved by the U.S. Catholic bishops, updates to the ritual texts for distribution of holy Communion outside of Mass and for eucharistic adoration will take effect.
Franciscan Monastery in Washington is sacred ground leading people to Christ, cardinal says
Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory celebrated a Sept. 22 Mass to mark the 125th anniversary of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington by reminding the faithful the church building is “something far more precious than a simple structure or a functional edifice.”
Chaplain at sea: Retired Iowa diocesan priest ministers to the faithful on cruises
When the sea is rocky, distributing Communion during Mass aboard a cruise ship can be challenging, but Father Bill Reynolds maintains a steady presence.