Calling it a "cause for great joy," Bishop Richard F. Reidy welcomed 250 people on the road to becoming Catholic or completing their initiation during the Diocese of Norwich's annual Rite of Election.  The Rite of Election on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick was a watershed in several ways for the Diocese of Norwich. This year, the diocese welcomed 98 catechumens, along with 152 candidates, making for the highest combined total for the Diocese of Norwich in 10 years.  This is another step toward their journ...

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On Sunday, March 29, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., the Cathedral of St. Patrick will resonate with the stirring sounds of sacred music as the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Chorus present a special Palm Sunday concert. Under the direction of Music Director and Conductor Toshiyuki Shimada and Chorus Director Daniel McDavitt, the evening promises a moving meditation through music at the threshold of Holy Week. The concert will feature Dan Forrest’s Requiem, a profound and contemporary work known for its striking beauty and emotio...

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Pope Leo XIV leads the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 4, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News The pope’s catechesis focused on the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, one of the pillars of Vatican II. VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV said Wednesday that the Church cannot be understood solely from a human perspective but rather as the fruit of God’s plan of love for humanity realized in Christ. He also emphasized that this does not imply the spiritual superiority of the Church’s members. “An ideal and pure C...

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In the stillness of the early morning, Mary Magdalene stood at the entrance of the empty tomb, her heart heavy with grief. “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher)” (Jn 20:15-16). The One she had followed, the Teacher who had changed her li...

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Eight hundred years after his death, the remains of St. Francis of Assisi were exhumed and placed on public display in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi for a monthlong veneration, highlighting the Catholic tradition of venerating relics as tangible reminders of holiness. ROME (CNS) -- Eight hundred years after his death, the bones of St. Francis of Assisi have been placed on public display for the first extended public viewing in history, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to the hilltop town. Following Pope Leo XIV's approval and blessing...

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Sister Thea Bowman. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi Bowman’s ability to see the dignity of each individual, and embrace all gifts and cultures, is an essential message for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. African American Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman’s ability to bridge divides shines as a witness needed today, according to those who knew her, and her cause for canonization may create a pathway for other African Americans on their ways to sainthood. More than three decades after her death, Bowman should be remembered...

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