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Pope Francis, the Mystic “The more we love God and enter into intimate contact with Him through prayer, the more He makes Himself known and enflames our hearts with His love.” —Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, speaking on mystical union with God at his Wednesday General Audience on January 12, 2011 Why is Pope Francis so simple, so genuine, so evidently filled with the love of Christ? Part of the answer may be… because God filled him with His love.

The reaction of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist to the white smoke is pure unbridled joy. It's your must watch video of the day. In the middle of recording their debut album for DeMontfort Music, the sisters heard the news that resounded in heaven and earth. VIDEO

In a question that brought nervous laughter to other journalists, a question by Associated Press reporter Mathew Lee, asking whether the United States would monitor a Papal election, brought a serious formal non-answer, as reported by Family Security Matters via CNS News: State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Friday that if a request were to "come forward" that the papal election be monitored by an international organization called the Organization for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the U.S. government "would take it very seriously." Nuland made the remark only after she did some "digging" on the issue because...

The election of Pope Francis as the 266th bishop of Rome held many milestones. Francis is the first Latin American pope in history and the first non-European pontiff in about 1,200 years. However, some have claimed that a Medieval pope might have reached a milestone considered impossible given the standards and rules of Vatican City for ordained clergy. Legend has it that in the ninth century the Roman Catholic Church was ruled briefly by a "Pope Joan," who disguised herself as a man, rising through the ranks of the male-dominated hierarchy. Many have hailed the legend as true, with two...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters present at her weekly Capitol Hill news conference to “get excited” about newly elected Pope Francis. While discussing with Capitol Hill reporters on Thursday her experience watching the selection of the new pope, Pelosi said: “Isn’t it exciting? I think so. Get excited. This is big, this is big.” Earlier in the press briefing, Pelosi said she was happy to hear Pope Francis chose his name based on Saint Francis of Assisi, for whom Pelosi’s home city of San Francisco is named. …

Sunday, March 17, 2013 Fatima Shrine recalls Pope Francis' sponsorship of the Pilgrim Image of the Virgin of FatimaBy Brian Kopp For the record, here is a Google translation of yesterday's email (in Portuguese) of the Fatima Shrine's announcement regarding Cardinal Bergoglio's 1998 sponsorship of the Pilgrim Image of the Virgin of Fatima:  From: Press Room | Fatima Shrine  Date: March 16, 2013 10:42:06 AM PDT To: Subject: Buenos Aires, 1998: Fatima Shrine recalls the reception of Pope Francisco to Image Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima  26/2013, of March 16, 2013 - 17:30 Buenos Aires, 1998 - "Benvinda the house, Mother!"  Fatima Shrine recalls...

Fr. Georg has the task of guiding Bergoglio in his journey through the Vatican's secrets (vatican insider) A discreet and unexpected presence on the eve of the Papal election, Fr. Georg has been constantly by Francis’ side during his first public appearances: from his visit to Saint Mary Major to pray, to the meeting with journalists in the Paul VI Audience Hall. The role of Archbishop Gänswein at the beginning of this Pontificate goes beyond that of Prefect of the Pontifical Household; indeed, his sentimental involvement is evident and says a lot about his personality. It also brings to...

Left: The Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Right: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., who was elected Pope Francis on March 13, 2013, in a 2005 photo. (CNS photo/Enrique Marcarian, Reuters) Editor's note: The following Letter On the Year of Faith was presented by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., now Pope Francis, on October 1, 2012, the Feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, to the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. It is published with the express permission of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. LETTER ON THE YEAR OF FAITH:TO THE PRIESTS, CONSECRATED RELIGIOUS...

Sunday, March 17, 2013 Former SSPX seminarian constant companion of Pope FrancisBy Brian Kopp Some traditionalist bloggers seem to want to suggest that Pope Francis' closest friends and confidantes are of the progressive persuasion, but his right hand man at present is a former SSPX seminarian ... Georg Gänswein, despite his athletic and youthful appearance, is extremely conservative. But he has been careful to tone down his “traditionalist” side. Shortly after the election of Benedict XVI in 2005, all references to the papal secretary’s life prior to his new-found fame disappeared from the internet. Only later did any personal information...

A revealing anecdote from an interview in 2009 with the man who would become Pope Francis: Just a few days ago I baptized seven children of a woman on her own, a poor widow, who works as a maid and she had had them from two different men. I met her last year at the Feast of San Cayetano. SheÂ’d said: Father, IÂ’m in mortal sin, I have seven children and IÂ’ve never had them baptized. It had happened because she had no money to bring the godparents from a distance, or to pay for the party, because she always...

March 16, 2013, Saturday — Black Shoes“First of all I would say a prayer for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord bless him and Our Lady protect him.” –Pope Francis, asking all to pray for Emeritus Pope Benedict, during his first public words after his election on March 13, 2013It is now official. Pope Francis, 76, will go to Castel Gandolfo, about 15 miles outside of Rome, to meet Emeritus Pope Benedict, 85, on March 23, next Saturday, one week from today. It will be their first meeting since Benedict renounced...

SOUTHERN ORDERS: BOMBSHELL, THE HOLY FATHER GIVES HOLY COMMUNION TO THE DEACONS BY WAY OF INTINCTION AS THEY KNEEL BEFORE HIM AT THE PARISH CHURCH OF SAINT ANNA'S AND THEN DOES NOT DISTRIBUTE HOLY COMMUNION TO THE LAITY NOR ANY OF THE BISHOPS, THE TWO DEACONS DISTRIBUTE ONLY THE HOSTS TO THE LAITY AS THEY KNEEL TO RECEIVE!!!!!!! I am watching a live feed from the Mass within the Vatican at Santa Anna parish. The altar is dressed in the free standing altar is dressed in the Benedictine fashion as it was in the Sistine Chapel. The Holy Father is...

We are still a bare few days into the pontificate of Pope Francis. I have therefore declined to gush out lots of entries here, burbling my every half-formed notion about what is going to happen. I have also avoided surfing from site to site, news agency to news agency, to sift the wonky grindings of those who want to be in-the-know.Today, however, I went to see what the National Schismatic Reporter had to say. John Allen is a well-informed, hard-working analyst, of course, and well-worth consulting, while the rest of the writers over there are good for a laugh.With amused...

State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Friday that if a request were to "come forward" that the papal election be monitored by an international organization called the Organization for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the U.S. government “would take it very seriously.” Nuland made the remark only after she did some “digging” on the issue because Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee had questioned her at Thursday's briefing about whether the administration believed the papal election had met international standards. At both Thursday’s and Friday’s briefings there was more than a little jocularity in the way Nuland handled Lee’s...

Pope Francis meets with the cardinals in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace on March 15, 2013. Credit: CTV. Rome, Italy, Mar 16, 2013 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- Catholic author and scholar George Weigel believes that Pope Francis embodies the type of Catholicism that is needed for the Church to thrive in the modern cultural context. “I think Pope Francis embodies the Church's turn into the Evangelical Catholicism of the future in a profound way,” Weigel told CNA on March 15, just two days into the new papacy. “If he can reform the Curia and turn it into...

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis delivered off-the-cuff remarks about God's power to forgive instead of reading from a written speech for the first Sunday window appearance of his papacy. He also spoke only in Italian - beginning with "buon giorno" (Good day) and ending with "buon pranzo" (Have a good lunch) - instead of greeting the faithful in several languages as his last few predecessors had done. His comments and humor delighted a crowd of more than 150,000 in St. Peter's Square, drawing cheers and laughter. But Francis did tweet in English and other languages, saying:...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African cardinal who helped elect Pope Francis this week has told the BBC pedophilia is an illness and not a crime. Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, told BBC Radio 5 on Saturday that pedophilia was a "disorder" that needed to be treated. "From my experience, pedophilia is actually an illness. It's not a criminal condition, it's an illness," he said. Napier said he knew of at least two priests who became pedophiles after they were abused as children. "Now don't tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who...

Pope Francis made the power of God’s mercy his central message this morning as he celebrated Mass at Sant’Anna church in Vatican City and delivered his first Angelus address to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square. During his homily at the local church, Pope Francis said: “Mercy is the Lord’s most powerful message. “If we are like the Pharisee before the altar, who said: ‘Thank you, Lord, for not making me like all the other men, and especially not like that fellow at the door, like that publican’… well, then we do not know the heart of the Lord, and we...

Pope Francis Delivers Message of Mercy to Crowd of 300,000 VATICAN CITY, March 17, 2013 Before an astounding crowd of some 300,000 in and around St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis today delivered his first angelus as pontiff, urging the faithful to be merciful and forgiving. Hours earlier, the humility and spontaneity of the 76-year-old Argentine was on display when he greeted onlookers near the edge of Vatican City. As the pope was entering a mass in St. Anna Parish, he decided to stop and greet a crowd of people awaiting his arrival. Walking up to the crowd, Francis shook hands,...

The Massachusetts Board of Education recently issued formal “guidance” to the state’s public schools, telling them how to implement new laws protecting against gender identity discrimination. The Board of Education insists that schools must not only provide equal access to educational activities programs but also proactively “create a culture” that would make gender-nonconforming and transgender kids “feel safe, supported, and fully included.” The result? Transgender children must be allowed to use the restrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex, if they so choose. Teachers will “work with” other students who object to the invasion of privacy, helping them over...