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Religious carry candles in procession at the start of a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis to mark the feast of the Presentation of the Lord Feb. 2. The Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican also marked the World Day for Consecrated Life. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) After growing up in Nigeria and being named the youngest bishop in the world at the age of 32, Cardinal Francis Arinze attended the final session of the Second Vatican Council. Following his elevation to cardinal by Pope John Paul II, he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,...

7/27/11 | So you want to be a nun? What to do when you feel called to the convent   By Katie Bahr | Catholic Herald   Courtesy Photo Women in discernment speak with Nashville Dominican sisters during a retreat at the order's motherhouse in Tennessee.     Maybe you’re losing sleep over it. Or there’s a nagging feeling in the back of your mind every time you watch “The Sound of Music.” Or perhaps you simply feel called to live out your faith in a deeper way and are curious about what life is like for those women...

Harvard's Valedictorian to Become Dominican Nun Here's a great story. . . Don’t tell Mary Anne Marks the Catholic Church is an oppressive, misogynistic disaster. She knows better. And she’s got a Harvard degree, too. Miss Marks, a native of Queens, N.Y., graduated from Harvard University this past semester with an undergraduate degree in classics and English, delivering her commencement address in Latin. This fall, she begins a new life, discerning her future consecrated to Christ as a Catholic religious sister with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, in Ann Arbor, Mich.. . . KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ:...