For centuries, Mary has been the subject of glorious devotional art in many genres. In May one rather unique style of Marian art arrived directly from the Vatican for display at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Conn.

This major exhibit — Full of Grace, Crowned Madonnas of the Vatican Basilica — highlight more than 90 paintings of crowned images of Mary that span several centuries. The Vatican restored them all over the last eight years. Not only is this matchless collection the major part of 120 such images at the Vatican, but it’s the first time they’ve ever left St. Peter’s in as large a group.

In fact, this exhibit’s curator is Pietro Zander, the Vatican’s chief...READ MORE

As he was beatified on the feast of Divine Mercy that he instituted for the universal Church, there’s no doubt Blessed Pope John Paul II yet again reminded us of the importance of Divine Mercy.

As we immerse ourselves in Divine Mercy, we can also revisit and read again Blessed John Paul II’s stirring teachings on the family; he was a champion for the family and its irreplaceable importance. Surely Divine Providence arranged his beatification day for this message too.

In his beatification homily, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned the Holy Family: “Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today’s celebration because,...READ MORE

Did you hear about this?

Pro-life champion Joe Scheidler of Chicago’s Pro-Life Action League was honored last weekend for his tireless work to save the unborn.

Young pro-lifers who came out in support encountered a counter pro-abortion rally, as this YouTube video recounts.

Have you always wondered about some aspect of the faith?

Or maybe you’d like to know some trivia about Pope Benedict.

If you do, e-mail us your question at editor@ewtn.com and look for the answer in an upcoming issue in our new Culture of Life section feature: “Why Do Catholics ...?”

When a really great idea comes along, you do your best to run with it.

The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration of Our Lady of Solitude Monastery (the “Desert Nuns”) near Phoenix have taken this axiom literally: Their second-annual “Nun Run” will take place March 12.

Last March, more than 1,000 people turned out to run (or walk) in order to help the good sisters raise money for a chapel in the Arizona desert.

The Nun Run, with “shadow participants” from many states joining in for “companion” runs (amazingly, 200 people signed up to run or walk in 29 states from California to New Jersey, Missouri to Minnesota, plus Canada and Puerto Rico), was so successful last year that the beautiful new...READ MORE

We’ve been asked if you can read the Register on Kindle. The answer: Of course!

Actually, we really like our feed. The Kindle option offers more than just a nice price: Register content automatically downloads to the device as it’s uploaded to NCRegister.com throughout the day. That means that you can stay up-to-date with breaking news, but also with informative features and incisive commentary — every original item from the website and most articles from the print newspaper — and the lively discussions you’ve come to expect from the Register’s spirited pool of bloggers.

We’ve been shooting for a mix of news and views that gives you much more value than most other Catholic news sources on...READ MORE

It was the most important event in the history of Christianity since the Reformation and the Council of Trent.

Forty-five years ago today, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Paul VI closed the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter’s Basilica along with 2,300 bishops gathered from the entire world.

They had approved and signed Gaudium et Spes, the last of the major conciliar documents, the day before. The same day, the Pope had signed a decree making the year 1966 a special jubilee year, and he had joined the Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras I in formally expressing together for the first time their regret for the mutual excommunications pronounced by their predecessors, Pope...READ MORE

“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” — Pope Pius XII

On November 1, 1950, crowds from the world over thronged St. Peter’s Square in Rome to hear Pope Pius XII give the Church its most recently proclaimed dogma: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This Italian video gives a glimpse into that event, sixty years ago today, which was one of the largest-ever gatherings of human beings up to...READ MORE