LEGO announces Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral set

Lego announced on May 7, 2024, a set of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, joining the ranks of LEGO's models of world-famous monuments including the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid of Giza. / Credit: LEGO GroupCNA Staff, May 11, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).In 2019 the world mourned the damage done to the medieval Catholic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris by a fire that devastated the 315-foot-tall spire and roof of the 861-year-old monument. A restoration is in progress, though it has been delayed by COVID-19 and leadership changes. Visitors should be able to visit Notre Dame by the end of 2024, but for eager pilgrims and tourists who can't wait, the smaller-sized LEGO set may do in the meantime. LEGO announced on May 7 a LEGO set of Notre-Dame de Paris, joining the ranks of LEGO's models of world-famous monuments including the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid of Giza.Released alongside a LEGO set of the Mona Lisa as part of the LEGO Architecture Collection, the LEGO Notre-Dame ha...

Tabernacle untouched at Oklahoma parish hit by powerful tornado

A powerful tornado hit St. Mary's Catholic Church in rural Barnsdall, Oklahoma, on May 6, 2024. / Credit: Daniel McCay/Eastern Oklahoma CatholicCNA Staff, May 11, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).A rural Oklahoma parish hit this week by a powerful tornado suffered serious damage, especially to its parish hall. But amid the rubble, broken glass, and winds possibly as high as 175 mph, the church's tabernacle containing the body of Christ remained intact.Father Emmanuel Nduka, who pastors three local churches including St. Mary's, told CNA that the tabernacle's survival served as a sign of God's presence amid the devastation in the small Oklahoma town of Barnsdall."God is in control. There's no reason why our church should be standing after what happened in Barnsdall Sunday night," the priest told CNA.Nduka lives in a neighboring town 30 minutes from Barnsdall, but early on May 7, as soon as he heard about the damage to the church, he raced over. No one was in the church building at the...

Bishops speak of 'moral crisis' before March for Life in Victoria, British Columbia

Archbishop J. Michael Miller celebrates Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Delta before the March for Life in Victoria, British Columbia, on May 9, 2024. He prayed that they "may be worthy and effective messengers of hope." / Credit: Paul SchratzVictoria, Canada, May 11, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).At a pro-life Mass before the March for Life in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller prayed that those heading to the British Columbia Legislature "may be worthy and effective messengers of hope to a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people's hearts."The acceptance of abortion in particular in the law and the popular mind is "a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil," the archbishop said.He told the pro-life worshippers that they are "praying in a special way that rever...

Apostolate champions care of creation and souls in support of Catholics in rural areas

null / Credit: terazitu/ShutterstockSt. Paul, Minn., May 11, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Jerry Laughlin, 46, who took over a fifth-generation farm near Imogene, Iowa, in 1999 and hopes to move more into farming crops for food rather than industrial use, is grateful for his Catholic faith amid the challenges of farm life. Seeing farming as a sacred profession is exactly what an "epic apostolate" founded 100 years ago aims to foster. Laughlin is considering, with his pastor, Father Lazarus Kirigia, starting a chapter of Catholic Rural Life at his parish.Built on Archbishop Edwin O'Hara's vision and philosophy of Catholic rural life, it continues his legacy of helping the rural Church promote U.S. farming and how it can foster virtuous living, while it also grapples with problems the archbishop identified a century ago, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said at a May 8 anniversary event titled "Rejoicing in the Harvest: Celebrating 100 Years of Catholic Rural Life" at the University of St...

First Catholic college in South Carolina to open in fall 2024

Rosary College logo. / Credit: Rosary CollegeCNA Staff, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Author and Anglican convert Father Dwight Longenecker along with a number of Catholic scholars are launching the first Catholic college in South Carolina, a two-year liberal arts college set to open this fall.Rosary College will offer an associate of Catholic studies in integrated humanities degree, which can be transferred to a number of other universities. The college offers "an affordable, transferable credit for students who are either going on to a four-year Catholic college or those who are going into the workforce and/or trade school," Longenecker explained in a post on X. "Our focus is with our foundation on truth, beauty, and goodness, and in alignment with our primary value of Catholic identity," Mike Shick, founding president of Rosary College, told CNA in a phone call. "We want to ensure that we're in alignment with the magisterium of the holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church."...

Class of '24: Commencement speakers range from 'The Chosen' actor to a Catholic cardinal

Clockwise, from top left: Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong, Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Father Mike Schmitz of Duluth, Minnesota, will address the Class of 2024. / Credits: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images; Edward Pentin/National Catholic Register; Benedictine College; and FOCUSNational Catholic Register, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Commencement ceremonies are underway at the nation's Catholic colleges and universities, many of which are annually highlighted in the National Catholic Register's "Catholic Identity College Guide."Notable speakers include Cardinal Stephen Chow at Boston College on May 20 and "The Bible in a Year" and "The Catechism in a Year" podcast host Father Mike Schmitz, who serves as chaplain at the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Newman Center and who spoke to Ave Maria University's Class of 2024 on May 4. "Life takes courage ... because love takes courage. And every one of you is called to love, eve...

Qatar's St. Charbel Maronite Church prepares to welcome worshippers

Ongoing construction work on St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, in April 2024. / Credit: Father Charbel MhannaACI MENA, May 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Construction is nearing completion on the St. Charbel Maronite Church in Doha, Qatar, with plans to open its doors to worshippers in 2025, coinciding with the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year, according to Father Charbel Mhanna from Qatar's Maronite parish.In an interview with ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner, Mhanna explained that with a capacity of about 3,000 people, St. Charbel will be the country's largest church, open to all Catholics. Once completed, it will be Qatar's second Catholic church, joining the existing Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. While precise statistics on the Christian population in Qatar are lacking, Mhanna estimates there are close to 1 million Christians there, of which about 70% are Catholic. Approximately 12,000 belong to the Maronite rite, which is in full communion with the ...

Vatican opens photographic exhibition on effects of climate change

Vatican Dicastery for Communications prefect Paolo Ruffini and Vatican Secretary-General Sister Raffaella Petrini inaugurate the photographic exhibition titled "Changes" on May 7, 2024, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Elizabeth Alva/EWTN NewsACI Prensa Staff, May 10, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).A photographic exhibition titled "Changes" opened this week in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, showcasing the effects of climate change and the creative work of God.The Dicastery for Communication explained in a press release that this exhibition makes reference to St. Francis of Assisi's  "Canticle of the Creatures," also known as the "Canticle of the Sun." The exhibition aims to show "the contrasts of the effects of climate change" as well as "the hope that the emotions engendered by the creative work of God give."The exhibition was developed as part of the project "Emotions to Generate Changes" and will be open to the public through May 27.Taking part in the initiati...

Bishop Paprocki: Biden mocks Catholic faith by invoking Christ in pro-abortion message

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois. / Credit: Diocese of Springfield in IllinoisWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 10, 2024 / 17:30 pm (CNA).Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, is accusing President Joe Biden of "making a mockery of our Catholic faith" after he made the sign of the cross while promoting abortion.Biden, who is the country's second Catholic president, made the sign of the cross at an abortion rally in Tampa, Florida, more than two weeks ago. In his speech, the president criticized Catholic Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing a bill that restricts abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The governor had previously helped enact legislation limiting abortion to 15 weeks of pregnancy.During the rally, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said that when DeSantis decided to run for president, "15 weeks wasn't good enough; we had to go to six weeks," at which point Biden made the sign of the cross in apparent ...

The best gift to give to our heavenly mother, according to St. John of Avila

Virgin Mary by Sassoferrato. / Credit: Public domainACI Prensa Staff, May 10, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).Along with other saints, every May 10 the Church honors St. John of Avila, the patron saint of the Spanish clergy. This renowned founder of schools and centers of formation and study recorded in one of his writings what he considered to be the best gift we can give to our heavenly mother, the Virgin Mary.St. John of Avila's recommendation appears today in a section of the website of the Spanish Bishops' Conference. In the text, St. John of Avila asks himself: "What shall I do for the virgin? God has given me many good things through her."The answer to the question, the saint says, is found in the Gospel account of the wedding feast at Cana. There, the Virgin pointed out to her Son that the wine had run out. When Jesus responds, "What concern is that to you and me? My hour is not yet come," it seems that nothing is going to happen. Nonetheless, the Mother of God immediately p...