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‘We have to be radically open’: Baltimore’s ambitious plan for its basilica...

This sounds like a sensational idea. From The Catholic Review:  Watching the heavy iron gates of the Baltimore Basilica swing shut at 4 p.m. every weekday makes Father James Boric profoundly uneasy....

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Some good news, at last: a beautiful new church rises in Georgia

This has been a long time coming. Some readers may remember I first reported on this remarkable undertaking a decade ago.  The idea: to dismantle a shuttered Catholic church in Buffalo and move it,...

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Look who’s been added to the Cologne Cathedral: Pope Francis the gargoyle

Details:  To be portrayed in Gothic cathedrals among statues, bas-reliefs and stained-glass windows was a reason for pride, especially in those majestic buildings known as “factories” for the...

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Homeless man smashes statues in Phoenix basilica

The same weekend a shrine was desecrated in Brooklyn, a vandal attacked statues in Phoenix. Details:  A homeless man is in jail after police say he walked into a Phoenix church and damaged several...

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Cuba to dedicate its first new Catholic church in 60 years

And it was done, in large part, because of a parish in Florida. Details:  Religious history is set to be made in Cuba thanks to the efforts of Tampa’s St. Lawrence Catholic Church. On Jan. 26, the...

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Caught on tape: Thief stealing instruments from Queens Catholic church

From the In My Backyard Desk, some news from a historic parish, the first in the United States named for St. Gerard Majella: A brazen thief walked into a church in Queens and walked out with two...

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Shattered: a plea from a parish hit by Alaska earthquake

Yesterday, I received an email from Deacon Jim Lee, from Eagle River, Alaska. His parish church, St. Andrew’s, was hit hard by the massive earthquake that rocked the region on November 30 — by cruel...

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‘Ugly as sin’? The story of an unusual church in Michigan

This image popped up on my Facebook feed the other day, depicting the sanctuary at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Norton Shores, Michigan. The person who posted it branded the church “ugly as...

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Shock: 10 Catholic Churches Attacked in France in One Week

Details:  At least 10 incidents of vandalism and desecration of Catholic churches have been reported across the Channel since the beginning of February. French Roman-Catholic newspaper La Croix...

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For Those With Long Memories: A Happy Conclusion to a ‘Deacon’s Bench’ Epic

Wow. I first posted on this remarkable undertaking over a decade ago, when my blog was still at Beliefnet: St. Gerard’s was where her grandparents and parents were married, where she was baptized and...

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Pope Francis: ‘Notre-Dame Is the Architectural Jewel of a Collective Memory’

The Holy Father’s statement, released Tuesday morning in French: Following the fire that devastated much of the Notre-Dame cathedral, I associate myself with your sadness, as well as that of the...

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UPDATE: Man Arrested, Charged with Starting Fire at Florida Co-Cathedral

Details:  An arrest has been made in connection with this week’s fire at Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More.   Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis announced Friday night...

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Notre Dame Cathedral to Hold First Mass Since Fire

Details:  Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will host its first Mass on June 15 two months after a fire engulfed the historic, 856-year-old church, causing widespread external damage and its spire to...

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WATCH: First Mass at Notre Dame Since the Fire

From ABC News:  Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday held its first mass since a devastating fire tore through the building two months ago on April 15. Only a small group of about 30 people attended the...

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How They Did It: Check Out This Video on the Renovated Christ Cathedral

This is fascinating: a glimpse at some of the design choices and processes involved in reconstructing and redesigning the Crystal Cathedral to make it the Christ Cathedral, which will be dedicated next...

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Archeologists say they have found Church of the Apostles by Sea of Galilee

Wow: Archaeologists believe they have likely found the Church of the Apostles, which Christian tradition says had been built over the home of Jesus’ disciples Peter and Andrew in the village of...

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Theology on tap? Former Catholic church in Baltimore becoming a brewery

From Baltimore magazine: Something’s brewing (literally) inside St. Michael’s Church in Fells Point. This fall, Ministry of Brewing will open to the public inside the 19th-century landmark, located on...

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Visiting a parish blessed by a saint in Pennsylvania

Saturday, I found myself in scenic Hamburg, Pennsylvania, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, speaking at the convocation of deacons for the Diocese of Allentown. It was a great day — and...

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Huge: Groundbreaking for largest parish church in U.S.

It’s happening in California:  A vision of John Thomas Steinbock took an important step toward reality Tuesday with groundbreaking for a new Catholic church in Visalia. According to project officials,...

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Shock: Tabernacle stolen from El Paso church

“The desecration of the greatest gift possessed by the Church, the Most Blessed Sacrament, is a very serious matter.“ Details:  Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Horizon has had one of its most sacred...

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