Marian devotion 🩵 In 2019, Robert Prevost made an act of repentance, forgiveness and reparation before a pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fátima, an image he had asked the Sanctuary in Portugal to send to his diocese.

The dream of every altar server is to meet the Pope! These young altar servers from Malta and Gozo have traveled to Rome for a unique privilege: serving the liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica. A summer camp program where candidates undergo examinations before being selected, learning the responses to the Mass in Italian and English and even memorizing the basilica’s many altars. That knowledge was especially important when priests could celebrate private morning Masses throughout St. Peter’s and servers needed to guide them to the different altars. The experience remains one of service, formation and faith at the heart of the Church. After the General Audience on Aug. 26, a group of these young altar servers had a special encounter with Pope Leo XIV. Discover more at

I’ve always wondered why the stairs in the Sistine Chapel jutted out on the left (Gospel) side of the chapel. I saw this old illustration and now I finally get it!!! Papal throne!

It looks like a kiss, but it's pure perspective. In Rome, even coincidence becomes poetry. This is the famous "Holy Kiss", the optical illusion where the statue of Santa Caterina da Siena appears to gently kiss the dome of Basilica di San Pietro. If you stand in the right spot near Castel Sant'Angelo and align your view perfectly, the saint's lips seem to touch the iconic dome designed by Michelangelo. No filters. No edits.