The College of Cardinals have elected the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 266th pope who has chosen the name Pope Francis I.
The new Pope was announced by French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the senior cardinal in the order of deacons, at the basilica balcony. The conclave for the election lasted a mere 2 days which is considered to be a swift conclusion for the process.
Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Incarnation
Spotlight On...
Cathedral of the Incarnation,
Nashville, TN
The Cathedral of the Incarnation is the second parish in the Diocese of Nashville. Construction of the cathedral began in 1910, lasted four and a half years and was formally dedicated on July 26, 1914.
The cathedral resembles a typical Roman basilica: rectangular in shape serving as a court of law during the Roman Empire. The exterior is comprised of yellow glazed brick and a red tile roof which was modeled after the church of San Martino ai Monti in Rome. The tower, rising 100 feet above the Cathedral, is a replica of St. Damase in Rome.
The cathedral interior is decorated in 13th-century Italian Renaissance style. Just two of the many beautiful features are the ceiling and clerestory windows. The ceiling is made of an ornamental plaster called rigalico. Upon the plaster, symbols associated with the death of Jesus are placed in the north end of the nave, while His birth is represented near the sanctuary on the south end. The clerestory windows were designed to provide light and to focus one's attention on the sanctuary. They include blue-flashed glass hand blown in France, antique lead crystal glass, a clear glass that forms a checkerboard effect, prisms and floral patterns made from glass paint. On sunny days, the prisms cast rainbows throughout the Cathedral.
Father Wayne Dawson, who is from South Africa and is currently serving in the Diocese of Monterey, Calif., is set to become a U.S. citizen May 23. ?I?m very excited about being a priest and I?ve very excited of being a citizen of America, a beacon of hope,? Father Wayne recently told Catholic News Service. ' ' Continue reading →
North Carolina priest named Catholic Charities USA volunteer of the year A priest who sees his ministry as a bridge connecting Catholics, non-Catholics and people in need in rural lightly populated southwest North Carolina is Catholic Charities USA?s volunteer of the year. Father George Kloster, pastor of St. William Church in Murphy and Immaculate Heart ' ' Continue reading →
Jim Griffith, an expert on some of the most fascinating historical people and events in the Southwestern United States, has been on something of a Catholic kick in his regular columns in the Arizona Daily Star, the Tucson daily newspaper. There have been several pieces on Father Eusebio Kino, the Spanish Jesuit who established many ' ' Continue reading →
Our friends at Catholic Near East Welfare Association are reporting that Christian leaders in the Holy Land have protested Israeli police mistreatment of pilgrims at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the May 4 Holy Fire ceremony. CNEWA links to the statement by the leaders, who said: 'We understand the necessity and the importance ' ' Continue reading →
By Lauren Colegrove VATICAN CITY ' I applied for the Vatican internship program through Villanova University thinking that I would learn about journalism by observing/shadowing reporters, proofreading articles, attending general audiences ' only across the ocean from the campus, language, and culture I was familiar with. Although I sort of understood how a newsroom worked, at least ' ' Continue reading →
