As Catholics across the New York metropolitan area were given the opportunity to light their first candle of the Advent season the weekend of Dec. 2-3, a flame drawn from a source that dates back 1,000 years arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens.

In the face of Nicaragua’s authoritarian regime, “the prophetic voice of the Catholic Church cannot be underestimated,” said an opposition leader recently exiled to the U.S., who joined fellow speakers at a Dec. 1 presentation on the church’s role in preserving democratic freedom.

The Catholic faithful have an obligation to attend Mass twice between the afternoon of Dec. 23 and Dec. 25, to participate in Masses for the fourth Sunday of Advent, and for Christmas.

La llamada a la “vigilancia” en Adviento no significa permanecer despiertos y vigilantes por miedo, sino más bien por el anhelo de la venida del Señor, escribió el Papa Francisco.

Eleanor Bourg Nicholson’s new children’s book, “The Hound of the Lord,” creatively retells the inspiring story of St. Dominic from the perspective of the saint’s ever-watchful canine companion, “Torch.”