In opening the Holy Door, Pope Francis opens the door of hope for the Church and for the whole human family.

Father Demek was inspired to become a priest by a seminarian from his home parish, Holy Cross in South Baltimore. “My father ran the altar servers when I was a kid back in the ’50s and so I was an altar server from second grade on.” He was an altar server at the seminarian’s first Mass after ordination.

I don’t know about you, but I make a point of giving “A Christmas Carol” a fresh reading every year, and it never disappoints.

Christmas Day will be especially poignant for Father William A. Au, pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart. 

Father Josef Mohr (1792-1848) was the pastor of St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Obendorf, Austria. In 1816 he composed the six verse lyrics to “Silent Night,” which would become one of the most popular Christmas carols of all time.