A missionary Pope, his achievement looks even greater today

The blue-and-white clad Sisters of the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham have recently acquired a new novitiate, a converted barn in Dereham, Norfolk, on a large stretch of land with another barn which they are turning into extra rooms for their youth work. The community is not large, but it’s growing – and in

Cardinal Vincent Nichols urged members of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham to help with the new evangelisation of Britain, when he preached at a packed Mass to mark the 10th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Anglicanorum coetibus. The apostolic constitution, issued in November 2009, authorised the creation of ordinariates for groups of ex-Anglicans

Following the announcement 10 years ago of the creation of ordinariates for groups of former Anglicans who wished to come into full communion with the Catholic Church, substantial interest was to be expected. Since the Church of England’s decision to ordain women in 1992, large numbers of Anglican clergy had been ordained Catholic priests, with

Forty years ago, many thought there was no future for men’s religious orders in Britain. I remember someone confidently announcing, back in 1980, that “They’ll all be finished before the year 2000”. Yet now, in this second decade of the 21st century, some male orders seem to be flourishing. I wrote recently in these pages

There can be few more enjoyable ways of spending a summer evening than walking along that glorious stretch of the River Thames from Richmond to Ham, where the tow-path goes along by the Petersham meadows and then through cool woodlands, while boats chug up and down and there is a choice of excellent pubs on

With the feast of St Joseph coming up, let’s hear some cheers for men. For the male of the species. For manly courage and manly endurance, for things borne in silence, for manly strength used in the service of others. Yes, yes, I know. Women can be brave, enduring, patient and physically strong. We all know

The blue-and-white clad Sisters of the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham have recently acquired a new novitiate, a converted barn in Dereham, Norfolk, on a large stretch of land with another barn which they are turning into extra rooms for their youth work. The community is not large, but it’s growing – and in

This was Britain's most powerful Catholic gathering since Pope Benedict XVI's visit in 2010

I will remember this National Eucharistic Congress for years to come

Every year, for the past quarter of a century, a Christian charity with which I am involved has run a nationwide Schools Bible Project. Its aim is to give schoolchildren an opportunity to study the Gospels and encounter Christ. They are invited to reflect on various incidents in the Gospels – chapter and verse given,

The hymn “Onward, Christian Soldiers” has a line reminding us: “Brothers, we are treading/Where the saints have trod”. English Catholics ought to know that for us the statement is literally true: from the days when we were part of the Roman Empire, saints have walked our land. The name “Alban” has been given to our