#vatican-holy-year

#vatican-holy-year

In 2025, the nonreligious share of the American population declined again, with the atheist-agnostic share back down to levels seen in 2014, suggesting a potential revival.

On Feb. 28, 2013, Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)

"No trip to the U.S. is expected in 2026," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

For the first time in nearly eight centuries, the general public was able to see the remains of one of the Catholic Church's best-known saints. The patron saint of Italy's remains have been resting in a stone sarcophagus for centuries. On Saturday, the coffin was ceremoniously transferred from the crypt to the lower church of the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi. The display will last one month and end on March 22.

The monks are part of a 2,300-mile pilgrimage for peace from a Buddhist temple in Fort Worth, Texas, across nine states to Washington DC. Dressed in vibrant orange robes, they have walked about 20 miles daily, eating one meal a day and practicing loving-kindness a form of mindfulness that can be thought of as a form of non-violent resistance. Their journey is a slow-moving meditation meant to embody peace, rather than argue for it.

The particular Camino that I chose to follow-colloquially known as the Camino Frances, or French Way, since it starts at the base of the Pyrenees, the border between France and Spain-is the most famous of all the Caminos. Walking, on average, six to seven hours and 30 kilometers a day, I passed from the south of France into the north of Spain, walking westward through cities that included Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, and Ponferrada, along with numerous small towns and villages.