Catholic Church

2018 was a good year to be a book reviewer. Here's why

not all book reviewers are as despondent and sore oppressed as the one depicted by orwell in a bleak essay. some of us, after years in the g...

Musical magic in Ludlow

anybody interested in english song will know the shropshire town of ludlow as the place where “lads in their hundreds ... come in for the fa...

The explosive and enigmatic stained glass of Harry Clarke

where the imagery of christmas is concerned, i am an old fogey. i like to be surrounded by cards bearing paintings of the holy family by old...

How to feast like a medieval Catholic

"good day, sir christmas, our king!” proclaims an english carol of the 15th century, welcoming the beginning of the christmas season, and te...

The hammer that laid Europe’s foundations

as europe passed the poignant milestone of november 11, it could have escaped no one’s attention what inspired the project to unite the cont...

How the Diocese of Shrewsbury is creating a springtime of vocations

spring can seem far off in these darkest days of our year. yet at christmas, the days are already imperceptibly growing longer and brighter....

Bishop Mark Davies

‘Beauty can lead to faith’ – an interview with the director of the Vatican Museums

barbara jatta, the first woman to direct the vatican museums in their 512-year history, says that she grew up amid the smells of solvent. he...

Desmond O'Grady

My marathon church tour

on a recent sunday, i went to three church services and a synagogue – all in one morning. well, to be honest, i went to little bits of three...

It’s been a bad year for human rights. But there are still reasons to hope

"the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” with those words ...

Benedict Rogers

The plot to depose Henry VIII

if a zealous priest called gregory botolph had guarded his tongue more carefully in holy week of 1540, england might well be a catholic coun...

Jack Scarisbrick