A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
-
Catholic schools across much of the Archdiocese of Chicago can now make masks optional. The archdiocese announced this week that it would no longer require masks, unless a school is located in a place where local health authorities have a mask mandate. The archdiocese said none of its classrooms are in quarantine, and nearly half of its schools are reporting no cases of the coronavirus.
The Vatican Observatory has discovered an object orbiting the sun. The object is classified as a “trans-Neptunian object” because it orbits the sun at a greater distance than that of Neptune. It is believed the object could help scientists understand more about the origins of the solar system. A priest with the Vatican Observatory discovered the object in December. The discovery was announced this week.
Pope Francis has appointed a bishop to lead two Catholic dioceses in west Ireland. The dioceses will share a bishop, but they will remain autonomous.
Today the Catholic Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes honors the Blessed Virgin Mary’s eighteen appearances to a 14-year-old French girl named Bernadette.