I was drawn to Mary as a saint, an ascetic, a highly sexual individual navigating her own redemption. Is there something edifying about her story – or does it go into the feminist shame file?
People are congregating in Missouri after news spread that the exhumed body of a nun had not decayed four years after her death. There is a long history to these claims.
A specialist in Catholic liturgy and rituals explains that while several popes have been canonized, it is a long process that may take several years to examine and uncover any hidden flaws.
The country urgently needs more people who are committed to living decently to undo the systemic humiliation caused by political and economic institutions.
Eclipsed by the more popular Saint Patrick, Gertrude of Nivelles is also celebrated today, a holy woman who somewhat inexplicably became the patron saint of cats.
Olga of Kyiv is today recognised as one of Eastern Orthodoxy’s greatest saints – and her bloodthirsty tale is one of defiance and vengeance, and worth remembering today.
After a year of pandemic social distancing, we know touch is a much-desired privilege. In the Italian Renaissance, people longed to touch not only each other, but also religious sculptures.
Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage that started earlier this month in India, has survived wars and famine since its origin. But the biggest threat has been the spread of illness – back then as now.
Professor of Public Theology in the Department of Beliefs and Practices, Faculty of Theology, at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam