Their presence is a powerful testament to the town’s enduring Catholic roots and a tradition that transforms ... while the unmarried members wear violet or deep purple robes with black, blunted hoods.

Santa Semana—or Holy Week—in Spain is a big, BIG deal. Started in the 1600’s as a way for the “common folk” to understand and participate in religion, today, the Holy Week events have been declared ...

Over the years, the Catholic Church has dispelled the old myth that these ... (Image by Juan Carlo de Vela) We were also told not to make noise on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday, ...

(Isabel Mateos Hinojosa/Cuartoscuro) Mexico — home to the world’s second-largest Catholic population after ... grant permission to outsiders. Hooded penitents participating in Taxco, Guerrero ...

In 1639, Prince Honore II established the Venerable Brotherhood of the Black Penitents of Mercy. The Brotherhood now organises a processional on the evening of Good Friday known as the Procession of ...

Tatang Ben Stations of the Cross (Photo courtesy of City Information Office San Fernando Pampanga) As I watched him sitting in his backyard, a black wooden ... he recalled, a Catholic priest once ...

Here's how the conclave creates black and white smoke and why the Catholic Church began using them to signal whether a new pope has been elected.

One hundred and thirty-three cardinals are beginning centuries-old rituals to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

With at least three African cardinals in the running to become the next Pope, African Catholics are excited, but remain ...

While the cardinals are known to wear their scarlet red attire, some individuals involved in conclave proceedings were seen ...

“For us, it does not matter whether he is African, white, or Black. What matters is having a good, holy pope who can unite ...