Rome Archives

Roman Notebook: A homily that brought home what it is to forgive

Sep 14, 2020

Catholics actually love to gripe about boring homilies, so much so that a 2019 book titled The Crisis of Bad Preaching called “hollow, vacuous preaching” perhaps “the most common complaint of Catholics around the world.”

By John L. Allen Jr.

Three Roman vignettes from the peak of the summer doldrums

Aug 26, 2020

Late August in Rome marks the apex of the summer doldrums, the last chance to get away before the press of the fall begins. Pretty much nothing happens in the city, and that very much includes the Vatican.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Pope Francis phones up Italian ice cream shop, thanking them for frozen treats

Aug 14, 2020

It’s a poorly kept secret that Pope Francis has a sweet tooth, with a particular weakness when it comes to ice cream. So it shouldn’t have been surprising that the “cold-call pontiff” was at it again this week, to thank an ice cream shop for the gift of several pounds of Italian gelato.

By Inés San Martín

Today’s lesson from Rome is about perspective and patience

Aug 6, 2020

People who today seem enemies may later become friends; disputes that now seem intractable may dissolve; and ideas that seem anathema may come to be not only acceptable but eminently “orthodox.”

By John L. Allen Jr.

Rome parishes to lend classroom space to public schools

Jul 30, 2020

Public schools in Rome, like elsewhere in the world, are scrambling to ensure the safety of students and staff while also resuming classroom instruction.

By Cindy Wooden

Pontifical universities in Rome gear up for in-person classes this fall

Jul 9, 2020

With coronavirus restrictions continuing to relax throughout Europe, pontifical universities in Rome are busy planning for an in-person academic year with new health and sanitary measures in place to ensure the virus doesn’t spread.

By Elise Ann Allen