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National Catholic Register

A Flickering Lamp, a Living Presence

JeanLucIchard
A red sanctuary lamp hangs before a Gothic stained-glass window inside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

COMMENTARY: The sanctuary lamp signifies something real — Christ truly present in the Holy Eucharist — and everything must change, because the wounds we carry need not be final.

Are St. Michael and St. Florian Headed to the Supreme Court?

Inset: (L-R) Statues of St. Florian and St. Michael are currently barred from appearing on the new public-safety building of Quincy, Massachusetts. The case has the potential to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ACLU wants to stop a Massachusetts city from installing 10-foot-tall statues of the patron saints of police officers and firefighters on a new public safety building. The nation’s highest court may have to resolve the dispute.

Pope Leo XIV: Vatican Diplomats Must Be Bridges and Channels of Peace

Pope Leo XIV visits the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome on April 27, 2026.

The pontiff said the Holy See’s diplomatic service is a unique ministry rooted in peace, truth, and justice and directed not only to Catholics but also to the entire human family.