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National Catholic Register

The Heart of Pilgrimage: A Prayerful Journey

‘PILGRIMS ARRIVING IN SIGHT OF ROME.’ Above, an 1827 painting by British artist Charles Lock Eastlake depicts a group of Catholic pilgrims heading to Rome falling to their knees in prayer at the first sight of the Eternal City.

Making a pilgrimage following the basic conditions and guidelines will make them spiritually successful.

Was Tom Bombadil God in Disguise?

Shutterstock no. 2224212211 ‘The Lord of the Rings’ by J.R.R. Tolkien Shutterstock

COMMENTARY: The omission of the memorable literary character from Peter Jackson’s films may reveal how difficult modern storytelling finds Tolkien’s vision of grace.

In Italy’s ‘Land of Fires,’ Pope Leo XIV Laments ‘the Cry of Creation and the Poor’

Pope Leo XIV speaks at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Acerra, Italy, May 23, 2026. The Pope was visiting the so-called ‘Land of Fires’ near Naples where illegal waste dumping has created a yearslong health crisis.

The Holy Father said Pope Francis’ encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ is a framework for addressing the social and environmental crises of the region.

Why Does Jesus Vanish at Emmaus?

Henry Fuseli, “Christ Disappearing at Emmaus,” 1792, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut

COMMENTARY: The Road to Emmaus helps us to recognize the Risen Lord as present in the Eucharist.

Gargoyles, Buttresses and the Art of Building Heavenward

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‘Notre Dame Gargoyles’

COMMENTARY: Notre Dame’s gargoyles, flying buttresses and open spire reveal how the great cathedrals united engineering, artistry and theology into a single vision reaching toward heaven.

Christ the Shepherd, Christ the Lamb

Hubert van Eyck, “Adoration of the Lamb” (detail), Ghent Altarpiece, ca. 1429

COMMENTARY: A good shepherd must be prepared to die for his sheep.

Eucharistic Pilgrimage Set to Kick Off in St. Augustine, Florida

Bishop Robert Brennan carries the Blessed Sacrament during a Eucharistic procession at Louis Armstrong Stadium on April 20, 2024.

The 2026 Eucharistic pilgrimage will launch in St. Augustine, Florida, where the first recorded Catholic Mass within the future continental United States was celebrated.

Father Kapaun’s Heroism: ‘Father Would Go to the Sound of the Guns’

Background: A fellow captain and chaplain Father Emil Kapaun, on the right, carry a soldier off the battlefield; Inset: Chaplain Kapaun portrait

‘The Magazine and the Miracle: Finding Father Kapaun’ documentary details the bravery and faith of the Venerable chaplain — and the return of Father Emil Kapaun’s remains to his home state of Kansas.