Europe
A groundbreaking digital project, “Preserving Assisi,” uses gigapixel photography, 3D surveying and immersive technology to document the Basilica of San Francesco. Offering unprecedented access to its celebrated frescoes and architecture, the initiative also creates an invaluable digital record to support future research, conservation and restoration.
Russell Brand, the British comedian who was baptized two years ago, then wrote a book about becoming a Christian, was convicted Thursday in London of rape and sexual assault against four women.
(ANALYSIS) The Muslim population of England and Wales is roughly 6.5 percent. Inside the prison system, that number shoots up to 18 percent. A huge slice of the prison demographic shifts toward Mecca the second the iron gates slam shut. The disparity is striking. What explains it?
Prague Zoo’s Hindu ashram — built in 2013 as an educational attraction — has evolved into a living religious space. Visitors toss coins, perform rituals and treat its statues as sacred. The site raises questions about cultural representation, religious authenticity and appropriation in a European tourist attraction.
(ANALYSIS) Pope Leo XIV’s playful balancing act between his papal neutrality and his enduring Villanova loyalties offered more than a lighthearted moment at the Vatican. The gathering of Villanova and Notre Dame in Rome demonstrated how sports can transcend school rivalries and national boundaries, bringing people together through shared traditions, faith and community.
From ghostly monks and spectral nuns to unexplained footsteps and phantom screams, Britain’s ancient religious sites are steeped in supernatural folklore. Discover how centuries of faith, conflict, burial traditions and architectural grandeur have inspired haunting legends that continue to captivate ghost hunters and Halloween enthusiasts alike.
In 1647, England’s Witchfinder General published a pamphlet to address criticisms he had received for his methods. He responded to each critique in turn, revealing the secrets of his complicated, misunderstood and undeniably cruel profession.
Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery on Tuesday in Rome that confirmed he has lung cancer. Doctor’s removed the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung after tests confirmed the diagnosis. A Vatican statement made no mention of treatment going forward. The Vatican, however, said doctors were not currently speaking of chemotherapy or other therapies.
(ANALYSIS) A team of researchers from Sivas Cumhuriyet University in Turkey is investigating a long-standing claim: That a boat-shaped geological formation in the country’s east contains the remains of Noah’s Ark. In the Book of Genesis, God decides to destroy the world with a flood. Following God’s instructions, Noah builds an ark to save himself, his family and animals of every kind.
More than 9,000 Anglican churches and chapels across the United Kingdom participate in the A Rocha U.K. Eco-Church movement, which encourages congregations to care for the environment around their buildings. This has become a bigger part of church outreach, especially in the six years since the pandemic.
Notre Dame and Villanova will tip off the 2026-27 college basketball season nearly 4,500 miles from their home campuses, with the two schools’ men’s and women’s teams meeting in Rome on Nov. 1 in an international doubleheader billed as the “Eternal City Tip-Off.” The event will also feature an audience with Pope Leo, a Villanova grad and big sports fan.
(OPINION) Once we start using this lexicon, we have been successfully “groomed” into a new discourse we might not quite “get” — but which we begin to accept as normal. No, I’m not a signed up conspiracy theorist, and yes, language evolution is part of the dynamic of a lively society whose moods and modes it carries. But is that all it is?
(ANALYSIS) A visit by BAPS Hindu monks to the Eiffel Tower sparked a worker strike and broader debate over religious accommodation in public spaces. The controversy centers on brahmacharya, a Hindu discipline emphasizing control of the senses, which monks practice through strict celibacy and spiritual discipline.
St. Francis has inspired people for generations — and now, on the 800th anniversary of his death, he will inspire people once more, though a moving composition about his life.
(ANALYSIS) The frescoes, located in the Bardi Chapel of Florence’s Basilica of Santa Croce, take up a major place in Christian art relative to their physical footprint. Giotto is routinely credited as the artist who broke decisively from the flat conventions of medieval painting and introduced something recognizably modern.
(REVIEW) Oasis, the Manchester-born rock n’ roll band who defined the 1990s pop scene, were broken up between 2009 and 2024, when they finally announced a reunion tour for 2025. In “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” a newly-released documentary film accompanying last-year’s tour, one fan says the band’s reunion was “like the rebirth of Christ.”
Walk along the River Thames, and you can encounter thousands of years of history through artifacts that wash ashore. Some “mudlarkers” spend significant time looking for the treasures — and now a nearby cathedral has named its first Mudlark-in-Residence to help visitors learn about the area’s history.
The Church Watchers — all of whom are volunteers — are responsible for maintaining the openings of these small sanctuaries throughout the week. They take the job very seriously.
The 9/11 attacks are often remembered as a single event. That morning, 19 terrorists turned commercial airliners into weapons and the modern era of terrorism began. A total of 2,977 people died in the terrorist attacks, the deadliest to ever take place on U.S. soil. To understand 9/11, one need to take a look at the Islamic radicalization of a movement that few in the West took seriously.
(OPINION) Marx saw religion as a top-down sedative administered by elites to dull the pain of feudalism. History offers a different perspective.
(ANALYSIS) The Paris Grand Mosque — a cultural landmark located in the heart of the city — is celebrating its centenary. Built as a war memorial to honor Muslim soldiers killed during World War I, it was the first permanent mosque in the French capital and remains its only mosque built with a minaret and a dome.
(REVIEW) His crowning individual honors — the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 1993 — cemented the striker’s place among the game’s all-time best. But Baggio, who was born and raised a Catholic, found inner peace after his conversion to Buddhism.
The Manchester City striker — long one the game’s most recognizable figures — went for a new look ahead of Sunday’s Premier League opening game against Bournemouth. Gone were his long blond locks. Instead, Haaland chopped off his hair for a buzz cut.
In the digital age, one blunt way to reach Pope Leo XIV is to write a candid letter and post it online. That's what Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, an auxiliary bishop in the Netherlands, did recently. “Holy Father,” he began, with “reverence for the office entrusted to you as successor of Saint Peter, and in communion with the Church which Christ built upon the apostles, I address you with this open letter. I don't do so lightly.”
On this week's podcast, anthropologist Susannah Crockford explains why she believes part of the root of climate change may be buried deep inside of evangelical Christianity.
After 11 seasons, PBS’s “Masterpiece Mystery!” series “Grantchester” has come to an end. For more than a decade, viewers returned to the quiet village of Cambridgeshire to watch an unlikely crime-solving duo: Anglican vicars and Det. Inspector George “Geordie” Keating.
(ANALYSIS) In her student days, Ann Widdecombe's first Oxford Union presentation was an attack on censorship, even if practicing free speech turned out to be risky or painful. A half-century later, the former Conservative MP and outspoken Catholic returned to the legendary debate club to address the same subject, at one point explaining why she once agreed to share a speaker's platform with an Irish Republican Army activist.
(REVIEW) The Jewish Museum’s exhibition “Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte” highlights the pivotal role Jewish women played in Vienna’s influential design collective. Featuring nearly 200 works, the show explores how artists and patrons transformed modern art, fashion and women’s professional opportunities in the early 20th century.
It’s a life-changing religious pilgrimage. The Camino De Santiago trail has attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists to Spain and surrounding countries each year. But scorching heatwaves, caused by climate change, are threatening the ancient tradition and forcing hikers to rethink their plans.
A London judge sentenced British comedian and professed born-again Christian Russell Brand to 10 years and six months in prison Monday for raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others.