Throughout the year we search for images that tell the story of our faith that will hopefully inspire you. Here’s a collection of a few of our favorites!
The Church in the Far East
A young Japanese girl is greeted by Pope Francis as pilgrims and clergy from the Far East arrive on the eve of the Holy Mass for the Centenary of the Congregation for Oriental Churches and of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.
Photograph by Antoine Mekary for Aleteia | I.Media
Wearing her faith on her sleeve
United States’ Christina Manning shows off the tattoo on her arm after winning a women’s 100m hurdles semifinal during the World Athletics Championships in London on Friday, August 11, 2017.
Photograph by David J. Phillip for AP
Sister Andrea: Benedictine nun and firefighter
RUDESHEIM, Germany: Sister Andrea Stadermann is a Benedictine nun at St. Hildegard Abbey in Rüdesheim and is also active in the volunteer fire service in Rudesheim.
In addition to the rigors of the monastic life she works as house engineer and cares for repairs and upkeep at the Abbey. She also loves soccer and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach!
Photographs by Andreas Arnold for DPA via AFP
Father Andrew Apostoli, rest in peace
Father Bernardino Maria Soukup, C.F.R. pays his respects to Father Andrew J. Apostoli, C.F.R. at Saint Casimir Church in Yonkers, New York on Tuesday, December 19, 2017.
Photograph by Jeffrey Bruno for Aleteia
King of the mountain
France’s Warren Barguil, wearing the best climber’s dotted jersey, celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 18th stage of the Tour de France cycling race of 179.5 kilometers (111.5 miles), with start in Briancon and finish on Izoard pass, France, Thursday, July 20, 2017.
Photograph by Christophe Ena for the Associated Press
Our Lady on the streets of London
On the feast of the Immaculate Conception the faithful processed in prayer through the streets of London, England, led by Our Lady of Walsingham.
Photograph by Marcin Mazur for the Catholic Church of England and Wales | © Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk
100 Years of Perpetual Adoration
A nun from the Holy Spirit Adoration Order kneels in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament at the Chapel of Divine Love in Philadelphia. For 100 years now, 24 hours a day, one of the cloistered nuns in a their characteristic pink habits has been present in Adoration.
Photograph by Matt Rourke for the Associated Press
Roger Federer on the brink of history
Switzerland’s Roger Federer celebrates after beating Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych at the end of their Men’s Singles semifinal match on Day 11 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 14, 2017. Federer is one match away from potentially making history by winning his 8th Wimbledon title.
A devout Catholic, Federer met Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and was quoted as saying “This was just the perfect day.” He lives with his wife, former tennis star Miroslava ‘Mirka’ (Vavrincová) Federer, and their 4 children, Myla, Charlene, Leo and Lennart, on the shores of Lake Zurich, Switzerland.
Photograph by Kirsty Wigglesworth for the Associated Press
You are a priest forever …
Father Kevin Finnegan of St. John Vianney Parish and Father Hugh O’ Neil (retired) concelebrate Mass at the Villa Guadalupe Chapel of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Gallup, New Mexico, on Sunday, July 9, 2017. Physical and age-related challenges do not stop the two priests from performing the most important duty before them, bringing Christ to his people in the Eucharist.
Photograph by Jeffrey Bruno for Aleteia
The pope’s runners
Runners of all backgrounds, including 30 members of the newly formed Vatican Athletic Team (Athletica Vaticana), take off at the first annual “Rome Half Marathon Via Pacis,” which starts and finishes at St. Peter’s Square in front of the Basilica. Athletica Vaticana is made up of Vatican employees who dub themselves “the pope’s runners” and strive to evangelize through sport and carry the pope’s message to those who might not otherwise hear it.
Photograph by Massimiliano Migliorato for Catholic Press Photo – ©M. MIGLIORATO/CPP
“Hail Mary, full of grace …”
Participants pray the Rosary as they walk through a forest in Szklarska Poreba at the Czech Republic-Poland border, Saturday, October 7, 2017.
Catholics from more than 320 churches in 22 dioceses at over 4,000 locations throughout Poland prayed together for peace in Poland and throughout the world. The Polish Prime Minister, Beata Szydlo, Tweeted a photo of her rosary in solidarity with those marching, and Polish soldiers as far away as Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan prayed along with them.
Photograph by Petr David Josek for the Associated Press
Otto the Saintly Bernard
Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, sits next to Saint Bernard dog Otto on November 16, 2009 in the Old Chapel in Regensburg, southern Germany, after he blessed the dog. Monsignor Ratzinger said he was happy to bless the animal, so that one-year-old Otto would go on helping people and making them happy. Otto wears a small barrel around his neck bearing the inscription “Otto loves you.”
Photograph by Oliver Lang for DDP via AFP
NASCAR: Faith at 200 mph
NASCAR’s Johnny Sauter wins big—and gives credit to the Blessed Mother and the Sacred Heart of Jesus after winning the Jags Metal 350 at the Texas Speedway on November 3, 2017. And that’s not all. He also wanted to remind the television audience it was First Friday and to pray for the souls in purgatory.
When was the last time you heard a sports figure say that? Read the full article and watch the video HERE.
Photographs by Sarah Crabill and Matt Sullivan for GettyImages North America via AFP
Our Lady and our pope
Pope Francis touches a statue of Our Lady of Fatima during the Blessing of the Candles from the Chapel of the Apparitions, in Fatima on May 12, 2017.
Two of the three child shepherds who reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, a century ago were declared saints on May 13, 2017, by Pope Francis.
Photo by Patricia De Melo Moreria for AFP
‘Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit’
The Funeral Mass of His Eminence Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, 10th Archbishop of Westminster and Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, on September 13, 2017. The retired archbishop of Westminster died peacefully at age 85.
The Tablet reported that Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor issued a final message through Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton a short time before he died, saying:
“At this time, the words I pray every night are never far from my thoughts: ‘Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.’ Please tell them that I am at peace and have no fear of what is to come. … Above all, as I now commend myself to the loving mercy of God, I ask them all to pray for me as I remember and pray for them.”
Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff remembered the cardinal as “always full of compassion, seeking to find what was good in each person. His gentle humor put everyone at their ease in his company.” READ MORE
Photograph by Marcin Mazur (© Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk)
The Madonna returns to Mosul
An Iraqi Christian man carries Lyon’s Archbishop Cardinal Philippe Barbarin on his shoulders as the clergyman puts up a statue of Virgin Mary on the wall during a visit to the church of the Holy Spirit in east Mosul on July 25, 2017. Barbarin hailed the “rebirth” of Iraq’s devastated main Christian town of Qaraqosh a day earlier, where residents are returning following two years of jihadist rule.
Photographs by Safin Hamed for AFP
New York’s bravest meet the cardinal
The rain didn’t stop the joyful celebration of Italian-American heritage at the Columbus Day Parade in New York on October 9, 2017. After celebrating a special Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Cardinal Dolan spent much of his time greeting the parade marchers with his trademark warmth and enthusiasm, which has become a tradition in New York City.
Photograph by Jeffrey Bruno for Aleteia
Hail Mary full of grace
U.S. First Lady Melania Trump pays a visit to the children at the Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital, stopping to lay flowers at the statue of the Blessed Mother and take a moment with her.
Read the whole story and see more photos here: http://bit.ly/aleteiapopetrumpmel
Photograph courtesy of the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu IRCCS
And today we celebrate...
