Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religion News

2025-06-02T13:26:14-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Lost Souls and Adopted Skulls at Naples’ Fontanelle Cemetery

Last updated on: June 2, 2025 at 1:26 pm By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

Deep in the heart of Naples, where the tuff stone (a type of limestone typical of the area) meets collective memory, a cult survives—one that speaks not only of death, but also of connection, hope, and invisible justice. It is the cult of the ànime pezzentelle: poor, forgotten souls without names or histories who, thanks to a bond of popular piety, are adopted by the living. An intimate and communal gesture that intertwines spirituality, magic, anthropology, and material culture. In... Read more

2025-05-10T10:14:45-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pope Bob – Why a Progressive American Pontiff Now?

Last updated on: May 10, 2025 at 10:14 am By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

When white smoke curled above the Sistine Chapel on May 8 and Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost stepped onto the loggia as Leo XIV, the jubilation in St. Peter’s Square masked a deeper story of why the College of Cardinals reached for a Chicago‑born Augustinian missionary to lead a 1.4 billion‑member church at a moment of geopolitical fracture and relentless Catholic attrition in the Americas. Five intertwined factors—his unapologetic pro‑migrant advocacy, open opposition to the Trump‑Vance brand of jingoism, a social vision noticeably to the left of most... Read more

2025-05-06T08:00:26-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Will Cardinal Tagle Be The First Asian Pope in 1,284 Years?

Last updated on: May 6, 2025 at 8:00 am By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

In the wake of Pope Francis’s death on 21 April 2025, the College of Cardinals will soon file into the Sistine Chapel to elect the 267th successor of Peter. While many Vatican handicappers still tout the familiar Italian favorite, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, a growing bloc of electors created by Francis himself is turning its gaze farther east—toward Filipino prelate Cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle. The former archbishop of Manila is hardly a long-shot. Journalists have already christened him the “Asian... Read more

2025-02-19T16:17:32-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

San Amlito: Ex-President AMLO as Mexico’s Newest Folk Saint

Last updated on: February 19, 2025 at 4:17 pm By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

The love and admiration that many Mexicans have for former president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) persist even months after the end of his presidency. He has undoubtedly cemented his place as one of the most beloved political figures in the nation’s history. Although the former president is now retired and his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, has taken the reins of power, the deep appreciation many Mexicans feel for him remains palpable. Since the start of his presidency in 2018, AMLO’s... Read more

2025-01-16T15:52:06-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Street Shrine to Satan and Santa Muerte Removed in Mexico

Last updated on: January 16, 2025 at 3:52 pm By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

In my four decades of research, travel, and living in Mexico I have seen hundreds of street and roadside shrines across the country. As you might imagine in a country that is 77% Catholic, the great majority of the shrines are dedicated to Catholic saints, especially the Virgin of Guadalupe, Saint Jude, Patron of Lost Causes, and various advocations of the Christ Child. However, since the folk saint of death, Santa Muerte, is the fastest growing new religious movement in... Read more

Pagan

2024-11-26T07:57:34-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Find It or Else! Saint Anthony of Padua

Last updated on: November 26, 2024 at 7:57 am By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

By Guest Contributor Judika Illes* Can’t find your purse? Lost your keys? You’ve misplaced something crucial. You know it’s around here somewhere, but you can’t find it. Who can help you? Saint Anthony, that’s who. Among the most beloved of all saints, Anthony of Padua celebrates his feast on June 13, smack in the heart of Gemini season, the zodiac sign symbolized by twins, and so perhaps it is appropriate that Anthony is a saint possessing a dual nature. There... Read more

2024-10-28T08:46:43-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

No Lost Cause: Saint Jude, Mexico’s Top Catholic Saint

Last updated on: October 28, 2024 at 8:46 am By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

Practically unknown in Mexico before the 1980s, Saint Jude Thaddeus has catapulted to the top position among Catholic saints in the country with the world’s second largest Catholic population, which will soon surpass Brazil for the top spot. No other Catholic saint rivals the popularity of San Judas. Only the Virgin of Guadalupe and folk saint Santa Muerte can compete with St. Jude for Mexican souls. And over the past two decades, competition between the nation’s number one Catholic saint... Read more

2024-10-22T13:59:10-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Catholic Friar Claims Santa Muerte Originated in Ecuador

Last updated on: October 22, 2024 at 1:59 pm By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

By Guest Contributor Walter Walgraeve, Bishop Emeritus* In recent years, Santa Muerte, the “Saint of Death,” has grown into a popular and powerful figure, especially in Mexico. People often turn to her when they seek help with health, love, or even protection in dangerous situations. But where did this mysterious figure come from? One recent publication, a booklet by Father Robert Nixon, Doña Sebastiana: The Original Santa Muerte, makes an intriguing but bogus claim: it suggests that the roots of... Read more

2024-09-29T11:07:10-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why is Pope Francis Increasingly Unpopular in the Americas?

Last updated on: September 29, 2024 at 11:07 am By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

The declining popularity of Pope Francis in both Latin America and the United States, as revealed by the Pew Research Center survey, can be attributed to several significant factors. Although the pope remains widely popular among Catholics, his favorability ratings have decreased notably since the beginning of his papacy in 2013. This decline in popularity is largely influenced by his stances on issues related to contraception, the priesthood, and sexuality—topics that divide opinion among Catholics across different countries. Analyzing these... Read more

2024-09-10T13:25:47-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Dance of the Black Death

Last updated on: September 10, 2024 at 1:25 pm By Andrew Chesnut

0 Comments

By Guest Contributor Rogue Art Historian* Buonamico Buffalmacco’s The Dance of Death (Il Trionfo della Morte) at the Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa is one of the most striking and haunting frescoes of the medieval period. Painted in the 14th century, the work exemplifies the era’s preoccupation with mortality and the afterlife, likely reflecting the social, religious, and political context of the time. This fresco also illustrates the artistic evolution of Buffalmacco, a painter known for his contribution to the progression... Read more

Religious Art

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who preached the first Christian sermon on Pentecost in Acts?

Select your answer to see how you score.

James Peter Paul Philip

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amazon Synod andrew chesnut Brazil Catholicism Christianity death Evangelical Exorcism kate kingsbury Mexico narcocult Orixas Our Lady of Aparecida Our lady of the Bullet Pentecostal Religion Rey Pascual Santa Muerte Uncategorized vodou

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 July 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 June 2022 January 2022 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Catholic