Lisa Faith Augustine: Teaching Faith through Photos
By publishing a book designed to catechise within families, Lisa Faith Augustine combined three of her passions: the Catholic faith, photography, and children. She told Günther Simmermacher...
Simmermacher
A Year of Grace and Growth
Dear Reader, as we enter the Jubilee Year 2025, we might reflect with awe that we are joining our ancestors in faith in a special Church tradition...
The Holy Innocents: The First Martyrs for Christ
After the Magi let it slip that they were looking for the newborn King of the Jews, the tyrant King Herod ordered a massacre of all infant...
Christmas Traditions in 3 Countries
GERMANY The BUZZ: In Germany, Santa Claus visits twice: on December 6 in the form of St Nicholas, who places small gifts in polished shoes, and again...
The Story behind ‘Away in a Manger’
Günther Simmermacher’s biography of a Christmas carol – Everybody knows the carol “Away In A Manger”, but nobody knows who wrote the words. One tradition has it that...
The Big Christmas Quiz
1. Which city is furthest from Bethlehem? a) Cairo b) Jerusalem c) Nazareth 2. Which South African archbishop was born on Boxing Day? a) Buti Tlhagale b)...
Did the Church ‘steal’ Christmas from pagans?
Question: According to my priest, December 25 is not the birthday of Our Lord Jesus, and the Church simply turned pagan festivals into Christmas? Can you explain?...
Shrines around the World: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Las Lajas, Colombia
Where’s that: The sanctuary of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Las Lajas is located in a canyon of the Guáitara river in Ipiales in southwestern...
White Christmas in Summer?
Dear Reader, Every year, many Christians sound the alarm that the feast of the Nativity has been hijacked by commercial interests. Obviously business has a big stake...
Cardinal Brislin Blesses New Premises of Catholic Bookshop in Cape Town
Cardinal Stephen Brislin blessed the new premises of the Catholic Bookshop in Cape Town in the presence of invited guests. The bookshop, a long-standing institution in the...
