VATICAN CITY – A personal encounter with Mother Teresa and her work serving the poor and the dying led a young Japanese man on a journey of faith and conversion.

VATICAN CITY – The inexplicable recovery from a severe brain infection – attributed to the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta – is a sign that God's mercy is for everyone, said the Brazilian man who was healed.

The Rev. James Martin is a Jesuit priest and popular author who wrote about his lifelong fascination with the saints and the many aspects of sainthood in the Catholic tradition in the best-selling book “My Life With the Saints.”

Photography has taken Jeremy Cowart around the world. Cowart — recently featured in Christianity Today’s “Makers” issue and named the “Most Influential Photographer on the Web” by The Huffington Post — has photographed the Passion World Tour in 2008 and Britney Spears’ Circus World Tour in 2009.

In a message released Thursday (Sept. 1) to mark the Catholic Church’s World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which Francis instituted last September, the pontiff noted that the worst impact of global warming was being felt by those least responsible for it — refugees and the poor.

VATICAN CITY – To promote Catholic social teaching and ensure appropriate assistance to vulnerable people – especially victims of war, refugees and the sick – Pope Francis has established a new office combing the responsibilities of four pontifical councils.

ROME – Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was a woman who truly felt wed to Jesus, and the freedom she experienced in loving him led her to radical poverty, a courageous outreach and an immense love for the poor, said the superior general of the order Mother Teresa founded.

WASHINGTON – The gray robes worn by the Conventual Franciscan friars may not be fashionable in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, but the religious men appear to be fitting in just fine in the heart of "hipster" country.

WASHINGTON– The driving force behind Catholics' search for a new parish is location – most likely how close it is to their new home.

ROME – When it comes to the Christian life, too many seminaries teach students a rigid list of rules that make it difficult or impossible for them as priests to respond to the real-life situation of those who come to them seeking guidance, Pope Francis said.