October is a special month for Catholics because it is the month Pope Pius XI chose in 1926 for the first World Mission Sunday. Falling on Oct. 23, it is the day we remember missionaries such as priests, sisters and lay people who continue to dedicate their lives to living out the gospel through prayer, action and love.

WASHINGTON – Hours before the Oct. 9 presidential debate began, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani invoked St. Augustine of Hippo on a Sunday morning political news show to defend the man he was supporting for president.

AKU, Azerbaijan – Catholics cannot "economize" when it comes to spending time in prayer with God and in service to other people, Pope Francis told members of Azerbaijan's tiny Catholic community.

CUERNAVACA, Mexico – Several thousand protesters marched peacefully in this city just south of Mexico City, voicing displeasure with a presidential proposal to enshrine same-sex marriage in the Mexican Constitution.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In his 50 years of voting in U.S. elections, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said he has never seen the two major parties offer "two such deeply flawed" presidential nominees "at the same time."

VATICAN CITY – Catholic pastoral workers play a crucial role in coming to the aid of "sea slaves" — fishermen who are held in inhumane conditions on the high seas for what can be years, a U.S. Department of State official said.

It was a dark, overcast and drizzly morning in the beautiful city of Vancouver. Tens of thousands of runners passed by the hotel in the mis-named Vancouver Sun Run, the largest annual 10-kilometre road race in the country and the second biggest of its kind in the world. The taxi driver deftly manoeuvred through a number of side streets to avoid the countless runners in an effort to bring his fares to the busy airport in time for flights.