Only new Cardinal Francis Leo knows what he experienced when hearing the news announced Oct. 6 at the conclusion of Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus that he would be elevated to the College of Cardinals, but if it was anything like his predecessor’s experience in 2012, it is something he won’t forget anytime soon.

“I was in Washington, D.C., working with the International Commission on English in the Liturgy when in my hotel room I saw a little red light flashing on the phone that turned out to be a message from the nuncio telling me that Pope Benedict would name me a cardinal the next morning,” said Cardinal Thomas Collins of that day in early 2012. “Sure enough, Pope Benedict read off the list of the new cardinals and I was one of them —  it was quite a remarkable experience.”

What is the core difference between serving as a Cardinal of Toronto rather than an archbishop? The short answer: more sojourns to the Vatican.

Cardinal Francis Leo’s promotion within the universal Catholic hierarchy also proved to be a gift for Neil MacCarthy, the longtime director of publications and communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Encore of the Register's exclusive interview with Archbishop Leo eight days after becoming Toronto's bishop.

On Oct. 30, the Province of Quebec implemented its highly controversial euthanasia directives that allow certain patients to make advance requests for medical assistance in dying (MAiD), beating any national changes to the current law. Now, patients can request MAiD well before the natural end of life under the guise that the appeal is required before their condition renders them incapable of giving consent.

The Catholic Register’s special full-colour magazine project Lives Lived for Life is more than just telling 12 stories of Canada’s pro-life faithful, it is also a melding of three distinct Catholic media entities in sharing these stories for the world to see.

Salt + Light Media is producing a special episode of its Behold series this month, diving deeper into the testimonies of four people dedicated to the pro-life cause highlighted in The Catholic Register’s Lives Lived for Life magazine project. 

This year, The Catholic Register received almost 100 entries to our Easter drawing celebration for school children, including one all the way from Melbourne, Australia.

See this year's winners of the annual Christmas Drawing Contest.

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