VATICAN CITY – The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Feb. 22, is my favourite day to visit St. Peter’s Basilica.

For many years I have enjoyed a group of Catholic writers who hit their stride roughly in the middle of the 20th century.

Recent developments regarding the Catholic Church in China brought to mind the Canadian visit of the Chinese Church’s most outspoken pastor in 2013.

The headline on the front page of the New York Times last week about Donald Trump’s key advisor was ominous: “Steve Bannon Carries Battles to Another Influential Hub: The Vatican.”

Recent events have been dark and disturbing. First we saw U.S. President Donald Trump put a “temporary” travel and immigration ban on seven mostly Muslim countries. Then there was the tragedy in Quebec City where six men were killed and several wounded while praying.

On Feb. 6, Queen Elizabeth II marked 65 years on the throne. It’s the “sapphire” jubilee, a designation which I did not know; 65th anniversaries are rare enough, but welcome as reminders that enduring fidelity is possible. The anniversary, not marked with any great festivity given the celebrations of the Queen’s 90th birthday last year, also has something of a reminder of the liturgical seasons.

My first thought, upon hearing the news of the massacre at the mosque in Ste. Foy, was that there must be a special place in hell for those who kill men at prayer, all the moreso in a house of worship.

One must wonder whether the rather bizarre clash between the Vatican and the Knights of Malta — a Catholic humanitarian organization with diplomatic ties to more than 100 countries — is really about distributing condoms as part of an aid project.

On a family holiday in London earlier this month, I learned many fascinating stories while wandering the old town, but one involving the last Catholic king of England and his nephew may well have been the most captivating, so to speak.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Church marks the feast of St. Francis de Sales, the patron of journalists and the Catholic press. St. Francis was a bishop of Geneva who died in 1622, facts that would seem to remove him far from the hustle and bustle of modern journalism.