A: Irenaeus presented Mary as the New Eve: It was her obedience during the Annunciation that countered Eve’s disobedience. Mary became the cause of salvation for herself and the whole human race. (See Saint Irenaeus blog post from June 22, 2017).
A: The Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation is the teaching of the change by which the bread and wine offered during Mass becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ. (See Corpus Christi blog post from June 15, 2017).
A: The filioque clause—“and the Son”—was added to the Nicene Creed, also known as the Apostles’ Creed. (See The Greek and Latin Churches blog post from June 8, 2017).
A: Pentecost has its roots in Jewish tradition, specifically, the Feast of Weeks, also known as Shavuot. (See Pentecost blog post from June 1, 2017).
A: Clement of Rome, who was ordained a deacon by the apostle Peter and served as Bishop of Rome (Pope) from AD 92 to 100, is considered the first Apostolic Father. (See The Church Fathers blog post from May 25, 2017).
A: The Sudarium of Oviedo is the napkin reported to have covered Jesus’ head after he died on the cross. It is mentioned in the Gospel of John. (See The Sudarium of Oviedo and Shroud of Turin blog post from May 18, 2017).
A: The Mandylion, also known as the Image of Edessa, was a cloth given to King Abgar V that purportedly had the image of Jesus on it. (See the King Abgar and the Mandylion blog post from May 11, 2017).
A: Tradition says that the Ascension occurred on the Mount of Olives, located between Jerusalem and Bethany. (See The Ascension blog post from May 4, 2017).
A: In Capernaum, along the shore of the Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Tiberias). As the disciples waited for Jesus’s appearance, Peter decided to go fishing, and James, John, Thomas, Nathanael, and two other disciples accompanied him one night. The next morning, a figure appeared along the shore. (See Jesus’s Post-Resurrection Appearance in Galilee blog post from April 27, 2017).
A: Tradition says that after establishing a Christian church in Babylon, Thomas then traveled to India, arriving around AD 52. In 72, Thomas was speared to death by soldiers sent by an Indian ruler who opposed Thomas’s teachings. (See The Apostle Thomas blog post from April 20, 2017).
A: Jesus was seen on five separate occasions: first, presumably by Mary; by Mary Magdalene and one or more other women; by Peter; by Cleophas and Simon on the road to Emmaus; and by ten of the eleven apostles. (See The Resurrection blog post from April 13, 2017).
A: James, the son of Zebedee and brother of the apostle John. Once a member of Jesus’s trusted inner circle with Peter and John, James had strained his relationship with Jesus days earlier with his attempted “coup” against Peter. (See The Last Supper blog post from April 6, 2017).
A: The disciples saw the law-giver, Moses, and the prophet, Elijah, during the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. (See Jesus’s Last Weeks blog post from March 30, 2017).
A: St. John Paul II named 1987 as a Marian Year, in preparation for a Jubilee Year at the second millennium, in the belief that Mary was thirteen years old at the time of the Annunciation. (See The Annunciation of the Lord blog post from March 23, 2017).
A: An angel of the Lord appears to Joseph four times. (See Saint Joseph blog post from March 16, 2017).
A: While early versions of the stations ranged in number from five to twenty, in 1731 Pope Clement XII fixed the number to fourteen. (See The Stations of the Cross blog post from March 9, 2017).
A: The Lenten Season begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. In 2017, that is March 1 to April 15. (See The Lenten Season blog post from March 2, 2017).
A: Polycarp was a disciple of John the Evangelist, who appointed him Bishop of Smyrna. (See Saint Polycarp blog post from February 23, 2017).
A: It is to Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, that the Catholic Church owes her doctrine of the Trinity. (See Saint Athanasius blog post from February 16, 2017).
A: The Song of Bernadette tells the story of Bernadette Soubirous, a shepherd girl in Lourdes, France, to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared eighteen times between February 11, 1858 and July 16, 1858. (See Bernadette Soubirous and the Miracle at Lourdes blog post from February 9, 2017.)
A: The Crusades took place from 1095 to 1291. (See The Crusades blog post from February 2, 2017).
A: The titulus crucis, the placard placed above Jesus’ head on the Cross, is housed in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, located in Rome. (See The Titulus Crucis blog post from January 26, 2017.)
A: Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament: I and II Thessalonians, I Corinthians, I Timothy, II Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Titus, Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians and II Timothy. (See Saint Paul blog post from January 19, 2017).
A: During the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Pontmain, France, Joseph and Eugene Barbadette saw the sky filled with the vision of a beautiful woman dressed in a blue gown and wearing a crown. (See Mary, As Intercessor blog post from January 12, 2017).
A: The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, which celebrates Christ being made known to the world.
A: In Nazareth, at the home of Anne and Mary.
A: Actually, the “star” of Bethlehem was most likely the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.
A: The Shroud was recovered in 525 from its hiding place in Edessa, the first Christian principality. It passed into the hands of the Byzantine Emperors (the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire), then to the Knights Templar, then to the family of a Templar official, and then to the House of Savoy, who became Kings of Italy, who gave it to the Pope. It is housed in the Cathedral in Turin, Italy.
