Baseball legend Babe Ruth was a Catholic who wrote this letter about Communion, Confession and the Miraculous Medal:
��In December, 1946, I was in French Hospital, New York, facing a serious operation. Paul Carey, one of my oldest and closest friends, was by my bed one night.
- They’re going to operate in the morning, Babe, Paul said. -Don’t you think you ought to put your house in order?
-I didn’t dodge the long, challenging look in his eyes. I knew what he meant. For the first time, I realized that death might strike me out. I nodded, and Paul got up, called in a chaplain, and I made a full confession.
-I’ll return in the morning and give you Holy Communion, the chaplain said, -But you don’t have to fast.
-I’ll fast, I said. I didn’t have even a drop of water.
-As I lay in bed that evening, I thought to myself what a comforting feeling to be free from fear and worries. I now could simply turn them over to God. Later on, my wife brought in a letter from a little kid in Jersey City.
‘Dear Babe,’ he wrote, ‘Everybody in the seventh grade class is pulling and praying for you. I am enclosing a medal, which if you wear will make you better. Your pal—Mike Quinlan. P.S. I know this will be your 61st homer. You’ll hit it.’
-I asked them to pin the Miraculous Medal to my pyjama coat. I’ve worn the medal constantly ever since. I’ll wear it to my grave.”
Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.
The Vatican has unveiled the official mascot of the Holy Year 2025: Luce (Italian for Light).
Archbishop Fisichella says the mascot was inspired by the Church's desire "to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth."