With more than 150,000 pilgrims expected to attend the Knock Novena, Micheal Kelly reflects on the enduring draw of the Mayo shrine.

Pope Benedict XVI is to wrap up his visit to Cuba with an open-air Mass in the shrine of the Cuban revolution, and a meeting with Fidel Castro.

Pope John Paul II believes “the time is ripe” to return a revered icon to Russia, hoping to give a major push to improving relations between Catholics and Russian Orthodox Christians, his spokesman said today.