Relics in New York City

A visual exploration of relics in New York City, at various Catholic places of worship throughout the city. Included in the virtual tour are the Padre Pio, Mother Cabrini and Mother Seton shrines and the Transfiguration Church in Chinatown.
The nuns of Rome

While wandering the streets of Rome, Andrea Palatnik was struck by the volume of nuns in the city. Camera in hand, she documented almost every nun she came across and put together a slideshow.
A lay community aids the Roma of Rome

A video about Sant’Egidio, a Catholic community that does all it can to use their resources to help the Roma in Rome, because of a calling from the Gospel to befriend the poor.
To Italy and back in under 90 seconds

Trinna Leong captures the Religio staff’s most memorable experiences from day 1 at the baggage claim in Rome’s airport to the farewell dinner on our last night, in a short, but poignant, video.
The paradox of birth control in Italy

As the debate over birth control in the US rages on, this video takes a closer look at the duality of opinions – and practice – of women’s reproductive rights in Italy, and how the Catholic Church extends its long arms of the law across the pond.
Immigrants in Rome find a home in the Protestant Church

Italy’s political and social climate has made it a difficult place for immigrants to live — especially those who aren’t a part of the Catholic Church. As a result, Protestants and immigrants have created a sense of community for themselves in Rome.
A Roma family tell their story

Many Roma, like Zoran Maksimuric who is from Serbia, want to leave the poverty, crime and often desperate living conditions found at many camps and integrate into mainstream Italian life.
Bearing the Cross in a Changing World

Who are America’s priests? How many are there? Where do they come from and who instructs them? “Bearing the Cross in a Changing World” — a short documentary — takes you from Rome to New York to answer those questions.
Being Gay and Catholic in Rome

This short documentary examines the constant battle between religion and homosexuality, through the eyes of a schoolteacher in Rome discovering his sexuality and accepting his faith.
Community solidarity in a church in Brooklyn

Ines Novacic reports on how the congregation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Brooklyn stood strong in the face of a vandalism attack on two sacred statues.
Padre Pio’s Pupils: the Eyes of a Saint

Padre Pio’s piercing gaze piqued many a Religio staffer’s interest. Nathan Vickers photographed the various manifestations of Pio’s pupils throughout San Giovanni Rotondo.
Street art in the capital of Campania

A stark contrast to Rome, Napoli — as the Italians call it — is littered with garbage and graffiti. Though trash and pickpockets are everywhere, the city’s complicated history has created a unique façade for travelers to visit. Here is a collection of various photographs of graffiti in Naples, culled from the Religio staff.
Dawn in The Sacred City

An early morning run took Nathan Vickers by some of Rome’s historic landmarks. Camera in hand, he documented the city as the sun came up.
A place to pray

Bogdan Mohora profiles Bahar Dik, a Turkish Muslim student currently studying in Rome and finds out the meaning of acceptance through religious difference.
Padre Pio: Making business personal

San Raffaele Articoli Religiosi souvenir shop was one of the first top open up in San Giovanni Rotondo, almost 45 years ago. It now competes with nearly two dozen similar stores.
Cured by Padre Pio

Agnes Reyes and Maria Persichetti are just two of the many pilgrims who travel to San Giovanni Rotondo every year come to ask Padre Pio to have their ailments be cured with a blessing or miracle.
The Business of Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is one of the oldest forms of tourism, and religious travel is still going strong, despite the economic recession. The small Italian town of San Giovanni Rotondo, the resting place of a modern-day Saint, epitomizes a place where faith and finances intersect.
Finding God on the throne

Prayer and bathrooms are often not referred to in the same breath. But for Shayla Osborn, a member of the Manhattan New York Temple of Latter Day Saints, praying out loud is an important part of her faith.
Belief on Bedford Avenue

In the changing Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, one church holds its own as the bedrock for its congregants – young and old.
A sound with swagger

The unique sound and ‘”swagger” of the of New Life Tabernacle’s Mass Choir has been getting people, especially young adults, inside church doors.
A community reborn: Three generations in Brooklyn

The Catholic Holy Ghost Church has been in Williamsburg for 99 years. It has become home to many generations of Ukrainians.