Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb

Finally, there exists a rite for the blessing of a child in the womb!

The blessing originated when then-Bishop Joseph Kurtz of Knoxville, Tennessee (currently archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky) asked the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities to see if a blessing existed for a child in the womb. Surprisingly, none was found.* The committee prepared a text and submitted it to the USCCB's Divine Worship committee in early 2008. It was approved by the full body of bishops in late 2008, and then sent to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for editing and final approval. The English translation received approval in December 2011 and Spanish in March 2012.

New Vatican Widget... from the Vatican!

UPDATE: ShipofSaintPeter now has the widget! Look over to your right, and click away for up-to-date information, straight from the Vatican!

The Vatican has created a new widget in celebration of the Pope's election to the Chair of St. Peter. This new widget will allow websites to "automatically and dynamically... transfer some of the most important content contained in the institutional website www.vatican.va" to their particular website.

I've been looking for a widget like this one for years. It will grant easier access to the Pope's Sunday Angelus, his Audiences, and other "principal novelties."

I further encourage you to try and get one for your website, especially for your parish's website. Here's how you do it:

1. Log onto http://www.vatican.va/

2. On the left side of the screen, under the heading "Focus," select "Widget Vatican.VA"

3. Click on the button, and enter in your url (website address) and your email address.

I'm excited to see how it, in fact, turns out! I haven't seen it yet, but if it's everything the Holy See Press Office says it is, it should be a very helpful tool. It's use on parish websites would be especially helpful, as it can connect parish members to the Catholic world as a whole and the Holy See in particular.