VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- August is a long-awaited month for countless Romans who escape the sweltering heat and seek some good old-fashioned rest and relaxation at the beach or the mountains. Since the start of his papacy, though, Pope Francis has made it a point to stay in Rome and take on a reduced schedule rather than leave the confines of Vatican City to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo like his predecessor.

BOSTON -- "Make her known" was the simple command of Pope Pius IX when he entrusted the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the care of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists, in 1866. One of the first copies to arrive in the United States came to Boston and was venerated in a simple wooden church. From that point on, the lives of the faithful have been impacted in miraculous ways.

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Former Professional Golfers' Association player Notah Begay III, a Navajo, and part-Navajo Rickie Fowler, a current PGA golfer, are among the executive producers of the Native American-themed docuseries "Basketball or Nothing."