Lifestyle

On Sunday, the Roman Catholic Church's new pontiff, Pope Francis, held his first canonization ceremony, and it was most certainly one for the record books. Francis named over 800 new saints during the ceremony, which is already nearly double the number of saints that were declared by Pope John Paul II, whose 480-some canonizations in total were more than those of all of his predecessors since 1588 combined.

Many of the 800 new saints are 15th century martyrs who were approved as a group for sainthood by Pope Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The 813 "Martyrs of Otranto" were beheaded by Ottoman soldiers for refusing to convert to Islam.

Francis, who is trying to improve the Catholic church's relationship with the Muslim world, attempted to handle the possibly awkward moment by declining to mention the word "Islam" in his entire speech marking the canonizations. Rather, Francis emphasized the Christian faith of the martyrs and a nod to ending inter-religious violence, stating:

"Let us ask God to sustain those many Christians who, in these times and in many parts of the world, right now, still suffer violence, and give them the courage and fidelity to respond to evil with good."

A portrait of Jesus that had been hanging in an Ohio high school since 1947 has been taken down due to a federal lawsuit against the display.

The Jackson City School District was being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Freedom from Religion Foundation after a student and two parents, hwo remain anonymous, thought it was unconstitutional to have a portrait promoting religion in a public school.

The district's superintendent, Phil Howard, determined that due to the potential for high litigation costs and the district's insurance company declining to cover them, that the portrait would have to come down. The faculty adviser and two student members of the Christian service club, Hi-Y, which owns the portrait, took it down after Howard ordered its removal.

Howard told reporters:

"At the end of the day, we just couldn't roll the dice with taxpayer money. When you get into these kinds of legal battles, you're not talking about money you can raise with bake sales and car washes. It's not fair to take those resources from our kids' education."

Hiram Sasser, an attorney with the Liberty Institute, says that the Hi-Y Club could file a counter lawsuit for their right to show the portrait, but it is not clear if the club intends to.

Just days ahead of Easter, a new study claims that the Shroud of Turin is not a medieval forgery, and instead could actually be the burial shroud that was used to wrap the body of Jesus Christ.

According to the latest scientific studies, the cloth's consistency is similar to those used to bury the dead at the time of Christ about 2,000 years ago.

Scientists have argued for centuries about the Shroud's authenticity, which is stored in a secure vault in Turin Cathedral. The 14-foot-long linen cloth bears a faint image of the front and back of a tall, long-haired, bearded man, and looks to be stained by blood from wounds in his feet, wrists, and sides. These wounds match those that were suffered by Christ at his crucifixion.

The latest findings are detailed in a new book, "Il Mistero della Sindone" (The Mystery of the Shroud), which is being released for publication on Good Friday. The book was authored by Professor Giulio Fanti, an expert in mechanical and thermal measurement at the University of Padua's Engineering Faculty, and Saverio Gaeta, a journalist. Fanti and Gaeta examined fibers from the Shroud and then compared them to samples of cloth that dated back to between 3,000 B.C. and up to the modern era to contract them and determine if it is a Medieval forgery.

Three new tests were key to their findings - two chemical and one mechanical. The first two tests were carried out using infrared light, and the last one used Raman spectroscopy, which measures radiation through wavelengths and is commonly used in forensic science.

Results of the testing dated the fibers from the Shroud to a period between 300 BC and 400 AD, which would cover the years of Christ's life.

An ex-member of the Westboro Baptist Church, the United States' most notorious hate group, has published a book in which she claims that ounder, Fred Phelps' crusade against homosexuals may stem from his own gay experience.

Laura Drain was once a member of the church, which is based out of Topeka, Kan., until she had a change of heart and was excommunicated. Drain is now an advocate for gay rights and anti-bullying, and has even posed for the NOH8 campaign that promotes equality.

Drain, 27, noted in an interview with the Advocate that Phelps was a Boy Scout who graduated with honors, and was on-track for military service before, when at the age of 17 he became a preacher against "sexual immorality". She commented:

"I never understood why, when [the media asked him], 'Why are you so against the homosexuals? Did you have a homosexual experience? Do you have homosexual tendencies? And he would get so mad, he would shut down. And he’d be like, 'I can’t talk to this person anymore, they’re stupid.

Former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who was this week elected the Roman Catholic Church's new pope, chose the name Francis in a last minute flash of inspiration.

Pope Francis, 76, said that as it began to become clear that he was going to be elected inside the Sistine Chapel conclave, he recalled the worlds of a fellow cardinal friend from Sao Paolo: "Don't forget the poor."

The new pontiff revealed his inspiration during an audience with the world's media on Saturday, saying:

"Right away, with regard to the poor, I thought of St. Francis of Assisi, then I thought of war. Francis loved peace, and that is how the name came to me."

A number of South Florida residents looked to the sky on Wednesday and saw what looked to be an angel. Coincidentally, this was the same day that Jorge Bergoglio was elected to become the Roman Catholic Church's new pope, taking the name Francis I.

For many, the angelic shape in the sky was a clear sign from heaven, and perhaps even a message from God himself. Many saw it as a beautiful sign from above, and a sign that God approved of the election of the first Latin American as the 267th successor of St. Peter.

Vice President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, will lead the U.S. delegration to Rome for Pope Francis' installation. No dates have yet been announced, however the ceremony to officially install Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope Francis could take place as early as Tuesday.

Bergoglio was selected by a conclave of Roman Catholic Cardinals on Wednesday to head up the Catholic Church.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Biden said:

“Jill and I want to offer our congratulations to His Holiness Pope Francis, and extend our prayers as he takes on this holy responsibility. I am happy to have the chance to personally relay my well wishes, and those of the American people, when I travel to Rome for his Inaugural Mass. The Catholic Church plays an essential role in my life and the lives of more than a billion people in America and around the world, not just in matters of our faith, but in pursuit of peace and human dignity for all faiths. I look forward to our work together in the coming years on many important issues.”

Biden has served as one of President Barack Obama's informal religious advisers on issues concerning the Catholic Church, including last year's debate over contraception coverage under the new health care law.

Roman Catholic cardinals gathered Tuesday at the Sistine Chapel for day one of their papal conclave. Black smoke billowed over the historic building, signaling that they had not yet reached a decision on the next leader of the Catholic Church.

The black smoke emitted from the chimney that was a sign of a lack of consensus was to be expected. The first sessions of a conclave rarely result in the election of a new pope.

The 115 cardinals, who are all under the age of 80, hold four votes per day - two in the morning and two in the evening. Conclaves are open-ended, but none have lasted longer than five days in more than 100 years, meaning we should have a new pope by next week at the latest. When the conclave comes to a consensus on the new pope, white smoke will be emitted from the Sistine Chapel's chimney, which is the signal that a new pontiff has been elected.

While Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who ultimately became Pope Benedict XVI, had emerged ahead of the last papal conclave in 2005 as a strong contender for the job, the same is not true for this conclave. There is no single stand-out. Rather, there are a handful of Cardinals who are considered contenders, making the outcome of this conclave more difficult to predict.

Cardinals Angelo Scola of Italy, Odillo Scherer of Brazil, Marc Ouellet of Canada, Timothy Dolan of New York, Sean O'Malley of Boston, Jose Bergoglio of Argentina, and Peter Turkson of Ghana are all possibilities that have been mentioned.

A Cleveland chef has been included in Food & Wine magazine's "The People's Best New Chef" competition, and will be competing in the Great Lakes region and the entire U.S. for the coveted title of best new chef. Chris Hodgson of Hodge's Cleveland is among 100 top new chefs divided into 10 regions who'll compete for votes from the public.

The chef with the most votes in each region will be named a finalist. That means that there will be 10 finalists. The chef with the most votes overall will be named The People's Best New Chef, and will be featured in the magazine's July issue.

Hodgson also owns two Cleveland food trucks "Hodge Podge" and "Dim and Den Sum", also made a name for himself appearing on the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race".

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport first launched curbside valet parking service a few years ago, and has since seen the service explode in popularity.

Last year, the service parked a record 20,000 cars and brought in nearly half a million dollars. In the valet parking service's first full year of operation in 2009, the service parked just 2,600 cars. Now, it's a 24-hour operation that travelers are increasingly making use of.

The service is operated by a private company, but the airport gets a share of revenue. According to airport officials, revenue generated from the valet parking goes back into airport operations. It reduces the landing fees paid by airlines, which in the end results in lower fares for passengers.