Articles that tackled perplexing questions (“Why Do Some Catholics Oppose Pope Francis?” “Where Was God When Notre Dame Was in Flames?”) were especially popular with our readers in 2019. But what else made the hit list?

Federal spending on children fell to 1.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2018.

Both the church and the nation will steadily shrink without newcomers from beyond our national borders. But there are big differences in how immigration plays out in different parts of the U.S.

John Paul II canonized more saints (482) than the popes from the previous 500 years combined, and Pope Francis is more than keeping up.

Nearly two-thirds of college graduates are married, writes Robert David Sullivan, compared with only about half of those who have not gone beyond high school.

Children are consistently the poorest age group in the United States, writes Robert David Sullivan. But will they be heard in Washington as they become outnumbered by people over 65?

Since he began his campaign for national office in 2015, President Trump has repeatedly referred to a “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border, but the numbers have been less consistent.

The number of U.S. parishes without resident pastors has leveled off to about 3,400, according to the latest data from CARA—but only after dioceses have closed down thousands of churches since 1990.

Recent polls put U.S. Catholics squarely in the middle of the political spectrum (with a majority saying they will not support President Trump in 2020), but there are major differences between white and Hispanic Catholics.

Joe Biden is joining the dozens of Catholics who have run for president since John F. Kennedy was in the White House, but only one so far has come close to winning.