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Burned-out pastor builds global mental health resources for churches
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Burned-out pastor builds global mental health resources for churches

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Young people listen to the stories of Christian youth with lived experience of mental health challenges as part of “The Sanctuary Youth Series” by Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries

CNA Staff, Oct 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Daniel Whitehead knew it was time for a change when his wife told him she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him smile. With the strain of constantly meeting with people who were struggling, the Christian pastor said he had “gone numb.”

“I realized in that moment, it had been well over a year that I’d felt any emotion,” he told CNA. “No laughter, no tears, just numbness.”

Then he discovered Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. At the time, it was a small, local ecumenical group creating resources for mental health in pastoral ministry. Nine years later, Whitehead has become its leader and Sanctuary has become a large-scale resource operating across the world. 

Daniel Whitehead is the CEO of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries
Daniel Whitehead is the CEO of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries

Working through burnout “was really confusing,” Whitehead said of his own experience.

“I didn’t have language, or self-permission, or a framework to really understand what I was going through,” he said. “But how I would describe it was a feeling of fear, anxiety, and feeling trapped.”

Looking back at his challenges in ministry, Whitehead said he was experiencing “emotional overwhelm” from “moving from meeting to meeting, feeling the weight of people’s expectations, having to be there for people when they’re at their worst, and not really having an outlet to process that with.” 

This experience helped him “realize the great need that exists in the church for support in this area,” he said. 

“From that moment throughout my recovery journey I was looking for a cause to give myself to, and Sanctuary was that cause,” he said. “I very much felt called to the work.” 

Reaching young people 

Whitehead told CNA that amid an ongoing mental health crisis, the church can be a great resource. 

“The church is so perfectly placed to offer hope, belonging, community, and purpose to people in crisis — all of which are vital components of a person’s recovery and all of which are areas that the church has a monopoly on,” Whitehead said.

In the United States, depression and anxiety rates rose by more than 50% from 2010 to 2019 and suicide rates for adolescents ages 10 to 19 rose 48%. 

“It really is an opportunity for the church to step in and offer Christ’s hope to people in crisis,” Whitehead said. 

Youth pilot "The Sanctuary Youth Series" at The Way Church’s youth ministry in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in summer 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries
Youth pilot “The Sanctuary Youth Series” at The Way Church’s youth ministry in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in summer 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries

Sanctuary’s resources guide both the church and people struggling with mental health. 

The ministry “creates high-quality resources that anyone anywhere can access,” which Whitehead said “makes us quite a unique proposition globally speaking.”

Resources include video courses designed to be taken in small-group settings.  

Since its launch, more than 365,000 Christians in 102 countries have participated in the Sanctuary Course, according to the organization. 

Sanctuary’s work “allows people who are experiencing crisis to feel seen and gives the church more confidence to know what its role is and what its role isn’t when walking with a person in crisis,” Whitehead explained. 

This year, the organization is developing resources to reach young people. 

It recently launched “The Sanctuary Youth Series,” which is all about starting “important conversations” with youth in youth ministry, explained Bryana Russell, Sanctuary’s director of engagement and interim director of development.

The series, Russell told CNA, “targets the pressing questions young people are asking about mental health” and is designed “to raise awareness and reduce stigma” about mental health. 

“We know young people want to talk about the intersection of faith and mental health,” Russell said. “This series is one of the few resources available to help faith communities do so.”

“Our hope is that the next generation will experience the Church as a supportive place and that youth ministry leaders, parents and caregivers, and youth will all be equipped to have conversations about mental health,” Russell said.

Sanctuary Ambassador and Grammy nominated artist Matt Maher sings at an event hosted at the Archdiocese of Vancouver, where Sanctuary was presenting on mental health and faith on July 21, 2025. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The BC Catholic
Sanctuary Ambassador and Grammy nominated artist Matt Maher sings at an event hosted at the Archdiocese of Vancouver, where Sanctuary was presenting on mental health and faith on July 21, 2025. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The BC Catholic

The series is “designed to be used in groups” to help “young people connect with trusted adults in their church or school community,” Russell said, noting that being in community helps mental health.

“Young people benefit from the support of trusted adults, but few are having the conversations they need to,” she said.

Working together

The ecumenicism of Sanctuary is what drew Whitehead to the group nine years ago.

“Our staff represent a range of church traditions, the majority of which are Protestant, but I would suggest that the spiritual practices that many of us draw from both individually and corporately are often more liturgical in nature,” Whitehead said. 

“I think we all have a deep appreciation for the richness and vitality that different church traditions and denominations bring to the table,” Whitehead said.  

Sanctuary works with various churches, including Catholic dioceses and parishes.  

“Across the United States and Canada, many other dioceses are providing the leadership and support for mental health ministry,” Russell said. 

Sanctuary’s course for Catholics — designed specifically for Catholic parishes and in use in parishes around the world — features Catholic voices including Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver and Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver.

“The Sanctuary Course for Catholics plays an important role in opening the conversation and equipping parishes to begin such a ministry,” Russell said. 

This year, Sanctuary officially teamed up with the Archdiocese of Vancouver, which is formally launching a Mental Health Ministry with the help of Sanctuary. 

“We are delighted that our resources will be a part of their designed reach to build this ministry of presence,” Russell said. 

To kick off the event, Sanctuary and the archdiocese hosted Matt Maher, a Catholic contemporary Christian worship musician and Sanctuary’s ambassador.

Matt Maher and Bryana Russell (Sanctuary’s director of engagement and interim director of development) speak about Sanctuary, mental health, and faith at an event hosted at the Archdiocese of Vancouver on July 21, 2025. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The BC Catholic
Matt Maher and Bryana Russell (Sanctuary’s director of engagement and interim director of development) speak about Sanctuary, mental health, and faith at an event hosted at the Archdiocese of Vancouver on July 21, 2025. Credit: Nicholas Elbers/The BC Catholic

“Through stories, conversation, and song, themes of psychology, theology, and lived experience were introduced, offering an accessible and inspiring call to this ministry,” Russell said of the launch event.

“What makes Sanctuary unique is our ability to bring psychology and theology together to really validate and sanctify peoples’ stories,” Whitehead said. “Which means that in order to hold mental health well we have to really take each of these disciplines seriously.”

He added: “I’m inspired to continue this work when I look at the great need and also the great opportunity we have for the church to step into a gap that exists in society.”

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Texas boys school establishes policy to destroy smartphones
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Texas boys school establishes policy to destroy smartphones

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Boys swing on a rope during recess at Western Academy in Houston, Texas. / Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy

Houston, Texas, Oct 4, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

After years of boys (and their parents) repeatedly ignoring the rules, a private boys school in Houston is taking a novel approach to its smartphone and digital device policy: Bring it to school, and “we will destroy it.”

Western Academy, an independent, liberal arts school that states its goal is to educate young men “in the good, the true, and the beautiful,” has never allowed students to bring electronic devices to school.

In the past, if a boy was caught with a phone or other device at the school or a school-sponsored event, faculty would confiscate the device, which would be returned to the parents only after they had met with headmaster Jason Hebert. He would explain the harms to boys caused by smartphone use and why parents “should not put the phone back into your son’s hands.”

Boys look for toads in a pond during recess. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Boys look for toads in a pond during recess. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy

Under the new policy, which Hebert laid out in a four-page letter to parents last month, after the device is discovered and destroyed, the boy will be suspended. If it happens again, the boy will be automatically expelled. 

Along with its singular smartphone policy, the school, which has 230 students in third through eighth grade, takes a unique approach to education. The boys are free to play throughout the park-like, rambling grounds, where they climb and swing from trees, build forts, shoot Nerf guns, and care for (or chase) chickens before and after school and multiple times throughout the school day. 

The all-male faculty expects respect and responsibility from the boys at a young age, according to Hebert. The teachers have the boys rise when an adult visits a classroom and encourage parents to let their sons learn to endure hardship and experience natural consequences when they forget their homework or their lunch at home.

Jason Hebert, headmaster at Western Academy in Houston. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Jason Hebert, headmaster at Western Academy in Houston. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy

A Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei serves as chaplain to the school, which was founded in 2010, and oversees the religious education program.

The model is popular: Even with middle-school tuition close to $28,000 a year, every grade has extensive waitlists, and the school may start wait-listing boys beginning as early as kindergarten. 

At the beginning of each school year, the boys are sorted into one of four houses that compete throughout the year in games such as capture the flag and “The Hero’s Race,” where the boys in each house choose one boy to race across campus, climbing over obstacles and crawling through mud. There is also a poetry recitation competition known as “The Bard.” One mother, Stephanie Creech, told CNA her sons are so happy at the school they “beg to get to school early and to stay afterward to play.”

Hebert sat down with CNA and discussed what brought about the change in the smartphone policy, saying he chose the words in his letter very carefully. 

Hebert speaks to the boys on the first day of school as the faculty looks on. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Hebert speaks to the boys on the first day of school as the faculty looks on. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy

Witnessing the damage 

“Smartphones are causing significant, unimagined damage to the students who have them,” Hebert wrote in his letter to parents, “as well as to the sons of those parents who have chosen not to give phones to their sons.” 

“The damage these phones have caused to our children,” he told CNA in the interview, “it literally has never been imagined.” 

“It’s not just pornography,” Hebert continued. “YouTube actors and other characters just trying to get clicks perform the most shameless actions on video. They just have zero respect for the dignity of their bodies and for life, zero. And these boys want to emulate these people.”

Hebert said the last straw came after a mother called him complaining her son saw a graphic, violent video on a smartphone at a school event. 

After that, Hebert said he and the other administrators agreed: “That’s it. We’re done.” 

Asked why the school did not just consider automatic expulsion after the first offense rather than the destruction of the devices, Hebert said with a laugh: “To be perfectly candid, I want to destroy the phone. I want to give the boys an opportunity to have life without it.”

He ordered a metal grinder for the purpose.

“Look, I am not an alarmist. I am not reactionary. But the bottom line is this: These devices are not neutral. The research is definitive: They are bad for our kids. I have dealt with hundreds and hundreds of boys over two decades in education and I have yet to see an exception to this,” he said.

Hebert said that over the years, he has noticed a degradation in the quality of the boys’ conversation. “You can’t imagine the level of shamelessness” among some of the boys,” many of whom are generally considered “good kids.”

“This type of behavior is unprecedented in my tenure as an educator, and even as a professional athlete,” he said. 

Boys cheer their teammates on as the houses compete in a game of "Thud," in which two boys throw a medicine ball at one another as hard as they can until one of them drops it or gives up. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy
Boys cheer their teammates on as the houses compete in a game of “Thud,” in which two boys throw a medicine ball at one another as hard as they can until one of them drops it or gives up. Credit: Courtesy of Western Academy

In the early 2000s, before beginning his teaching career, which included teaching at The Heights School in Maryland, he spent one year as a professional football player on practice squads for three NFL teams: the Chargers, the Titans, and the Raiders. 

“I never played in a regular-season game. This is what I tell people: I made it to the NFL. I did not make it in the NFL,” he said, laughing.

“Let me make it clear: I was an athlete around some of the most earthy human beings on the planet,” he said. “These men were not ashamed to say anything in the locker room. Yet these same men would have blushed if they heard some of the things these boys talk about! This is so unimaginable. Yet it is becoming more common now, thanks to these devices.”

Parents on board 

Asked if he was worried parents would leave over the school’s new policy, Hebert said if parents are not on board with the school’s values, it might be better if they left and one of the many others on the waitlist could take their spot.

In his letter to parents, Hebert wrote that the “school is a true partnership with parents. We say this not for poetic effect, but because it must be so for the authentic growth of your sons to become a reality.”

He told CNA parents should ask themselves: “How valuable is the phone to you? Are you willing to leave this place for it? This place where your son is so abundantly happy? Is your phone worth that? And if it is, well, it’s a mismatch of vision.”

Since the change in policy, however, Hebert said parental response has been “100% positive.”

After hearing about the school’s new policy, a mother whose son graduated from the school several years ago dropped off a financial donation at the front desk recently “for the phone grinder.”

“Everybody just knows it’s right. Parents might be frustrated because saying no to their sons makes their lives harder, but they know it’s right,” he said.

Hebert, a father of seven, said he and his wife do not allow their children to have smartphones or social media. “My children may not know a lot of the lingo or some of the jokes or about all the parties. They’re on the outside, to a degree.”

“And even though that’s a big deal,” he continued, “the alternative overrides that. It’s a bigger deal.”

“The alternative is not worth it,” he said.

“We all want the truth,” he said, “and the truth is these devices are severely hurting kids. I’m not a doomsday guy, but some day these kids will be in charge of society. Think about that.”

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Girl Scouts, Cincinnati Archdiocese announce ‘renewed’ partnership after LGBT dispute
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Girl Scouts, Cincinnati Archdiocese announce ‘renewed’ partnership after LGBT dispute

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null / Credit: maximino/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2025 / 09:41 am (CNA).

After cutting ties with the Girl Scouts over the group’s endorsement of gender ideology, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said this week that it has struck up a renewed partnership with the more-than-century-old youth organization. 

Last year, the archdiocese ended a 110-year relationship with Girl Scouts of the USA due to the group promoting gender ideology contrary to Catholic teaching. 

The decision was spearheaded by then-Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, who now serves as archbishop emeritus. At the time, Schnurr endorsed a faith-based scouting group, American Heritage Girls, as an alternative.

Newly-instated Archbishop Robert Casey has since made an agreement with the local Girl Scouts of Western Ohio to maintain Church moral teaching while operating in Catholic parishes.

Girl Scouts groups are “welcome” on Catholic campuses, so long as they pledge not to promote anything counter to the Church’s teaching on faith and morals, according to an archdiocesan press release. 

Casey said he is “proud” that the archdiocese and the Girl Scouts “focused on our shared desire for the flourishing of young women in virtue and faith, rather than being solely focused on our differences.”

“Girl Scouts is a secular organization, and as such, they do not share all of our views,” he said in a Sept. 30 statement. “As the Catholic Church we are called to uphold the Gospel and teach young people the truth of the Catholic faith.” 

“Despite these differences, we have reached a mutual understanding that allows us to fulfill our mission as Church in the faithful formation of young girls while also accessing all that is best about Girl Scouting,” he continued. 

Aimée Sproles, president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, said that organization hopes to encourage girls in their faith journey.  

“At Girl Scouts, we believe that a part of girls’ healthy development is encouraging girls in their spiritual journey, through partnerships with their individual faith communities,” Sproles said in a statement. 

“Girl Scouts of Western Ohio and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have helped generations of girls to grow in their faith and develop the critical thinking and decision-making skills they need in order to act on the values of their faith in our complex world,” she said. 

“This renewed partnership allows our Catholic Girl Scouts to have the support of their family and the Catholic community as they grow in courage, confidence, and character,” she added. 

The agreement comes after “continued dialogue,” archdiocesan spokeswoman Jennifer Schack told CNA. 

“While this announcement highlights the renewed partnership, there has been ongoing dialogue, given the two agencies share a common interest to strengthen and support girls in our communities,” Schack said.

The agreement specifies that the Girl Scouts cannot promote anything that goes against Catholic faith and moral teachings, according to documents shared with CNA.  

Whether the renewal of the Girl Scouts will affect the archdiocese’s partnership with American Heritage Girls is unclear. 

When asked about the effect of the partnership renewal, American Heritage Girls told CNA that it looks forward to “deepening its relationship” with the archdiocese.

The interdenominational group has programs and activities designed for its Catholic scouting groups that promote the Catholic faith, including troop-led Stations of the Cross and Eucharistic Revival patches.

“Catholic families in Cincinnati and beyond have embraced AHG as a trusted youth ministry option,” the organization stated. “AHG looks forward to deepening its relationship with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as more Catholic families and parishes build communities where virtue and faith flourish.”

Schack affirmed that the recent announcement “has no impact on American Heritage Girls troops” in the archdiocese.

American Heritage Girls, which has been endorsed by Catholic dioceses across the country, features a National Catholic Committee headed by Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

The group forms “girls of integrity through Catholic Faith Awards, troop life, service, outdoor adventure, and leadership,” the group stated. 

“American Heritage Girls is grateful for over 30 years of ministry rooted in a Christ-centered foundation, deeply aligned with the Catholic Church,” it added.

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How to pray the St. Thérèse of Lisieux novena
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How to pray the St. Thérèse of Lisieux novena

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St. Thérèse of Lisieux. / Credit: Public domain

CNA Staff, Oct 1, 2025 / 05:00 am (CNA).

The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower, on Oct. 1.

Born to Zelie and Louis Martin in 1873 — both canonized saints — Thérèse was the youngest of five siblings. Devout from a young age, she experienced a miraculous healing at around the age of 9 from an unknown illness for which doctors could not find a treatment. After turning to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession, young Thérèse was healed and felt called to religious life.

In 1888, at the age of 15, she entered a Carmelite monastery in Lisieux, France. Her ability to live her ordinary life in an extraordinary way became known as the “Little Way” — a journey toward Christ made up of small acts of love in everyday life.

In 1896, Thérèse was diagnosed with tuberculosis and passed away at the age of 24 the following year. Pope Pius XI canonized her in 1925, making her the youngest canonized saint at the time. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a doctor of the Church for her significant spiritual contribution to the universal Church. 

Over the years, the St. Thérèse Novena has become popular for those seeking to live a life of love and simplicity. While many pray it leading up to her feast day, the nine-day novena can be prayed any time of the year. Here’s how to pray it:

— Begin by making the sign of the cross.

— Recite the Holy Spirit prayer: 

Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of divine love.

— Recite the following prayer:

Dearest St. Thérèse of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth.

Your trust in God was complete. Pray that he may increase my trust in his goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions: [state your intentions]

Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me and one day see the face of God, whom you loved so deeply.

St. Thérèse, you were faithful to God even unto the moment of your death. Pray for me that I may be faithful to our loving God. May my life bring peace and love to the world through faithful endurance in love for God our savior.

Loving God, you blessed St. Thérèse with a capacity for a great love. Help me to believe in your unconditional love for each of your children, especially for me.

I love you, Lord. Help me to love you more!

— Recite the “Glory Be” prayer:

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

— Conclude by making the sign of the cross.

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Notre Dame announces investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by dorm hall priest
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Notre Dame announces investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by dorm hall priest

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University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. / Credit: Peter Zelasko/CNA

CNA Staff, Sep 25, 2025 / 09:27 am (CNA).

The University of Notre Dame said this week that it had commissioned an external investigation into allegations that the head of a campus residence hall engaged in sexual misconduct years ago. 

The allegations concern Father Thomas King, CSC, who was rector of the school’s Zahm Hall dorm from 1980 to 1997. 

The school in a Sept. 24 press release did not reveal when and how it learned of the allegations against King, the details of which it did not provide. 

But it said it was commissioning a “special committee to oversee an external investigation” into the abuse claims. 

The inquiry will be led by lawyer Helen Cantwell at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. Cantwell is “highly experienced in this important and sensitive work,” the school said. 

“We are saddened that there are members of our community who may have suffered abuse while here and may not have received the support, care, and love they deserve,” the school said in the release, authored by university president Father Robert Dowd, CSC, and board of trustees chair John Veihmeyer. 

“Our hope is that this external investigation will provide those who may have been affected with the opportunity to be heard,” the statement said. 

School officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Thursday regarding King’s current status, including if he is still ministering in any capacity. 

Though it’s unclear how the university became aware of the allegations, at least one Notre Dame alumnus had spoken out about King’s alleged sexual misconduct ahead of the school’s announcement. 

David Tybor, a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and a 1998 graduate of Notre Dame, said in a Facebook post earlier this month that he was “leading a group of Notre Dame guys who were hazed, harassed, raped, and assaulted” by King while at Zahm Hall.

“We’ve collected scores of stories and are curious to hear more,” Tybor wrote on Sept. 8. 

The professor also alleged that King was influential in a program for young men who wished to transfer from nearby Holy Cross College to Notre Dame. In another post he alleged that officials “knew about the abuse as early as 1995/96.”

Tybor did not immediately respond to a query on Sept. 25 regarding the allegations. In a comment on Sept. 19, however, he thanked “everyone who has contributed to this effort” to shine light on the alleged abuse. 

“Keep talking, justice is coming,” he wrote.

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Trump, Vance among those honoring Charlie Kirk’s Christian legacy 
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Trump, Vance among those honoring Charlie Kirk’s Christian legacy 

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Erika Kirk embraces U.S. President Donald Trump at the conclusion of the memorial service held for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Erika Kirk, and more than a dozen others gave speeches to honor the late Charlie Kirk at Sunday’s memorial service, highlighting his efforts to promote conservative values to young people and promote the Gospel on campus.

Some 90,000 people gathered for the memorial service at State Farm Stadium and an adjacent venue in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21. Bishop Robert Barron, who had scheduled Kirk to come on his show, was among those in attendance.

Kirk, an evangelical Christian, was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University while debating students on campus. At the time, Kirk was conversing with a young ideological opponent about transgenderism and gun violence. Prior to the question, he had been discussing his Christian faith with another questioner, something he often included in his conservative campus activism.

“What was even more important to Charlie than politics and service was the choice he made in the fifth grade — which he called the most important decision of his life — to become a Christian and a follower of his Savior Jesus Christ,” Trump, a self-identified nondenominational Christian, said during his speech.

Trump praised Kirk’s legacy of evangelizing the message of Christ and his activism to promote conservative values on campus, saying Kirk was “inspired by faith and his love of freedom” to establish the conservative campus organization Turning Point USA when he was just 18 years old.

“Charlie Kirk started with an idea only to change minds on college campuses and instead he ended up with a far greater achievement: changing history,” the president said. “… Today Charlie Kirk rests in heaven for all eternity. He has gone from speaking on campuses in Wisconsin to kneeling at the throne of God.”

Vance, a Catholic who often discussed theology with Kirk, spoke about Kirk’s devotion to honest debate in his campus activism, saying his “unshakable belief in the Gospel led him to see differences in opinion, not as battlefields to conquer but as waystations in the pursuit of truth.”

“He knew it was right to love others, your neighbor, your interlocutor, your enemy,” Vance said.
“But he also understood his duty to say what is right and what is wrong, to distinguish what is false from what is true.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The vice president noted that even after death, Kirk’s message to defend life, to get married and start a family, and to follow Christ, continue to reach people. Vance said his own public appearances have been particularly influenced by Kirk after the assassination.

“I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public, as much as I love the Lord, as much as it was an important part of my life,” Vance told the crowd. “I’ve talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life. And that is the undeniable legacy of the great Charlie Kirk. You know, he loved God and because he wanted to understand God’s creation and the men and women made in his image.”

Kirk’s widow forgives assassin

Kirk’s wife, Erika, said her husband’s devotion to Christ has influenced many Americans in the aftermath of the assassination.

“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade, we saw people pray for the first time since they were children, we saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives,” Erika Kirk said.

“Pray again, read the Bible again, go to Church next Sunday and the Sunday after that, and break free from the temptations and shackles of this world,” she urged the audience.

“Being a follower of Christ is not easy,” she continued. “It’s not supposed to be easy. Jesus said ‘if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.’ He said he would be persecuted, he said we would be persecuted, and Charlie knew that and happily carried his cross all the way to the end.”

Erika Kirk said he had gone onto Utah Valley University’s campus to show people, especially young men, “a better path and a better life that was right there for the taking.” She added: “He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”

Appealing to the Gospel message, Erika Kirk also extended forgiveness to the man who shot her husband. 

“On the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” she said. “That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

‘I want to be remembered for courage for my faith’

Other speakers also highlighted Kirk’s emphasis on Christ in his campus activism. 

Donald Trump Jr. reminded the crowd that Kirk said just months before his death that if he were to die, “I want to be remembered for my courage for my faith.” 

“Those were not empty words,” Trump Jr. said. “Last week, Charlie joined a long line of courageous men and women who were martyred for what they believe.”

The country’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Catholic, said Kirk’s devotion to God modeled St. Francis of Assisi’s instruction to try to live one’s life in imitation of Christ.

“Charlie understood the great paradox: That it’s only by surrender to God that God’s power can flow into our lives and make us effective human beings,” Kennedy said. “Christ died at 33 years old, but he changed the trajectory of history. Charlie died at 31 years old, but because he had surrendered, he also now has changed the trajectory of history.” 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth similarly noted that Kirk “was a true believer,” one who understood that “Only Christ is King, our Lord and Savior.” 

“Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus,” Hegseth said. “Fear God and fear no man. That was Charlie Kirk.” 

Political commentator Tucker Carlson said Kirk was essentially “a Christian evangelist” who “was bringing the Gospel to the country.” 

“He also knew that politics wasn’t the final answer,” Carlson said. “It can’t answer the deepest questions, actually. That the only real solution is Jesus.”

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Lila Rose delivers strong pro-life message in Yale debate with Frances Kissling
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Lila Rose delivers strong pro-life message in Yale debate with Frances Kissling

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Lila Rose (left) debates Frances Kissling on Sept. 16, 2025, at Yale University. / Credit: Live Action via YouTube screenshot

National Catholic Register, Sep 19, 2025 / 10:40 am (CNA).

The news that pro-life activist Lila Rose was declared the winner by students attending a debate earlier this week with an abortion activist at Yale University — a campus not particularly known for its pro-life sentiment — lit up the pro-life corners of the internet.

Rose, the founder and president of Live Action, posted on X following Tuesday night’s debate, which was hosted by the Yale Political Union. She said the event’s organizer was “shocked” after those in attendance voted in favor of the pro-life argument by a margin of 60-31.

For defenders of the lives of unborn babies, it was heartening to see apparent evidence that arguments against abortion are making headway, even at one of the country’s most elite educational institutions. 

Rose’s opponent, Frances Kissling, the former head of Catholics for Choice and founding president of the National Abortion Federation, laid bare the diabolical essence of the “pro-choice” argument. An unborn baby may be human, according to Kissling, but a woman should be able to decide whether the child lives or dies.

“We need to begin to think about abortion as a conflict of values. I tend to favor more or think more about the value of women’s lives,” Kissling said.

“I’m not talking about whether they’re going to die or not,” she said. “I’m talking about the fact that they have decisions to make about how they are going to live that life,” Kissling clarified.

Kissling, who is Catholic and had spent two years as a religious sister in a convent, went on to say that abortion should be condoned by what she said is an ever-evolving Catholic Church.

“The idea that Catholicism never changes is not true, even in very serious decisions,” she said. “I was thinking about this. Whatever happened to limbo?”

“I’m in the group of Catholics who look at the idea that even the Catholic Church can change. We learn new things,” she said. 

Rose countered by describing what allowing “choice” to trump life really looks like, citing the recent case of a 21-year-old college student whose newborn baby was found dead, wrapped in a towel and stuffed in a closet.

“A child hidden in a closet, his humanity denied. If this does not grieve us, then what will? This is what choice over life looks like when the choice of adults is made supreme,” Rose said.

“What about the child’s choice? That has not been represented here yet tonight. And so let me ask the question here plainly: Should murder be legal? Of course not. Then why do we excuse abortion? Abortion is the direct and intentional killing of an innocent human being,” she said.

Rose called for more federal funding for pregnancy-resource centers, for government-funded cash credits for parents, and for making childbirth free.

“Instead of turning to violence against the most vulnerable as a solution to problems that we face, instead, we should be a society that uplifts, that makes life better for the vulnerable, that focuses our energy and our efforts and our organizations and our resources on supporting women and young families and children,” Rose said.

At the conclusion of the debate, Kissling revealed that at the heart of her position is a concession that an unborn child is, in fact, a human being. 

Kissling then presented the argument put forward by adherents of utilitarian moral theory that an action can be justified if it leads to the “happiness” of the greatest number of people.

The abortion activist suggested considering a “thought experiment” involving a situation in which there is a fire in a building, and one is faced with deciding whether to rescue a poor family of six or a doctor who was about to come up with a cure for cancer. 

“I’m asking you to think for yourself about how much you really believe and how much you act and how all our governments act within the principle of ‘every single life [has equal value],’” she said.

“The greatest good for the greatest number of people. Good principle. Do you save the family of six or do you save the doctor? That’s it,” she said.

Following the debate, Sabrina Soriano, a junior and art history major at Yale, said she thought Rose was the clear winner.

“I think Lila definitely just swept the floor and took the trophy prize because she came in with a sense of humility, and also with a deep sense of wanting to do justice to the Church in general, and also to the unborn.”

“I think regardless of if you were pro-choice, you understood that the argument [Kissling made] was weak, and it was based on more of a crowd-surfing or sentimentality rather than the facts,” said Soriano, who is Catholic and a member of the campus pro-life group, as were many students in attendance.

Kylyn Smith, a 19-year-old senior and double major in physics and economics, told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, that while there was a strong contingent of pro-life advocates in the audience, Rose bested Kissling in the debate fair and square. 

“Lila Rose valiantly defended the pro-life position with a secular, logical argument centered on the humanity of the unborn child. It was incredible watching her speak just as incisively and coherently live and in person as on her videos,” Smith said. 

“Passion from attendees of all opinions quite literally rang throughout the auditorium, from hissing in disagreement to stomping in support. Ms. Rose’s cogent reasoning stood in stark contrast to the often-contradictory statements of the other guest, solidifying Lila’s win.”

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA.

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Toledo bishop’s letter on gender ideology ‘timely’ and ‘loving,’ Mary Rice Hasson says
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Toledo bishop’s letter on gender ideology ‘timely’ and ‘loving,’ Mary Rice Hasson says

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Ethics and Public Policy Center scholar Mary Rice Hasson praised the Bishop of Toledo's recent pastoral letter, titled "The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology." / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 18, 2025 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel Thomas’ recently released pastoral letter offering guidance on sex and gender identity issues received praise from the head of the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s (EPPC) Person and Identity Project, Mary Rice Hasson.

“[Thomas] really hones in so beautifully in this document on the truth that we are body and soul, and that our bodies reveal something wonderful about who we are,” Rice told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 17. “And so, rejecting the body, which is really what’s going on in the transgender issue, it’s sex rejection, rejection of yourself, is really turning back on yourself and hating and destroying something that is really, really good.” 

Thomas’ letter, “The Body Reveals the Person: A Catholic Response to the Challenges of Gender Ideology,” is the longest statement by a U.S. bishop dealing exclusively with gender ideology.

Drawing on Scripture, theology, philosophy, and social sciences, the letter presents Church teaching in a form the bishop said he hopes is “readable, digestible, accessible, and charitable.”“I think it’s tremendously important that we have a bishop speaking out and giving such timely, but really comprehensive, loving, and hopeful guidance,” Rice said, noting the letter comes in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. 

Kirk was shot while answering a question about transgenderism and gun violence. Tyler Robinson, the man charged with murdering Kirk, has been romantically linked to his transgender roommate, Lance Twiggs, a biological male.

Kirk had said he supported an effort to ban transgender people from owning firearms in light of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minnesota last month, which was also carried out by a man who identified as transgender.

EPPC scholar calls on more bishops to emulate Thomas

While some dioceses have offered “terrific responses” to the transgender issue, Rice acknowledged, “there are some dioceses where there’s nothing, there’s not even a statement about how people should understand this issue [and] what the Church’s teaching is.” 

“I encourage bishops, if they have not written and spoken to this issue to please do that,” she continued. “People want to hear that. And that’s what I hear from people when I travel all over the U.S. talking about this issue.” 

Rice pointed out that while social media can be used well to form connections with other people, “it really has become a channel of evil in many respects,” especially regarding sexual orientation and gender identity issues. 

“Our youth are particularly vulnerable because they’re young,” she said. “They don’t have the prudence, the discretion, to be able to judge what’s the truth of what’s coming at them. They’re very subject to manipulation and peer pressure.”

Rice further encouraged parents to be vigilant in monitoring social media usage among their children. 

“We have to speak the truth, and we have to be really clear that this is evil,” Rice said of transgenderism. “There are wonderful holistic ways to deal with difficult feelings,” she said, adding: “God loves everyone so much, and he wants something better than what is on offer right now from the culture on this issue.”

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Homilies across U.S. take stock of Charlie Kirk assassination
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Homilies across U.S. take stock of Charlie Kirk assassination

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Priests throughout the country have mentioned assassinated conservative Christian activisit Charlie Kirk in their homilies this week. / Credit: ChoeWatt/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 16, 2025 / 18:24 pm (CNA).

Catholic priests around the country have discussed the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk during their homilies in the last week.

Kirk, 31, was shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The alleged shooter has since been apprehended and identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children.

“So many times it seems almost surreal how the Gospel passage for the day fits … a situation that we face as Christians in our daily lives,” Father Chris Alar at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, said during his homily on Sept. 11, referencing the day’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus instructs his disciples to love their enemies.

“That is what Charlie Kirk did. I was watching some of his videos last night, and he was saying of murderers that they are still children of God, and he prayed for them,” the priest reflected, noting that though Kirk was political, he had not been a politician.

“When one side realizes they can’t defeat the truth, they turn to violence,” he said, citing the emperor Herod, who he said “realized that he couldn’t defeat the truth, so he turned to violence.”

Father John Hollowell at All Saints Parish in Indianapolis also reflected during his homily on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that he had felt “a great welling up in my heart” to join the military in the aftermath of the tragic event 24 years ago. Ultimately, he said, “I felt God telling me that the way that I was supposed to respond to the tragedy that I was seeing unfolding 24 years ago today was to become a diocesan priest.” 

“Throughout the last 12 hours,” he said, “some of your young adult children and young adult family and friends are having that same urge to join the military, to join the police.”

He continued: “We need to just take a minute to just calmly ask ourselves: ‘Lord, what do you want me to do with my life? How can I lay down my life more perfectly for other people, for my country, for my community, for my parish?’ And God will let you know.” 

“On Sept. 11, my prayers are with Charlie Kirk’s wife, with his children, but also in this tragic time in the United States of America,” said Father Jonathan Meyer, also of All Saints Parish. “My prayers are also with the family of the refugee from Charlotte, the families in Minnesota that … grieve and mourn, but also for those 24 years ago who, due to acts of hate, still don’t have their grandparents, their parents, their sons.”

“Just this week we were reminded once again of how fallen our world is with the murder of Charlie Kirk,” said Father Eric Ayers of St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, during his Sunday homily. “He was the most recent in a long line in the last number of years of attempts at assassinations … [and] other acts of violence that occur in the political spheres.”

“These acts of violence of course are unconscionable and are a horrible tragedy for our nation,” he added. 

The priest stated “before we blame one side or another, we need to remember that those actions don’t represent the vast majority of people for whom politics is important.” 

Noting that “language over politics has gotten more extreme, more polarizing, more divisive,” Ayers concluded his reflections by advocating for self-sacrifice and the abandonment of “ego” as ways to foster civility in political discourse in the U.S. 

In churches where Kirk’s death was not mentioned in the priest’s homily, prayers were offered for the repose of his soul, including on Sunday Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C, and at St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill.

Father John Evans of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City told a local news outlet that people began gathering at the cathedral in the wake of Kirk’s assassination, with many coming to the church before Sunday Mass, “praying privately, some in groups, praying the rosary, and different prayers of different sorts.”

Several users on social media noted their priests offered homilies about Kirk’s death, with one account on X writing: “Today at my Catholic Mass the homily was about Charlie Kirk, what he stood for … It was about walking in Jesus’ shoes and bearing our cross.”

Another user reported that the homily at his parish centered on Kirk and said his church prayed a rosary for the late TPUSA founder after Mass. 

Catholic social media influencer Sachin Jose also noted the church where he attended Mass in New York “remembered Charlie Kirk in the priest’s homily.”

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Faith, family and God’s mercy: Highlights from Erika Kirk’s TV address
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Faith, family and God’s mercy: Highlights from Erika Kirk’s TV address

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Vice President JD Vance (R) second lady Usha Vance (C) and Erika Kirk deplane Air Force Two while escorting the body of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 11, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. / Credit: Kirk, Eric Thayer/Getty Images

CNA Newsroom, Sep 13, 2025 / 10:05 am (CNA).

Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, vowed to continue her husband’s work Friday night during an impassioned and deeply personal televised address that focused on the importance of faith and family life.

Appearing on Fox News just two days after her husband was shot and killed by an assassin’s bullet, fired from a rooftop on the campus of Utah Valley University where he was holding an outdoor event, she spoke for more than 16 minutes, maintaining her composure as she stood at a podium in her husband’s podcast studio, beside his empty chair.

“I will never, ever have the words to describe the loss that I feel in my heart,” said Erika Kirk, the mother of two young children, ages 1 and 3.

“I honestly have no idea what any of this means,” she said. “I know that God does, but I don’t. But Charlie, baby, I know you do, too. So does our Lord.”

“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said.

“They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love.”

Here are other highlights from her remarks:

She revealed that she had not yet told the couple’s 3-year-old daughter of her father’s death.

“When I got home last night, Gigi, our daughter, just ran into my arms. And I talked to her, and she said, ‘Mommy, I missed you.’ I said, ‘I missed you too, baby.’

“She goes, ‘Where’s daddy?’ She’s 3. I said, ‘Baby, daddy loves you so much. He’s on a work trip with Jesus, so he can afford your blueberry budget.'”

She talked about why her husband advocated so passionately for marriage and family life.

“Charlie always believed that God’s design for marriage in the family was absolutely amazing. And it is. It is. And it was the greatest joy of his life. And over and over, he would tell all these young people to come and find their future spouse, become wives and husbands and parents. And the reason why is because he wanted you all to experience what he had, and still has,” she said.

“He wanted everyone to bring heaven into this earth through love and joy that comes from raising a family. It’s beautiful. Charlie always said that if he ever ran for office —I know a lot of you asked if he ever was going to — but privately, he told me if he ever did run for office, that his top priority would be to revive the American family. That was his priority.

“One of Charlie’s favorite Bible verses was Ephesians 5 verse 25: ‘Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.’

“My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children. He showed the ultimate and true covenantal love,” she said.

Erika, who is a baptized Catholic, witnessed to the Christian faith she and her husband shared.

“Charlie always said that when he was gone, he, he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith,” she said.

“And one of the final conversations that he had on this earth, my husband witnessed for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior’s side, wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.”

During the broadcast, Erika Kirk urged others to make faith central to their lives, as her husband had done.

“But most important of all, if you aren’t a member of a church, I beg you to join one, a Bible-believing church,” she said.

“Our battle is not simply a political one above all. It is spiritual. It is spiritual. The spiritual warfare is palpable. Charlie loved his Savior with all of his heart, and he wanted every one of you to know him, too. He wanted everyone to know that if they confess, if they confess the Lord Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, then they will be saved.

“Hear me when I say this. Nobody is ever too young to know the gospel. Nobody. Nobody is ever too young to get involved with saving this beautiful country, this country my husband loved and still loves. And nobody is ever too old, either.”

She vowed to continue Charlie’s work with Turning Point USA, the conservativve advocacy organization he founded, and said the campus speaking tour he had just embarked on would go on.

“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world. You have no idea,” she said.

“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.

“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she said. “It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. It will not die.”

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Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins: Charlie Kirk ‘died a martyr’
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Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins: Charlie Kirk ‘died a martyr’

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Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins. / Credit: “EWTN News in Depth”/Screenshot

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 at a Utah college campus, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action and a close friend of Kirk’s, said: “His death will be a turning point.”

In an interview with “EWTN News In Depth,” Hawkins called Kirk “a joyful warrior.” She pointed out: “He was a man of God and just moments before he was assassinated, he had proclaimed that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. And he never shirked away from that, just like he never shirked away from any of the other political debates … I believe with my whole heart, he died a martyr.”

Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and campus activist, “truly enjoyed having conversations with those who disagreed with him and having the opportunity to change their minds,” Hawkins said. “He was a huge learning advocate … He was always wanting to find out the best ways to save our country and to advance our faith.”

“We work symbiotically on campuses to spread the good news of the Gospel, but then also spread the voice of reason, which Pope Benedict was very clear [about]. He wrote about how reason is God’s gift and when reason is abandoned, violence becomes the only remaining path … When people stop talking, when they disagree with each other, it only leads to violence.”

Hawkins highlighted Kirk’s mission to protect human life. Students for Life honored him in January at the National Pro-Life Summit with the Defender of Life Award “for his advocacy for life on college campuses.” 

Turning Point, Students for Life, and similar organizations that work to defend life “have become increasingly effective [in] winning back students,” Hawkins said, especially because of Kirk’s “ability to reach young men.” 

While the pro-life organizations have been “effective and things have started to shift in our country, it hasn’t shifted enough,” Hawkins said. “We still have a culture of death.” 

Manifestation of the ‘culture of death’

The day of Kirk’s death, Hawkins was speaking to students at the University of Montana. “I was on campus for two hours before Charlie was shot and every argument from the 150 pro-choice students who surrounded me … was: ‘Maybe it is a baby, maybe it is human, but I can still kill it because I want to. That’s a culture of death.”

“When I announced to them that my friend had been shot and we were trying to find updates on Charlie’s condition … they laughed.” 

“This is what a culture of death breeds. When you say it’s OK to kill innocent babies and that there should be no recourse [for] killing innocent, helpless babies who are the most innocent among us, this is what it leads to. This is why we say it’s a culture of death that must be defeated and this is why we can’t abandon the campuses right now,” Hawkins said. “Do we abandon violence or accept reason?”

Despite this tragedy, Hawkins said: “We have to stay on campuses, because we have to teach this generation, Gen Z, that violence isn’t acceptable.” She shared that her organizations will be going to “160 campuses this semester talking about [their] fall theme, which is ‘every human life matters.’ Charlie Kirk’s life matters.”

“We have to go now harder and louder than ever before because God’s gift of reason must prevail. That is the only way our mission survives this.”

Hawkins also asked people to pray for Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their young children. “I can’t even imagine the pain that Erika is going through,” Hawkins said. “To lose the love of her life, the father of her children, her rock, one that she loves so dearly, and Erika loves so fiercely. But she also loves the Lord.” 

“And so my prayer for her right now is that her faith prevails, and her faith carries her through this moment, and God grants her strength. She is strong enough to endure this. I would ask folks every morning when you wake up, pray for Erika. Pray for those two young children.”

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‘Surge of enthusiasm’ among Catholics in Asia after St. Carlo Acutis canonization 
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‘Surge of enthusiasm’ among Catholics in Asia after St. Carlo Acutis canonization 

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Pilgrims at the canonization Mass for Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 7, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 13, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:

‘Surge of enthusiasm’ among Catholic in Asia after St. Carlo Acutis canonization 

Young Catholics in Asia are “experiencing a surge of enthusiasm” around the life of the newly canonized St. Carlos Acutis, according to the testimony of Father Will Conquer, a Paris Foreign Missions Society priest stationed in Cambodia, according to a Sept. 8 UCA News report. 

“In Asia, where digital culture is omnipresent, Carlo Acutis stands out as a ‘saint 2.0,’” said Conquer, who added that the young saint’s life “resonates particularly in this region where young people, connected and searching for meaning, find in him an accessible and inspiring role model.” 

Catholic leaders in Jerusalem gather for conference on property tax laws 

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land gathered at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem on Sept. 10 for a “high-level conference dedicated to the Arnona property tax issue,” the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a Sept. 12 press release. 

The conference comes after the Jerusalem Municipality’s decision to impose the Arnona municipal property tax on church properties, breaking with the historic status quo that has exempted Christian churches in the Holy Land from paying property taxes since the Ottoman Empire.

According to the release, the conference opened with a keynote address by Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who “emphasized that the status quo regarding the Arnona tax has come to an end and that change is inevitable.” Pizzaballa further called for leaders among the assembly to unite and “for institutions to prepare themselves collectively and responsibly for the upcoming changes.”

Catholic charity delivers water to South Korean city plighted by drought

A charity organization called the Catholic Medical Angels has delivered 10 tons of water to the coastal city of Gangneung in South Korea, where rapidly declining water levels in the city’s Obong Reservoir has prompted a water crisis, according to a report from UCA News.

“Though it is a small effort, we hope it helps the citizens of Gangneung and that this severe drought is resolved as soon as possible,” said Min Chang-Ki, director of the Catholic Medical Center, which oversees the Catholic Medical Angels.

The delivery took place on Sept. 3 and was carried out at parishes across the local Chuncheon Diocese. The diminishing reservoir ordinarily supplies about 87% of the city’s tap and industrial water, the report said.

Filipino priest to receive Nobel Prize of Asia for opposition toward former president 

Filipino priest Father Flavie Villanueva will receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Asia,” for his work building shelters for Manila’s homeless population and “defending victims of extrajudicial killings” in former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug crackdown, according to Crux.

“I accept this on behalf of the thousands of homeless and those victims of social injustice, particularly the EJK victims, that they may have a face in this fast-changing world,” Villanueva said in a press conference on Wednesday. He will receive the award officially in a ceremony on Nov. 7.

Catholics in Nepal hoping for an end to violence amid corruption protests

Catholics in Nepal are hoping for an end to ongoing violence, according to Nepal priest Father Silas Bogati, after anti-corruption protests in the country escalated on Sept. 6, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people, according to a Sept. 10 Crux report.

“Violence is never a solution to problems, and now we hope there will be peaceful transition and people can live in peace,” the priest said. “For the Catholic Church, we want to see the end of violence and arson attacks and get a peaceful solution to the ongoing problems.”

The priest’s words come after “a full curfew” was enacted following Saturday’s unrest, which was ignited by social media bans across the country.

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New film on St. Maximilian Kolbe’s final days highlights hope amid darkness
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New film on St. Maximilian Kolbe’s final days highlights hope amid darkness

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The premiere of “Triumph of the Heart” in Dallas on Sept. 8, 2025. / Credit: Nicole Marie Richards

CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

A new film called “Triumph of the Heart” depicts St. Maximilian Kolbe’s last days on earth in a starvation bunker in the German death camp of Auschwitz. The film will be released in theaters on Sept. 12.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar and priest who volunteered to die in place of another man in Auschwitz. He spent the last 14 days of his life in a starvation bunker alongside nine other men.

The red carpet at the premiere of "Triumph of the Heart" in Dallas on Sept. 8, 2025. Credit: Nicole Marie Richards
The red carpet at the premiere of “Triumph of the Heart” in Dallas on Sept. 8, 2025. Credit: Nicole Marie Richards

At the film’s Sept. 8 premiere in Dallas, where over 1,000 people gathered at the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building on the University of Texas at Dallas campus to show their support and watch the film, writer and director Anthony D’Ambrosio told CNA on the red carpet that it was “surreal” to see the magnitude of the premiere. 

He explained that it was originally meant to be a more intimate gathering with roughly 200 people in attendance but “God, of course, had other plans,” D’Ambrosio said. “I think that what I’m seeing is that God keeps on growing our vision for where he wants to take the film, where he wants to take this story.” 

The current rise in faith-based media

Actors who also spoke on the red carpet discussed the resurgence of faith-based media being seen in today’s culture. 

Michael Iskander, who portrays King David in Prime Video’s “House of David” and served as the master of ceremonies for the premiere, said he believes “Christ is pouring his heart out to all of us in every way possible and media is one of those frontiers that hasn’t really been touched yet.”

He credited the hit series “The Chosen” for “paving the path for so much faith-based filmmaking and showing people that this is a market that people want to see.”

Michael Iskander, the actor who portrays King David in Prime Video's "House of David," at the Sept. 8, 2025, premiere of "Triumph of the Heart." Credit: Nicole Marie Richards
Michael Iskander, the actor who portrays King David in Prime Video’s “House of David,” at the Sept. 8, 2025, premiere of “Triumph of the Heart.” Credit: Nicole Marie Richards

A recent convert to Catholicism, Iskander shared that St. Maximilian Kolbe was one of the first saints he learned about from the Catholic Church. He highlighted the saint’s use of media to spread the Gospel message to the masses and said it is “fitting that this film and this rise in Christianity, especially in filmmaking, had to do with St. Kolbe.”

Jeff Schiefelbein, co-host of the podcast “The Beatidudes” and an investor in “Triumph of the Heart,” said he believes there is a resurgence in faith-based media because people are “sick of all the fake stuff.”

“We’re being told to compare ourselves to things that aren’t even important. The materialism has swung so far that the pendulum is making its way back,” he said. “… I think there’s going to be this resurgence … of young people, Gen Xers, old people coming back and saying, ‘Wait, we want what’s real, what’s true, what’s good, and what’s beautiful’ and so it is rooted in the Gospel when we go and seek those.”

Marcellino D’Ambrosio, a well-known author, Catholic commentator, and executive producer of the film — also the father of Anthony D’Ambrosio — called this moment we’re seeing in faith-based media “a Holy Spirit moment.”

“Human beings always need God but I think something really special is going on right now,” he said. 

“St. Augustine said it well: Our hearts are restless until we rest in him. And success in the culture — this is a fascinating thing that actually goes back even to the successful cultures in Rome — there’s an emptiness when you have a certain amount of success and you have leisure; nothing satisfies but God,” he added. “So it oftentimes leads people to that restlessness that St. Augustine talks about — to look for him, to be open to him, and I think that’s what’s going on in our culture right now.”

Actor Marcin Kwaśny as Maximilian Kolbe in “Triumph of the Heart.” Credit: Triumph of the Heart movie/Sherwood Fellows
Actor Marcin Kwaśny as Maximilian Kolbe in “Triumph of the Heart.” Credit: Triumph of the Heart movie/Sherwood Fellows

A film that inspires hope

As for what those involved in the film hope viewers take away from it, the major theme they mentioned was their wish that it fills the audience with hope.

“I hope they will take away hope,” Marcellino D’Ambrosio said. “I hope that everyone realizes that God is real; I have a future, no matter how bad the present looks … he’s with me in the present and he has something in store for me that’s greater than my wildest dreams.”

Rowan Polonski, the actor who portrays Albert in the film — one of the men in the starvation bunker alongside Kolbe — told CNA his hope is for the audience to be “pleasantly surprised in the way that they’re moved.”

“Entering into this movie, you could quite easily walk in thinking it’s going to be a pretty dark and heavy write, but what I want them to walk out with is a sense of joy and catharsis,” he added. “And a sense that no matter how dark times can get, how low one can feel, there’s always a way out, there’s always a crack of light somewhere that you can cling onto and follow through and it’s normally in the form of love.”

Producer Cecilia Stevenson added: “I really want people to feel love when they watch this movie and specifically to feel the love of Our Lord and how he enters into our suffering with us, just like Kolbe did for those men in that film. Our movie, Kolbe’s story, it’s a modern-day example that ultimately points us to Christ, and I really hope people feel that love and I hope it gives them hope, that there is meaning in life and that suffering itself can have meaning.”

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Catholic schools add security, including armed staff, after Minneapolis school shooting
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Catholic schools add security, including armed staff, after Minneapolis school shooting

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Police gather at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, following a mass shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others, 14 of them children. / Credit: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).

After two children died and more than 20 people were injured by a transgender-identifying man in Minneapolis in August, Catholic schools around the country have been evaluating their security measures, with some hiring security guards and others allowing teachers and staff to be armed.

The Diocese of Buffalo this week announced it has hired armed security guards for the 29 Catholic elementary schools in its jurisdiction and has also engaged a “security consultant” to help create “comprehensive safety plans tailored to each school community.”

Catholic schools superintendent Joleen Dimitroff sent a letter to parents informing them of the decisions, which she said are “a reflection of our shared belief that the safety of our children is priceless and must be protected with the highest level of care.”

Parents’ reactions have been mixed. Marc Bruno, a longtime Buffalo public school teacher, called the move “a necessary step.”

“No one wants to see guns in the schools,” he told local ABC news station WKBW. However, he continued, “if you look at some of the previous shootings, principals have thrown their bodies at the gunman, and you know, our bodies don’t stand a chance against a bullet.”

One mother opposed the move, saying having armed security guards will put “children’s lives in danger.” She said she will not continue sending her child to school with armed guards present, emphasizing that her child “isn’t allowed to have peanut butter in his classroom to protect kids, but you want a stranger strolling the halls with a gun?”

Arming teachers

A less-talked-about solution among Catholic schools is the practice of arming school staff, including teachers. 

In Ohio, nearly 100 public school districts — and even some private Christian schools — have anonymous armed staff this year, up from 67 the year before, according to a roster released by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Hametown Christian Academy, a private school in Norton, Ohio, allows armed staff. 

Associate pastor and head of school safety at the school Rick Wright told the Akron Beacon Journal on Aug. 25 that the school board decided it was “prudent to arm teachers and staff members” due to the increase in school shootings in recent years. 

“A gun is not evil,” Wright said. “It is a tool, and the fact that some of our staff may be armed is a deterrent.”

The names and numbers of teachers and other school staff carrying guns are not publicly available, nor are the total number of armed staff in each district. All armed staff are trained to use their weapons, according to Wright.

Schools post signs alerting visitors of the gun policy, hoping the knowledge that staff are armed will serve as “a deterrent,” Wright said.

If you “put up a no gun zone sign,” Wright said, “you’re telling somebody you can come in here and shoot all you want.” 

“It works the opposite (of the intent); you’ve made yourself a soft target,” he said.

An independent Catholic school in the South that wishes to remain unnamed told CNA that after extensive discussion about campus security, administrators arrived at an “informal” security policy that involves armed staff.

“We’re pretty sure some of the teachers have guns in their cars,” an administrator told CNA. 

When asked whether teachers were also carrying concealed weapons, the administrator said he does not know, and the school has “never said yes or no” to the practice.

Because of the “high quality of the teachers” at the school, the administrator said the leadership “came to the conclusion that the teachers would go after a guy with a gun rather than run away.” The school would “call the police and then the teachers with weapons would use … deadly force” if necessary to protect students. 

“We’re willing to bet that would be a sufficient response,” he said.

Funding for security measures

Funding for the new security measures in the Buffalo Diocese for the 2025-2026 school year has been provided by the Foundation for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, according to Dimitroff. Tuition will increase in subsequent years to cover the cost, which might also be covered by public funding.

James Cultrara, the director for education for the New York State Catholic Conference, told CNA after the 2012 school shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, that New York state lawmakers had instituted two funding streams to address school security: one for public schools and one for private schools. 

The private school funding program has expanded tenfold, from $7 million initially to more than $70 million. Schools can use the funds to address anything related to “health, safety, and security.” Environmental hazard mitigation as well as security cameras, security guards, and remote door locks are covered by the funding, Cultrara said.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference released a statement on Sept. 5 saying it “welcomes a broader legislative discussion about preventing gun violence” and asking the state Legislature to address security funding disparities between public and private schools.

Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, noted that while the Catholic Church in Minnesota “has long supported commonsense gun regulations, such as protective orders and expanded background checks,” neither of those measures prevented “the Annunciation tragedy.”

Adkins noted that while “Americans have a right to possess firearms,” that right comes with responsibilities, including that of public officials to address the “deeper causes of violence — mental health struggles, family breakdown, and a growing despair often worsened by harmful ideologies, substance abuse, and the effects of the absence of God in people’s lives.”

Adkins urged the Legislature to reconsider recently-enacted laws that loosen restrictions on THC (a cannabis plant derivative) and “the widely debated treatment of young people experiencing gender dysphoria.”

A controversial Minnesota law prohibits mental health counselors from practicing so-called conversion therapy on LGBT youth, which in practice means that therapists who want to help people who do not want to embrace a LGBT identity are fearful of doing so, according to Christian therapist Dr. David Kirby, who testified against the legislation before it passed.

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‘God is with Nicaragua!’ exclaims first Nicaraguan consecrated bishop in the U.S.
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‘God is with Nicaragua!’ exclaims first Nicaraguan consecrated bishop in the U.S.

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Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau at his episcopal consecration Mass as the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 8, 2025. / Credit: Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 11, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

“Today, we Nicaraguans are making history again. Do not forget: God is with us and God is with Nicaragua!” said Pedro Bismarck Chau, the new auxiliary bishop of Newark, New Jersey, at the Sept. 8 Mass for his episcopal consecration, making him the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States.

Amid a festive atmosphere and before a packed Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, where he had been rector since 2020, Chau received episcopal consecration through the laying on of hands by several bishops. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark.

As part of the celebration, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the letter in which Pope Leo XIV officially appointed Chau as bishop and encouraged him to allow himself to be strengthened “by the grace of this jubilee year and you will have reason to be confident in the gift of hope, which does not disappoint. May God continue to bless you and may he bless the people of God in this archdiocese.”

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep

In his homily in English and Spanish, Tobin encouraged the new bishop to remember that “you have been called from among the people of God and for the people of God. Not for yourself, but for the things that belong to God. Indeed, episcopacy is the name of a service, not an honor, for a bishop should strive to serve rather than rule.”

“According to the Master’s commandment, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all … Be a faithful steward and dispenser of the mysteries of Christ. Always follow the example of the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and is known by them, and who did not hesitate to give his life for them.”

The cardinal then recalled that “Pope Francis never tired of repeating to bishops that there are three aspects to a bishop’s closeness to the people he serves: closeness to God in prayer, the first task; closeness to the priests and deacons of the Church; and closeness to the people of God. … Do not forget your roots, do not forget those who have passed on the faith to you.”

‘God is with Nicaragua!’

At the beginning of his address as a newly consecrated bishop, Chau thanked the Deaf community in sign language, recalling that for 17 years they have been a great support and encouragement in his ministry, offering them his prayers and concluding with a clear: “I love you!”

Speaking later in Spanish, he addressed his “dear Hispanic community: Thank you for the faith and devotion you possess. You are a great gift of life for the Church in the United States. Continue, brothers, to be a Church that goes out in search of the lost sheep.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the presence this afternoon,” Chau continued, “of a group of people here from a very small country but with a big and resilient heart that cries out with a phrase that no other country has: ‘Who causes so much joy? The conception of Mary. Mary of Nicaragua! Nicaragua of Mary!’”

The prelate addressed his family, especially his mother: “Thank you, my dearest mother, for everything and for praying so many rosaries for me, three, four, and five times a day that you pray for me. I need them, so don’t stop praying those rosaries for me. OK, Mommy?”

“I love you very much,” he told his family, “you know I love you with all my heart.”

The example of the Virgin Mary

Chau said he hopes to “follow the example of Mary, whose birthday we celebrate today. Happy birthday, Mary! She trusted in God’s plan even though she didn’t know what she was being called to or where it would take or lead her. She renounced all the dreams and aspirations that a young girl would have and put God’s will first.”

Then addressing all those assembled he said: “I humbly ask you to remember me in your prayers to the Lord and to ask the Virgin to watch over me and bring me closer to her son, Jesus, so that I may reflect for you the image of the Good Shepherd. Thank you, and may God bless you all!” he said.

Words of Bishop Silvio Báez

Following the Mass, Bishop Silvio Báez, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Nicaragua, who has been living in the U.S. since 2019, said the episcopal consecration of Chau was a “historic celebration. The first Nicaraguan, born in Nicaragua, to be ordained a bishop in the United States. He was baptized and took his first steps in the faith in Nicaragua.”

“This is a sign of the richness and fruitfulness of the Church of Nicaragua and a message of hope for all the people of God in our country. The fact that Bismarck came from Nicaragua and settled in the United States shows that it is possible to move forward despite the difficulties one may encounter,” he added.

When asked about his meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in August, along with two other exiled Nicaraguan bishops — Carlos Herrera and Isidoro Mora — the prelate said: “The interview with the Holy Father was a moment of grace, a moment of hope, seeing how deeply he holds Nicaragua in his heart as well as the situation the Nicaraguan people are experiencing at this time.”

Who is Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau?

Pedro Bismarck Chau was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua. He studied at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

He completed his ecclesiastical studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange and later earned a master’s degree in counseling from Seton Hall University.

He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 24, 2008.

He served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield, New Jersey, from 2008–2012; as director of vocations from 2012–2016; and as head of campus ministry at Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2015–2020.

He also served as pastor of the Pro-Cathedral of Sts. John and Patrick in Newark from 2015–2020 and rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart since 2020.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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1,000-piece St. Carlo Acutis mosaic used to ‘convict the universal call to holiness’
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1,000-piece St. Carlo Acutis mosaic used to ‘convict the universal call to holiness’

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Artist Johnny Vrba presents the commissioned Carlo Acutis piece to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Chicago Catholic

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 9, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).

As the faithful continue to celebrate the canonization of St. Carlo Acutis, a 1,000-piece mosaic portrait of the new saint made of toy soldiers, Pokémon, shoelaces, and other surprises hangs in Rome.

After artist Johnny Vrba heard about Acutis, he was inspired to create a portrait of the saint out of recognizable items that visually tell his story. Vrba has now crafted and presented two portraits of Acutis to help young Catholics learn about the first millennial saint. 

“Every figure, every toy, every single thing that is glued on the piece has a meaning and a purpose,” Vrba told CNA. “It’s all on there for a reason. Every single one of them is numbered, just like Scripture says: ‘He hasn’t just counted them, because he’s numbered us. He’s numbered the hairs on our heads.’”

Johnny Vrba with his Carlo Acutis portrait in Assisi, Italy. Credit: Photo courtesy of Johnny Vrba
Johnny Vrba with his Carlo Acutis portrait in Assisi, Italy. Credit: Photo courtesy of Johnny Vrba

Discovering ‘an ordinary, but extraordinary, saint’

Vrba was raised Catholic but didn’t completely commit to his faith until an unexpected trip established his relationship with Christ. 

In 2020, Vrba was on a study abroad trip sailing to Shanghai, China, when the COVID-19 virus broke out. “The voyage did not go as planned, but during that uncertain time I actually met the Lord for the first time in a really powerful way.”

After the experience, Vrba got involved in missionary work, was in school, and created a bit of art on the side. He had always enjoyed painting and building small toys and thought: “I wonder if there’s a way to combine drawing, painting, and this sculptural component.”

Vrba put faith and art together to create a couple portraits of Jesus with the Crown of Thorns. One is made of wine corks to represent Jesus’ miracle in Cana, and the other is crafted of toy soldiers. Then a friend of Vrba’s told him about Acutis, inspiring the next steps for the young artist. 

“I’d never heard of Carlo Acutis. He was totally under my radar,” Vrba said. “Then I researched him and thought: ‘He has some very similar things to my own story and synchronicities.’ Like bringing his parents to the faith and bringing them to Mass. Then being into technology and filming and animals, like his dogs and cats. He’s just such an ordinary, but extraordinary, saint.”

The St. Carlo Acutis mosaic in the making. Credit: Photo courtesy of Johnny Vrba
The St. Carlo Acutis mosaic in the making. Credit: Photo courtesy of Johnny Vrba

“I started dreaming about what a piece could look like,” Vrba said. He decided his next sculpture would be an image Acutis made of toys, because “Carlo would have played with video game controllers, and played Pokémon and Mario.”

‘The First Millennial Saint’

Creating the mosaic was no simple task. Vrba had to track down thousands of quality soldiers and toys, paint them, and meticulously glue each one in place. The result was the 45-pound mosaic called “The First Millennial Saint.”

“Every toy has a meaning and a purpose,” Vrba said. Many of the soldiers are turned facing a figure of the crucifixion to represent “the culture of death.” They are “flaccid, boring, colored, gray, white, and black figures that are all pointing at the cross — pointing at Jesus.”

There are also colorful soldiers that are “outward-facing, evangelizing, and filled with the joy of the Gospel.” The 163 colorful figures represent Christians who are fighting against the culture of death and also the 163 Eucharistic miracles Acutis documented on his website.

The sculpture also has dozens of hidden “Easter eggs” that viewers might just miss, including a dolphin and various Pokémon characters hinting at Acutis’ favorite animal and favorite game. The background is even a soccer field to represent his love for the sport.

“People really gravitate towards the computer desk setup. It has a saxophone, the Bible, a world map, a little soda, and his dogs and cats around him where he would have worked at his little station. It blends right in with the piece, you would never even know, but when you turn your head sideways you can see it.”

“Then both of the miracles are incorporated,” Vrba said. The miracle of Mattheus, a young boy from Brazil who was healed from a birth defect that caused him difficulty eating is represented with small steak and french fry figurines, because it was the first meal he was able to consume after his mother asked Acutis to intercede for her son.

The sculpture includes a bicycle to represent the miracle that saved Valeria Valverde, a young Costa Rican woman who suffered a serious head injury from a bike accident in Florence. The toy bike is “placed on Carlo’s head where she cracked her head and suffered brain hemorrhaging.” After her mother prayed at Acutis’ tomb, she made a complete recovery.

Artist Johnny Vrba presents the commissioned Carlo Acutis piece to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago. Credit: Photo courtesy of Chicago Catholic
Artist Johnny Vrba presents the commissioned Carlo Acutis piece to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago. Credit: Photo courtesy of Chicago Catholic

A mission of more than just art

Vrba created the original mosaic for Acutis’ mother, which he planned to give to her during a meeting at Acutis’ canonization in April. After it was postponed due to Pope Francis’ death, the meeting was unfortunately canceled. Since the piece had already traveled to Italy, Vrba decided to take it to the church where Acutis is buried in Assisi.

The sculpture traveled around the city where Vrba showed it to pilgrims and placed it in spots Acutis once stood himself. After gaining traction on its journey, it was acquired by and placed in the Vatican’s youth center.

While in Assisi, Vrba also met a number of parishioners of St. Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago — the only church in the United States named after Acutis. One parishioner commissioned a replica of the piece that Vrba created with even more details than the original. 

Inspired by Acutis’ quote “We are all born originals, but many of us die photocopies,” Vrba ensures each work of art, even replicas, are different. “I want to make every piece unique, because every person is unique. Die as an original, not as a photocopy.”

Vrba presented the original during the Jubilee of Youth and the replica to kids at St. Carlo Acutis Parish. When kids see the sculpture Vrba loves that they realize “each figure on the piece has a special mission, and each one of us in the Church [has] a special mission. We are made for a purpose. We are the lifeblood of the Church.”

“I want to make art that people don’t just look at but look into. And it’s the greatest joy in my life when kids come up to it and they’re able to touch things, push buttons, and they can get their hands on it, interact with it. I love seeing them look into it.”

Vrba is currently working on four pieces that will be shown at Miami Art Week in December, including portraits of St. John Paul II and newly canonized St. Pier Giorgio Frassati. Vrba’s art will be one of the very few, if not the only, religious pieces at the mostly secular show.  

“Then the goal would be to use those pieces at school parishes, stand-alone parishes, churches, and any Catholic missions to preach the lives of the saints.” He added: “The mission is to speak and evangelize, and especially, convict the universal call to holiness in an artistic way … using the commonplace household items and toys that people recognize.” 

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Diocese investigates sainthood cause of Virginia father who saved son
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Diocese investigates sainthood cause of Virginia father who saved son

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Tom Vander Woude with two of his grandchildren, Michael and Bobby Vander Woude (from left to right). The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is investigating Tom Vander Woude’s cause for sainthood almost two decades after he died saving his son. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

CNA Staff, Sep 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Suffocation awaited a young man with Down syndrome when the eroded surface of a toxic sewage tank crumbled beneath his feet.

Joseph Vander Woude would have died alone in the cramped tank surrounded by toxic fumes, but his father jumped in, pushing him toward the surface with his last breath.

Even as his lungs filled with toxic gases, Tom called out to the farmhand who was trying to pull Joseph out.

“You pull, I’ll push,” he said.

Tom eventually faded into unconsciousness, still propping Joseph up until emergency responders pulled them both out of the 7-foot-deep tank.

By the time they did, Tom was dead.

It was Sept. 8, 2008, when Tom, 66, left behind his wife and seven sons. But Tom’s legacy wouldn’t end there.

Seventeen years later, a group of Catholics is now working with the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to open his cause for sainthood.

“You’re shocked that he’s gone, and you miss him, and you don’t know what’s going to replace that void, if it ever will be replaced,” his fifth son, Chris Vander Woude, told CNA. “But then you’re like, that’s a hero.” 

More than 1,500 people attended Tom’s funeral Mass, including the local bishop, more than 75 priests, and more than 60 altar boys.

Tom’s story continues to resonate. A guild founded in his name is interviewing those who knew him, while the diocese has named a postulator and vice postulator to investigate his cause for sainthood.

Depending on what they find, his case could go to Rome.

Signs of holiness

In the Catholic Church, three things can put you on the path to sainthood: martyrdom, heroic virtue, and now — after a 2017 move by Pope Francis to expand sainthood — a sacrificial death. 

Keith Henderson never knew Tom, but as he learned about him, he was inspired to found the Tom Vander Woude Guild that is advocating for his cause by sharing his story. Alongside the guild, the Diocese of Arlington has taken several preliminary steps to open his cause, including naming a postulator and vice postulator, who are investigating and promoting the cause.

As Henderson has learned more about Tom, he found that “his entire life was one of tremendous faith and selfless service to everyone he met.”

“His selfless life and death serve as a model for how laypeople can pursue holiness in the 21st century,” he told CNA.

Tom Vander Woude and his wife, Mary Ellen. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
Tom Vander Woude and his wife, Mary Ellen. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

“He was very joyful. His charity abounds,” Chris added. “He was always helping people.”

But at the same time, Tom was ordinary.

Chris remembers his dad as “quiet” and more of a “St. Joseph character.” Born on April 24, 1942, Tom was a “South Dakota farmer boy” who married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen. It was a “country boy meets city girl” type of love story, Chris said. 

Tom would go on to become many more things — math whiz, Navy pilot, commercial pilot, farmer, father, and now, potential saint. 

In 1965, Tom Vander Woude became a Navy pilot. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
In 1965, Tom Vander Woude became a Navy pilot. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

“He was just an ordinary sort of a guy who made an extraordinary impact in so many ways, and on so many people during his life,” Henderson said.

By all accounts, Tom was a busy man: a commercial pilot with a demanding schedule, an attentive father of seven, and a dedicated farmer.

But Tom attended daily Mass often, prayed the rosary every day, and made a weekly Holy Hour from 2 to 3 a.m. — odd hours due to his flying schedule. 

“Dad was the unquestioned leader and protector of the family, and he led spiritually, too,” Chris said. “No matter what dad did that day, if it was flying or farming, he was on his knees saying the rosary.” 

Tom Vander Woude with baby Joseph “Josie” Vander Woude. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
Tom Vander Woude with baby Joseph “Josie” Vander Woude. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

Getting Josie off the sidelines 

For Chris it has been “surreal” to share his father’s story. People are praying for his father’s intercession in all sorts of scenarios — often related to having a child with special needs, Chris said. 

Tom’s third-oldest son, Dan Vander Woude, recalled how Tom went out of his way to ensure that Joseph, affectionately known as “Josie” by his family, was included.

When he was young, part of Joseph’s physical therapy entailed crawling on the ground. Tom was right there with him, crawling on the floor. 

When a grown-up Dan asked his father to coach a JV basketball team, Tom was all in — as long as Joseph could be there, too.

Tom Vander Woude coached basketball in his spare time. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
Tom Vander Woude coached basketball in his spare time. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

“I thought Joseph would simply do the warm-ups with the team and cheer them on from the bench,” Dan recalled. 

But to Dan’s surprise, during one basketball game, Tom had convinced the other coach and the referees to let Joseph play.

“Joseph went into the game and wasted no time getting a couple of fouls and chucking up some long shots,” Dan said. “Joseph was beaming because Dad had given him the opportunity to play in a real game.”

“I was deeply moved that my dad was always committed to getting Joseph off the sidelines and into the game — in basketball and all areas of life,” Dan said. 

Tom Vander Woude with Josie on a horse. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
Tom Vander Woude with Josie on a horse. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

‘Just do the right thing’

After the sewage tank accident, Joseph spent several days at the hospital recovering. Healthy now, Joseph takes care of his 81-year-old mother on the family farm. 

“Seventeen years later, Joseph actually takes care of Mom,” Chris said. “It’s just amazing to see God’s plan and providence.”

Joseph carries the groceries, gets the door for his mom, and offers her his arm when she needs it. 

“You always see Joseph and mom together — very similar to early on, you always saw Joseph and dad together in his last few years,” Chris said. 

Tom’s family continues to grow, with 39 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. His eldest son, Father Tom Vander Woude, is a Catholic priest. 

A family photo taken at Chris Vander Woude’s graduation from Christendom College. From right to left: Joseph, Tom, Dan Vander Woude (third son), Father Tom Vander Woude (oldest son), Steve Vander Woude (second son), Pat Vander Woude (sixth son), Chris Vander Woude (fifth son). Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild
A family photo taken at Chris Vander Woude’s graduation from Christendom College. From right to left: Joseph, Tom, Dan Vander Woude (third son), Father Tom Vander Woude (oldest son), Steve Vander Woude (second son), Pat Vander Woude (sixth son), Chris Vander Woude (fifth son). Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild

Chris had decided to spread his father’s story after telling it to a parish in Boston one day. 

“Many people were crying,” he recalled. “They were on the edge of their seats. A lot of it resonates with them.”

“Knowing that people were grateful for being able to hear the story — that was a big catalyst,” he said. “If they were grateful, there’s probably a lot of other people out there that would love to hear his story.” 

Since then, Chris is set on sharing his father’s story. In addition to several podcasts and talks he has given at local Virginia parishes and in Maryland, he plans to speak at parishes in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, New York City, and several other states. 

“He’s a very humble man, so he’s probably not very happy with all the notoriety,” Chris said. 

Tom wasn’t one to turn a phrase, but Chris does remember a simple saying of his dad’s. Tom used to say: “Just do the right thing,” Chris recalled. “Usually, that’s pretty simple. We’re the ones that make it more complicated by thinking of all the different circumstances or possibilities.”

“Dad never aimed to do anything extraordinary. He just aimed to live every day as best he can,” Chris said. “And so I think that’s an example for all of us.”

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Father Mike Schmitz to launch new podcast on corporal works of mercy
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Father Mike Schmitz to launch new podcast on corporal works of mercy

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Father Mike Schmitz speaks at the revival session of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on July 18, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno

CNA Staff, Sep 5, 2025 / 14:25 pm (CNA).

Popular podcasting priest Father Mike Schmitz — best known for the “Bible in a Year” podcast — is back at it planning a new podcast titled “Called.”

Inspired by the Scripture verse Matthew 25:40, the podcast will be made up of episodes featuring conversations with individuals who have answered God’s call to serve others. From teachers and entrepreneurs to parents and community leaders, the podcast aims to inspire the faithful to put their faith into action.

The Catholic Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to renewing the Church and serving those most in need, has partnered with Ascension to create the podcast. An official release date has not yet been announced.

“This ‘Called’ podcast is giving flesh to the fact that every one of us is called to be the hands and feet of Jesus,” Schmitz said in a video released Sept. 3 announcing the new podcast.

The priest began the video by retelling the parable told by Jesus in Matthew 25. In this parable Jesus welcomes into the heavenly kingdom those who fed him when he was hungry, gave him something to drink when he was thirsty, and clothed him when he was naked. However, for others who did not do these things, they are told to “depart from him.” Schmitz called this parable “one of the most convicting.”

“Every time I read through it, every time I hear it proclaimed, every time I even think of it, I think, ‘Well, here is Jesus — he’s giving us the answer to the test when it comes to the end of our lives,’” Schmitz explained.

He continued: “Jesus makes it very, very clear we’re not being judged on what did you believe — although that’s very important — but here in this parable he’s not highlighting that part, he’s highlighting what did you do? Not just what did you do in your life, but what did you do for the least of my brethren?”

Schmitz said one example of someone who lived this parable was Pier Giorgio Frassati, who will be declared a saint on Sept. 7 in Rome. He explained that the young man would often return to his home without shoes on because he would give them to someone who did not have a pair of shoes.

Therefore, the podcast aims to answer the question: How is God calling each of us to live this out in our daily lives?

“On this podcast ‘Called’ you’ll be able to see ‘Oh, here’s how people right now do this.’ So it takes out some of the mystery and actually gives you and me the strength and the vision and the direction to be able to say, ‘That’s how they live that out. I can totally live that out in my life right now,’” Schmitz said.

“This podcast isn’t just to highlight and spotlight the heroes among us. What it’s meant to do is inspire us, to give us that new vision of what this could look like in your life and in my life.”

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Kendrick Castillo: Lone fatality at 2019 STEM school shooting could become a saint
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Kendrick Castillo: Lone fatality at 2019 STEM school shooting could become a saint

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Kendrick Castillo, the lone fatality at the STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on May 7, 2019. / Credit: Courtesy of John and Maria Castillo

Denver, Colo., Sep 4, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Kendrick Castillo was 18 years old when he tragically died in the STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch, Colorado on May 7, 2019. He died, witnesses said, after he jumped up in the line of fire and ran to stop one of the shooters with a couple other students. He was the lone fatality. Now, this young man could become a saint in the Catholic Church.

The Diocese of Colorado Springs — the diocese to which the city of Highlands Ranch belongs — announced that a petition to open his cause for canonization has been received. 

“I am very grateful for the time and effort that Father Gregory Bierbaum and Father Patrick DiLoreto of St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch have spent gathering evidence and conducting interviews to prepare for a petition to open the cause for canonization of Kendrick Castillo. Although I have just begun to review the information submitted, it seems clear that Kendrick was an exceptional young man,” Bishop James Golka, of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, said in a statement.  

He added, “As we study and discern how to approach the massive undertaking of promoting a canonization cause, I ask all the faithful to keep Kendrick’s family in their prayers. I also encourage everyone to privately invoke Kendrick’s intercession, praying especially for the youth in our diocese, that they emulate his example of fortitude and generosity.”

While Castillo had many connections to the Archdiocese of Denver — attending Notre Dame School in Denver, serving as a Squire of the Knights of Columbus in a Denver council and having his funeral at St. Mary Parish in Littleton — the Church looks to where the individual’s life ended to determine which diocese has the right to petition for canonization. 

Therefore, since Castillo died in Highlands Ranch, which belongs to the Diocese of Colorado Springs, it is this diocese’s responsibility to conduct the investigation. Golka and the diocese will now review and examine the evidence collected and if approved, the petition will be sent to Rome for further consideration.

Father Patrick DiLoreto, the parochial vicar at St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch, is one of the individuals involved in gathering evidence for Castillo’s cause of canonization. He and the parish’s pastor, Father Gregory Bierbaum, both experienced Castillo’s story coming up in prayer for months, DiLoreto told CNA in an interview.

Kendrick Castillo serving with the Knights of Columbus. Credit: Courtesy of John and Maria Castillo
Kendrick Castillo serving with the Knights of Columbus. Credit: Courtesy of John and Maria Castillo

“After learning that the issue had been on both of our hearts, we felt this was a prompting by the Holy Spirit to investigate further,” he said. “After interviewing his parents and reviewing the manner in which he died we believed there was reason to petition the Diocese to open a cause for him.”

DiLoreto explained that the priests believe that Castillo qualifies for the category of “Offering of Life.” In a 2017 Motu proprio, Pope Francis declared a new category of Christian life suitable for consideration of beatification called “offering of life” — in which a person has died prematurely through an offering of their life for love of God and neighbor. 

Though similar to martyrdom, this definition fits those Servants of God who have in some way given up their life prematurely for charity, though the circumstances may fall outside the strict definition of martyrdom, which requires the presence of a persecutor.

“He [Castillo] courageously threw himself at one of the school shooters without hesitation allowing other students to follow and subdue the gunman. This saved the lives of his fellow classmates when in any other circumstance, there would surely have been more deaths on that day,” DiLoreto expressed. 

When discussing Castillo’s faith, DiLoreto called him “a pious young man who cared deeply for his faith and desired to be a witness of the faith for others, especially those who had never encountered our Lord.”  

“We have seen this through the devotionals which he had,” he continued. “For example, he always carried his rosary with him — seeing how well-worn the rosaries were, it can also be inferred that he used them frequently. He had one of his rosaries on him when he was murdered which has since been gifted to a classmate who was in the room.”

Actively served in his parish

DiLoreto also shared that Castillo served at Mass and funerals, actively volunteered at his parish, and attended the funerals of individuals he didn’t even know just to pray for the deceased and their family.

“As the country faces more and more persecution of Christians especially in these horrific school shootings, such as the one last week in Minnesota, we can look at the heroic examples such as Kendrick and the children who protected others for inspiration,” DiLoreto said.

“The elderly can look to such young examples as hope for the future generations where there may be skepticism over the future of the Church. Young people can look to such examples and be inspired that they too can live a life of virtue and that they can become saints,” he added. “It is not something that is out of reach for them if they are willing to build up virtue through acts of charity and the grace of the sacraments.” 

The canonization process is a lengthy one with many steps. A large part of the process is determining if the individual has miracles attributed to his or her intercession. The Church requires one verified miracle for beatification, after which the individual is referred to as a “Blessed.” After this, another verified miracle is needed for canonization, at which point they become a “Saint.”

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Minneapolis archbishop: Community ‘turning to the Lord’ 1 week after church shooting
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Minneapolis archbishop: Community ‘turning to the Lord’ 1 week after church shooting

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Archbishop Hebda told EWTN News that Annunciation Church will have to be reconsecrated after the shooting, an act he described as “reclaim[ing] that territory for the Lord.” / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly"/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Sep 3, 2025 / 08:55 am (CNA).

Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda said this week that Catholics and others in the Twin Cities are revealing “signs of God’s great love” in the week following the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church. 

“I get the idea that people are very much turning to the Lord at this time and there’s just been a real outpouring of love,” the archbishop said on “EWTN News Nightly” on Sept. 2. 

Hebda told EWTN News President Montse Alvarado that there has been “no shortage of volunteers” in the days since the shooting, which claimed the lives of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski while injuring approximately 20 others.  

“Counselors are coming forward,” the archbishop said. “Those who are able to help their parents and families in all different ways are stepping forward to really show what happens when a church community is impacted.”

Hebda said he was gratified after Pope Leo XIV spoke directly about the shooting and called for an end to the “pandemic of arms” that brings about such violence. 

The Holy Father’s prayers were particularly poignant, the archbishop said, given that Leo himself is a native of the Midwest. 

“[It was] huge … especially to be able to hear those words in English and in a Midwestern accent,” he said. 

“The victims of the shooting were taken to two different hospitals in Minneapolis,” Hebda said. “And one of them is adjacent to the very hospital where Pope Leo had done his [clinical pastoral education] when he was a seminarian.” 

“So I know he knows the spot, he knows Minneapolis, and we’re really counting on him continuing those prayers,” the prelate said. 

Stricken church will be reconsecrated

Annunciation Church will have to be reconsecrated after the shooting, an act that Hebda described as “reclaim[ing] that territory for the Lord.”

“I know it’s going to take a long time for some of the faithful to be able to go back into that building that was the site of such devastation,” he told Alvarado. “But we’re hoping that as time continues to heal and as those prayers continue … that we will get to that point where that church will once again be a hub of activity.”

The archbishop also touched briefly on the recently renewed debate over the effectiveness of prayer in the wake of tragedies. Some figures in the media and even politicians over the past week have derided prayer and dismissed its role in addressing suffering and societal ills.

In contrast, Hebda said he has heard numerous stories about how students at Annunciation Catholic School have “turned to prayer” after the shooting. 

“I was with one young woman, and she was talking about holding the hand of the other young girl who was in the ambulance with her, and how they prayed [the Our Father] fervently,” he said.

The archbishop said he also heard of a young man who was injured in the shooting and who “asked the doctor to pray with him before the operation.”

“It’s interesting at a time when prayer is being debated, that’s what it seems like people are appreciating the most,” Hebda said.

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New animated movie aims to bring story of Jesus to life through eyes of John the disciple
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New animated movie aims to bring story of Jesus to life through eyes of John the disciple

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The disciple John and Jesus in the new animated movie “Light of the World.” / Credit: Salvation Poem Foundation

CNA Staff, Sep 2, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A new 2D-animated movie, told through the eyes of Jesus’ beloved disciple John, will be released in theaters on Sept. 5, taking viewers from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to his passion, death, and resurrection. “Light of the World” is the first movie from the Salvation Poem Project, a nonprofit ministry and independent studio that crafts stories to share Jesus Christ with the world.

Brennan McPherson, producer of the film, told CNA in an interview that his team chose to tell the story from John’s perspective because he was likely the youngest disciple so they believe his perspective is the most relatable.

“Telling it from the perspective of a young teenager — young kids want to age up and they see themselves in that. Teenagers are going through those formative years, so they relate with it. And then adults know what that formative time in their life was like. So it made it more appealing to a full family,” he explained. 

He added that the filmmakers “wanted to show how the Gospel changed a young boy’s life and how it can still change our lives today.”

For the filmmakers — who also create other forms of faith-based media — projects such as this one are an “an act of worship.”

“We’re nerdy animation lovers, and we wanted to make a beautiful animated film that honored God, that told the truth about the Gospel, and that could be used as a tool to share our faith with people in a way that’s nonthreatening and that is not just compelling but genuine and respectful towards the audience,” McPherson said.

“What we’re trying to give people is an experience of the goodness of Jesus and let that resonate on a heart level so that they can fall in love with him,” he added. 

The disciple John in the new animated movie "Light of the World." Credit: Salvation Poem Foundation
The disciple John in the new animated movie “Light of the World.” Credit: Salvation Poem Foundation

When deciding what parts of Jesus’ ministry to include in the film, McPherson explained that filmmakers were trying to answer the question “How do you tell the basic big fundamental beats that make the Gospel totally clear to someone who’s had zero background?” 

With this in mind, all of the choices “were through the lens of how do we make the actual structure of the story basically symbolize the Gospel itself, show the Gospel in action, as opposed to just telling us about it.”

He also emphasized the importance the filmmakers gave to “the biblical accuracy, the theological accuracy, [and] making it accessible for children.”

As for what he hopes viewers will take away from the film, McPherson said he hopes “that they will see Jesus is beautiful and fall in love with him and decide to follow him with their lives.”

“We wanted to give people a very clear emotional experience of the Gospel so that it just poured into their hearts. We’re so busy in this culture these days that it’s hard to get people to stop and really think about the claims of Jesus, really consider who he was and whether or not he was true,” he said. “And so this is our way of just basically like, ‘Hey, this is the most beautiful thing to us. That’s what we want to spend our time making art about, and we hope that you see what we see in it.’”

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GoFundMe campaigns raise more than .2 million for victims of Catholic school shooting
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GoFundMe campaigns raise more than $1.2 million for victims of Catholic school shooting

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Over $1 million has been raised through a GoFundMe campaign for victims of the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. / Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

CNA Staff, Aug 29, 2025 / 12:21 pm (CNA).

Numerous online fundraising campaigns have raised well over $1 million to help support victims of the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting that claimed the lives of two children and injured approximately 20 people. 

Verified GoFundMe fundraisers showed over $1.2 million raised as of the morning of Aug. 29, with the funds supporting those injured in the shooting as well as the family of one of the deceased children. 

The mass shooting took place on Aug. 27 when a gunman opened fire on the parochial school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The killer subsequently took his own life. 

The GoFundMe campaigns created in response to the tragedy include one in support of the Moyski-Flavin family, whose 10-year-old daughter, Harper, was one of the two children killed in the shooting. The other victim has been identified as 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel. 

The GoFundMe for Harper’s family says the funds will “be utilized by the family in honor of Harper’s memory with a portion donated in Harper’s honor to a nonprofit to be identified at a later date.” As of Friday morning it had raised about $80,000 of its $100,000 goal.

The largest campaign had raised roughly $530,000 of a $620,000 goal as of Friday morning to help support 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, who the fund said was “in critical condition in the ICU” after being shot during the attack.

The funds for that campaign will contribute to Sophia’s medical care, trauma counseling for her and her brother, family support services, and lost wages.

Other campaigns include fundraisers for 9-year-old Vivian St. Clair, 11-year-old Genevieve Bisek, and 13-year-old Endre Gunter.

‘Give your kids an extra hug’

In the hours after the shooting, family members of Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel identified them as the two children killed in the incident, which the FBI is investigating as a possible hate crime against Catholics.

“Because of [the shooter’s] actions, we will never be allowed to hold [Fletcher], talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” the Merkel family said after the shooting.

“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” the statement said. “Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you. Fletcher, you’ll always be with us.”

The Moyski-Flavin family, meanwhile, said they were “shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.” 

“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain,” they said. “We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”

The other victims of the shooting are expected to survive, authorities have said, though several remain in serious condition.

Prior to carrying out the murders, the killer, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, a man who struggled with his sexual identity, indicated anti-Christian motivation for the murders and an affinity for mass shooters, Satanism, antisemitism, and racism.

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Picture of the day A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc HH 30 around a newly formed star produced by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It is surrounded by jets and a disc wind, and is located in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas outflowing from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an example of where this outflowing gas takes the form of a narrow jet. The source star is located on one end of the jet, hidden behind an edge-on protoplanetary disc that the star is illuminating. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc HH 30 around a newly formed star produced by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It is surrounded by jets and a disc wind, and is located in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas outflowing from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an example of where this outflowing gas takes the form of a narrow jet. The source star is located on one end of the jet, hidden behind an edge-on protoplanetary disc that the star is illuminating. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc HH 30 around a newly formed star produced by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It is surrounded by jets and a disc wind, and is located in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas outflowing from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an example of where this outflowing gas takes the form of a narrow jet. The source star is located on one end of the jet, hidden behind an edge-on protoplanetary disc that the star is illuminating.
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Stellar Duo
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Stellar Duo

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The bright variable star V 372 Orionis takes center stage in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which has also captured a smaller companion star in the upper left of this image. Both stars lie in the Orion Nebula, a colossal region of star formation roughly 1450 light years from Earth.

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