Migrants in Tenerife tell Pope Leo XIV: We do not ask for privileges or compassion #Catholic TENERIFE, Canary Islands — “No one leaves their land, their family and their roots by choice when they can live in peace,” said Bousso Diouf, a woman from Senegal who spoke with the moral authority of someone who risked her life crossing the Atlantic in a wooden boat, knowing the journey could last a week or end adrift at sea.Diouf was among the migrants who greeted Pope Leo XIV at the Las Raíces reception center in Tenerife, where some 700 sub-Saharan African migrants — all adult men — are currently housed. The center is located in the humid Las Raíces area of Tenerife, a eucalyptus-filled area about 3,300 feet above sea level.The number is relatively low compared with the hardest years of the “cayuco” crisis, especially at the end of 2024, when the center received between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants amid overcrowding and widely reported tensions.Most of those currently housed at the center come from Senegal, Gambia, and Mali, and on average spend about three months there before being transferred to mainland Spain.They arrive exhausted after having spent up to 72 hours in police custody for identification and registration procedures.“We come from countries where poverty, violence, war, persecution, and lack of opportunity forced us to leave,” Diouf said.Las Raíces opened in 2021 in response to the 2020 crisis, when more than 23,000 migrants arrived on the coasts of the Canary Islands.Now those numbers have fallen sharply, and the situation is very different.“Our work is to offer them an initial welcome that is dignified, humane, and organized at an especially difficult moment, immediately after their arrival by sea,” Navarro Atiénzar, regional director of Accem, the NGO that manages the Las Raíces Reception Center for Refugees and Immigrants in Tenerife, told Pope Leo.The pope arrived in Tenerife early in the morning from Las Palmas and went to the large camp set up inside a former rural military barracks after six marathon days in Spain that had taken him to Barcelona and Madrid.He listened to those housed there as a father listens when a child opens his heart to recount a trauma.One young Nigerian man said that crossing the ocean to the Canary Islands means facing hunger, cold, desperation, and often death.“Many brothers and sisters lost their lives at sea, and others continue to suffer in silence, victims of mafias that take advantage of need and human suffering,” he said.He also made a plea for humanity: “May we not be seen only as migrants, numbers, or documents, but as people with stories, dreams, families, and hope.”“We do not ask for privileges. We do not ask for compassion. We ask for respect, humanity, and the opportunity to live with dignity,” he said.Among those present was also Aliu Ceesay, a 16-year-old Gambian who arrived in the Canary Islands just one month ago in an irregular boat after a difficult journey from his home country. Like many other migrant minors, his goal is to find work so he can help support his family.Amid an experience marked by uncertainty, Aliu has followed Pope Leo XIV with interest online. The teenager said he wanted to see him in person and was struck by the pope’s message.“I have been following him on the internet and wanted to see him. He is very kind, very good,” Aliu said. He also emphasized the pope’s inclusive spirit: “He does not care if we are black or white, Muslim or Christian. He wants to help us.”More than 54,000 people have passed through Las Raíces. Behind each one is a story, a difficult journey, and, above all, a hope.In his address, Pope Leo repeated the message he gave on the first day he set foot in Las Palmas: “God’s love knows no borders, makes no distinctions, is given to all and brings us together in unity.”“As I look at your faces and listen to your stories, I also think of your hearts — wounded by so many difficulties, yet also comforted by the love you have received from other open, generous and merciful hearts,” the pope said.“Christ’s heart suffered and was pierced out of love, and he was also comforted by compassionate people who eased his pain,” he added.Missionary saints and migrantsThe pope dedicated part of his address to missionary saints such as St. Brother Peter of St. Joseph de Betancur and St. José de Anchieta, who set out from the Canary Islands to proclaim the Gospel in the Americas, opening new missionary horizons.“They too were migrants who ventured into the unknown, carrying faith, hope and charity as their greatest possessions,” he said.The pope called for “responsibility” with an eye toward future generations, to whom, he said, “we wish to bequeath the heritage of a civilization of love.”“Migration will play an important role in this,” he said, because it “can become an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment among peoples.”“Dear brothers and sisters, in a sense, all of us are migrants, for we are all pilgrims on our way to our heavenly homeland,” he said. “Let us help make this journey more humane for everyone by contributing in whatever way we can.”The pope said the name of the center, Las Raíces — “the roots” — had caught his attention. He recalled that Pope Francis, “who so longed to be with you,” often used the image of roots “to emphasize the importance of remembering our origins, staying united and trusting in the Lord.”“May this image of roots also help you to be firmly rooted in the Lord, so that no storm may drive you away from his presence, which strengthens and gives life,” Pope Leo said.At the end of his address, the pope told those gathered: “Dear friends, I carry you in my heart and will remember you in my prayers. May God bless you, your families and all who do good to you. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Consolation of Migrants, always accompany and assist you with her maternal protection.”During the meeting, when the pope announced that he would speak in French and English, many migrants responded with loud applause.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Migrants in Tenerife tell Pope Leo XIV: We do not ask for privileges or compassion #Catholic TENERIFE, Canary Islands — “No one leaves their land, their family and their roots by choice when they can live in peace,” said Bousso Diouf, a woman from Senegal who spoke with the moral authority of someone who risked her life crossing the Atlantic in a wooden boat, knowing the journey could last a week or end adrift at sea.Diouf was among the migrants who greeted Pope Leo XIV at the Las Raíces reception center in Tenerife, where some 700 sub-Saharan African migrants — all adult men — are currently housed. The center is located in the humid Las Raíces area of Tenerife, a eucalyptus-filled area about 3,300 feet above sea level.The number is relatively low compared with the hardest years of the “cayuco” crisis, especially at the end of 2024, when the center received between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants amid overcrowding and widely reported tensions.Most of those currently housed at the center come from Senegal, Gambia, and Mali, and on average spend about three months there before being transferred to mainland Spain.They arrive exhausted after having spent up to 72 hours in police custody for identification and registration procedures.“We come from countries where poverty, violence, war, persecution, and lack of opportunity forced us to leave,” Diouf said.Las Raíces opened in 2021 in response to the 2020 crisis, when more than 23,000 migrants arrived on the coasts of the Canary Islands.Now those numbers have fallen sharply, and the situation is very different.“Our work is to offer them an initial welcome that is dignified, humane, and organized at an especially difficult moment, immediately after their arrival by sea,” Navarro Atiénzar, regional director of Accem, the NGO that manages the Las Raíces Reception Center for Refugees and Immigrants in Tenerife, told Pope Leo.The pope arrived in Tenerife early in the morning from Las Palmas and went to the large camp set up inside a former rural military barracks after six marathon days in Spain that had taken him to Barcelona and Madrid.He listened to those housed there as a father listens when a child opens his heart to recount a trauma.One young Nigerian man said that crossing the ocean to the Canary Islands means facing hunger, cold, desperation, and often death.“Many brothers and sisters lost their lives at sea, and others continue to suffer in silence, victims of mafias that take advantage of need and human suffering,” he said.He also made a plea for humanity: “May we not be seen only as migrants, numbers, or documents, but as people with stories, dreams, families, and hope.”“We do not ask for privileges. We do not ask for compassion. We ask for respect, humanity, and the opportunity to live with dignity,” he said.Among those present was also Aliu Ceesay, a 16-year-old Gambian who arrived in the Canary Islands just one month ago in an irregular boat after a difficult journey from his home country. Like many other migrant minors, his goal is to find work so he can help support his family.Amid an experience marked by uncertainty, Aliu has followed Pope Leo XIV with interest online. The teenager said he wanted to see him in person and was struck by the pope’s message.“I have been following him on the internet and wanted to see him. He is very kind, very good,” Aliu said. He also emphasized the pope’s inclusive spirit: “He does not care if we are black or white, Muslim or Christian. He wants to help us.”More than 54,000 people have passed through Las Raíces. Behind each one is a story, a difficult journey, and, above all, a hope.In his address, Pope Leo repeated the message he gave on the first day he set foot in Las Palmas: “God’s love knows no borders, makes no distinctions, is given to all and brings us together in unity.”“As I look at your faces and listen to your stories, I also think of your hearts — wounded by so many difficulties, yet also comforted by the love you have received from other open, generous and merciful hearts,” the pope said.“Christ’s heart suffered and was pierced out of love, and he was also comforted by compassionate people who eased his pain,” he added.Missionary saints and migrantsThe pope dedicated part of his address to missionary saints such as St. Brother Peter of St. Joseph de Betancur and St. José de Anchieta, who set out from the Canary Islands to proclaim the Gospel in the Americas, opening new missionary horizons.“They too were migrants who ventured into the unknown, carrying faith, hope and charity as their greatest possessions,” he said.The pope called for “responsibility” with an eye toward future generations, to whom, he said, “we wish to bequeath the heritage of a civilization of love.”“Migration will play an important role in this,” he said, because it “can become an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment among peoples.”“Dear brothers and sisters, in a sense, all of us are migrants, for we are all pilgrims on our way to our heavenly homeland,” he said. “Let us help make this journey more humane for everyone by contributing in whatever way we can.”The pope said the name of the center, Las Raíces — “the roots” — had caught his attention. He recalled that Pope Francis, “who so longed to be with you,” often used the image of roots “to emphasize the importance of remembering our origins, staying united and trusting in the Lord.”“May this image of roots also help you to be firmly rooted in the Lord, so that no storm may drive you away from his presence, which strengthens and gives life,” Pope Leo said.At the end of his address, the pope told those gathered: “Dear friends, I carry you in my heart and will remember you in my prayers. May God bless you, your families and all who do good to you. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Consolation of Migrants, always accompany and assist you with her maternal protection.”During the meeting, when the pope announced that he would speak in French and English, many migrants responded with loud applause.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

At Las Raíces reception center in Spain’s Canary Islands, the pope heard testimonies from migrants who risked their lives crossing the Atlantic and urged a more humane response rooted in dignity.

Read More
Everything you need to know about devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus #Catholic The solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus falls on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, which in 2026 is on June 12. What exactly is the meaning behind this feast day? Below are answers to some common questions.Why do Catholics venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus?“Devoting ourselves to the Sacred Heart is one of the easiest, fastest, and most pleasant ways to grow in holiness,” Father Ambrose Dobrozsi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, told EWTN News.“Many saints have done many things to grow close to Jesus Christ, but no way is more sure and more pleasing to him than to consecrate ourselves to his Sacred Heart through the Immaculate Heart of his mother,” he added.Where does devotion to the Sacred Heart come from?The story behind the modern iteration of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, however, begins on Dec. 27, 1673, at a monastery belonging to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in eastern France.There, a nun named Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque began experiencing visions of the Sacred Heart. Those visions continued for 18 months.During her visions, Sister Margaret Mary learned ways to venerate the Sacred Heart of Christ.These devotions included the concept of a Holy Hour on Thursdays, the creation of the feast of the Sacred Heart after Corpus Christi, and the reception of the Eucharist on the first Friday of every month.As with many mystics, many people were skeptical of Sister Margaret Mary’s claims of visions. Her confessor, the then-Father Claude La Colombière, SJ, (now St. Claude La Colombière) believed her, and eventually, the mother superior of her community began to believe as well.The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated privately at the monastery in 1686.Sister Margaret Mary died in 1690 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 13, 1920.Initially, the Vatican was hesitant to declare a feast of the Sacred Heart but did allow the Visitandines to celebrate a Mass special to this day. As the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread throughout France, the Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to France in 1765.In 1856, after much lobbying by French bishops on behalf of the feast of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius IX designated the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the entire Latin-rite Church.On May 25, 1899, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Annum Sacrum, which consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This encyclical was written after a nun, Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, sent two letters to the pope requesting that he consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.Sister Mary of the Divine Heart wrote the letters, she said, after Jesus made the request to her. Pope Leo XIII called this encyclical and the subsequent consecration the “great act” of his papacy.“Finally, there is one motive which we are unwilling to pass over in silence, personal to ourselves it is true, but still good and weighty, which moves us to undertake this celebration. God, the author of every good, not long ago preserved our life by curing us of a dangerous disease,” Leo XIII wrote.“We now wish, by this increase of the honor paid to the Sacred Heart, that the memory of this great mercy should be brought prominently forward, and our gratitude be publicly acknowledged.”But why consecrate the world — or anyone — to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? What does that mean?Pope Leo XIII described the act of consecration as one that will “establish or draw tighter the bonds which naturally connect public affairs with God,” which was especially needed for the world at the turn of the century.“While many see religion as unnecessary in a world with more and more technology and resources, swearing allegiance and consecrating ourselves to Christ the King in his Sacred Heart shows that humanity still needs and longs for a compassionate and all-powerful God,” Dobrozsi, the Cincinnati priest, told EWTN News.“In a society where some live in decadence and prideful luxury while others are destitute, the burning love of Christ’s Sacred Heart reminds us that the fires of his mercy are also fires of justice. And when the culture, and so many of us, feel hopeless that we could ever change after falling to sins of the flesh, the heart of Our Lord beats with powerful love, eternally declaring that true charity has triumphed over sin and death,” he added.These are the promises the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.2. I will give peace in their families.3. I will console them in all their troubles.4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.6. Sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my heart.12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: They will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.This story was first published on EWTN News on June 19, 2020, and has been updated.
Read More

Everything you need to know about devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus #Catholic The solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus falls on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, which in 2026 is on June 12. What exactly is the meaning behind this feast day? Below are answers to some common questions.Why do Catholics venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus?“Devoting ourselves to the Sacred Heart is one of the easiest, fastest, and most pleasant ways to grow in holiness,” Father Ambrose Dobrozsi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, told EWTN News.“Many saints have done many things to grow close to Jesus Christ, but no way is more sure and more pleasing to him than to consecrate ourselves to his Sacred Heart through the Immaculate Heart of his mother,” he added.Where does devotion to the Sacred Heart come from?The story behind the modern iteration of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, however, begins on Dec. 27, 1673, at a monastery belonging to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in eastern France.There, a nun named Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque began experiencing visions of the Sacred Heart. Those visions continued for 18 months.During her visions, Sister Margaret Mary learned ways to venerate the Sacred Heart of Christ.These devotions included the concept of a Holy Hour on Thursdays, the creation of the feast of the Sacred Heart after Corpus Christi, and the reception of the Eucharist on the first Friday of every month.As with many mystics, many people were skeptical of Sister Margaret Mary’s claims of visions. Her confessor, the then-Father Claude La Colombière, SJ, (now St. Claude La Colombière) believed her, and eventually, the mother superior of her community began to believe as well.The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated privately at the monastery in 1686.Sister Margaret Mary died in 1690 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 13, 1920.Initially, the Vatican was hesitant to declare a feast of the Sacred Heart but did allow the Visitandines to celebrate a Mass special to this day. As the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread throughout France, the Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to France in 1765.In 1856, after much lobbying by French bishops on behalf of the feast of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius IX designated the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the entire Latin-rite Church.On May 25, 1899, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Annum Sacrum, which consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This encyclical was written after a nun, Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, sent two letters to the pope requesting that he consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.Sister Mary of the Divine Heart wrote the letters, she said, after Jesus made the request to her. Pope Leo XIII called this encyclical and the subsequent consecration the “great act” of his papacy.“Finally, there is one motive which we are unwilling to pass over in silence, personal to ourselves it is true, but still good and weighty, which moves us to undertake this celebration. God, the author of every good, not long ago preserved our life by curing us of a dangerous disease,” Leo XIII wrote.“We now wish, by this increase of the honor paid to the Sacred Heart, that the memory of this great mercy should be brought prominently forward, and our gratitude be publicly acknowledged.”But why consecrate the world — or anyone — to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? What does that mean?Pope Leo XIII described the act of consecration as one that will “establish or draw tighter the bonds which naturally connect public affairs with God,” which was especially needed for the world at the turn of the century.“While many see religion as unnecessary in a world with more and more technology and resources, swearing allegiance and consecrating ourselves to Christ the King in his Sacred Heart shows that humanity still needs and longs for a compassionate and all-powerful God,” Dobrozsi, the Cincinnati priest, told EWTN News.“In a society where some live in decadence and prideful luxury while others are destitute, the burning love of Christ’s Sacred Heart reminds us that the fires of his mercy are also fires of justice. And when the culture, and so many of us, feel hopeless that we could ever change after falling to sins of the flesh, the heart of Our Lord beats with powerful love, eternally declaring that true charity has triumphed over sin and death,” he added.These are the promises the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.2. I will give peace in their families.3. I will console them in all their troubles.4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.6. Sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my heart.12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: They will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.This story was first published on EWTN News on June 19, 2020, and has been updated.

unitedyam

This year, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated on June 12.

Read More
Marco Rubio Cracks Up Crowd at the State Department Talking About the UFC Freedom 250 Fight at the White House (VIDEO) – The left is absolutely outraged about the UFC Freedom 250 fight that is happening at the White House next week. The post Marco Rubio Cracks Up Crowd at the State Department Talking About the UFC Freedom 250 Fight at the White House (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Marco Rubio Cracks Up Crowd at the State Department Talking About the UFC Freedom 250 Fight at the White House (VIDEO) – The left is absolutely outraged about the UFC Freedom 250 fight that is happening at the White House next week. The post Marco Rubio Cracks Up Crowd at the State Department Talking About the UFC Freedom 250 Fight at the White House (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

U.S. politician delivering a speech in front of an American flag, wearing a blue suit and red tie, emphasizing key issues.

U.S. politician delivering a speech in front of an American flag, wearing a blue suit and red tie, emphasizing key issues.

The left is absolutely outraged about the UFC Freedom 250 fight that is happening at the White House next week.

The post Marco Rubio Cracks Up Crowd at the State Department Talking About the UFC Freedom 250 Fight at the White House (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Vice President JD Vance to Appear on ‘The View’ Next Week – Vice President JD Vance is going to appear on ‘The View’ next week, on Tuesday, June 16th. The post WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Vice President JD Vance to Appear on ‘The View’ Next Week appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Vice President JD Vance to Appear on ‘The View’ Next Week – Vice President JD Vance is going to appear on ‘The View’ next week, on Tuesday, June 16th. The post WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Vice President JD Vance to Appear on ‘The View’ Next Week appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Vice President JD Vance is going to appear on ‘The View’ next week, on Tuesday, June 16th.

The post WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Vice President JD Vance to Appear on ‘The View’ Next Week appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
ABC News Complains Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is POUNCING on Graham Platner’s Scandals (VIDEO) – If you follow political news and media, you know that ‘Republicans Pounce’ is a meme on the right. The post ABC News Complains Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is POUNCING on Graham Platner’s Scandals (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

ABC News Complains Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is POUNCING on Graham Platner’s Scandals (VIDEO) – If you follow political news and media, you know that ‘Republicans Pounce’ is a meme on the right. The post ABC News Complains Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is POUNCING on Graham Platner’s Scandals (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

If you follow political news and media, you know that ‘Republicans Pounce’ is a meme on the right.

The post ABC News Complains Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is POUNCING on Graham Platner’s Scandals (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 12 June 2026 – A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy 7:6-11 Moses said to the people: "You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments, but who repays with destruction a person who hates him; he does not dally with such a one, but makes them personally pay for it. You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."   A reading from the First Letter of John 4:7-16 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.From the Gospel according to Matthew 11:25-30 At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.""Learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:29). Only once, perhaps, did the Lord Jesus refer to his own heart, in his own words. And he stressed this sole feature: "gentleness and lowliness": as if he meant that it is only in this way that he wishes to conquer man; that by means of "gentleness and lowliness" he wishes to be the King of hearts. The whole mystery of his reign was expressed in these words. Gentleness and lowliness cover, in a certain sense, all the "riches" of the Redeemer’s heart (…). But also that "gentleness and lowliness" reveal him fully; and enable us to get to know him and accept him; they make him the object of supreme admiration. The beautiful litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is composed of many similar words—more, exclamations of admiration for the riches of the Heart of Christ. Let us meditate on them carefully on that day. Thus, at the end of this fundamental liturgical cycle of the Church—which began with the first Sunday of Advent and passed through the time of Christmas, then of Lent and of the Resurrection up to Pentecost, the Sunday of Holy Trinity, and Corpus Christi—the feast of the Divine Heart, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presents itself discreetly. All this cycle is enclosed definitively in it; in the Heart of the Man-God. From it, too, the whole life of the Church irradiates every year. (Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 20 June 1979)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy
7:6-11

Moses said to the people:
"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;
he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth
to be a people peculiarly his own.
It was not because you are the largest of all nations
that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,
for you are really the smallest of all nations.
It was because the LORD loved you
and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,
that he brought you out with his strong hand
from the place of slavery,
and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,
the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant
down to the thousandth generation
toward those who love him and keep his commandments,
but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;
he does not dally with such a one,
but makes them personally pay for it.
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,
the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."

 

A reading from the First Letter of John
4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father. 
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves. 
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

"Learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Mt 11:29). Only once, perhaps, did the Lord Jesus refer to his own heart, in his own words. And he stressed this sole feature: "gentleness and lowliness": as if he meant that it is only in this way that he wishes to conquer man; that by means of "gentleness and lowliness" he wishes to be the King of hearts. The whole mystery of his reign was expressed in these words. Gentleness and lowliness cover, in a certain sense, all the "riches" of the Redeemer’s heart (…). But also that "gentleness and lowliness" reveal him fully; and enable us to get to know him and accept him; they make him the object of supreme admiration. The beautiful litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is composed of many similar words—more, exclamations of admiration for the riches of the Heart of Christ. Let us meditate on them carefully on that day. Thus, at the end of this fundamental liturgical cycle of the Church—which began with the first Sunday of Advent and passed through the time of Christmas, then of Lent and of the Resurrection up to Pentecost, the Sunday of Holy Trinity, and Corpus Christi—the feast of the Divine Heart, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presents itself discreetly. All this cycle is enclosed definitively in it; in the Heart of the Man-God. From it, too, the whole life of the Church irradiates every year. (Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 20 June 1979)

Read More
Trump Sets New World Record By Winning War With Iran 27 Times In One Year #BabylonBee – WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump set a new world record this week by winning the same war with Iran for the 27th time this year, shattering the previous record of one.
Read More

Trump Sets New World Record By Winning War With Iran 27 Times In One Year #BabylonBee – WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump set a new world record this week by winning the same war with Iran for the 27th time this year, shattering the previous record of one.

unitedyam

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump set a new world record this week by winning the same war with Iran for the 27th time this year, shattering the previous record of one.

Read More

The real disclosure day: The protocols for announcing extraterrestrial intelligence

unitedyam

In Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, opening tomorrow, protagonists race across the globe to expose a decades-long government cover-up and reveal to the world that extraterrestrial life is real. It’s a question Spielberg has been asking since his 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind: How would the knowledge of extraterrestrial intelligence change us? Spielberg makesContinue reading “The real disclosure day: The protocols for announcing extraterrestrial intelligence”

The post The real disclosure day: The protocols for announcing extraterrestrial intelligence appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
New York bishops say gender-neutral language law ‘mocks the foundation of the family’ – #Catholic – The New York state Legislature passed a bill that replaces the words “mother” and “father” in some state laws with gender-neutral language, a move that New York’s bishops say will further “muddy what is true and good.”The bill, passed by the state Assembly in March and by the state Senate on June 2, now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul to be signed into law.Under the new law, “mother” would be replaced with “gestating parent,” and “father” would be “non-gestating parent.” The words “paternity” and “filiation” would be replaced with “parentage.”The New York State Catholic Conference issued a memorandum on June 10 noting the bishops’ opposition to the new law, calling it “politically charged” and “unnecessary.”“The truth is that mothers are mothers, and fathers are fathers,” the bishops wrote. “Words matter, and serious changes to our governing language serve only to wash away the importance of these roles in our society.”“The yearslong push in our state for abortion on demand and up until birth, the endless millions of dollars funneled to Planned Parenthood, and the legalization of commercial surrogacy have reduced women to vessels and babies to disposable commodities,” they said.“The Legislature’s final twist of the knife is now apparently removing the term ‘mother’ altogether,” they wrote. “We must reverse course and recognize the importance of both mothers and fathers and pursue changes that truly support women and families.”The legislation (Senate Bill S9316/Assembly Bill A8382A) targets parts of the Family Court Act and laws having to do with, among others, domestic relations, social services, vehicle and traffic, alcoholic beverage control, child support statutes, and education law.On June 3, Hochul said she was unfamiliar with the specifics of the bill and would familiarize herself with them before commenting.“I have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision,” she said, though according to New York state law, now that the Legislature is adjourned, she has 30 days to sign it. If she does not, the bill is automatically pocket-vetoed (it dies and does not become law).New York’s bishops urged Hochul “to veto this upsetting legislation and uphold the importance of both mothers and fathers in our state,” saying the bill’s “wholesale effect will be to mock the foundation of the family.”The bishops accused legislators of “political pandering and appeasing a small group of very loud advocates.”“Erasing the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from our laws will not help struggling New Yorkers afford groceries, access healthcare, or find housing, but it will further muddy what is true and good,” they wrote.All 38 Senate Democrats who voted supported the measure, while all 22 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat also voted no, joining the unanimous Republican opposition. The bill had previously passed the Assembly 91-46 on March 19, with almost all Democrats voting for it and almost all Republicans against.According to reporting by Fox5 New York, the state Senate bill passed quickly and with no debate, “shocking” some lawmakers.While there was a short floor speech last week by Republican State Sen. Dean Murray opposing the bill, the overall process was rushed as the legislative session wrapped up June 10.“These terms matter,” Murray said. “'Mother' is one of the most sacred titles you can have. As is 'father,' 'grandmother,' grandfather.'”He continued: “In fact … the term mother is so important, we have a special day named after it,” referring to Motherʼs Day.“Of course, now maybe we change that to Gestating Parentʼs Day … and Fatherʼs Day, just change it to Parentʼs Day.”Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, a U.S. Congresswoman who previously served in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2016, issued a strong rebuke on social media, stating: “The party that can’t define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers. Only in Albany could ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ become too controversial.”Proponents argue the new language is more inclusive and takes into account special cases that occur when there is no clear biological parent, such as in surrogacy and adoption situations.
Read More

New York bishops say gender-neutral language law ‘mocks the foundation of the family’ – #Catholic – The New York state Legislature passed a bill that replaces the words “mother” and “father” in some state laws with gender-neutral language, a move that New York’s bishops say will further “muddy what is true and good.”The bill, passed by the state Assembly in March and by the state Senate on June 2, now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul to be signed into law.Under the new law, “mother” would be replaced with “gestating parent,” and “father” would be “non-gestating parent.” The words “paternity” and “filiation” would be replaced with “parentage.”The New York State Catholic Conference issued a memorandum on June 10 noting the bishops’ opposition to the new law, calling it “politically charged” and “unnecessary.”“The truth is that mothers are mothers, and fathers are fathers,” the bishops wrote. “Words matter, and serious changes to our governing language serve only to wash away the importance of these roles in our society.”“The yearslong push in our state for abortion on demand and up until birth, the endless millions of dollars funneled to Planned Parenthood, and the legalization of commercial surrogacy have reduced women to vessels and babies to disposable commodities,” they said.“The Legislature’s final twist of the knife is now apparently removing the term ‘mother’ altogether,” they wrote. “We must reverse course and recognize the importance of both mothers and fathers and pursue changes that truly support women and families.”The legislation (Senate Bill S9316/Assembly Bill A8382A) targets parts of the Family Court Act and laws having to do with, among others, domestic relations, social services, vehicle and traffic, alcoholic beverage control, child support statutes, and education law.On June 3, Hochul said she was unfamiliar with the specifics of the bill and would familiarize herself with them before commenting.“I have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision,” she said, though according to New York state law, now that the Legislature is adjourned, she has 30 days to sign it. If she does not, the bill is automatically pocket-vetoed (it dies and does not become law).New York’s bishops urged Hochul “to veto this upsetting legislation and uphold the importance of both mothers and fathers in our state,” saying the bill’s “wholesale effect will be to mock the foundation of the family.”The bishops accused legislators of “political pandering and appeasing a small group of very loud advocates.”“Erasing the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from our laws will not help struggling New Yorkers afford groceries, access healthcare, or find housing, but it will further muddy what is true and good,” they wrote.All 38 Senate Democrats who voted supported the measure, while all 22 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat also voted no, joining the unanimous Republican opposition. The bill had previously passed the Assembly 91-46 on March 19, with almost all Democrats voting for it and almost all Republicans against.According to reporting by Fox5 New York, the state Senate bill passed quickly and with no debate, “shocking” some lawmakers.While there was a short floor speech last week by Republican State Sen. Dean Murray opposing the bill, the overall process was rushed as the legislative session wrapped up June 10.“These terms matter,” Murray said. “'Mother' is one of the most sacred titles you can have. As is 'father,' 'grandmother,' grandfather.'”He continued: “In fact … the term mother is so important, we have a special day named after it,” referring to Motherʼs Day.“Of course, now maybe we change that to Gestating Parentʼs Day … and Fatherʼs Day, just change it to Parentʼs Day.”Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, a U.S. Congresswoman who previously served in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2016, issued a strong rebuke on social media, stating: “The party that can’t define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers. Only in Albany could ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ become too controversial.”Proponents argue the new language is more inclusive and takes into account special cases that occur when there is no clear biological parent, such as in surrogacy and adoption situations.

unitedyam

Under the new law, “mother” would be replaced with “gestating parent,” and “father” would become “non-gestating parent.”

Read More
Higher ed leader urges bishops to protect Catholic identity at universities – #Catholic – ORLANDO, Florida — A prominent Catholic academic urged a gathering of the U.S. bishops to take a more assertive role in ensuring that Catholic universities live out their distinctively religious mission.Santiago Schnell, the provost of Dartmouth University and a former dean at the University of Notre Dame, told members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at their plenary assembly in Orlando that they “could be more vocal” and “more pushy” when it comes to making sure that Catholic universities are faithful to their unique identity.“I think you are being too respectful,” Schnell told the bishops during his June 10 talk. “You own the word ‘Catholic.’ We academic administrators, we don’t.”Schnell delivered his pointed observations to the bishops at the end of a presentation on the state of Catholic higher education, during which the Ivy League administrator suggested that Catholic universities have focused more on imitating secular universities and chasing college rankings than on imaginatively living out their distinctive mission.As a result, Schnell contended, the Church is failing to impact the intellectual and cultural life of the nation and even retain its own members.“They’re leaving it because we don’t have intellectuals and we don’t have a proper formation in higher education that allows them to articulate effectively their faith, to themselves and others,” said Schnell, a frequent commentator on Catholic higher education and influential advocate for higher education reform in America.One bishop in attendance described Schnell’s presentation as a “sober moment for the bishops.”“Hopefully the topic motivated bishops to continue the hard work of calling our universities back to their ecclesial and evangelistic mission,” Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.Schnell’s talk preceded a closed-door conversation on Catholic higher education with the U.S. bishops.The Dartmouth provost’s talk marked the 25th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae (“From the Heart of the Church”), the 1990 apostolic constitution in which St. John Paul II outlined the Church’s vision for Catholic universities and their relationship with bishops.Promulgated amid growing tension between Catholic universities and the Church hierarchy, the document presents Catholic universities as participating directly in the Church’s mission.While Ex Corde Ecclesiae emphasizes that a Catholic university itself has a responsibility for upholding its Catholic identity, St. John Paul II also taught that the local bishop “has the right and duty to watch over the preservation and strengthening” of the Catholic character of Catholic universities in his diocese. A ‘Catholic paradox’In his presentation, Schnell described a widening gap between the Church’s vision for Catholic higher education and universities that increasingly resemble their secular counterparts.“These days, both Catholic institutions and non-Catholic institutions have become very secularized, and they’re doing this through imitation,” he said.A major driver, he argued, is college rankings, which reward convergence more than distinction.“Twenty-five years ago when I moved to the United States, I would give a seminar at the University of Chicago, I would give a seminar at Yale, and I would give a seminar at the University of Michigan, and I knew that I was in those universities,” said Schnell, who was born and raised in Venezuela and completed his graduate work in mathematical biology at England’s Oxford University. “Today … we have become so good imitations of each other that you cannot distinguish the place where you are.”Catholic universities, he added, have followed the same path, becoming “indifferent and indistinguishable” from secular peers.That shift, he said, has narrowed higher education’s purpose, reducing it to credentials and job preparation rather than intellectual and moral formation.“It’s about training for the first job,” he said, critiquing the current status quo. “It’s not training for life.”Schnell also argued that Catholic institutions are not producing enough intellectual and cultural leaders within the Church. He pointed to Hispanic Catholics, who represent a growing share of the Church but lag in educational attainment, as evidence of what he called a “Catholic paradox”: strong infrastructure paired with uneven outcomes.He also criticized mission statements that increasingly resemble social-service or advocacy organizations.“All academic institutions and mission statements, particularly the Catholics, have become what I call ‘NGOs,’” he said, referring to the acronym for nongovernmental organizations. “That’s not the mission of the Catholic university.”Forming future Church doctors When Schnell turned to what he described as the core of his proposal, he pointed to a slide outlining a three-part framework for renewal in Catholic higher education focused on forming the Church’s next generation of intellectual leaders, clarifying the role of bishops in university life and strengthening the formative culture of Catholic campuses.“Our mission shouldn’t be creating individuals who go to the workplace,” Schnell said. Instead, he said that Catholic universities should form scholars who have the potential to be doctors of the Church, i.e., saints who have made significant contributions to theology or doctrine. “That’s the primary mission of a Catholic institution.” Schnell said Catholic identity is sustained not only through governance but also through campus culture — what St. John Henry Newman called the “genius loci,” or spirit of place, formed in daily life.“It’s the conversations that the students have while they are walking to their dorms or they are walking to the chapel,” he said. “It’s the conversations that they’re having about their faith.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops consider questions about higher education at their plenary assembly in Orlando, Florida, on June 10, 2026. | Credit: USCCB/YouTube/screenshot Schnell warned that Catholic character can erode when faculty and administrators do not actively share the Church’s mission.In some cases, he said, universities have prioritized conformity over fidelity to that mission. Schnell recalled declining an invitation to lead a Catholic university after learning that only about 12% of its faculty and fewer than a quarter of its students were Catholic.“According to your definition, that’s no longer a Catholic institution,” he recalled his wife telling him.As the presentation concluded, Schnell returned briefly to the role of bishops in helping to shape the character of Catholic universities.“What is the participation of the bishops?” he said, telling the gathered Church leaders that the members of a Catholic university were “their flock.” “They’re not mine. They’re not going to be the flock of any academic administrator.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
Read More

Higher ed leader urges bishops to protect Catholic identity at universities – #Catholic – ORLANDO, Florida — A prominent Catholic academic urged a gathering of the U.S. bishops to take a more assertive role in ensuring that Catholic universities live out their distinctively religious mission.Santiago Schnell, the provost of Dartmouth University and a former dean at the University of Notre Dame, told members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at their plenary assembly in Orlando that they “could be more vocal” and “more pushy” when it comes to making sure that Catholic universities are faithful to their unique identity.“I think you are being too respectful,” Schnell told the bishops during his June 10 talk. “You own the word ‘Catholic.’ We academic administrators, we don’t.”Schnell delivered his pointed observations to the bishops at the end of a presentation on the state of Catholic higher education, during which the Ivy League administrator suggested that Catholic universities have focused more on imitating secular universities and chasing college rankings than on imaginatively living out their distinctive mission.As a result, Schnell contended, the Church is failing to impact the intellectual and cultural life of the nation and even retain its own members.“They’re leaving it because we don’t have intellectuals and we don’t have a proper formation in higher education that allows them to articulate effectively their faith, to themselves and others,” said Schnell, a frequent commentator on Catholic higher education and influential advocate for higher education reform in America.One bishop in attendance described Schnell’s presentation as a “sober moment for the bishops.”“Hopefully the topic motivated bishops to continue the hard work of calling our universities back to their ecclesial and evangelistic mission,” Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, told the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.Schnell’s talk preceded a closed-door conversation on Catholic higher education with the U.S. bishops.The Dartmouth provost’s talk marked the 25th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae (“From the Heart of the Church”), the 1990 apostolic constitution in which St. John Paul II outlined the Church’s vision for Catholic universities and their relationship with bishops.Promulgated amid growing tension between Catholic universities and the Church hierarchy, the document presents Catholic universities as participating directly in the Church’s mission.While Ex Corde Ecclesiae emphasizes that a Catholic university itself has a responsibility for upholding its Catholic identity, St. John Paul II also taught that the local bishop “has the right and duty to watch over the preservation and strengthening” of the Catholic character of Catholic universities in his diocese. A ‘Catholic paradox’In his presentation, Schnell described a widening gap between the Church’s vision for Catholic higher education and universities that increasingly resemble their secular counterparts.“These days, both Catholic institutions and non-Catholic institutions have become very secularized, and they’re doing this through imitation,” he said.A major driver, he argued, is college rankings, which reward convergence more than distinction.“Twenty-five years ago when I moved to the United States, I would give a seminar at the University of Chicago, I would give a seminar at Yale, and I would give a seminar at the University of Michigan, and I knew that I was in those universities,” said Schnell, who was born and raised in Venezuela and completed his graduate work in mathematical biology at England’s Oxford University. “Today … we have become so good imitations of each other that you cannot distinguish the place where you are.”Catholic universities, he added, have followed the same path, becoming “indifferent and indistinguishable” from secular peers.That shift, he said, has narrowed higher education’s purpose, reducing it to credentials and job preparation rather than intellectual and moral formation.“It’s about training for the first job,” he said, critiquing the current status quo. “It’s not training for life.”Schnell also argued that Catholic institutions are not producing enough intellectual and cultural leaders within the Church. He pointed to Hispanic Catholics, who represent a growing share of the Church but lag in educational attainment, as evidence of what he called a “Catholic paradox”: strong infrastructure paired with uneven outcomes.He also criticized mission statements that increasingly resemble social-service or advocacy organizations.“All academic institutions and mission statements, particularly the Catholics, have become what I call ‘NGOs,’” he said, referring to the acronym for nongovernmental organizations. “That’s not the mission of the Catholic university.”Forming future Church doctors When Schnell turned to what he described as the core of his proposal, he pointed to a slide outlining a three-part framework for renewal in Catholic higher education focused on forming the Church’s next generation of intellectual leaders, clarifying the role of bishops in university life and strengthening the formative culture of Catholic campuses.“Our mission shouldn’t be creating individuals who go to the workplace,” Schnell said. Instead, he said that Catholic universities should form scholars who have the potential to be doctors of the Church, i.e., saints who have made significant contributions to theology or doctrine. “That’s the primary mission of a Catholic institution.” Schnell said Catholic identity is sustained not only through governance but also through campus culture — what St. John Henry Newman called the “genius loci,” or spirit of place, formed in daily life.“It’s the conversations that the students have while they are walking to their dorms or they are walking to the chapel,” he said. “It’s the conversations that they’re having about their faith.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops consider questions about higher education at their plenary assembly in Orlando, Florida, on June 10, 2026. | Credit: USCCB/YouTube/screenshot Schnell warned that Catholic character can erode when faculty and administrators do not actively share the Church’s mission.In some cases, he said, universities have prioritized conformity over fidelity to that mission. Schnell recalled declining an invitation to lead a Catholic university after learning that only about 12% of its faculty and fewer than a quarter of its students were Catholic.“According to your definition, that’s no longer a Catholic institution,” he recalled his wife telling him.As the presentation concluded, Schnell returned briefly to the role of bishops in helping to shape the character of Catholic universities.“What is the participation of the bishops?” he said, telling the gathered Church leaders that the members of a Catholic university were “their flock.” “They’re not mine. They’re not going to be the flock of any academic administrator.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

unitedyam

Dartmouth provost and former Notre Dame dean Santiago Schnell called on U.S. bishops to take a more active role in safeguarding Catholic identity in education.

Read More
Cardinal Kikuchi urges Caritas Asia to stand with the poor as funding shrinks – #Catholic – Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, president of Caritas Internationalis, urged Caritas Asia workers to stand at the side of the poor and to help build a synodal Church, addressing the Caritas Asia Regional Conference and Partners' Forum in Bangkok, Thailand.The conference, held under the theme “Synodality: Sensitivity, Synergy, and Spirituality. All for Caritas — Solidarity,” ran from June 9–11.“We cannot close our eyes to the reality of the poor. Today, our world is wounded. Humanity cries out. Sometimes people become indifferent to the suffering of others. Caritas is the Gospel made visible through compassion, closeness, and services,” Kikuchi said in his inaugural address.The Regional Conference and Partners‘ Forum serves as the premier governance and collaborative gathering for the Catholic Churchʼs humanitarian network in the region. It brought together presidents, directors, and senior staff from more than 25 Caritas member organizations across Asia, along with global partners including Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Spain, Caritas Italiana, Caritas Germany, Caritas Canada, and CAFOD, as well as representatives from the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.Caritas Asia serves as the regional secretariat for one of the seven regions of the Caritas Internationalis network, said Benedict Alo DʼRozario, president of Caritas Asia, in a message to EWTN News. He said Caritas Asia represents the region within the global networkʼs support structures and takes part in joint work on staff capacity building, advocacy for social justice, care for creation, humanitarian response, integral human development, anti-human trafficking, safe migration, child protection, education, and moral formation.DʼRozario said Caritas Asia has adopted four priorities going forward: care for people and planet, adaptability and preparedness, organizational capacity and effectiveness, and leadership and engagement.He said Caritas Asia is not simply an organization but the heart of the Church, practicing synodality by going into communities, listening carefully, and responding to their needs. Caritas serves others, DʼRozario said, because it recognizes Christ in the poor, the suffering, and the vulnerable, and its mission is rooted in an encounter with Jesus Christ.Participants described Kikuchiʼs remarks as highly relevant and inspiring for those across Caritas Asia.Caritas Bangladesh acts as the social arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, as do other national Caritas organizations across Asia. Daud Jibon Das, executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, said the key message he took from the conference was that, although global funding is gradually decreasing, the Church must continue to care for the poor and those in need.Caritas Bangladesh has long worked for the poor and neglected people of the country, and the conference will further accelerate its educational work, Das said. “We work for justice for all, regardless of race, religion, caste, we want all neglected people, poor people to be well,” he told EWTN News. “Even if the funds decrease, we will continue to do our work within our means.”
Read More

Cardinal Kikuchi urges Caritas Asia to stand with the poor as funding shrinks – #Catholic – Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, president of Caritas Internationalis, urged Caritas Asia workers to stand at the side of the poor and to help build a synodal Church, addressing the Caritas Asia Regional Conference and Partners' Forum in Bangkok, Thailand.The conference, held under the theme “Synodality: Sensitivity, Synergy, and Spirituality. All for Caritas — Solidarity,” ran from June 9–11.“We cannot close our eyes to the reality of the poor. Today, our world is wounded. Humanity cries out. Sometimes people become indifferent to the suffering of others. Caritas is the Gospel made visible through compassion, closeness, and services,” Kikuchi said in his inaugural address.The Regional Conference and Partners‘ Forum serves as the premier governance and collaborative gathering for the Catholic Churchʼs humanitarian network in the region. It brought together presidents, directors, and senior staff from more than 25 Caritas member organizations across Asia, along with global partners including Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Spain, Caritas Italiana, Caritas Germany, Caritas Canada, and CAFOD, as well as representatives from the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.Caritas Asia serves as the regional secretariat for one of the seven regions of the Caritas Internationalis network, said Benedict Alo DʼRozario, president of Caritas Asia, in a message to EWTN News. He said Caritas Asia represents the region within the global networkʼs support structures and takes part in joint work on staff capacity building, advocacy for social justice, care for creation, humanitarian response, integral human development, anti-human trafficking, safe migration, child protection, education, and moral formation.DʼRozario said Caritas Asia has adopted four priorities going forward: care for people and planet, adaptability and preparedness, organizational capacity and effectiveness, and leadership and engagement.He said Caritas Asia is not simply an organization but the heart of the Church, practicing synodality by going into communities, listening carefully, and responding to their needs. Caritas serves others, DʼRozario said, because it recognizes Christ in the poor, the suffering, and the vulnerable, and its mission is rooted in an encounter with Jesus Christ.Participants described Kikuchiʼs remarks as highly relevant and inspiring for those across Caritas Asia.Caritas Bangladesh acts as the social arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, as do other national Caritas organizations across Asia. Daud Jibon Das, executive director of Caritas Bangladesh, said the key message he took from the conference was that, although global funding is gradually decreasing, the Church must continue to care for the poor and those in need.Caritas Bangladesh has long worked for the poor and neglected people of the country, and the conference will further accelerate its educational work, Das said. “We work for justice for all, regardless of race, religion, caste, we want all neglected people, poor people to be well,” he told EWTN News. “Even if the funds decrease, we will continue to do our work within our means.”

unitedyam

Addressing humanitarian leaders from across Asia in Bangkok, the president of Caritas Internationalis said the Church’s charity must stay close to the poor even as global funding declines.

Read More
Hardyston woman reflects on faith growth during Florence mission #Catholic – This little piece of advice helped Amanda Montague evangelize the Gospel on a mission trip to Italy this March: Don’t tell anyone you’re a missionary. In Florence, Italy, Montague, 21, of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston, N.J., took a subtle approach while spreading the Gospel — in such an unlikely location. She and fellow members of Chi Alpha, a non-denominational Christian college group, gently introduced Jesus into their witness talks to students at local middle schools, high schools and universities. For Montague, it was a deeply personal mission, which gave her opportunities to speak specifically about her Catholic faith, which gave her the strength to recover from a serious injury that almost sidelined her trip. Back in December, a grief-stricken Montague called on her faith, praying for —and receiving — Jesus’s comfort after her mother, Marcey Lea, died unexpectedly at 51. “I felt compelled to go on the mission trip to share my testimony. My mother’s death tested my Catholic faith, but it grew stronger. Jesus had my back the whole time,” said Montague, who joined Chi Alpha while a student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. In May, she graduated there with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “In bad times, Jesus is close to the brokenhearted,” she said. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Montague took advantage of subtle opportunities to bring up her Catholic faith. When students were divided into groups after the missionaries’ presentations, she asked whether they attended church or celebrated Easter. She also started a conversation when she noticed a young lady wearing a crucifix pendant. Florence might seem an unusual spot for a Christian mission trip, not an impoverished part of the world in need of assistance, such as Haiti. But Montague said only 20 percent of Italians today are active Catholics. “Italy needs a huge spiritual renewal. They need Jesus and the Gospel,” said Montague, a native of Wantage, N.J., who studied abroad in Florence last year. Montague’s spiritual renewal took time. An only child, she received her sacraments at St. Jude’s but didn’t feel connected to her faith. That changed when she went to James Madison. “I missed church — the community, rituals, and prayers,” said Montague, who joined Catholic Campus Ministry along with Chi Alpha. “I love the Catholic saints. We honor them as role models who pray for us. I love the rhythm of the Catholic Mass — singing songs of praise and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. Through the Church, I have a personal relationship with Christ,” she said. That relationship grew stronger late last year after Montague drove from Virginia to Morristown to visit her mother, who had been hospitalized in a coma after suffering a heart attack. While praying in the hospital chapel, Montague and a friend encountered an unknown woman. This woman sat down and prayed with them, held Montague as she sobbed, and proclaimed, “Everything is going to be OK.” “The woman was an angel — a blessing from the Lord who gave me an extra week with my mother, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to happen,” said Montague, adding that her mother died of another heart attack. Early this year, Montague raised the ,500 needed for the trip from St. Jude’s parishioners during a weekend she petitioned them after Masses. Her plans almost ended after she shattered and dislocated her right knee in a skiing accident. Coordinators originally prohibited her from going, but later relented. She hobbled around Florence’s cobblestone streets on crutches. This month, Montague is moving to South Carolina to start an internship with a non-profit that provides mental health support to military personnel at a military base. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in mental health counseling for veterans and military personnel, with a concentration in Christian counseling. A few years ago, Montague impressed Father Michael Rodak, St. Jude’s pastor, when she launched a successful coat drive for the poor. “Amanda has great ambition as a planner and evangelizer. I think that throughout her life, she will continue to lead projects that do good for other people,” Father Rodak said.  
Read More

Hardyston woman reflects on faith growth during Florence mission #Catholic – This little piece of advice helped Amanda Montague evangelize the Gospel on a mission trip to Italy this March: Don’t tell anyone you’re a missionary. In Florence, Italy, Montague, 21, of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston, N.J., took a subtle approach while spreading the Gospel — in such an unlikely location. She and fellow members of Chi Alpha, a non-denominational Christian college group, gently introduced Jesus into their witness talks to students at local middle schools, high schools and universities. For Montague, it was a deeply personal mission, which gave her opportunities to speak specifically about her Catholic faith, which gave her the strength to recover from a serious injury that almost sidelined her trip. Back in December, a grief-stricken Montague called on her faith, praying for —and receiving — Jesus’s comfort after her mother, Marcey Lea, died unexpectedly at 51. “I felt compelled to go on the mission trip to share my testimony. My mother’s death tested my Catholic faith, but it grew stronger. Jesus had my back the whole time,” said Montague, who joined Chi Alpha while a student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. In May, she graduated there with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “In bad times, Jesus is close to the brokenhearted,” she said. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Montague took advantage of subtle opportunities to bring up her Catholic faith. When students were divided into groups after the missionaries’ presentations, she asked whether they attended church or celebrated Easter. She also started a conversation when she noticed a young lady wearing a crucifix pendant. Florence might seem an unusual spot for a Christian mission trip, not an impoverished part of the world in need of assistance, such as Haiti. But Montague said only 20 percent of Italians today are active Catholics. “Italy needs a huge spiritual renewal. They need Jesus and the Gospel,” said Montague, a native of Wantage, N.J., who studied abroad in Florence last year. Montague’s spiritual renewal took time. An only child, she received her sacraments at St. Jude’s but didn’t feel connected to her faith. That changed when she went to James Madison. “I missed church — the community, rituals, and prayers,” said Montague, who joined Catholic Campus Ministry along with Chi Alpha. “I love the Catholic saints. We honor them as role models who pray for us. I love the rhythm of the Catholic Mass — singing songs of praise and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. Through the Church, I have a personal relationship with Christ,” she said. That relationship grew stronger late last year after Montague drove from Virginia to Morristown to visit her mother, who had been hospitalized in a coma after suffering a heart attack. While praying in the hospital chapel, Montague and a friend encountered an unknown woman. This woman sat down and prayed with them, held Montague as she sobbed, and proclaimed, “Everything is going to be OK.” “The woman was an angel — a blessing from the Lord who gave me an extra week with my mother, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to happen,” said Montague, adding that her mother died of another heart attack. Early this year, Montague raised the $2,500 needed for the trip from St. Jude’s parishioners during a weekend she petitioned them after Masses. Her plans almost ended after she shattered and dislocated her right knee in a skiing accident. Coordinators originally prohibited her from going, but later relented. She hobbled around Florence’s cobblestone streets on crutches. This month, Montague is moving to South Carolina to start an internship with a non-profit that provides mental health support to military personnel at a military base. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in mental health counseling for veterans and military personnel, with a concentration in Christian counseling. A few years ago, Montague impressed Father Michael Rodak, St. Jude’s pastor, when she launched a successful coat drive for the poor. “Amanda has great ambition as a planner and evangelizer. I think that throughout her life, she will continue to lead projects that do good for other people,” Father Rodak said.  

unitedyam

Hardyston woman reflects on faith growth during Florence mission #Catholic –

This little piece of advice helped Amanda Montague evangelize the Gospel on a mission trip to Italy this March: Don’t tell anyone you’re a missionary.

In Florence, Italy, Montague, 21, of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston, N.J., took a subtle approach while spreading the Gospel — in such an unlikely location. She and fellow members of Chi Alpha, a non-denominational Christian college group, gently introduced Jesus into their witness talks to students at local middle schools, high schools and universities.

For Montague, it was a deeply personal mission, which gave her opportunities to speak specifically about her Catholic faith, which gave her the strength to recover from a serious injury that almost sidelined her trip. Back in December, a grief-stricken Montague called on her faith, praying for —and receiving — Jesus’s comfort after her mother, Marcey Lea, died unexpectedly at 51.

“I felt compelled to go on the mission trip to share my testimony. My mother’s death tested my Catholic faith, but it grew stronger. Jesus had my back the whole time,” said Montague, who joined Chi Alpha while a student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. In May, she graduated there with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. “In bad times, Jesus is close to the brokenhearted,” she said.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Montague took advantage of subtle opportunities to bring up her Catholic faith. When students were divided into groups after the missionaries’ presentations, she asked whether they attended church or celebrated Easter. She also started a conversation when she noticed a young lady wearing a crucifix pendant.

Florence might seem an unusual spot for a Christian mission trip, not an impoverished part of the world in need of assistance, such as Haiti. But Montague said only 20 percent of Italians today are active Catholics.

“Italy needs a huge spiritual renewal. They need Jesus and the Gospel,” said Montague, a native of Wantage, N.J., who studied abroad in Florence last year.

Montague’s spiritual renewal took time. An only child, she received her sacraments at St. Jude’s but didn’t feel connected to her faith. That changed when she went to James Madison.

“I missed church — the community, rituals, and prayers,” said Montague, who joined Catholic Campus Ministry along with Chi Alpha. “I love the Catholic saints. We honor them as role models who pray for us. I love the rhythm of the Catholic Mass — singing songs of praise and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. Through the Church, I have a personal relationship with Christ,” she said.

That relationship grew stronger late last year after Montague drove from Virginia to Morristown to visit her mother, who had been hospitalized in a coma after suffering a heart attack.

While praying in the hospital chapel, Montague and a friend encountered an unknown woman. This woman sat down and prayed with them, held Montague as she sobbed, and proclaimed, “Everything is going to be OK.”

“The woman was an angel — a blessing from the Lord who gave me an extra week with my mother, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to happen,” said Montague, adding that her mother died of another heart attack.

Early this year, Montague raised the $2,500 needed for the trip from St. Jude’s parishioners during a weekend she petitioned them after Masses. Her plans almost ended after she shattered and dislocated her right knee in a skiing accident. Coordinators originally prohibited her from going, but later relented. She hobbled around Florence’s cobblestone streets on crutches.

This month, Montague is moving to South Carolina to start an internship with a non-profit that provides mental health support to military personnel at a military base. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in mental health counseling for veterans and military personnel, with a concentration in Christian counseling.

A few years ago, Montague impressed Father Michael Rodak, St. Jude’s pastor, when she launched a successful coat drive for the poor.

“Amanda has great ambition as a planner and evangelizer. I think that throughout her life, she will continue to lead projects that do good for other people,” Father Rodak said.

 

– This little piece of advice helped Amanda Montague evangelize the Gospel on a mission trip to Italy this March: Don’t tell anyone you’re a missionary. In Florence, Italy, Montague, 21, of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston, N.J., took a subtle approach while spreading the Gospel — in such an unlikely location. She and fellow members of Chi Alpha, a non-denominational Christian college group, gently introduced Jesus into their witness talks to students at local middle schools, high schools and universities. For Montague, it was a deeply personal mission, which gave her opportunities to speak specifically about her Catholic

Read More
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage brings Christ through rainy streets of historic Baltimore #Catholic BALTIMORE, Maryland — About 300 Catholics gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Wednesday, June 10, for Mass and a Eucharistic procession through downtown Baltimore as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route continued through the nation’s first Catholic diocese. The congregation participates in Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News A member of the congregation kneels in prayer during Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News Following the morning Mass, pilgrims processed several blocks in the rain from the basilica to Baltimore’s Washington Monument, one of the city’s most recognizable civic landmarks, praying and singing as they accompanied the Blessed Sacrament through the city’s historic streets. The Blessed Sacrament is carried beneath a canopy near Baltimore’s Washington Monument during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. |.Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News The Baltimore stop is part of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is traveling under the theme “One Nation Under God” as the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Monsignor Jay OʼConnor delivers the homily during Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News In his homily, Monsignor Jay O’Connor reflected on the meaning of pilgrimage and the public witness of carrying the Eucharist through cities, towns, highways and waterways across the country. “This National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is of Jesus through the streets and the highways and the plains and the waterways of our country, brings the blessing of the Real Presence of Jesus into the heart and soul of our fellow citizens and our country,” he said.The basilica, completed in 1821, is the first cathedral constructed in the United States. It was built under the leadership of Bishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States, making the Baltimore stop a significant moment for a pilgrimage moving through many of the original 13 colonies during the nation’s semiquincentennial year. Members of the Knights of Columbus participate in a Eucharistic procession at Washington Monument Place in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News O’Connor said pilgrimage is not meant to be easy, citing St. John Paul II’s teaching that God uses the challenges of the journey to form his people.“Through the challenges of the journey, God forms us into the people he calls us to be — a community of missionary disciples,” he said.The celebrant also recalled a previous Eucharistic procession in Baltimore, when a man came out of his home and asked what was happening as the procession passed through his neighborhood.“One pilgrim responded, ‘Jesus is walking through your neighborhood,’” he said. “The man asked, ‘Can I join you?’ And he was invited to walk the rest of the way with the pilgrims. That’s what a pilgrimage is.”For the perpetual pilgrims accompanying the Eucharist along the Cabrini route, the journey has included long days of travel, prayer, public witness and constant movement.“It’s been very busy,” said John Paul Flynn, one of the perpetual pilgrims. “But it’s through that busyness, I think, that you start to lean more into it and lean more into the graces that are there.”He said the experience of traveling with the Blessed Sacrament has been unlike anything else.“Getting to be with Jesus all the time is a really unique experience,” he said, noting that the pilgrims even have adoration in the van as they travel.The pilgrimage was scheduled to continue through Maryland with stops in Severna Park and Annapolis before crossing the Chesapeake Bay by boat to Kent Island and the Diocese of Wilmington. Members of the Knights of Columbus depart the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary before a Eucharistic procession in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News The Cabrini route is named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Italian-born missionary sister who became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint. Cabrini dedicated her life to serving immigrants, orphans, the sick and the poor, founding schools, hospitals and orphanages across the United States and beyond. The route began over Memorial Day weekend in St. Augustine, Florida, and is traveling north along the Eastern Seaboard before concluding in Philadelphia over Independence Day weekend.
Read More

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage brings Christ through rainy streets of historic Baltimore #Catholic BALTIMORE, Maryland — About 300 Catholics gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Wednesday, June 10, for Mass and a Eucharistic procession through downtown Baltimore as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route continued through the nation’s first Catholic diocese. The congregation participates in Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News A member of the congregation kneels in prayer during Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News Following the morning Mass, pilgrims processed several blocks in the rain from the basilica to Baltimore’s Washington Monument, one of the city’s most recognizable civic landmarks, praying and singing as they accompanied the Blessed Sacrament through the city’s historic streets. The Blessed Sacrament is carried beneath a canopy near Baltimore’s Washington Monument during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. |.Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News The Baltimore stop is part of the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is traveling under the theme “One Nation Under God” as the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Monsignor Jay OʼConnor delivers the homily during Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News In his homily, Monsignor Jay O’Connor reflected on the meaning of pilgrimage and the public witness of carrying the Eucharist through cities, towns, highways and waterways across the country. “This National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is of Jesus through the streets and the highways and the plains and the waterways of our country, brings the blessing of the Real Presence of Jesus into the heart and soul of our fellow citizens and our country,” he said.The basilica, completed in 1821, is the first cathedral constructed in the United States. It was built under the leadership of Bishop John Carroll, the first bishop of the United States, making the Baltimore stop a significant moment for a pilgrimage moving through many of the original 13 colonies during the nation’s semiquincentennial year. Members of the Knights of Columbus participate in a Eucharistic procession at Washington Monument Place in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News O’Connor said pilgrimage is not meant to be easy, citing St. John Paul II’s teaching that God uses the challenges of the journey to form his people.“Through the challenges of the journey, God forms us into the people he calls us to be — a community of missionary disciples,” he said.The celebrant also recalled a previous Eucharistic procession in Baltimore, when a man came out of his home and asked what was happening as the procession passed through his neighborhood.“One pilgrim responded, ‘Jesus is walking through your neighborhood,’” he said. “The man asked, ‘Can I join you?’ And he was invited to walk the rest of the way with the pilgrims. That’s what a pilgrimage is.”For the perpetual pilgrims accompanying the Eucharist along the Cabrini route, the journey has included long days of travel, prayer, public witness and constant movement.“It’s been very busy,” said John Paul Flynn, one of the perpetual pilgrims. “But it’s through that busyness, I think, that you start to lean more into it and lean more into the graces that are there.”He said the experience of traveling with the Blessed Sacrament has been unlike anything else.“Getting to be with Jesus all the time is a really unique experience,” he said, noting that the pilgrims even have adoration in the van as they travel.The pilgrimage was scheduled to continue through Maryland with stops in Severna Park and Annapolis before crossing the Chesapeake Bay by boat to Kent Island and the Diocese of Wilmington. Members of the Knights of Columbus depart the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary before a Eucharistic procession in Baltimore, Maryland, June 10, 2026. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/EWTN News The Cabrini route is named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Italian-born missionary sister who became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint. Cabrini dedicated her life to serving immigrants, orphans, the sick and the poor, founding schools, hospitals and orphanages across the United States and beyond. The route began over Memorial Day weekend in St. Augustine, Florida, and is traveling north along the Eastern Seaboard before concluding in Philadelphia over Independence Day weekend.

unitedyam

Thousands gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on June 10 for Mass and a Eucharistic procession through downtown Baltimore.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV prayed with this young man’s rosary in Barcelona — and gave it back #Catholic Sergi, a young Catalan man, was surprised by an encounter with Pope Leo XIV in Spain on June 10 he will never forget.During the pope’s visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, an abbey northwest of Barcelona, Sergi handed Leo his rosary. The pontiff slipped it into his pocket before using it minutes later to pray.Unexpectedly, the story did not end there — after the event, Sergi managed to recover his prized sacramental, now prayed with by the pope.Sergi (who asked that his last name not be shared) told EWTN News he had not planned to go to the shrine on the day of the papal visit. He is from Terrassa, a city between Barcelona and Montserrat.The invitation to go to the popeʼs prayer came unexpectedly through a volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity, connected to his youth group, who encouraged both him and his girlfriend, María, to join the gathering. The night before, they attended the pope’s event at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona and returned so tired that they almost decided not to go again.However, they felt they could not miss the chance to see Pope Leo during his visit to their homeland, and in order to attend they both had to take the day off from work. They never imagined what would happen or the gift they would receive.Sergi, María, and their friend secured a spot in the atrium of the basilica, and when the pope arrived, Sergi managed to get very close to the mini-popemobile as it passed by. At that moment he took out his rosary, hoping it would be blessed.“I just wanted him to bless it, that’s all, but he asked me, ‘Is it for me?’ And I’m not going to say no, so of course I said yes, and he kept it,” the young man said.Indeed, in a video recorded by EWTN News, the pope can be seen taking the rosary and putting it in his pocket. A few minutes later, to the young couple’s total surprise, they saw the pope praying with Sergi’s rosary in his hands.“When we saw it on the screen, we realized it was the same one he was using to pray!” Sergi said. Pope Leo XIV prays with a simple, wooden rosary during a prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, northwest of Barcelona, Spain, on June 10, 2026. The rosary belongs to Sergi, a young Catalan man who gave it to the pope to be blessed. | Credit: Vatican Media. But the story did not end there. María had the idea of trying to get the rosary back, and when the event ended, they tried. However, the pope was already in the official car, and the security caravan would not allow anyone to approach.“We tried to tell him, but he just passed us by,” Sergi told EWTN News.At that moment, the run of his life began. Montserrat, as its name suggests, is set on a mountain range, so he had to run downhill.“I ran the whole way down until I said, ‘Well, let the pope keep it,’ and I gave up, but my girlfriend told me, ‘Keep trying.’”So Sergi started running again, sprinting and shouting to the pope to give it back. Knowing the caravan could not stop, he took an extreme measure: asking the pope to throw it to him.“At that moment I wasn’t thinking — I just knew I wanted to get the rosary back, knowing the pope had prayed with it. I was overwhelmed with excitement by the moment and the situation.”The pope granted his request, tossing the rosary from the car window as he drove by. Then, with the help of a police officer, Sergi recovered his rosary, now prayed with by the pope.“We went without expecting anything, and we came back with the greatest gift we could have received,” the young man said, still moved by the experience.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV prayed with this young man’s rosary in Barcelona — and gave it back #Catholic Sergi, a young Catalan man, was surprised by an encounter with Pope Leo XIV in Spain on June 10 he will never forget.During the pope’s visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, an abbey northwest of Barcelona, Sergi handed Leo his rosary. The pontiff slipped it into his pocket before using it minutes later to pray.Unexpectedly, the story did not end there — after the event, Sergi managed to recover his prized sacramental, now prayed with by the pope.Sergi (who asked that his last name not be shared) told EWTN News he had not planned to go to the shrine on the day of the papal visit. He is from Terrassa, a city between Barcelona and Montserrat.The invitation to go to the popeʼs prayer came unexpectedly through a volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity, connected to his youth group, who encouraged both him and his girlfriend, María, to join the gathering. The night before, they attended the pope’s event at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona and returned so tired that they almost decided not to go again.However, they felt they could not miss the chance to see Pope Leo during his visit to their homeland, and in order to attend they both had to take the day off from work. They never imagined what would happen or the gift they would receive.Sergi, María, and their friend secured a spot in the atrium of the basilica, and when the pope arrived, Sergi managed to get very close to the mini-popemobile as it passed by. At that moment he took out his rosary, hoping it would be blessed.“I just wanted him to bless it, that’s all, but he asked me, ‘Is it for me?’ And I’m not going to say no, so of course I said yes, and he kept it,” the young man said.Indeed, in a video recorded by EWTN News, the pope can be seen taking the rosary and putting it in his pocket. A few minutes later, to the young couple’s total surprise, they saw the pope praying with Sergi’s rosary in his hands.“When we saw it on the screen, we realized it was the same one he was using to pray!” Sergi said. Pope Leo XIV prays with a simple, wooden rosary during a prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, northwest of Barcelona, Spain, on June 10, 2026. The rosary belongs to Sergi, a young Catalan man who gave it to the pope to be blessed. | Credit: Vatican Media. But the story did not end there. María had the idea of trying to get the rosary back, and when the event ended, they tried. However, the pope was already in the official car, and the security caravan would not allow anyone to approach.“We tried to tell him, but he just passed us by,” Sergi told EWTN News.At that moment, the run of his life began. Montserrat, as its name suggests, is set on a mountain range, so he had to run downhill.“I ran the whole way down until I said, ‘Well, let the pope keep it,’ and I gave up, but my girlfriend told me, ‘Keep trying.’”So Sergi started running again, sprinting and shouting to the pope to give it back. Knowing the caravan could not stop, he took an extreme measure: asking the pope to throw it to him.“At that moment I wasn’t thinking — I just knew I wanted to get the rosary back, knowing the pope had prayed with it. I was overwhelmed with excitement by the moment and the situation.”The pope granted his request, tossing the rosary from the car window as he drove by. Then, with the help of a police officer, Sergi recovered his rosary, now prayed with by the pope.“We went without expecting anything, and we came back with the greatest gift we could have received,” the young man said, still moved by the experience.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

“We went without expecting anything, and we came back with the greatest gift we could have received,” Sergi told EWTN News.

Read More

Train Ride to NASA Kennedy for Artemis III Booster Segments – A train transports eight booster motor segments for the SLS (Space Launch System rocket) that will power NASA’s Artemis III mission from Northrop Grumman’s Railyard Shipping Facility in Corinne, Utah, June 2, to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

unitedyam

A train transports eight booster motor segments for the SLS (Space Launch System rocket) that will power NASA’s Artemis III mission from Northrop Grumman’s Railyard Shipping Facility in Corinne, Utah, June 2, to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Read More

Picture of the day Statue of Yaksha (in the Ramakien, broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness) supporting the base of one of the Two Golden Chedi of Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Statue of Yaksha (in the Ramakien, broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness) supporting the base of one of the Two Golden Chedi of Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand.
Read More
California Republican Governor Candidate Steve Hilton Open to Having Spencer Pratt Work on His Campaign, Maybe Even in His Administration (VIDEO) – Now that Republican California governor candidate Steve Hilton is going to appear on the ballot, he is being asked about the possibility of working with Spencer Pratt, an idea which he says he is completely open to, especially on issues like homelessness. The post California Republican Governor Candidate Steve Hilton Open to Having Spencer Pratt Work on His Campaign, Maybe Even in His Administration (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

California Republican Governor Candidate Steve Hilton Open to Having Spencer Pratt Work on His Campaign, Maybe Even in His Administration (VIDEO) – Now that Republican California governor candidate Steve Hilton is going to appear on the ballot, he is being asked about the possibility of working with Spencer Pratt, an idea which he says he is completely open to, especially on issues like homelessness. The post California Republican Governor Candidate Steve Hilton Open to Having Spencer Pratt Work on His Campaign, Maybe Even in His Administration (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Now that Republican California governor candidate Steve Hilton is going to appear on the ballot, he is being asked about the possibility of working with Spencer Pratt, an idea which he says he is completely open to, especially on issues like homelessness.

The post California Republican Governor Candidate Steve Hilton Open to Having Spencer Pratt Work on His Campaign, Maybe Even in His Administration (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Multi-Million ‘Investment’ in Gender Affirming Care, Weeks After Claiming City is in ‘Historic’ Budget Crisis (VIDEO) – Back in April, New York City’s new Democratic Socialist (communist) Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that the city was in the midst of an ‘historic’ budget crisis. The post NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Multi-Million ‘Investment’ in Gender Affirming Care, Weeks After Claiming City is in ‘Historic’ Budget Crisis (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Multi-Million ‘Investment’ in Gender Affirming Care, Weeks After Claiming City is in ‘Historic’ Budget Crisis (VIDEO) – Back in April, New York City’s new Democratic Socialist (communist) Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that the city was in the midst of an ‘historic’ budget crisis. The post NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Multi-Million ‘Investment’ in Gender Affirming Care, Weeks After Claiming City is in ‘Historic’ Budget Crisis (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Back in April, New York City’s new Democratic Socialist (communist) Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that the city was in the midst of an ‘historic’ budget crisis.

The post NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Multi-Million ‘Investment’ in Gender Affirming Care, Weeks After Claiming City is in ‘Historic’ Budget Crisis (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
American Diplomat Is Found Dead in Myanmar Hotel – Woman From Thailand Is in Custody – Southeast Asian country of Myanmar has been rocked by the death of an American diplomat in its largest city of Yangon. The post American Diplomat Is Found Dead in Myanmar Hotel – Woman From Thailand Is in Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

American Diplomat Is Found Dead in Myanmar Hotel – Woman From Thailand Is in Custody – Southeast Asian country of Myanmar has been rocked by the death of an American diplomat in its largest city of Yangon. The post American Diplomat Is Found Dead in Myanmar Hotel – Woman From Thailand Is in Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Modern skyscraper illuminated at dusk, featuring commercial signage and surrounded by urban architecture in a vibrant cityscape.

Modern skyscraper illuminated at dusk, featuring commercial signage and surrounded by urban architecture in a vibrant cityscape.

Southeast Asian country of Myanmar has been rocked by the death of an American diplomat in its largest city of Yangon.

The post American Diplomat Is Found Dead in Myanmar Hotel – Woman From Thailand Is in Custody appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Pope Leo blesses Sagrada Familia’s Tower of Jesus, says beauty can lead people to God #Catholic – BARCELONA, Spain (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV blessed the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica June 10, inaugurating the crowning spire that makes the iconic church the tallest Catholic church the world and urging people to lift their gaze to Christ “who alone reveals to us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.” Pope Leo offered Mass inside the basilica and formally inaugurated the Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at more than 564 feet, before a crowd of thousands gathered inside and around the Sagrada Familia. “By looking at Christ, we can see the world with renewed eyes: the tower of the cross then becomes a banner of charity, for God loves us in this way, transforming an instrument of death into a sign of hope,” the pope said. 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death Spain’s King Felipe VI welcomed the pope upon his arrival at the basilica. Before Mass, Pope Leo descended to the basilica’s crypt to pray at the tomb of Antoni Gaudí, the visionary Catalan architect who devoted 43 years of his life to the design and construction of the basilica before his death in 1926 at age 73. The papal Mass fell on the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. Known as “God’s architect,” Gaudí’s cause for canonization advanced last year when Pope Francis declared him venerable in April 2025. Pope Leo paid tribute to the visionary builder in his homily, reflecting on Gaudí’s intent to narrate the mysteries of Christ’s life through stone and light. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Power of beauty to evangelize Light streamed through the basilica’s colorful stained glass windows as the pope spoke, casting dancing colors on the soaring columns. Trumpets sounded as a choir of 500 people sang hymns from the high galleries on either side of the basilica, as multiple children’s choirs harmonized around the apse. Pope Leo pointed to the Sagrada Familia as a testament to the power of art and beauty to draw people closer to God. “In her wisdom, the Church thus renews the ‘Biblia pauperum’ of the ancient cathedrals, which are in themselves rich messages of evangelization,” he said, invoking the medieval tradition of visual depictions of the Scripture designed to communicate the faith to those who could not read. “In this age in which image is so prevalent, it becomes even more evident how art and beauty are privileged channels of evangelization,” he said. The Sagrada Familia’s three facades — dedicated to the Nativity, the Passion and the Glory of Christ — embody this vision architecturally. Gaudí designed them so that sunlight illuminates each portal at the moment most consonant with its theological meaning: dawn light for the Nativity, the setting sun for the Passion and full midday light for the Glory facade. Gaudí’s design drew inspiration from both Christian doctrines and the observation of nature. The basilica is filled with organic forms inspired by natural elements. Its central nave columns evoke a forest of trees. Tower of Jesus Christ The Tower of Jesus Christ is now the tallest structure in Barcelona, and it makes the Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world. Gaudí designed the tower to stand precisely half a meter below the summit of the nearby Montjuïc hill, believing the work of human hands should not surpass the work of God. At its crown stands a four-armed cross of glass and white enameled ceramic, roughly 17 meters tall and 13 meters wide, bearing the inscription: “Tu solus Sanctus, Tu solus Dominus, Tu solus Altissimus” — “You alone are Holy, You alone are Lord, You alone are Most High.” “In Jesus’ cross, our faith reaches its summit,” the pope said. “This cross shines by day, reflecting the sunlight, and shines by night, illuminating the city like a lighthouse overlooking the Mediterranean. Yes, the light of Christ shines in the darkness, even though the darkness has not received it.” Strong words on war, abortion, salvation An estimated 9,000 people attended the papal Mass inside the basilica, while an estimated 120,000 people worshipped from outside. In his homily in the Sagrada Familia, Pope Leo issued a forceful appeal against abortion, war and the exclusion of migrants. “Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot believe in Jesus and promote war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent even before birth. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery,” the pope said. The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from John, in which Jesus tells the Pharisees, “you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he” (Jn 8:24). “These are strong words,” Pope Leo said. “They are an invitation to salvation — that is, a call to freedom extended by Christ, who desires for us the ultimate, eternal good.” “As God made man, he becomes for us Emmanuel, the source of grace and forgiveness, of salvation and new life,” he said. “That is why, if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we remain in sin, and not only do we die, but we bring about the death of our neighbor.” Basilica a century in the making Pope Leo paid tribute to Gaudí and to all who have labored on the basilica across generations. “Together with Gaudí, as we commemorate the centenary of his death, we remember and give thanks to all the supporters and benefactors, the artists and the workers who cooperated in the construction of an architectural masterpiece, which is also an eloquent catechesis made of stones, colors and light.” The foundation stone of the Sagrada Familia was laid in 1882. The project was initially entrusted to architect Francisco de Paula del Villar before passing to Gaudí in 1883, who transformed it into one of the most ambitious building projects in modern history, comprising three facades, five naves and 18 towers. The portion built by Gaudí was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. Unfinished masterpiece Despite the completion of its crowning tower, the basilica remains unfinished; work is still ongoing on the baptistery, the sacristy, the Chapel of the Assumption, the cloisters and the Glory Facade. It is projected that the basilica will not be completed until 2036. Pope Leo embraced that incompleteness as a spiritual metaphor. “Much more than a monument, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia remains a work in progress today, reminding us that the Christian life is always a journey, because it is a project that God is carrying out,” he said. “The fact that it is incomplete is not a flaw, for it bears witness to a desire; it does not signify a shortcoming, but rather expresses a promise that we wish to honor with consistency,” he added. “Our gratitude thus becomes a commitment as we cooperate in God’s plan — that is, in the edification to which he himself calls us.” “Since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, this work consists in our very lives, which God conceives as a masterpiece that we are to create together.” Fireworks celebrate the tallest church in the world After Mass, the pope presided over the formal blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ. The inauguration ceremony concluded with a dazzling interactive light show and a live musical performance by the Escolanía de Montserrat, the oldest boys choir in the world, followed by fireworks from the basilica’s towering spires. A drone show in the sky illuminated the face of Gaudí, as well the architect’s words, “First you need love, then technique.” “As we lift our gaze toward him, the crucified and risen One, let us commit ourselves to lifting up those who lie in the dust,” the pope said. “And let us show in this way that the Sagrada Familia is the tallest church in the world, not so as to stand out in worldly rankings, but rather to guide the steps of the people of God who make their pilgrimage in Spain, with the cross illuminating their path, like a lamp burning brightly as we await the return of the Bridegroom.” Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.  
Read More

Pope Leo blesses Sagrada Familia’s Tower of Jesus, says beauty can lead people to God #Catholic – BARCELONA, Spain (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV blessed the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica June 10, inaugurating the crowning spire that makes the iconic church the tallest Catholic church the world and urging people to lift their gaze to Christ “who alone reveals to us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.” Pope Leo offered Mass inside the basilica and formally inaugurated the Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at more than 564 feet, before a crowd of thousands gathered inside and around the Sagrada Familia. “By looking at Christ, we can see the world with renewed eyes: the tower of the cross then becomes a banner of charity, for God loves us in this way, transforming an instrument of death into a sign of hope,” the pope said. 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death Spain’s King Felipe VI welcomed the pope upon his arrival at the basilica. Before Mass, Pope Leo descended to the basilica’s crypt to pray at the tomb of Antoni Gaudí, the visionary Catalan architect who devoted 43 years of his life to the design and construction of the basilica before his death in 1926 at age 73. The papal Mass fell on the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. Known as “God’s architect,” Gaudí’s cause for canonization advanced last year when Pope Francis declared him venerable in April 2025. Pope Leo paid tribute to the visionary builder in his homily, reflecting on Gaudí’s intent to narrate the mysteries of Christ’s life through stone and light. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Power of beauty to evangelize Light streamed through the basilica’s colorful stained glass windows as the pope spoke, casting dancing colors on the soaring columns. Trumpets sounded as a choir of 500 people sang hymns from the high galleries on either side of the basilica, as multiple children’s choirs harmonized around the apse. Pope Leo pointed to the Sagrada Familia as a testament to the power of art and beauty to draw people closer to God. “In her wisdom, the Church thus renews the ‘Biblia pauperum’ of the ancient cathedrals, which are in themselves rich messages of evangelization,” he said, invoking the medieval tradition of visual depictions of the Scripture designed to communicate the faith to those who could not read. “In this age in which image is so prevalent, it becomes even more evident how art and beauty are privileged channels of evangelization,” he said. The Sagrada Familia’s three facades — dedicated to the Nativity, the Passion and the Glory of Christ — embody this vision architecturally. Gaudí designed them so that sunlight illuminates each portal at the moment most consonant with its theological meaning: dawn light for the Nativity, the setting sun for the Passion and full midday light for the Glory facade. Gaudí’s design drew inspiration from both Christian doctrines and the observation of nature. The basilica is filled with organic forms inspired by natural elements. Its central nave columns evoke a forest of trees. Tower of Jesus Christ The Tower of Jesus Christ is now the tallest structure in Barcelona, and it makes the Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world. Gaudí designed the tower to stand precisely half a meter below the summit of the nearby Montjuïc hill, believing the work of human hands should not surpass the work of God. At its crown stands a four-armed cross of glass and white enameled ceramic, roughly 17 meters tall and 13 meters wide, bearing the inscription: “Tu solus Sanctus, Tu solus Dominus, Tu solus Altissimus” — “You alone are Holy, You alone are Lord, You alone are Most High.” “In Jesus’ cross, our faith reaches its summit,” the pope said. “This cross shines by day, reflecting the sunlight, and shines by night, illuminating the city like a lighthouse overlooking the Mediterranean. Yes, the light of Christ shines in the darkness, even though the darkness has not received it.” Strong words on war, abortion, salvation An estimated 9,000 people attended the papal Mass inside the basilica, while an estimated 120,000 people worshipped from outside. In his homily in the Sagrada Familia, Pope Leo issued a forceful appeal against abortion, war and the exclusion of migrants. “Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot believe in Jesus and promote war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent even before birth. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery,” the pope said. The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from John, in which Jesus tells the Pharisees, “you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he” (Jn 8:24). “These are strong words,” Pope Leo said. “They are an invitation to salvation — that is, a call to freedom extended by Christ, who desires for us the ultimate, eternal good.” “As God made man, he becomes for us Emmanuel, the source of grace and forgiveness, of salvation and new life,” he said. “That is why, if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we remain in sin, and not only do we die, but we bring about the death of our neighbor.” Basilica a century in the making Pope Leo paid tribute to Gaudí and to all who have labored on the basilica across generations. “Together with Gaudí, as we commemorate the centenary of his death, we remember and give thanks to all the supporters and benefactors, the artists and the workers who cooperated in the construction of an architectural masterpiece, which is also an eloquent catechesis made of stones, colors and light.” The foundation stone of the Sagrada Familia was laid in 1882. The project was initially entrusted to architect Francisco de Paula del Villar before passing to Gaudí in 1883, who transformed it into one of the most ambitious building projects in modern history, comprising three facades, five naves and 18 towers. The portion built by Gaudí was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. Unfinished masterpiece Despite the completion of its crowning tower, the basilica remains unfinished; work is still ongoing on the baptistery, the sacristy, the Chapel of the Assumption, the cloisters and the Glory Facade. It is projected that the basilica will not be completed until 2036. Pope Leo embraced that incompleteness as a spiritual metaphor. “Much more than a monument, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia remains a work in progress today, reminding us that the Christian life is always a journey, because it is a project that God is carrying out,” he said. “The fact that it is incomplete is not a flaw, for it bears witness to a desire; it does not signify a shortcoming, but rather expresses a promise that we wish to honor with consistency,” he added. “Our gratitude thus becomes a commitment as we cooperate in God’s plan — that is, in the edification to which he himself calls us.” “Since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, this work consists in our very lives, which God conceives as a masterpiece that we are to create together.” Fireworks celebrate the tallest church in the world After Mass, the pope presided over the formal blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ. The inauguration ceremony concluded with a dazzling interactive light show and a live musical performance by the Escolanía de Montserrat, the oldest boys choir in the world, followed by fireworks from the basilica’s towering spires. A drone show in the sky illuminated the face of Gaudí, as well the architect’s words, “First you need love, then technique.” “As we lift our gaze toward him, the crucified and risen One, let us commit ourselves to lifting up those who lie in the dust,” the pope said. “And let us show in this way that the Sagrada Familia is the tallest church in the world, not so as to stand out in worldly rankings, but rather to guide the steps of the people of God who make their pilgrimage in Spain, with the cross illuminating their path, like a lamp burning brightly as we await the return of the Bridegroom.” Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.  

unitedyam

Pope Leo blesses Sagrada Familia’s Tower of Jesus, says beauty can lead people to God #Catholic –

BARCELONA, Spain (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV blessed the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica June 10, inaugurating the crowning spire that makes the iconic church the tallest Catholic church the world and urging people to lift their gaze to Christ “who alone reveals to us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.”

Pope Leo offered Mass inside the basilica and formally inaugurated the Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at more than 564 feet, before a crowd of thousands gathered inside and around the Sagrada Familia.

“By looking at Christ, we can see the world with renewed eyes: the tower of the cross then becomes a banner of charity, for God loves us in this way, transforming an instrument of death into a sign of hope,” the pope said.

100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death

Spain’s King Felipe VI welcomed the pope upon his arrival at the basilica. Before Mass, Pope Leo descended to the basilica’s crypt to pray at the tomb of Antoni Gaudí, the visionary Catalan architect who devoted 43 years of his life to the design and construction of the basilica before his death in 1926 at age 73.

The papal Mass fell on the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. Known as “God’s architect,” Gaudí’s cause for canonization advanced last year when Pope Francis declared him venerable in April 2025.

Pope Leo paid tribute to the visionary builder in his homily, reflecting on Gaudí’s intent to narrate the mysteries of Christ’s life through stone and light.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Power of beauty to evangelize

Light streamed through the basilica’s colorful stained glass windows as the pope spoke, casting dancing colors on the soaring columns. Trumpets sounded as a choir of 500 people sang hymns from the high galleries on either side of the basilica, as multiple children’s choirs harmonized around the apse.
Pope Leo pointed to the Sagrada Familia as a testament to the power of art and beauty to draw people closer to God.

“In her wisdom, the Church thus renews the ‘Biblia pauperum’ of the ancient cathedrals, which are in themselves rich messages of evangelization,” he said, invoking the medieval tradition of visual depictions of the Scripture designed to communicate the faith to those who could not read.

“In this age in which image is so prevalent, it becomes even more evident how art and beauty are privileged channels of evangelization,” he said.

The Sagrada Familia’s three facades — dedicated to the Nativity, the Passion and the Glory of Christ — embody this vision architecturally. Gaudí designed them so that sunlight illuminates each portal at the moment most consonant with its theological meaning: dawn light for the Nativity, the setting sun for the Passion and full midday light for the Glory facade.

Gaudí’s design drew inspiration from both Christian doctrines and the observation of nature. The basilica is filled with organic forms inspired by natural elements. Its central nave columns evoke a forest of trees.

Tower of Jesus Christ

The Tower of Jesus Christ is now the tallest structure in Barcelona, and it makes the Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world.

Gaudí designed the tower to stand precisely half a meter below the summit of the nearby Montjuïc hill, believing the work of human hands should not surpass the work of God. At its crown stands a four-armed cross of glass and white enameled ceramic, roughly 17 meters tall and 13 meters wide, bearing the inscription: “Tu solus Sanctus, Tu solus Dominus, Tu solus Altissimus” — “You alone are Holy, You alone are Lord, You alone are Most High.”

“In Jesus’ cross, our faith reaches its summit,” the pope said. “This cross shines by day, reflecting the sunlight, and shines by night, illuminating the city like a lighthouse overlooking the Mediterranean. Yes, the light of Christ shines in the darkness, even though the darkness has not received it.”

Strong words on war, abortion, salvation

An estimated 9,000 people attended the papal Mass inside the basilica, while an estimated 120,000 people worshipped from outside. In his homily in the Sagrada Familia, Pope Leo issued a forceful appeal against abortion, war and the exclusion of migrants.

“Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot believe in Jesus and promote war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent even before birth. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery,” the pope said.

The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from John, in which Jesus tells the Pharisees, “you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he” (Jn 8:24).

“These are strong words,” Pope Leo said. “They are an invitation to salvation — that is, a call to freedom extended by Christ, who desires for us the ultimate, eternal good.”

“As God made man, he becomes for us Emmanuel, the source of grace and forgiveness, of salvation and new life,” he said. “That is why, if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we remain in sin, and not only do we die, but we bring about the death of our neighbor.”

Basilica a century in the making

Pope Leo paid tribute to Gaudí and to all who have labored on the basilica across generations.

“Together with Gaudí, as we commemorate the centenary of his death, we remember and give thanks to all the supporters and benefactors, the artists and the workers who cooperated in the construction of an architectural masterpiece, which is also an eloquent catechesis made of stones, colors and light.”

The foundation stone of the Sagrada Familia was laid in 1882. The project was initially entrusted to architect Francisco de Paula del Villar before passing to Gaudí in 1883, who transformed it into one of the most ambitious building projects in modern history, comprising three facades, five naves and 18 towers. The portion built by Gaudí was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

Unfinished masterpiece

Despite the completion of its crowning tower, the basilica remains unfinished; work is still ongoing on the baptistery, the sacristy, the Chapel of the Assumption, the cloisters and the Glory Facade. It is projected that the basilica will not be completed until 2036.

Pope Leo embraced that incompleteness as a spiritual metaphor. “Much more than a monument, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia remains a work in progress today, reminding us that the Christian life is always a journey, because it is a project that God is carrying out,” he said.

“The fact that it is incomplete is not a flaw, for it bears witness to a desire; it does not signify a shortcoming, but rather expresses a promise that we wish to honor with consistency,” he added. “Our gratitude thus becomes a commitment as we cooperate in God’s plan — that is, in the edification to which he himself calls us.”

“Since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, this work consists in our very lives, which God conceives as a masterpiece that we are to create together.”

Fireworks celebrate the tallest church in the world

After Mass, the pope presided over the formal blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ. The inauguration ceremony concluded with a dazzling interactive light show and a live musical performance by the Escolanía de Montserrat, the oldest boys choir in the world, followed by fireworks from the basilica’s towering spires. A drone show in the sky illuminated the face of Gaudí, as well the architect’s words, “First you need love, then technique.”

“As we lift our gaze toward him, the crucified and risen One, let us commit ourselves to lifting up those who lie in the dust,” the pope said. “And let us show in this way that the Sagrada Familia is the tallest church in the world, not so as to stand out in worldly rankings, but rather to guide the steps of the people of God who make their pilgrimage in Spain, with the cross illuminating their path, like a lamp burning brightly as we await the return of the Bridegroom.”

Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.

 

– BARCELONA, Spain (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV blessed the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica June 10, inaugurating the crowning spire that makes the iconic church the tallest Catholic church the world and urging people to lift their gaze to Christ “who alone reveals to us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.” Pope Leo offered Mass inside the basilica and formally inaugurated the Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at more than 564 feet, before a crowd of thousands gathered inside and around the Sagrada Familia. “By looking at Christ, we

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 11 June 2026 – A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles 11:21b-26; 13:1-3 In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.From the Gospel according to Matthew 10:7-13 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.“Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Mt 10:7). It is the same proclamation with which Jesus began his preaching: the kingdom of God, that is, his lordship of love, has come near; it comes in our midst. And this is not just one piece of news among others, no, but the fundamental reality of life: the closeness of God, the closeness of Jesus. Indeed, if the God of heaven is close, we are not alone on earth, and even in difficulty, we do not lose faith. Here is the first thing to say to people: God is not far away, but rather he is a Father. God is not distant, he is a Father, he knows you and he loves you; he wants to take you by the hand, even when you travel on steep and rugged paths, even when you fall and struggle to get up again and get back on track. He, the Lord, is there with you. (…) To proclaim that God is near — but how can we do this? In the Gospel, Jesus advises not to say many words, but rather to perform many deeds of love and hope in the name of the Lord. Not saying many words, but performing deeds! “Heal the sick”, says the Lord, “raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without pay, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). Here is the heart of proclamation: freely given witness, service. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 18 June 2023)

unitedyam

A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
11:21b-26; 13:1-3

In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
10:7-13

As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.

“Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Mt 10:7). It is the same proclamation with which Jesus began his preaching: the kingdom of God, that is, his lordship of love, has come near; it comes in our midst. And this is not just one piece of news among others, no, but the fundamental reality of life: the closeness of God, the closeness of Jesus.

Indeed, if the God of heaven is close, we are not alone on earth, and even in difficulty, we do not lose faith. Here is the first thing to say to people: God is not far away, but rather he is a Father. God is not distant, he is a Father, he knows you and he loves you; he wants to take you by the hand, even when you travel on steep and rugged paths, even when you fall and struggle to get up again and get back on track. He, the Lord, is there with you. (…)

To proclaim that God is near — but how can we do this? In the Gospel, Jesus advises not to say many words, but rather to perform many deeds of love and hope in the name of the Lord. Not saying many words, but performing deeds! “Heal the sick”, says the Lord, “raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without pay, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). Here is the heart of proclamation: freely given witness, service. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 18 June 2023)

Read More
Proud day as 98 Morris Catholic graduates receive diplomas #Catholic - Ninety-eight proud Morris Catholic High School graduates in Denville, N.J., received diplomas on June 4 during a commencement in the school’s gym. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney helped distribute the diplomas during the ceremony, which included a Mass. Bishop Sweeney presided over the Mass. Concelebrating were several priests, including Father Paul Manning, vicar for evangelization and education of the Paterson Diocese, N.J.; Father Peter Clarke, the school’s president; and Father Carmen Buono, a retired diocesan priest who serves as a part-time chaplain at Morris Catholic. Many students, faculty, and staff participated graduation events that day. Morris Catholic’s valedictorian was Jack Smitreski, while its salutatorian was Oliva Lopes. The Class of 2026 earned a total of $20,541,477 in scholarships and financial aid. Afterward, the high school posted on social media, “What a beautiful day to celebrate Morris Catholic’s graduation. The graduates of the Class of 2026 have amazing futures ahead of them. We are beyond proud.” BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]   Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Read More

Proud day as 98 Morris Catholic graduates receive diplomas #Catholic – Ninety-eight proud Morris Catholic High School graduates in Denville, N.J., received diplomas on June 4 during a commencement in the school’s gym. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney helped distribute the diplomas during the ceremony, which included a Mass. Bishop Sweeney presided over the Mass. Concelebrating were several priests, including Father Paul Manning, vicar for evangelization and education of the Paterson Diocese, N.J.; Father Peter Clarke, the school’s president; and Father Carmen Buono, a retired diocesan priest who serves as a part-time chaplain at Morris Catholic. Many students, faculty, and staff participated graduation events that day. Morris Catholic’s valedictorian was Jack Smitreski, while its salutatorian was Oliva Lopes. The Class of 2026 earned a total of $20,541,477 in scholarships and financial aid. Afterward, the high school posted on social media, “What a beautiful day to celebrate Morris Catholic’s graduation. The graduates of the Class of 2026 have amazing futures ahead of them. We are beyond proud.” BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]   Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

unitedyam

Proud day as 98 Morris Catholic graduates receive diplomas #Catholic –

Ninety-eight proud Morris Catholic High School graduates in Denville, N.J., received diplomas on June 4 during a commencement in the school’s gym. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney helped distribute the diplomas during the ceremony, which included a Mass.

Bishop Sweeney presided over the Mass. Concelebrating were several priests, including Father Paul Manning, vicar for evangelization and education of the Paterson Diocese, N.J.; Father Peter Clarke, the school’s president; and Father Carmen Buono, a retired diocesan priest who serves as a part-time chaplain at Morris Catholic.

Many students, faculty, and staff participated graduation events that day.

Morris Catholic’s valedictorian was Jack Smitreski, while its salutatorian was Oliva Lopes. The Class of 2026 earned a total of $20,541,477 in scholarships and financial aid.

Afterward, the high school posted on social media, “What a beautiful day to celebrate Morris Catholic’s graduation. The graduates of the Class of 2026 have amazing futures ahead of them. We are beyond proud.”

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

– Ninety-eight proud Morris Catholic High School graduates in Denville, N.J., received diplomas on June 4 during a commencement in the school’s gym. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney helped distribute the diplomas during the ceremony, which included a Mass. Bishop Sweeney presided over the Mass. Concelebrating were several priests, including Father Paul Manning, vicar for evangelization and education of the Paterson Diocese, N.J.; Father Peter Clarke, the school’s president; and Father Carmen Buono, a retired diocesan priest who serves as a part-time chaplain at Morris Catholic. Many students, faculty, and staff participated graduation events that day. Morris Catholic’s valedictorian was Jack Smitreski,

Read More
In Washington, National Eucharistic Pilgrimage includes national blessing, downtown procession #Catholic – WASHINGTON (OSV News) — While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The pilgrimage included a special blessing of America near the Washington Monument on the evening of June 5, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Washington the next day, followed by a Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the solemnity of Corpus Christi. “Today we walk with Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Savior. We walk with him in the streets of our nation’s capital,” Father Charles Trullols, the director of the Catholic Information Center, said in his homily during a June 6 Mass outside the center before leading its fourth annual Eucharistic procession through the city. This year’s procession was held in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s arrival in Washington. An estimated crowd of 1,000 people attended the Mass and then prayerfully processed through the city, following Father Trullols and other priests who held the Eucharist aloft in a monstrance beneath a canopy, passing the city’s office buildings, public squares and landmarks, including within sight of the White House. Hundreds of people knelt reverently on the sidewalk and on closed-off sections of streets. The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — with the theme “One Nation Under God” — began May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida, and will wind through most of the 13 original colonies, traveling about 2,200 miles before arriving in Philadelphia July 4 to commemorate with prayer and Eucharistic devotion the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The pilgrimage’s St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route is placed under the patronage of the religious sister and Italian immigrant who in 1946 became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized. In his homily at the Mass, Father Trullols said the phrase “one nation under God” should be more than a patriotic slogan. “A nation remains ‘under God’ only if its people place God first,” said Father Trullols, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei. The priest said that ways Catholics can put God first include through daily prayer, attending Mass, receiving the sacrament of confession, caring for the poor, remaining faithful in marriage and pursuing holiness in everyday life. “Today’s procession is not a parade,” he said, emphasizing that it would offer a public witness to the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ’s body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist. Father Trullols said early Christians understood that the Eucharist is not just a symbol — it is Jesus, the Bread of Life who transforms people’s lives. He noted how Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly to minister to poor immigrants, drawing her strength from praying before the Eucharist in the tabernacle, and he also pointed out how Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, who evangelized millions through his radio shows and TV programs, prayed before the Eucharist in a daily Holy Hour, no matter how busy he was. Noting the importance of such Eucharistic devotion, Father Trullols said, “There is where saints are made.” The evening before, Father Trullols had received the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia. Then he joined the nine young adult “perpetual pilgrims” accompanying the Eucharist in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, as their Ford Transit Van crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Washington. A press statement from the pilgrimage’s organizers noted that bridge, “long recognized as a symbol of national unity and reconciliation between North and South, serves as a fitting gateway for bringing Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, into the heart of the nation’s capital.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. After the pilgrimage vehicle arrived on the National Mall on the evening of June 5, Father Trullols led a Eucharistic procession toward the grounds near the base of the Washington Monument, and he offered a symbolic blessing for the nation within sight of that illuminated monument and the U.S. Capitol in the distance. Later that day, the perpetual pilgrims visited the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast Washington before attending Mass at the adjacent basilica, where Bishop-elect designate Gary R. Studniewski was principal celebrant and homilist. By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus “wanted for us to know, to see and to even feel that He is still among us not just a symbol, not just half a locket with the promise we will get the other half when we get to heaven, but his real body and blood right here,” said Bishop-elect designated Studniewski, whose episcopal ordination as an auxiliary bishop of Washington is scheduled for July 7. “And we do more than just see and touch his body and blood: We take Jesus into ourselves as food for our perilous journey,” the bishop-elect said. Speaking at the shrine prior to that Mass, perpetual pilgrim John Paul Flynn said, “accompanying Jesus is a one-of-a-kind experience, a really beautiful experience.” “We are having Jesus in the very center of our nation’s capital,” said Flynn, a native of the Washington area and a student at The Catholic University of America. “We are bringing Jesus to where all the decisions are made.” Saying he was blessed to “travel with Jesus every single day,” Flynn called it very special to “see Jesus walking our streets, walking the same steps I have walked.” Mark Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Washington. Richard Szczepanowski, the Catholic Standard’s managing editor, contributed to this story. This story was originally published by the Catholic Standard and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.  
Read More

In Washington, National Eucharistic Pilgrimage includes national blessing, downtown procession #Catholic – WASHINGTON (OSV News) — While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The pilgrimage included a special blessing of America near the Washington Monument on the evening of June 5, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Washington the next day, followed by a Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the solemnity of Corpus Christi. “Today we walk with Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Savior. We walk with him in the streets of our nation’s capital,” Father Charles Trullols, the director of the Catholic Information Center, said in his homily during a June 6 Mass outside the center before leading its fourth annual Eucharistic procession through the city. This year’s procession was held in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s arrival in Washington. An estimated crowd of 1,000 people attended the Mass and then prayerfully processed through the city, following Father Trullols and other priests who held the Eucharist aloft in a monstrance beneath a canopy, passing the city’s office buildings, public squares and landmarks, including within sight of the White House. Hundreds of people knelt reverently on the sidewalk and on closed-off sections of streets. The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — with the theme “One Nation Under God” — began May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida, and will wind through most of the 13 original colonies, traveling about 2,200 miles before arriving in Philadelphia July 4 to commemorate with prayer and Eucharistic devotion the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The pilgrimage’s St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route is placed under the patronage of the religious sister and Italian immigrant who in 1946 became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized. In his homily at the Mass, Father Trullols said the phrase “one nation under God” should be more than a patriotic slogan. “A nation remains ‘under God’ only if its people place God first,” said Father Trullols, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei. The priest said that ways Catholics can put God first include through daily prayer, attending Mass, receiving the sacrament of confession, caring for the poor, remaining faithful in marriage and pursuing holiness in everyday life. “Today’s procession is not a parade,” he said, emphasizing that it would offer a public witness to the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ’s body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist. Father Trullols said early Christians understood that the Eucharist is not just a symbol — it is Jesus, the Bread of Life who transforms people’s lives. He noted how Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly to minister to poor immigrants, drawing her strength from praying before the Eucharist in the tabernacle, and he also pointed out how Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, who evangelized millions through his radio shows and TV programs, prayed before the Eucharist in a daily Holy Hour, no matter how busy he was. Noting the importance of such Eucharistic devotion, Father Trullols said, “There is where saints are made.” The evening before, Father Trullols had received the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia. Then he joined the nine young adult “perpetual pilgrims” accompanying the Eucharist in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, as their Ford Transit Van crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Washington. A press statement from the pilgrimage’s organizers noted that bridge, “long recognized as a symbol of national unity and reconciliation between North and South, serves as a fitting gateway for bringing Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, into the heart of the nation’s capital.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. After the pilgrimage vehicle arrived on the National Mall on the evening of June 5, Father Trullols led a Eucharistic procession toward the grounds near the base of the Washington Monument, and he offered a symbolic blessing for the nation within sight of that illuminated monument and the U.S. Capitol in the distance. Later that day, the perpetual pilgrims visited the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast Washington before attending Mass at the adjacent basilica, where Bishop-elect designate Gary R. Studniewski was principal celebrant and homilist. By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus “wanted for us to know, to see and to even feel that He is still among us not just a symbol, not just half a locket with the promise we will get the other half when we get to heaven, but his real body and blood right here,” said Bishop-elect designated Studniewski, whose episcopal ordination as an auxiliary bishop of Washington is scheduled for July 7. “And we do more than just see and touch his body and blood: We take Jesus into ourselves as food for our perilous journey,” the bishop-elect said. Speaking at the shrine prior to that Mass, perpetual pilgrim John Paul Flynn said, “accompanying Jesus is a one-of-a-kind experience, a really beautiful experience.” “We are having Jesus in the very center of our nation’s capital,” said Flynn, a native of the Washington area and a student at The Catholic University of America. “We are bringing Jesus to where all the decisions are made.” Saying he was blessed to “travel with Jesus every single day,” Flynn called it very special to “see Jesus walking our streets, walking the same steps I have walked.” Mark Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Washington. Richard Szczepanowski, the Catholic Standard’s managing editor, contributed to this story. This story was originally published by the Catholic Standard and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.  

unitedyam

In Washington, National Eucharistic Pilgrimage includes national blessing, downtown procession #Catholic –

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

The pilgrimage included a special blessing of America near the Washington Monument on the evening of June 5, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Washington the next day, followed by a Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the solemnity of Corpus Christi.

“Today we walk with Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Savior. We walk with him in the streets of our nation’s capital,” Father Charles Trullols, the director of the Catholic Information Center, said in his homily during a June 6 Mass outside the center before leading its fourth annual Eucharistic procession through the city.

This year’s procession was held in conjunction with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s arrival in Washington. An estimated crowd of 1,000 people attended the Mass and then prayerfully processed through the city, following Father Trullols and other priests who held the Eucharist aloft in a monstrance beneath a canopy, passing the city’s office buildings, public squares and landmarks, including within sight of the White House. Hundreds of people knelt reverently on the sidewalk and on closed-off sections of streets.

The 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — with the theme “One Nation Under God” — began May 24 in St. Augustine, Florida, and will wind through most of the 13 original colonies, traveling about 2,200 miles before arriving in Philadelphia July 4 to commemorate with prayer and Eucharistic devotion the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The pilgrimage’s St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Route is placed under the patronage of the religious sister and Italian immigrant who in 1946 became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized.

In his homily at the Mass, Father Trullols said the phrase “one nation under God” should be more than a patriotic slogan.

“A nation remains ‘under God’ only if its people place God first,” said Father Trullols, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei.

The priest said that ways Catholics can put God first include through daily prayer, attending Mass, receiving the sacrament of confession, caring for the poor, remaining faithful in marriage and pursuing holiness in everyday life.

“Today’s procession is not a parade,” he said, emphasizing that it would offer a public witness to the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ’s body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist.

Father Trullols said early Christians understood that the Eucharist is not just a symbol — it is Jesus, the Bread of Life who transforms people’s lives. He noted how Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly to minister to poor immigrants, drawing her strength from praying before the Eucharist in the tabernacle, and he also pointed out how Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, who evangelized millions through his radio shows and TV programs, prayed before the Eucharist in a daily Holy Hour, no matter how busy he was.

Noting the importance of such Eucharistic devotion, Father Trullols said, “There is where saints are made.”

The evening before, Father Trullols had received the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia. Then he joined the nine young adult “perpetual pilgrims” accompanying the Eucharist in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, as their Ford Transit Van crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge to Washington.

A press statement from the pilgrimage’s organizers noted that bridge, “long recognized as a symbol of national unity and reconciliation between North and South, serves as a fitting gateway for bringing Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, into the heart of the nation’s capital.”

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

After the pilgrimage vehicle arrived on the National Mall on the evening of June 5, Father Trullols led a Eucharistic procession toward the grounds near the base of the Washington Monument, and he offered a symbolic blessing for the nation within sight of that illuminated monument and the U.S. Capitol in the distance.

Later that day, the perpetual pilgrims visited the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast Washington before attending Mass at the adjacent basilica, where Bishop-elect designate Gary R. Studniewski was principal celebrant and homilist.

By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus “wanted for us to know, to see and to even feel that He is still among us not just a symbol, not just half a locket with the promise we will get the other half when we get to heaven, but his real body and blood right here,” said Bishop-elect designated Studniewski, whose episcopal ordination as an auxiliary bishop of Washington is scheduled for July 7.

“And we do more than just see and touch his body and blood: We take Jesus into ourselves as food for our perilous journey,” the bishop-elect said.

Speaking at the shrine prior to that Mass, perpetual pilgrim John Paul Flynn said, “accompanying Jesus is a one-of-a-kind experience, a really beautiful experience.”

“We are having Jesus in the very center of our nation’s capital,” said Flynn, a native of the Washington area and a student at The Catholic University of America. “We are bringing Jesus to where all the decisions are made.”

Saying he was blessed to “travel with Jesus every single day,” Flynn called it very special to “see Jesus walking our streets, walking the same steps I have walked.”

Mark Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Washington. Richard Szczepanowski, the Catholic Standard’s managing editor, contributed to this story. This story was originally published by the Catholic Standard and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

 

– WASHINGTON (OSV News) — While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The pilgrimage included a special blessing of America near the Washington Monument on the evening of June 5, a Eucharistic procession through downtown Washington the next day, followed by a Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the solemnity of Corpus Christi. “Today we

Read More
Life Hack: Wife Texting You Too Much? Reply ‘Unsubscribe’ And She’s Legally Required To Stop #BabylonBee – Unsubscribing from spam texts is well known, but did you know you can also unsubscribe from your wife? All you have to do is text back "UNSUBSCRIBE" and she’s legally required to stop.
Read More

Life Hack: Wife Texting You Too Much? Reply ‘Unsubscribe’ And She’s Legally Required To Stop #BabylonBee – Unsubscribing from spam texts is well known, but did you know you can also unsubscribe from your wife? All you have to do is text back "UNSUBSCRIBE" and she’s legally required to stop.

unitedyam

Unsubscribing from spam texts is well known, but did you know you can also unsubscribe from your wife? All you have to do is text back "UNSUBSCRIBE" and she’s legally required to stop.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV: Fragility in old age can teach our efficiency-obsessed world – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV has called for greater respect for the elderly, affirming that their fragility still has much to teach humanity today.In a letter sent via the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to the participants of the June 10 symposium in Rome titled “A Bridge Toward Heaven,” the pontiff expressed his hope that their efforts would encourage “renewed attitudes of respect, gratitude, and esteem toward the elderly.”Leo also criticized the modern tendency to equate strength with mere displays of power. “The society we live in is dominated by the logic of performance and competition, whereby strength is conceived as a display of power and tends to degenerate into abuse,” the message said.The pope also praised the witness of the elderly in their physical weakness with age and described them as offering profound lessons for the younger generation, who might not yet recognize their value.“The elderly, in the serene acceptance of the limitations linked to the passing of the years, without hiding them or being ashamed of them, can be teachers of life, capable of showing everyone — and especially young people — that the value of an existence is not measured by the yardstick of efficiency or self-sufficiency but by the capacity to love and to let oneself be loved, to give and to receive,” the message said.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV: Fragility in old age can teach our efficiency-obsessed world – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV has called for greater respect for the elderly, affirming that their fragility still has much to teach humanity today.In a letter sent via the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to the participants of the June 10 symposium in Rome titled “A Bridge Toward Heaven,” the pontiff expressed his hope that their efforts would encourage “renewed attitudes of respect, gratitude, and esteem toward the elderly.”Leo also criticized the modern tendency to equate strength with mere displays of power. “The society we live in is dominated by the logic of performance and competition, whereby strength is conceived as a display of power and tends to degenerate into abuse,” the message said.The pope also praised the witness of the elderly in their physical weakness with age and described them as offering profound lessons for the younger generation, who might not yet recognize their value.“The elderly, in the serene acceptance of the limitations linked to the passing of the years, without hiding them or being ashamed of them, can be teachers of life, capable of showing everyone — and especially young people — that the value of an existence is not measured by the yardstick of efficiency or self-sufficiency but by the capacity to love and to let oneself be loved, to give and to receive,” the message said.

unitedyam

The pontiff, who is traveling in Spain, sent a letter to be read at a Vatican symposium on the elderly.

Read More
Refusing to inherit hatred and war: Teenagers launch peace initiative at the Vatican – #Catholic – Amid worsening armed conflicts in countries such as Ukraine, Nigeria, and those in the Middle East, a group of teenagers recently came to Rome to launch a new peace initiative, Project Oxygen.From May 31 to June 5, 40 teenagers from war-torn regions worldwide, including Ukraine, Nigeria, and the Middle East, participated in peace-building workshops on diplomacy and political engagement in conflict-affected areas. Through Project Oxygen, they aim to shift current narratives about conflict toward a future of creativity and compassion.Their activities included visits to Vatican dicasteries and the Italian Parliament, conferences on artificial intelligence, and a Wednesday general audience with Pope Leo XIV.One of the participants, Olena from Ukraine, expressed her conviction that her young generation can make a difference by uniting around shared values in a divided world.“We can make a change altogether and understand what things and circumstances unite us, and by that go to peace altogether,” Olena told EWTN News.Kathleen Hessert, founder of Project Oxygen and CEO of Sports Media Challenge, added: “The people in charge have not been able to come up with the solutions to peace. So we need to look somewhere else. And [by] their creativity and their imagination, these kids can bring a vibrancy, a creativity, and a dedication to peace.”
Read More

Refusing to inherit hatred and war: Teenagers launch peace initiative at the Vatican – #Catholic – Amid worsening armed conflicts in countries such as Ukraine, Nigeria, and those in the Middle East, a group of teenagers recently came to Rome to launch a new peace initiative, Project Oxygen.From May 31 to June 5, 40 teenagers from war-torn regions worldwide, including Ukraine, Nigeria, and the Middle East, participated in peace-building workshops on diplomacy and political engagement in conflict-affected areas. Through Project Oxygen, they aim to shift current narratives about conflict toward a future of creativity and compassion.Their activities included visits to Vatican dicasteries and the Italian Parliament, conferences on artificial intelligence, and a Wednesday general audience with Pope Leo XIV.One of the participants, Olena from Ukraine, expressed her conviction that her young generation can make a difference by uniting around shared values in a divided world.“We can make a change altogether and understand what things and circumstances unite us, and by that go to peace altogether,” Olena told EWTN News.Kathleen Hessert, founder of Project Oxygen and CEO of Sports Media Challenge, added: “The people in charge have not been able to come up with the solutions to peace. So we need to look somewhere else. And [by] their creativity and their imagination, these kids can bring a vibrancy, a creativity, and a dedication to peace.”

unitedyam

Forty teenagers from war-torn countries recently took part in the Project Oxygen Teen Peace Summit.

Read More
Pope Leo entrusts his pontificate to Our Lady of Montserrat: May she ‘guide us to Jesus’ – #Catholic – MONTSERRAT, Spain — The rugged silhouette of the Montserrat mountain range was one of the first symbols of Catalonia that Pope Leo XIV saw from above as his plane brought him to Barcelona from Madrid on June 9.The following day, the pope traveled by car to the mountainous area of Montserrat — whose name in Catalan means “serrated mountain” — home to a Benedictine abbey, which rises to a height of over 4,000 feet on the west side of the Llobregat River.Before arriving, however, the pontiff made a brief detour during the approximate 25-mile journey from Barcelona to stop at Brians 1 Penitentiary Center — a place steeped in suffering, where the lives of inmates find some comfort thanks to the prison chaplain, Father Jesús Bel, coordinator of prison ministry for the Diocese of Sant Feliu de Llobregat and a Mercedarian priest who has spent 40 years accompanying those deprived of their freedom.As he did during his trip to Equatorial Guinea, the pope embraced the suffering carried by prisoners.There, he heard directly from two inmates, Montserrat and Josefina, about the importance of having an anchor such as faith in Christ when life shows its harshest face. Their testimony moved the pope.“Here in prison I am not alone — Jesus gives me strength, he gives me life. I feel him within me; otherwise, I don’t know how I could have endured this,” Josefina told him.After her words, a heavy silence fell. Then, Leo offered a reflection that resonated among those present: “The mistakes of a person’s life do not determine who they are.”God loves you as you areThe pontiff invoked St. Augustine to underscore that the past does not chain the future, adding: “God loves you just as you are, but he dreams of you being even better! The Lord allows us all to start anew, for being human and being Christian does not mean never making mistakes, but rather growing in the ability to convert, repent, make amends, and, above all, to reconcile and forgive.”The encounter — though barely 20 minutes — set the tone for the rest of the day: the mercy of God embracing even the darkest hearts.The ascent to MontserratAfter visiting the prison, the pontiff headed to the Abbey of Montserrat, nestled among towering rock formations that resemble sculpted figures of animals or objects. The monastery radiates peace both inside and outside its ancient walls.In 1025, Abbot Oliba, then superior of the monastery of Ripoll, founded a smaller monastery on the mountain of Montserrat at a site where a small hermitage dedicated to the Virgin already stood.According to tradition, the first image of the Virgin — known in Catalan as “La Mare de Déu de Montserrat” — was discovered in the year 880 by children tending a flock in a cave after seeing a light on the mountain.When the bishop learned of the discovery, he sought to move the small statue to Manresa but was unable to do so because it became too heavy — a sign, he believed, that the Virgin wished to remain there. He then ordered a sanctuary to be built on the spot.At the foot of Montserrat, after praying the rosary, the pope lifted up his prayer: “Let us ask her to help us clothe ourselves only with the armor of God.”“Let us also consider how the Virgin holds the globe in her right hand, a sign of her maternal care, for the whole world finds a place in her heart. She invites us to recognize one another as brothers and sisters, so that no one is excluded and that communion is stronger than every division,” he added.The image of Mary currently venerated is a 12th-century Romanesque wooden sculpture, just over 3 feet tall, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus.Except for the faces and hands, the statue is covered in gold, while the Virgin’s dark complexion has earned her the popular nickname “La Moreneta." In 2023, Pope Francis offered a Golden Rose to this venerated image.Among those who entrusted themselves to her was St. Ignatius of Loyola, in one of the most profound conversions in Christian tradition: “After a night spent in prayer before the Virgin, [he] laid aside his knightly arms — a moment that marked the beginning of a new life in the service of Jesus Christ,” Pope Leo XIV recalled.For centuries, faithful from all walks of life have passed through this sanctuary, praying the rosary bead by bead, because Mary, “Mare de Déu,” as the pope said, “is fundamental in the life of every Christian.”“I am happy to come to the feet of La Moreneta to entrust to her, with full confidence in her maternal intercession, my Petrine ministry and the mission of the Church in a world that cries out for justice and peace,” the pope said.“I invite you today to accept Mary’s invitation: ‘Do whatever he tells you' (Jn 2:5). These words spoken at Cana in Galilee contain a true guide for Christian living, because Mary leads us to Christ and teaches us to listen to his voice, obey his word, and allow him to transform us,” he added.The pontiff also made clear the message God brought to the world when he became man: “Jesus shows us the path of mercy, reconciliation, truth, and gentleness. At the same time, he exposes the violence that can lurk in our words and attitudes: criticism that humiliates, condemnation that destroys, and aggression that divides.”That hidden violence, he continued, “can often disguise itself as a kind of armor, which we use to protect our wounds, our fears, and the suffering caused by injustice.”Over the centuries, Montserrat has grown as living things do — with scars and memory. It has not always been a place of peace. It was plundered, destroyed, abandoned. Yet it always rose again, as if the mountain itself sustained it.Leo XIV concluded by asking that “Mary, Mother of the Church, always guide us to Jesus. I invite you to honor her with these words that you know so well: To the Catalans, you will always be the Princess; to the Spanish people and to the whole world, all our love; say to us: You are my treasure, I am your mother, do not be afraid.”In the abbey cloister, hundreds of people waited eagerly for the pope. Among them was Miguel, a kind-eyed boy who wrote a letter hoping to hand it to the pontiff himself.“He wanted to write it in Italian, even though the pope — as we know — speaks Spanish perfectly,” said his father, also named Miguel. In the letter, he asks nothing for himself or his family. “I would like him to bless all of Ukraine,” said the 9-year-old, an avid reader who currently keeps the greatest of all books on his nightstand. “I’m reading the Bible. I love everything about it,” he said.‘Catalonia without La Moreneta would be nothing’Also waiting for the pope were two nuns from the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Sister Ángeles Piqué, from a small town in Lleida, and Sister Doraliza, originally from Cajamarca, Peru. “We need the pope to bring us Christ’s message: unity, fraternity, and to come to the Virgin as our point of reference," Sister Doralizia said.She gave voice to the widespread devotion to the Virgin of Montserrat in this region of Spain. “Catalonia without La Moreneta would be nothing,” she said.“Our Lady of Montserrat is a very special grace. This is her sanctuary, and all her children come here to ask for her protection and to be sheltered under her mantle,” Piqué added.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope Leo entrusts his pontificate to Our Lady of Montserrat: May she ‘guide us to Jesus’ – #Catholic – MONTSERRAT, Spain — The rugged silhouette of the Montserrat mountain range was one of the first symbols of Catalonia that Pope Leo XIV saw from above as his plane brought him to Barcelona from Madrid on June 9.The following day, the pope traveled by car to the mountainous area of Montserrat — whose name in Catalan means “serrated mountain” — home to a Benedictine abbey, which rises to a height of over 4,000 feet on the west side of the Llobregat River.Before arriving, however, the pontiff made a brief detour during the approximate 25-mile journey from Barcelona to stop at Brians 1 Penitentiary Center — a place steeped in suffering, where the lives of inmates find some comfort thanks to the prison chaplain, Father Jesús Bel, coordinator of prison ministry for the Diocese of Sant Feliu de Llobregat and a Mercedarian priest who has spent 40 years accompanying those deprived of their freedom.As he did during his trip to Equatorial Guinea, the pope embraced the suffering carried by prisoners.There, he heard directly from two inmates, Montserrat and Josefina, about the importance of having an anchor such as faith in Christ when life shows its harshest face. Their testimony moved the pope.“Here in prison I am not alone — Jesus gives me strength, he gives me life. I feel him within me; otherwise, I don’t know how I could have endured this,” Josefina told him.After her words, a heavy silence fell. Then, Leo offered a reflection that resonated among those present: “The mistakes of a person’s life do not determine who they are.”God loves you as you areThe pontiff invoked St. Augustine to underscore that the past does not chain the future, adding: “God loves you just as you are, but he dreams of you being even better! The Lord allows us all to start anew, for being human and being Christian does not mean never making mistakes, but rather growing in the ability to convert, repent, make amends, and, above all, to reconcile and forgive.”The encounter — though barely 20 minutes — set the tone for the rest of the day: the mercy of God embracing even the darkest hearts.The ascent to MontserratAfter visiting the prison, the pontiff headed to the Abbey of Montserrat, nestled among towering rock formations that resemble sculpted figures of animals or objects. The monastery radiates peace both inside and outside its ancient walls.In 1025, Abbot Oliba, then superior of the monastery of Ripoll, founded a smaller monastery on the mountain of Montserrat at a site where a small hermitage dedicated to the Virgin already stood.According to tradition, the first image of the Virgin — known in Catalan as “La Mare de Déu de Montserrat” — was discovered in the year 880 by children tending a flock in a cave after seeing a light on the mountain.When the bishop learned of the discovery, he sought to move the small statue to Manresa but was unable to do so because it became too heavy — a sign, he believed, that the Virgin wished to remain there. He then ordered a sanctuary to be built on the spot.At the foot of Montserrat, after praying the rosary, the pope lifted up his prayer: “Let us ask her to help us clothe ourselves only with the armor of God.”“Let us also consider how the Virgin holds the globe in her right hand, a sign of her maternal care, for the whole world finds a place in her heart. She invites us to recognize one another as brothers and sisters, so that no one is excluded and that communion is stronger than every division,” he added.The image of Mary currently venerated is a 12th-century Romanesque wooden sculpture, just over 3 feet tall, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus.Except for the faces and hands, the statue is covered in gold, while the Virgin’s dark complexion has earned her the popular nickname “La Moreneta." In 2023, Pope Francis offered a Golden Rose to this venerated image.Among those who entrusted themselves to her was St. Ignatius of Loyola, in one of the most profound conversions in Christian tradition: “After a night spent in prayer before the Virgin, [he] laid aside his knightly arms — a moment that marked the beginning of a new life in the service of Jesus Christ,” Pope Leo XIV recalled.For centuries, faithful from all walks of life have passed through this sanctuary, praying the rosary bead by bead, because Mary, “Mare de Déu,” as the pope said, “is fundamental in the life of every Christian.”“I am happy to come to the feet of La Moreneta to entrust to her, with full confidence in her maternal intercession, my Petrine ministry and the mission of the Church in a world that cries out for justice and peace,” the pope said.“I invite you today to accept Mary’s invitation: ‘Do whatever he tells you' (Jn 2:5). These words spoken at Cana in Galilee contain a true guide for Christian living, because Mary leads us to Christ and teaches us to listen to his voice, obey his word, and allow him to transform us,” he added.The pontiff also made clear the message God brought to the world when he became man: “Jesus shows us the path of mercy, reconciliation, truth, and gentleness. At the same time, he exposes the violence that can lurk in our words and attitudes: criticism that humiliates, condemnation that destroys, and aggression that divides.”That hidden violence, he continued, “can often disguise itself as a kind of armor, which we use to protect our wounds, our fears, and the suffering caused by injustice.”Over the centuries, Montserrat has grown as living things do — with scars and memory. It has not always been a place of peace. It was plundered, destroyed, abandoned. Yet it always rose again, as if the mountain itself sustained it.Leo XIV concluded by asking that “Mary, Mother of the Church, always guide us to Jesus. I invite you to honor her with these words that you know so well: To the Catalans, you will always be the Princess; to the Spanish people and to the whole world, all our love; say to us: You are my treasure, I am your mother, do not be afraid.”In the abbey cloister, hundreds of people waited eagerly for the pope. Among them was Miguel, a kind-eyed boy who wrote a letter hoping to hand it to the pontiff himself.“He wanted to write it in Italian, even though the pope — as we know — speaks Spanish perfectly,” said his father, also named Miguel. In the letter, he asks nothing for himself or his family. “I would like him to bless all of Ukraine,” said the 9-year-old, an avid reader who currently keeps the greatest of all books on his nightstand. “I’m reading the Bible. I love everything about it,” he said.‘Catalonia without La Moreneta would be nothing’Also waiting for the pope were two nuns from the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Sister Ángeles Piqué, from a small town in Lleida, and Sister Doraliza, originally from Cajamarca, Peru. “We need the pope to bring us Christ’s message: unity, fraternity, and to come to the Virgin as our point of reference," Sister Doralizia said.She gave voice to the widespread devotion to the Virgin of Montserrat in this region of Spain. “Catalonia without La Moreneta would be nothing,” she said.“Our Lady of Montserrat is a very special grace. This is her sanctuary, and all her children come here to ask for her protection and to be sheltered under her mantle,” Piqué added.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

After visiting a prison, Pope Leo headed to the Abbey of Montserrat northwest of Barcelona and nestled among towering rock formations that resemble sculpted figures of animals or objects.

Read More

June 10, 1927: The birth of Eugene Parker

unitedyam

Eugene Parker, pioneer of theoretical solar and plasma astrophysics, was born June 10, 1927. Parker revolutionized the field of heliophysics, notably by first proposing the existence of the solar wind — a stream of charged particles ejected from the Sun — in 1958. His theory was confirmed by Mariner II in 1962. Among many otherContinue reading “June 10, 1927: The birth of Eugene Parker”

The post June 10, 1927: The birth of Eugene Parker appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV honors Our Lady of Almudena with Golden Rose, reflects on Spain’s Christian heritage #Catholic For more than a thousand years, generations of Catholics in Madrid have turned to Our Lady of Almudena in times of celebration, hardship, and prayer. On June 8, that enduring devotion received one of the Church’s highest marks of recognition when Pope Leo XIV bestowed a Golden Rose upon the historic statue.“As a symbol of the pope’s filial love for the Virgin Mary, I will place a Golden Rose at her feet,” Leo said during a ceremony at Madrid’s Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena.The papal honor — one of the highest distinctions a pope can bestow upon a Marian image or shrine — recognizes the deep devotion generations of Spanish Catholics have shown to the Blessed Virgin under the title of Almudena.The exact origin of the gifting of a Golden Rose is unknown, although it is considered one of the oldest papal traditions. The earliest reliable record dates to 1096, when Pope Urban II sent one to Fulcone d’Angers. Hidden in the citadel wallAddressing the faithful gathered in the cathedral, Leo reflected on the image’s unique place in Madrid’s history.“For centuries, countless generations of Madrileños have venerated this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her divine Son in her arms and presenting him to us,” the pope said.According to long-standing tradition, the devotion dates to the early centuries of Christianity in Spain. When Muslim forces conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in A.D. 712, Christians in Madrid reportedly concealed the statue within the city’s defensive walls to protect it from destruction. The image remained hidden for centuries as Christian kingdoms gradually sought to reclaim territories across the peninsula during the Reconquista.The wall that fell In 1083, after King Alfonso VI of Castile recaptured Madrid, Christians searched for the long-lost statue. Tradition holds that after days of prayer, a section of the city wall suddenly collapsed, revealing the image preserved within. Witnesses reported seeing lights near the site, and the statue was discovered largely intact despite centuries of concealment.Recalling the story, Leo noted that “during challenging periods for the Christian community, the statue of the Virgin Mary was hidden in a niche of the citadel wall for protection. It remained concealed for some time, until parts of the wall collapsed and it was miraculously discovered intact.”The title “Almudena” derives from the Arabic word “al-mudayna,” meaning “citadel” or “fortress,” a reference to the location where the image was found.A message for today In his homily, the pope used the collapse of the wall as a spiritual lesson for modern society.“It was thanks to a collapsed wall that the Mother was reunited with her people,” Leo said. “This event is providential, because it points to the path that Jesus, through his most holy mother, invites us to follow.”Leo connected that image to challenges facing the modern world, observing that “there are still many walls that do not protect but rather divide, separate, and isolate.”The ceremony also highlighted the popeʼs connection to Spain, a nation whose Catholic heritage has profoundly shaped the history of the Church. By honoring one of Spain’s most beloved Marian images, the pontiff underscored the enduring importance of popular Marian devotion and the Christian roots that continue to influence Spanish culture.Renewing faith and hope Beyond its historical significance, the story of Our Lady of Almudena continues to resonate with Catholics today. The devotion recalls themes of perseverance, hope, and trust in God’s providence, themes Pope Leo himself highlighted as he encouraged the faithful to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope.Calling the devotion a source of hope, Leo described it as “a sign of the Christian roots that characterize you and give you life, but also of the great hope which continues to motivate you to move forward.”He concluded by encouraging Catholics to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope, asking that the intercession of Our Lady of Almudena strengthen believers in their love for Christ and help them “form bonds and restore the universal language of communion, fraternal love, and harmony.”
Read More

Pope Leo XIV honors Our Lady of Almudena with Golden Rose, reflects on Spain’s Christian heritage #Catholic For more than a thousand years, generations of Catholics in Madrid have turned to Our Lady of Almudena in times of celebration, hardship, and prayer. On June 8, that enduring devotion received one of the Church’s highest marks of recognition when Pope Leo XIV bestowed a Golden Rose upon the historic statue.“As a symbol of the pope’s filial love for the Virgin Mary, I will place a Golden Rose at her feet,” Leo said during a ceremony at Madrid’s Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena.The papal honor — one of the highest distinctions a pope can bestow upon a Marian image or shrine — recognizes the deep devotion generations of Spanish Catholics have shown to the Blessed Virgin under the title of Almudena.The exact origin of the gifting of a Golden Rose is unknown, although it is considered one of the oldest papal traditions. The earliest reliable record dates to 1096, when Pope Urban II sent one to Fulcone d’Angers. Hidden in the citadel wallAddressing the faithful gathered in the cathedral, Leo reflected on the image’s unique place in Madrid’s history.“For centuries, countless generations of Madrileños have venerated this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her divine Son in her arms and presenting him to us,” the pope said.According to long-standing tradition, the devotion dates to the early centuries of Christianity in Spain. When Muslim forces conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in A.D. 712, Christians in Madrid reportedly concealed the statue within the city’s defensive walls to protect it from destruction. The image remained hidden for centuries as Christian kingdoms gradually sought to reclaim territories across the peninsula during the Reconquista.The wall that fell In 1083, after King Alfonso VI of Castile recaptured Madrid, Christians searched for the long-lost statue. Tradition holds that after days of prayer, a section of the city wall suddenly collapsed, revealing the image preserved within. Witnesses reported seeing lights near the site, and the statue was discovered largely intact despite centuries of concealment.Recalling the story, Leo noted that “during challenging periods for the Christian community, the statue of the Virgin Mary was hidden in a niche of the citadel wall for protection. It remained concealed for some time, until parts of the wall collapsed and it was miraculously discovered intact.”The title “Almudena” derives from the Arabic word “al-mudayna,” meaning “citadel” or “fortress,” a reference to the location where the image was found.A message for today In his homily, the pope used the collapse of the wall as a spiritual lesson for modern society.“It was thanks to a collapsed wall that the Mother was reunited with her people,” Leo said. “This event is providential, because it points to the path that Jesus, through his most holy mother, invites us to follow.”Leo connected that image to challenges facing the modern world, observing that “there are still many walls that do not protect but rather divide, separate, and isolate.”The ceremony also highlighted the popeʼs connection to Spain, a nation whose Catholic heritage has profoundly shaped the history of the Church. By honoring one of Spain’s most beloved Marian images, the pontiff underscored the enduring importance of popular Marian devotion and the Christian roots that continue to influence Spanish culture.Renewing faith and hope Beyond its historical significance, the story of Our Lady of Almudena continues to resonate with Catholics today. The devotion recalls themes of perseverance, hope, and trust in God’s providence, themes Pope Leo himself highlighted as he encouraged the faithful to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope.Calling the devotion a source of hope, Leo described it as “a sign of the Christian roots that characterize you and give you life, but also of the great hope which continues to motivate you to move forward.”He concluded by encouraging Catholics to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope, asking that the intercession of Our Lady of Almudena strengthen believers in their love for Christ and help them “form bonds and restore the universal language of communion, fraternal love, and harmony.”

unitedyam

The origin of the gifting of a golden rose is unknown, but it is considered one of the oldest papal traditions dating back to 1096.

Read More
13,000 gather at Knock in Ireland for largest Catholic rally since papal visit #Catholic In the largest gathering of Catholics in Ireland since Pope Francis’ visit in 2018, the annual All Ireland Rosary brought over 13,000 people to Knock Shrine on June 6 in a joint prayer for peace. Speaking to EWTN News after the rally, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said: “It was a very special joy for me to preside at the Eucharist in Knock at the rosary rally. I felt a tremendous sense of joy and hope among the people who were gathered there. And it was especially gratifying to see many young people, including the childrenʼs rosary group, who made a very important and beautiful contribution to the day.”The archbishop added: “I really felt that Knock was alive, and it makes me realize that our Blessed Mother continues to speak into the troubled world in which we live, with many new problems and new challenges. From the point of view of Ireland, itʼs very important for us to have a gathering like this, to affirm the very many people who have remained strong and steadfast in their faith and who need this kind of gathering in order to give them encouragement and a strong sense of mission.”Martin said the word “mission” stayed with him after leaving the rally. “Thatʼs a word that I went home with in my head,“ he said. ”There is a wonderful mission involved in the rosary rally. Itʼs about gathering people but also about sending them back into their homes, parishes, and communities, to continue to make the beautiful graces of our Blessed Mother well known, to continue to pray for peace.” Thousands gather at Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, for the All Ireland Rosary Rally on June 6, 2026. | Credit Dáithi Quinn Turning to the practical ways in which people can make a difference in their local parishes, Martin said: “I personally would invite people to restore the practice of the First Saturday devotions. This would be in fulfillment of our Blessed Motherʼs own wish, but it would also provide a new and further structure for parishes to gather, to pray the rosary, to have adoration, to have the sacrament of reconciliation available.”Martin also expressed hope that other countries might be inspired by the example of the All Ireland Rosary Rally.In his sermon during the Mass at the shrine on the day of the rally, the archbishop encouraged the congregation of thousands to pray often, in union with Mary, for the protection of humanity in this technological age.Echoing the words of Pope Leo XIV in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he said: “Artificial Intelligence is already shaping human life in homes, workplaces, and communities; in hospitals, public services, and economies. AI can do remarkable and helpful things. It can even mimic human behavior and voices, but it cannot love, suffer, forgive, pray, or hope as humans can, nor can it be truly ‘wise.’ AI does not have a conscience.”Together with Bishop Donal McKeown and Bishop John Buckley, Martin led the renewal of the consecration of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the culmination of the rosary procession.Speaking to EWTN News, Christine O’Hara, a secondary schoolteacher in Cork, Ireland, said: “The rosary rally was a very blessed and grace-filled day, and thereʼs a number of things that weʼre really hoping people will take away from the event. The first being that people will feel inspired to pray the rosary every day.”O’Hara, who runs a childrenʼs rosary group and two First Saturday communities, added: “Our Lady said in Fátima, pray the rosary every day to obtain peace in the world and an end to the war. Itʼs the desire of Archbishop Eamon Martin that the renewal of the First Saturday devotion would happen in this country. Weʼre really hoping and praying that one of the fruits, and Iʼm sure there will be many fruits from this rosary rally, but weʼre really hoping and praying that people will feel inspired to start the First Saturday devotion in their parish.”OʼHara also said she hopes more people will be inspired to start childrenʼs rosary groups as well as rosary groups for adults in their parishes. The huge crowd also heard from an inspiring panel of international speakers. Bishop Oliver Doeme spoke to the crowds about the power of the rosary in strengthening the faith and courage of the people of his diocese in Nigeria who live in daily fear of murder at the hands of Boko Haram terrorists.Nikki Kingsley shared her remarkable conversion journey from the Muslim faith in her native Pakistan to being received into the Catholic faith. Her moving and inspiring story focused on the power of the rosary and her devotion to Our Lady.Other speakers included Father Chris Alar, the provincial superior of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, who talked of the importance of Marian devotion, and Sister Ângela de Fátima, vice postulator for the cause of the three Fátima children.
Read More

13,000 gather at Knock in Ireland for largest Catholic rally since papal visit #Catholic In the largest gathering of Catholics in Ireland since Pope Francis’ visit in 2018, the annual All Ireland Rosary brought over 13,000 people to Knock Shrine on June 6 in a joint prayer for peace. Speaking to EWTN News after the rally, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin said: “It was a very special joy for me to preside at the Eucharist in Knock at the rosary rally. I felt a tremendous sense of joy and hope among the people who were gathered there. And it was especially gratifying to see many young people, including the childrenʼs rosary group, who made a very important and beautiful contribution to the day.”The archbishop added: “I really felt that Knock was alive, and it makes me realize that our Blessed Mother continues to speak into the troubled world in which we live, with many new problems and new challenges. From the point of view of Ireland, itʼs very important for us to have a gathering like this, to affirm the very many people who have remained strong and steadfast in their faith and who need this kind of gathering in order to give them encouragement and a strong sense of mission.”Martin said the word “mission” stayed with him after leaving the rally. “Thatʼs a word that I went home with in my head,“ he said. ”There is a wonderful mission involved in the rosary rally. Itʼs about gathering people but also about sending them back into their homes, parishes, and communities, to continue to make the beautiful graces of our Blessed Mother well known, to continue to pray for peace.” Thousands gather at Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, for the All Ireland Rosary Rally on June 6, 2026. | Credit Dáithi Quinn Turning to the practical ways in which people can make a difference in their local parishes, Martin said: “I personally would invite people to restore the practice of the First Saturday devotions. This would be in fulfillment of our Blessed Motherʼs own wish, but it would also provide a new and further structure for parishes to gather, to pray the rosary, to have adoration, to have the sacrament of reconciliation available.”Martin also expressed hope that other countries might be inspired by the example of the All Ireland Rosary Rally.In his sermon during the Mass at the shrine on the day of the rally, the archbishop encouraged the congregation of thousands to pray often, in union with Mary, for the protection of humanity in this technological age.Echoing the words of Pope Leo XIV in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he said: “Artificial Intelligence is already shaping human life in homes, workplaces, and communities; in hospitals, public services, and economies. AI can do remarkable and helpful things. It can even mimic human behavior and voices, but it cannot love, suffer, forgive, pray, or hope as humans can, nor can it be truly ‘wise.’ AI does not have a conscience.”Together with Bishop Donal McKeown and Bishop John Buckley, Martin led the renewal of the consecration of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the culmination of the rosary procession.Speaking to EWTN News, Christine O’Hara, a secondary schoolteacher in Cork, Ireland, said: “The rosary rally was a very blessed and grace-filled day, and thereʼs a number of things that weʼre really hoping people will take away from the event. The first being that people will feel inspired to pray the rosary every day.”O’Hara, who runs a childrenʼs rosary group and two First Saturday communities, added: “Our Lady said in Fátima, pray the rosary every day to obtain peace in the world and an end to the war. Itʼs the desire of Archbishop Eamon Martin that the renewal of the First Saturday devotion would happen in this country. Weʼre really hoping and praying that one of the fruits, and Iʼm sure there will be many fruits from this rosary rally, but weʼre really hoping and praying that people will feel inspired to start the First Saturday devotion in their parish.”OʼHara also said she hopes more people will be inspired to start childrenʼs rosary groups as well as rosary groups for adults in their parishes. The huge crowd also heard from an inspiring panel of international speakers. Bishop Oliver Doeme spoke to the crowds about the power of the rosary in strengthening the faith and courage of the people of his diocese in Nigeria who live in daily fear of murder at the hands of Boko Haram terrorists.Nikki Kingsley shared her remarkable conversion journey from the Muslim faith in her native Pakistan to being received into the Catholic faith. Her moving and inspiring story focused on the power of the rosary and her devotion to Our Lady.Other speakers included Father Chris Alar, the provincial superior of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, who talked of the importance of Marian devotion, and Sister Ângela de Fátima, vice postulator for the cause of the three Fátima children.

unitedyam

Busloads of people from across Ireland converged on Knock on Saturday for the 41st All Ireland Rosary, with crowds exceeding last year’s attendance.

Read More
Artemis III Crew Announced – NASA announced the Artemis III crew on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, mission specialist; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, pilot; NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, commander; and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, mission specialist, will demonstrate the Orion spacecraft’s rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
Read More

Artemis III Crew Announced – NASA announced the Artemis III crew on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, mission specialist; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, pilot; NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, commander; and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, mission specialist, will demonstrate the Orion spacecraft’s rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

unitedyam

NASA announced the Artemis III crew on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, mission specialist; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, pilot; NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, commander; and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, mission specialist, will demonstrate the Orion spacecraft’s rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

Read More
Greg Gutfeld Roasts Democrats for Supporting Graham Platner: ‘He Comes Off as Genuine as a California Election’ (VIDEO) – Well, it’s official. The post Greg Gutfeld Roasts Democrats for Supporting Graham Platner: ‘He Comes Off as Genuine as a California Election’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Greg Gutfeld Roasts Democrats for Supporting Graham Platner: ‘He Comes Off as Genuine as a California Election’ (VIDEO) – Well, it’s official. The post Greg Gutfeld Roasts Democrats for Supporting Graham Platner: ‘He Comes Off as Genuine as a California Election’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Well, it’s official.

The post Greg Gutfeld Roasts Democrats for Supporting Graham Platner: ‘He Comes Off as Genuine as a California Election’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Socialist Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Nithya Raman Thanks ‘Voters’ in Twitter/X Message and the Replies Are Absolutely BRUTAL! – Nithya Raman, the Democratic Socialist (communist) running for mayor of Los Angeles, who somehow gained enough votes to bump Spencer Pratt off the ballot once Democrats had a chance to count ballots for days and days, recently tweeted a message of thanks to voters. The post Socialist Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Nithya Raman Thanks ‘Voters’ in Twitter/X Message and the Replies Are Absolutely BRUTAL! appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Socialist Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Nithya Raman Thanks ‘Voters’ in Twitter/X Message and the Replies Are Absolutely BRUTAL! – Nithya Raman, the Democratic Socialist (communist) running for mayor of Los Angeles, who somehow gained enough votes to bump Spencer Pratt off the ballot once Democrats had a chance to count ballots for days and days, recently tweeted a message of thanks to voters. The post Socialist Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Nithya Raman Thanks ‘Voters’ in Twitter/X Message and the Replies Are Absolutely BRUTAL! appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

Woman in a blue blazer speaking outdoors at a community event with people engaging at tables in the background.

Woman in a blue blazer speaking outdoors at a community event with people engaging at tables in the background.

Nithya Raman, the Democratic Socialist (communist) running for mayor of Los Angeles, who somehow gained enough votes to bump Spencer Pratt off the ballot once Democrats had a chance to count ballots for days and days, recently tweeted a message of thanks to voters.

The post Socialist Los Angeles Mayor Candidate Nithya Raman Thanks ‘Voters’ in Twitter/X Message and the Replies Are Absolutely BRUTAL! appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More
Graham ‘Nazi Tattoo’ Platner Wins Maine’s Democrat Senate Primary – Will Face Off Against Susan Collins – They actually did it. The post Graham ‘Nazi Tattoo’ Platner Wins Maine’s Democrat Senate Primary – Will Face Off Against Susan Collins appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More

Graham ‘Nazi Tattoo’ Platner Wins Maine’s Democrat Senate Primary – Will Face Off Against Susan Collins – They actually did it. The post Graham ‘Nazi Tattoo’ Platner Wins Maine’s Democrat Senate Primary – Will Face Off Against Susan Collins appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

unitedyam

They actually did it.

The post Graham ‘Nazi Tattoo’ Platner Wins Maine’s Democrat Senate Primary – Will Face Off Against Susan Collins appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Read More

Gospel and Word of the Day – 10 June 2026 – A reading from the First Book of Kings 18:20-39 Ahab sent to all the children of Israel and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel. Elijah appealed to all the people and said, "How long will you straddle the issue? If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him." The people, however, did not answer him. So Elijah said to the people, "I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD, and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. Give us two young bulls. Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but start no fire. I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood, but shall start no fire. You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD. The God who answers with fire is God." All the people answered, "Agreed!" Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one young bull and prepare it first, for there are more of you. Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire." Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying, "Answer us, Baal!" But there was no sound, and no one answering. And they hopped around the altar they had prepared. When it was noon, Elijah taunted them: "Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating, or may have retired, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed over them. Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice. But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening. Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been destroyed. He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be Israel." He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones, and made a trench around the altar large enough for two measures of grain. When he had arranged the wood, he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood. "Fill four jars with water," he said, "and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood." "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he said, and they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar, and the trench was filled with the water. At the time for offering sacrifice, the prophet Elijah came forward and said, "LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command. Answer me, LORD! Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses." The LORD’s fire came down and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and it lapped up the water in the trench. Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, "The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"From the Gospel according to Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."Jesus makes us understand that religious rules are necessary, they are good, but they are only the beginning: to fulfil them, it is necessary to go beyond the letter and live their meaning. The commandments that God gave us should not be locked up in the airless vaults of formal observance; otherwise, we are limited to an exterior, detached religiosity, servants of “God the master” rather than children of “God the Father”. Jesus wants this: not to have the idea of serving a God who is master, but Father; and this is why it is necessary to go beyond the letter. Brothers and sisters, this problem was present not only in Jesus’ time; it is there today too. At times, for example, we hear some say, “Father, I have not killed, I have not stolen, I have not harmed anyone…”, as if to say, “I am fine”. This is formal observance, which is satisfied with the bare minimum, whereas Jesus invites us to aspire to the maximum possible. That is: God does not reason with calculations and tables; he loves us as one who is enamoured: not to the minimum, but to the maximum! He does not say, “I love you up to a certain point”. No, true love is never up to a certain point, and is never satisfied; love always goes beyond, it cannot do otherwise. The Lord showed us this by giving his life on the cross and forgiving his murderers (cf. Lk 23:34). And he entrusted to us the commandment most dear to him: that we love one another like he  loved us (cf. Jn 15:12). This is the love that gives fulfilment to the Law, to faith, to true life! (Pope Francis, Angelus, 12 February 2023)

unitedyam

A reading from the First Book of Kings
18:20-39

Ahab sent to all the children of Israel
and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel.

Elijah appealed to all the people and said,
"How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him."
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,
"I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God."
All the people answered, "Agreed!"

Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire."
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
"Answer us, Baal!"
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
"Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.

Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be Israel."
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
"Fill four jars with water," he said,
"and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood."
"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.

At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses."
The LORD’s fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
"The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"

From the Gospel according to Matthew
5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."

Jesus makes us understand that religious rules are necessary, they are good, but they are only the beginning: to fulfil them, it is necessary to go beyond the letter and live their meaning. The commandments that God gave us should not be locked up in the airless vaults of formal observance; otherwise, we are limited to an exterior, detached religiosity, servants of “God the master” rather than children of “God the Father”. Jesus wants this: not to have the idea of serving a God who is master, but Father; and this is why it is necessary to go beyond the letter.

Brothers and sisters, this problem was present not only in Jesus’ time; it is there today too. At times, for example, we hear some say, “Father, I have not killed, I have not stolen, I have not harmed anyone…”, as if to say, “I am fine”. This is formal observance, which is satisfied with the bare minimum, whereas Jesus invites us to aspire to the maximum possible. That is: God does not reason with calculations and tables; he loves us as one who is enamoured: not to the minimum, but to the maximum! He does not say, “I love you up to a certain point”. No, true love is never up to a certain point, and is never satisfied; love always goes beyond, it cannot do otherwise. The Lord showed us this by giving his life on the cross and forgiving his murderers (cf. Lk 23:34). And he entrusted to us the commandment most dear to him: that we love one another like he  loved us (cf. Jn 15:12). This is the love that gives fulfilment to the Law, to faith, to true life! (Pope Francis, Angelus, 12 February 2023)

Read More

NASA fails to reestablish contact, decommissions MAVEN

unitedyam

NASA has ended its attempts to reconnect with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft and begun decommissioning the orbiter, closing the book on a mission that spent over a decade studying how Mars lost its atmosphere. At a June 3 media conference, NASA officials announced that an anomaly review board — which wasContinue reading “NASA fails to reestablish contact, decommissions MAVEN”

The post NASA fails to reestablish contact, decommissions MAVEN appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Read More
Playskool Introduces ‘My First Hobo Camp’ For California Children #BabylonBee – U.S. — Toy manufacturer Playskool unveiled its latest educational playset this week called "My First Hobo Camp", with the toy designed to help California children develop the practical life skills they would need for adulthood in the Golden State.
Read More

Playskool Introduces ‘My First Hobo Camp’ For California Children #BabylonBee – U.S. — Toy manufacturer Playskool unveiled its latest educational playset this week called "My First Hobo Camp", with the toy designed to help California children develop the practical life skills they would need for adulthood in the Golden State.

unitedyam

U.S. — Toy manufacturer Playskool unveiled its latest educational playset this week called "My First Hobo Camp", with the toy designed to help California children develop the practical life skills they would need for adulthood in the Golden State.

Read More
DePaul Catholic honors 129 graduates under sunny commencement skies #Catholic - On June 2, DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J., handed out diplomas to 129 graduates during commencement outside on the athletic field. The graduation followed a baccalaureate Mass in the school gym. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the Mass with several priests of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and later helped distribute the diplomas at the outdoor ceremony. Administration, staff, and faculty members also participated. Highlighting the achievements of the class, the valedictorian was Cassandra Jourdan, and the salutatorian was Jaidyn Watson. The Class of 2026 earned $57,131,505 in scholarships/financial aid. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  
Read More

DePaul Catholic honors 129 graduates under sunny commencement skies #Catholic – On June 2, DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J., handed out diplomas to 129 graduates during commencement outside on the athletic field. The graduation followed a baccalaureate Mass in the school gym. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the Mass with several priests of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and later helped distribute the diplomas at the outdoor ceremony. Administration, staff, and faculty members also participated. Highlighting the achievements of the class, the valedictorian was Cassandra Jourdan, and the salutatorian was Jaidyn Watson. The Class of 2026 earned $57,131,505 in scholarships/financial aid. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI [See image gallery at beaconnj.org]  

unitedyam

DePaul Catholic honors 129 graduates under sunny commencement skies #Catholic –

On June 2, DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J., handed out diplomas to 129 graduates during commencement outside on the athletic field. The graduation followed a baccalaureate Mass in the school gym.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the Mass with several priests of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and later helped distribute the diplomas at the outdoor ceremony. Administration, staff, and faculty members also participated.

Highlighting the achievements of the class, the valedictorian was Cassandra Jourdan, and the salutatorian was Jaidyn Watson. The Class of 2026 earned $57,131,505 in scholarships/financial aid.

BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI

– On June 2, DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J., handed out diplomas to 129 graduates during commencement outside on the athletic field. The graduation followed a baccalaureate Mass in the school gym. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the Mass with several priests of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and later helped distribute the diplomas at the outdoor ceremony. Administration, staff, and faculty members also participated. Highlighting the achievements of the class, the valedictorian was Cassandra Jourdan, and the salutatorian was Jaidyn Watson. The Class of 2026 earned $57,131,505 in scholarships/financial aid. BEACON

Read More
Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona calls Catholics to be martyrs of unity #Catholic BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV dedicated Tuesday morning to thanking the thousands of volunteers who helped organize his apostolic journey to Spain before heading to Barcelona to touch the ancient traces of the country’s deeply rooted Christian faith.At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, whose construction began at the end of the 13th century on the site of early Christian and Romanesque churches and which became, a century later, one of the most important jewels of European Gothic architecture, the pope prayed Midday Prayer with about 500 faithful.Hundreds more waited outside the cathedral to show their affection, many waving Vatican flags.The crowd erupted with excitement at his arrival. The pontiff was accompanied by Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, who gestured with his hands to indicate to the people waiting outside that the pope had to leave. The plane carrying Leo XIV had landed in the Catalan capital 40 minutes late.During the ceremony, the pope sat in the oldest chair — the cathedra, or bishop’s seat — in the city that is still in use, dating at least to the cathedral’s consecration in 1058, according to recent research.In his homily, Leo XIV called Catholics to be builders of communion.“Dear brothers and sisters: it is in this spirit that we too, in a world torn apart by wars and divisions, in a society that is increasingly fragmented and individualistic, wish to be ‘martyrs’ — that is, witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation,” the pope said.It was the first time during the trip that Leo XIV pronounced several phrases in Catalan, the language proper to Catalonia, co-official with Spanish and the main language of the regional administration.A symbol of Catalan cultural identity, the language to be used by the pontiff during the events scheduled in Barcelona had become the subject of public debate in Catalonia in recent days.The controversy intensified after it emerged that the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia — one of the central moments of the visit — would be conducted mainly in Spanish.In the Congress of Deputies, where the pope delivered an unprecedented address Monday, Junts per Catalunya lawmaker Miriam Nogueras asked him to speak Catalan.“It is important for each of us not to allow anything to destroy the unity in which God has established us and toward whose fullness he leads us day by day,” the pontiff said, alternating Catalan and Spanish in the homily.Leo XIV cited two addresses by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never visited Spain but often expressed affection for the country.On the occasion of the inauguration of the Tower of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on Dec. 8, 2021, Francis sent a message recalling that the Church “is the fruit of an act of love that precedes her and comes from God. Above all, she grows by allowing herself to be loved by him, united, with a humble and grateful heart, because only those who allow themselves to be loved by God can build, together with others, the works of love.”One year later, the Argentine pope told seminarians of the Archdiocese of Barcelona during a pilgrimage to Rome: “Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection which pours and will pour itself abundantly into your heart.”Leo XIV structured his homily around the image of the Catholic Church as both beloved bride and body, with all believers as members of a single organism.The Spirit, he said, “impels us, as parts of a single living structure, not only to give ourselves unreservedly wherever Providence calls us, but to do so according to God’s designs, in obedience and trust.”Just as in a body, he continued, “so too among us there are members who are stronger and others who are weaker; some are visible, performing functions that are evident to the outside world, while others are hidden, working from within — in some cases without ceasing and carrying out vital functions without anyone taking notice.”The pope said there are many possible images to “illustrate the variety and importance of the roles and missions we find among ourselves,” but the message is always the same.“In the richness of the gifts we have received, we are strong because we are united, and we are united because we are animated by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who is the Spirit of communion for the salvation of all,” he said.Upon arriving, Leo XIV was received by Omella. After the greeting, the cardinal led him to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for a brief moment of personal prayer.On his way to the altar, the pope passed by the baptismal font, built in 1433. It was in that baptistery that the first six Indigenous people brought from the Americas by Christopher Columbus received the sacrament of entrance into the Church, as a plaque in the chapel recalls.All of this forms part of the cathedral’s history, which inherits a tradition of worship in this part of Barcelona dating back to the fourth century.Leo XIV’s final act inside the cathedral was to descend to the crypt, where the tomb of the Roman martyr St. Eulalia, co-patroness of Barcelona, is located.Before her martyrdom, the young saint was said to have tended geese. For this reason, 13 geese are kept today in the cathedral cloister in her honor, recalling both her 13 tortures and the age at which she died for the Lord.The pontiff also spoke of “so many other martyrs” and called the faithful to respond with “our ‘yes,’ ready if necessary to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce the superfluous in order to build upon what is essential and lasts forever.”“This is what the crucified One teaches us,” the pope said. “This is what the Apostle Paul and the examples of the saints invite us to do.”The pope ended his homily by invoking Mary in Catalan: “Santa Maria de la Mercè, pregueu per nosaltres” — “Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona calls Catholics to be martyrs of unity #Catholic BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV dedicated Tuesday morning to thanking the thousands of volunteers who helped organize his apostolic journey to Spain before heading to Barcelona to touch the ancient traces of the country’s deeply rooted Christian faith.At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, whose construction began at the end of the 13th century on the site of early Christian and Romanesque churches and which became, a century later, one of the most important jewels of European Gothic architecture, the pope prayed Midday Prayer with about 500 faithful.Hundreds more waited outside the cathedral to show their affection, many waving Vatican flags.The crowd erupted with excitement at his arrival. The pontiff was accompanied by Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, who gestured with his hands to indicate to the people waiting outside that the pope had to leave. The plane carrying Leo XIV had landed in the Catalan capital 40 minutes late.During the ceremony, the pope sat in the oldest chair — the cathedra, or bishop’s seat — in the city that is still in use, dating at least to the cathedral’s consecration in 1058, according to recent research.In his homily, Leo XIV called Catholics to be builders of communion.“Dear brothers and sisters: it is in this spirit that we too, in a world torn apart by wars and divisions, in a society that is increasingly fragmented and individualistic, wish to be ‘martyrs’ — that is, witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation,” the pope said.It was the first time during the trip that Leo XIV pronounced several phrases in Catalan, the language proper to Catalonia, co-official with Spanish and the main language of the regional administration.A symbol of Catalan cultural identity, the language to be used by the pontiff during the events scheduled in Barcelona had become the subject of public debate in Catalonia in recent days.The controversy intensified after it emerged that the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia — one of the central moments of the visit — would be conducted mainly in Spanish.In the Congress of Deputies, where the pope delivered an unprecedented address Monday, Junts per Catalunya lawmaker Miriam Nogueras asked him to speak Catalan.“It is important for each of us not to allow anything to destroy the unity in which God has established us and toward whose fullness he leads us day by day,” the pontiff said, alternating Catalan and Spanish in the homily.Leo XIV cited two addresses by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never visited Spain but often expressed affection for the country.On the occasion of the inauguration of the Tower of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on Dec. 8, 2021, Francis sent a message recalling that the Church “is the fruit of an act of love that precedes her and comes from God. Above all, she grows by allowing herself to be loved by him, united, with a humble and grateful heart, because only those who allow themselves to be loved by God can build, together with others, the works of love.”One year later, the Argentine pope told seminarians of the Archdiocese of Barcelona during a pilgrimage to Rome: “Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection which pours and will pour itself abundantly into your heart.”Leo XIV structured his homily around the image of the Catholic Church as both beloved bride and body, with all believers as members of a single organism.The Spirit, he said, “impels us, as parts of a single living structure, not only to give ourselves unreservedly wherever Providence calls us, but to do so according to God’s designs, in obedience and trust.”Just as in a body, he continued, “so too among us there are members who are stronger and others who are weaker; some are visible, performing functions that are evident to the outside world, while others are hidden, working from within — in some cases without ceasing and carrying out vital functions without anyone taking notice.”The pope said there are many possible images to “illustrate the variety and importance of the roles and missions we find among ourselves,” but the message is always the same.“In the richness of the gifts we have received, we are strong because we are united, and we are united because we are animated by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who is the Spirit of communion for the salvation of all,” he said.Upon arriving, Leo XIV was received by Omella. After the greeting, the cardinal led him to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for a brief moment of personal prayer.On his way to the altar, the pope passed by the baptismal font, built in 1433. It was in that baptistery that the first six Indigenous people brought from the Americas by Christopher Columbus received the sacrament of entrance into the Church, as a plaque in the chapel recalls.All of this forms part of the cathedral’s history, which inherits a tradition of worship in this part of Barcelona dating back to the fourth century.Leo XIV’s final act inside the cathedral was to descend to the crypt, where the tomb of the Roman martyr St. Eulalia, co-patroness of Barcelona, is located.Before her martyrdom, the young saint was said to have tended geese. For this reason, 13 geese are kept today in the cathedral cloister in her honor, recalling both her 13 tortures and the age at which she died for the Lord.The pontiff also spoke of “so many other martyrs” and called the faithful to respond with “our ‘yes,’ ready if necessary to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce the superfluous in order to build upon what is essential and lasts forever.”“This is what the crucified One teaches us,” the pope said. “This is what the Apostle Paul and the examples of the saints invite us to do.”The pope ended his homily by invoking Mary in Catalan: “Santa Maria de la Mercè, pregueu per nosaltres” — “Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

After an exuberant welcome in the Catalan capital, the pope prayed Midday Prayer in Barcelona’s cathedral and urged the faithful to be “witnesses and prophets of unity.”

Read More
Monsignor Vaccari cites rising humanitarian strain as Middle East violence intensifies #Catholic Monsignor Peter Vaccari reported rising humanitarian needs during a recent Middle East visit, describing disrupted daily life as conflicts intensified.Vaccari, president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that delivers humanitarian aid, described the realities facing those living amid ongoing regional tensions in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo, an excerpt of which was broadcast on June 8. Vaccari said about a visit to Jerusalem: “The day began with the sound of large sirens. Loud sirens going off, letting us know that rockets, drones, and missiles were on their way.” The situation, he said, dramatically altered the day’s plans for residents and aid workers alike.Despite the challenges, Vaccari continued his journey throughout the region, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a visible Church presence among suffering communities.CNEWA maintains offices throughout the Middle East, including in Jerusalem, Amman, and Beirut. According to Vaccari, the organization’s local presence enables it to respond quickly to changing circumstances and coordinate assistance directly with Church leaders on the ground.“The work that we do is on the ground,” Vaccari said, noting that local staff and Church partners remain deeply connected to the communities they serve.Much of CNEWA’s work focuses on humanitarian relief in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, and Lebanon. The organization provides assistance ranging from food and clean water to medicine, medical equipment, and emergency relief for families displaced by conflict.Beyond material aid, CNEWA has increasingly emphasized psychosocial and emotional support programs. Vaccari said such healing initiatives have become especially important as communities continue to endure the trauma associated with war and displacement.“To whatever extent we can work to try to provide clean water, medicine, food, medical relief, medical equipment, weʼre trying to do that,” he said. “Psychosocial healing, which as you can well imagine under the circumstances right now, is [also] a very needed entity.”Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA works on behalf of the Holy See to support Eastern Catholic Churches and provide humanitarian assistance throughout the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. The organization partners closely with local bishops, religious communities, and lay leaders to deliver aid where it is most needed.“We work with the local Church,” Vaccari said. “We’re working with local bishops, lay leadership, consecrated religious, and the nuncios.”The organization’s work is funded largely through donations from Catholics and other benefactors around the world.“Never, in a typical mission, do we work alone,” Vaccari said. He expressed gratitude for local partners and donors whose support makes the organization’s humanitarian and pastoral outreach possible.
Read More

Monsignor Vaccari cites rising humanitarian strain as Middle East violence intensifies #Catholic Monsignor Peter Vaccari reported rising humanitarian needs during a recent Middle East visit, describing disrupted daily life as conflicts intensified.Vaccari, president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that delivers humanitarian aid, described the realities facing those living amid ongoing regional tensions in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo, an excerpt of which was broadcast on June 8. Vaccari said about a visit to Jerusalem: “The day began with the sound of large sirens. Loud sirens going off, letting us know that rockets, drones, and missiles were on their way.” The situation, he said, dramatically altered the day’s plans for residents and aid workers alike.Despite the challenges, Vaccari continued his journey throughout the region, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a visible Church presence among suffering communities.CNEWA maintains offices throughout the Middle East, including in Jerusalem, Amman, and Beirut. According to Vaccari, the organization’s local presence enables it to respond quickly to changing circumstances and coordinate assistance directly with Church leaders on the ground.“The work that we do is on the ground,” Vaccari said, noting that local staff and Church partners remain deeply connected to the communities they serve.Much of CNEWA’s work focuses on humanitarian relief in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, and Lebanon. The organization provides assistance ranging from food and clean water to medicine, medical equipment, and emergency relief for families displaced by conflict.Beyond material aid, CNEWA has increasingly emphasized psychosocial and emotional support programs. Vaccari said such healing initiatives have become especially important as communities continue to endure the trauma associated with war and displacement.“To whatever extent we can work to try to provide clean water, medicine, food, medical relief, medical equipment, weʼre trying to do that,” he said. “Psychosocial healing, which as you can well imagine under the circumstances right now, is [also] a very needed entity.”Founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926, CNEWA works on behalf of the Holy See to support Eastern Catholic Churches and provide humanitarian assistance throughout the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India, and Eastern Europe. The organization partners closely with local bishops, religious communities, and lay leaders to deliver aid where it is most needed.“We work with the local Church,” Vaccari said. “We’re working with local bishops, lay leadership, consecrated religious, and the nuncios.”The organization’s work is funded largely through donations from Catholics and other benefactors around the world.“Never, in a typical mission, do we work alone,” Vaccari said. He expressed gratitude for local partners and donors whose support makes the organization’s humanitarian and pastoral outreach possible.

unitedyam

Monsignor Peter Vaccari, president of Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that delivers humanitarian aid, described situation in Jerusalem.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV builds on teachings of prior pontiffs with apology for slavery, Church’s role – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV built on teachings laid out by his predecessors when he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery in his May 15 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, but the Holy Father also critiqued papal bulls issued in the late Middle Ages on the subject.“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord,” Leo XIV wrote of the institution of slavery.“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” he wrote.The Holy Father explained that in antiquity and the Middle Ages, Catholic individuals and some ecclesiastical institutions participated in slavery. Though the Church never taught doctrinally that slavery was morally good or neutral, he wrote about popes who “intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation” at the request of political leaders.Leo XIV wrote that “a formal, absolute, and universal condemnation of slavery” was not issued until Pope Leo XIII’s 1888 encyclical on the abolition of slavery. Leo XIV added that “we [cannot] deny or diminish” the Church’s delay in its denouncement.“In the development of her doctrine, the Church has gradually come to a deeper awareness of the gravity of these issues,” Leo XIV wrote.Church’s role in slaveryIn a footnote in the encyclical, Leo XIV cited four papal bulls from the 1400s as his examples for when the Holy See sought to “regulate and legitimize” subjugation: Pope Eugenius IV’s Sicut Dudum and Etsi Suscepti, and Pope Nicholas V’s Dum Diversas and Romanus Pontifex.“Political and, at times, even economic needs overcame the demands of the Gospel,” the footnote reads. “The need for evangelization was frequently compromised or at least misunderstood with regard to the needs of worldly powers, thus relativizing the problematic incompatibility of slavery with the Christian conscience.”Nicholas V’s bulls, for example, authorized the Portuguese to impose slavery on specific non-Christians, particularly Muslims and pagans, related to specific conflicts. Eugenius IV condemned the enslavement of converts to Christianity without condemning the institution of slavery as a whole.Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, told EWTN News that St. John Paul II apologized for Christian participation in slavery as well and many popes condemned slavery (including when it was ongoing) but did not critique specific papal bulls on the subject in the way Leo XIV does.Although Leo XIV’s comments on slavery are substantial, the topic only takes up a few paragraphs of the encyclical, which mostly deals with the Church’s social doctrine in the modern world and technological developments such as artificial intelligence.Nash emphasized that the faithful should not interpret these paragraphs as a change in Church doctrine, however, because in spite of Catholic participation in slavery, “the Church has never definitively taught that chattel slavery was morally just.”Although Leo XIV cited Sicut Dudum as an example, one of Eugenius IV’s main priorities was to “oppose the mistreatment of all African natives,” according to Nash. He quoted the bull: “They have deprived the natives of the property, or turned it to their own use, and have subjected some of the inhabitants of said islands to perpetual slavery, sold them to other persons, and committed other various illicit and evil deeds against them.”The bull did not sanction slavery but instead excommunicated anyone who enslaved Christians or those seeking baptism. The punishment could only be lifted if the person freed the slaves and returned their property.Nicholas V’s bulls were different because they explicitly authorized enslavement in certain cases, but Nash said the directives on slavery in Dum Diversas “are not an attempt to teach definitively,” are not pronouncements on doctrinal matters, and they “are certainly up for questioning and criticism.”“They are prudential judgments and don’t even attempt to invoke the specific doctrinal criteria of a definitive teaching, let alone an ‘ex cathedra’ pronouncement,” Nash added. “And thus the Church’s teaching on infallibility is not [in] play and therefore not in doubt.”One condition for infallible doctrinal pronouncements is that they must apply to all people at all times. The bulls from Nicholas V apply only “in a particular geographical situation in a particular time in history,” he said, and emphasized that “we cannot treat every papal statement as if it’s an infallible declaration.”Papal condemnations of slaveryAlthough Leo XIII delivered one of the strongest condemnations of slavery in the late 1800s, Nash noted Pope Paul III’s papal bull Sublimis Deus in 1537 strongly rebuked enslavement of Indigenous Americans more than three centuries earlier.The 16th-century pontiff blamed Satan for chattel slavery and for the mindset that Indigenous Americans “should be treated as dumb brutes created for our service.” He urged evangelization of the people and said they should not be enslaved or deprived of liberty or property.Paul III’s bull expressly stated that this prohibition on enslavement of the Indigenous Americans applies regardless of anything that has been issued before, effectively superseding Nicholas V’s papal bulls from a century earlier.Other popes in between Paul III and Leo XIII issued similar antislavery statements, with Pope Gregory XIV issuing an apostolic brief in 1591 demanding an end to the enslavement of people in the Philippines and Pope Urban VIII writing the 1639 papal bull Commissum Nobis, which condemned the enslavement of South Americans.In the early 1800s, Pope Pius VII wrote to government leaders to urge the abolition of the slave trade and Pope Gregory XVI in 1839 issued the papal brief In Supremo Apostolatus, which was the first to condemn the slave trade in its entirety.Nash noted that Christian opposition to slavery, however, is rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ, who “reaffirms the inherent dignity of every human person in a Roman-Empire milieu that had chattel slavery as a societal institution.”“He did so in giving the doctrinal command, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mt 22:39),” he said. “Indeed, ‘neighbor’ includes everyone (see Gn 1:26-27), including the heretical Samaritans and other despised persons (Lk 10:25-36). Similarly, ‘the least of these my brethren’ unmistakably includes chattel slaves within a Roman-Empire milieu (Mt 25:40, 45).”St. Paul wrote about slavery several times. In Ephesians 6, he told slaves to “obey your human masters” and for masters to “stop bullying,” adding that both have the same Master in heaven, before whom “there is no partiality.” In 1 Corinthians 7, he told slaves to “make the most of it” if they gain freedom but not to be concerned about it because “the slave called in the Lord is a freed person in the Lord, just as the free person who has been called is a slave of Christ.”In contrast to norms of the time, Paul wrote about the equal human dignity of slave and master in Galatians 3, saying “there is neither slave nor free person” because “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In the Epistle to Philemon, Paul writes to St. Philemon on behalf of the runaway slave, St. Onesimus, asking Philemon to receive him “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother.”At least one pope — St. Callistus I, who reigned from A.D. 218 until he was martyred in A.D. 222 — was a former slave. Nash noted that although slavery existed in the Roman Empire and within Europe under Christendom, the practice was reduced significantly when Christianity replaced paganism.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV builds on teachings of prior pontiffs with apology for slavery, Church’s role – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV built on teachings laid out by his predecessors when he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery in his May 15 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, but the Holy Father also critiqued papal bulls issued in the late Middle Ages on the subject.“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord,” Leo XIV wrote of the institution of slavery.“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” he wrote.The Holy Father explained that in antiquity and the Middle Ages, Catholic individuals and some ecclesiastical institutions participated in slavery. Though the Church never taught doctrinally that slavery was morally good or neutral, he wrote about popes who “intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation” at the request of political leaders.Leo XIV wrote that “a formal, absolute, and universal condemnation of slavery” was not issued until Pope Leo XIII’s 1888 encyclical on the abolition of slavery. Leo XIV added that “we [cannot] deny or diminish” the Church’s delay in its denouncement.“In the development of her doctrine, the Church has gradually come to a deeper awareness of the gravity of these issues,” Leo XIV wrote.Church’s role in slaveryIn a footnote in the encyclical, Leo XIV cited four papal bulls from the 1400s as his examples for when the Holy See sought to “regulate and legitimize” subjugation: Pope Eugenius IV’s Sicut Dudum and Etsi Suscepti, and Pope Nicholas V’s Dum Diversas and Romanus Pontifex.“Political and, at times, even economic needs overcame the demands of the Gospel,” the footnote reads. “The need for evangelization was frequently compromised or at least misunderstood with regard to the needs of worldly powers, thus relativizing the problematic incompatibility of slavery with the Christian conscience.”Nicholas V’s bulls, for example, authorized the Portuguese to impose slavery on specific non-Christians, particularly Muslims and pagans, related to specific conflicts. Eugenius IV condemned the enslavement of converts to Christianity without condemning the institution of slavery as a whole.Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, told EWTN News that St. John Paul II apologized for Christian participation in slavery as well and many popes condemned slavery (including when it was ongoing) but did not critique specific papal bulls on the subject in the way Leo XIV does.Although Leo XIV’s comments on slavery are substantial, the topic only takes up a few paragraphs of the encyclical, which mostly deals with the Church’s social doctrine in the modern world and technological developments such as artificial intelligence.Nash emphasized that the faithful should not interpret these paragraphs as a change in Church doctrine, however, because in spite of Catholic participation in slavery, “the Church has never definitively taught that chattel slavery was morally just.”Although Leo XIV cited Sicut Dudum as an example, one of Eugenius IV’s main priorities was to “oppose the mistreatment of all African natives,” according to Nash. He quoted the bull: “They have deprived the natives of the property, or turned it to their own use, and have subjected some of the inhabitants of said islands to perpetual slavery, sold them to other persons, and committed other various illicit and evil deeds against them.”The bull did not sanction slavery but instead excommunicated anyone who enslaved Christians or those seeking baptism. The punishment could only be lifted if the person freed the slaves and returned their property.Nicholas V’s bulls were different because they explicitly authorized enslavement in certain cases, but Nash said the directives on slavery in Dum Diversas “are not an attempt to teach definitively,” are not pronouncements on doctrinal matters, and they “are certainly up for questioning and criticism.”“They are prudential judgments and don’t even attempt to invoke the specific doctrinal criteria of a definitive teaching, let alone an ‘ex cathedra’ pronouncement,” Nash added. “And thus the Church’s teaching on infallibility is not [in] play and therefore not in doubt.”One condition for infallible doctrinal pronouncements is that they must apply to all people at all times. The bulls from Nicholas V apply only “in a particular geographical situation in a particular time in history,” he said, and emphasized that “we cannot treat every papal statement as if it’s an infallible declaration.”Papal condemnations of slaveryAlthough Leo XIII delivered one of the strongest condemnations of slavery in the late 1800s, Nash noted Pope Paul III’s papal bull Sublimis Deus in 1537 strongly rebuked enslavement of Indigenous Americans more than three centuries earlier.The 16th-century pontiff blamed Satan for chattel slavery and for the mindset that Indigenous Americans “should be treated as dumb brutes created for our service.” He urged evangelization of the people and said they should not be enslaved or deprived of liberty or property.Paul III’s bull expressly stated that this prohibition on enslavement of the Indigenous Americans applies regardless of anything that has been issued before, effectively superseding Nicholas V’s papal bulls from a century earlier.Other popes in between Paul III and Leo XIII issued similar antislavery statements, with Pope Gregory XIV issuing an apostolic brief in 1591 demanding an end to the enslavement of people in the Philippines and Pope Urban VIII writing the 1639 papal bull Commissum Nobis, which condemned the enslavement of South Americans.In the early 1800s, Pope Pius VII wrote to government leaders to urge the abolition of the slave trade and Pope Gregory XVI in 1839 issued the papal brief In Supremo Apostolatus, which was the first to condemn the slave trade in its entirety.Nash noted that Christian opposition to slavery, however, is rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ, who “reaffirms the inherent dignity of every human person in a Roman-Empire milieu that had chattel slavery as a societal institution.”“He did so in giving the doctrinal command, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mt 22:39),” he said. “Indeed, ‘neighbor’ includes everyone (see Gn 1:26-27), including the heretical Samaritans and other despised persons (Lk 10:25-36). Similarly, ‘the least of these my brethren’ unmistakably includes chattel slaves within a Roman-Empire milieu (Mt 25:40, 45).”St. Paul wrote about slavery several times. In Ephesians 6, he told slaves to “obey your human masters” and for masters to “stop bullying,” adding that both have the same Master in heaven, before whom “there is no partiality.” In 1 Corinthians 7, he told slaves to “make the most of it” if they gain freedom but not to be concerned about it because “the slave called in the Lord is a freed person in the Lord, just as the free person who has been called is a slave of Christ.”In contrast to norms of the time, Paul wrote about the equal human dignity of slave and master in Galatians 3, saying “there is neither slave nor free person” because “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In the Epistle to Philemon, Paul writes to St. Philemon on behalf of the runaway slave, St. Onesimus, asking Philemon to receive him “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother.”At least one pope — St. Callistus I, who reigned from A.D. 218 until he was martyred in A.D. 222 — was a former slave. Nash noted that although slavery existed in the Roman Empire and within Europe under Christendom, the practice was reduced significantly when Christianity replaced paganism.

unitedyam

The Holy Father explained that, in antiquity and the Middle Ages, Catholic individuals and some ecclesiastical institutions participated in slavery as he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role.

Read More
Older Posts