Year: 2025

Glorious Prince of the heavenly hosts
and victor over rebellious spirits,
be mindful of me who am so weak and sinful
and yet so prone to pride and ambition.
Lend me, I pray,
thy powerful aid in every temptation and difficulty,
and above all do not forsake me
in my last struggle with the powers of evil.

Amen.

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Catholic schools fare better in states with voucher programs #Catholic 
 
 null / Credit: RasyidArt, Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).
Catholic schools are faring much better in dioceses in which state-funded voucher programs are available for parents to use to pay school tuition, one researcher has found, though enrollment is still declining in most places.John F. Quinn, a historian at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, examined six Catholic dioceses over the last 16 years — three in states with voucher programs and three in states without them — and found that parochial schools are benefiting from vouchers.He presented his research at the Society of Catholic Social Scientists’ annual conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, in October.Quinn found that since 2009, the dioceses of Providence, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and Rockford, Illinois — none of which are located in states with voucher programs — have seen school closures and drops, some very large, in their parochial school enrollment.Providence schools have seen a two-thirds drop, from 16,000 students in 2009 to about 10,000 in 2025, according to the historian. The Diocese of Fall River, meanwhile, saw a 36% drop in enrollment, going from 7,800 students in 2009 to 5,000 in 2025. Rockford’s diocese saw a precipitous 52% drop, with 15,500 students in 2009 and 7,400 today. All three dioceses also saw multiple parochial school closures.The numbers are very different in the dioceses in states that have voucher programs.According to Quinn, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis only saw its enrollment numbers drop 3% since 2009. Nearly 23,000 were enrolled in its parochial schools in 2009, and the number stands at 22,300 today. The overall population of the archdiocese has also dropped 5% over the same time period, he noted.  Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program was launched in 2011 and expanded to nearly all residents in 2025.Two other dioceses, Orlando and Venice, are both in Florida, a state that approved its voucher program in 1999 and expanded it significantly in 2023.The Diocese of Orlando has seen a 13% drop, going from 14,500 students in 2009 to 12,750 in 2025.The Diocese of Venice, a relatively new one established in 1984, has seen a 52% increase in parish school enrollment since 2009 and growth in its number of parochial schools. In 2009, 4,400 students attended three high schools and 10 elementary schools, and today there are four high schools and 12 elementary schools with an enrollment of 6,800.Quinn acknowledged that Florida has a growing population but said even taking that into account, the voucher programs have indisputably aided the Catholic schools there.“We are full up with nearly every school at capacity,” Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese of Venice Superintendent of Catholic Education, said in September.History of parochial schooling“America’s Catholic leaders have long seen parochial schools as critical to the well-being of the Church in America,” Quinn noted. He recalled the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884, at which the bishops “called for every parish to have a school and for all Catholic parents to send their children” to them.Quinn noted that pastors would sometimes build a parish school first before completing the church building.In 1965, the high point of parochial school enrollment, 52% of American Catholic children, or 5.2 million students, were enrolled at 13,000 Catholic grammar and high schools. Quinn cited the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report, released in the spring, that showed just under 1.7 million students are currently enrolled in the nation’s current 8,500 parochial schools.In 1965, nearly 70% of all parochial school teachers, or 115,607, were religious sisters, priests, or brothers, according to the Cardinal Newman Society. By 1990, only 2.5% of parochial school faculty were priests or religious, and that number remains the same today.Quinn said costs started rising as more lay teachers replaced religious and priests in the classroom.

Catholic schools fare better in states with voucher programs #Catholic null / Credit: RasyidArt, Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA). Catholic schools are faring much better in dioceses in which state-funded voucher programs are available for parents to use to pay school tuition, one researcher has found, though enrollment is still declining in most places.John F. Quinn, a historian at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, examined six Catholic dioceses over the last 16 years — three in states with voucher programs and three in states without them — and found that parochial schools are benefiting from vouchers.He presented his research at the Society of Catholic Social Scientists’ annual conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, in October.Quinn found that since 2009, the dioceses of Providence, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and Rockford, Illinois — none of which are located in states with voucher programs — have seen school closures and drops, some very large, in their parochial school enrollment.Providence schools have seen a two-thirds drop, from 16,000 students in 2009 to about 10,000 in 2025, according to the historian. The Diocese of Fall River, meanwhile, saw a 36% drop in enrollment, going from 7,800 students in 2009 to 5,000 in 2025. Rockford’s diocese saw a precipitous 52% drop, with 15,500 students in 2009 and 7,400 today. All three dioceses also saw multiple parochial school closures.The numbers are very different in the dioceses in states that have voucher programs.According to Quinn, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis only saw its enrollment numbers drop 3% since 2009. Nearly 23,000 were enrolled in its parochial schools in 2009, and the number stands at 22,300 today. The overall population of the archdiocese has also dropped 5% over the same time period, he noted.  Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program was launched in 2011 and expanded to nearly all residents in 2025.Two other dioceses, Orlando and Venice, are both in Florida, a state that approved its voucher program in 1999 and expanded it significantly in 2023.The Diocese of Orlando has seen a 13% drop, going from 14,500 students in 2009 to 12,750 in 2025.The Diocese of Venice, a relatively new one established in 1984, has seen a 52% increase in parish school enrollment since 2009 and growth in its number of parochial schools. In 2009, 4,400 students attended three high schools and 10 elementary schools, and today there are four high schools and 12 elementary schools with an enrollment of 6,800.Quinn acknowledged that Florida has a growing population but said even taking that into account, the voucher programs have indisputably aided the Catholic schools there.“We are full up with nearly every school at capacity,” Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese of Venice Superintendent of Catholic Education, said in September.History of parochial schooling“America’s Catholic leaders have long seen parochial schools as critical to the well-being of the Church in America,” Quinn noted. He recalled the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884, at which the bishops “called for every parish to have a school and for all Catholic parents to send their children” to them.Quinn noted that pastors would sometimes build a parish school first before completing the church building.In 1965, the high point of parochial school enrollment, 52% of American Catholic children, or 5.2 million students, were enrolled at 13,000 Catholic grammar and high schools. Quinn cited the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report, released in the spring, that showed just under 1.7 million students are currently enrolled in the nation’s current 8,500 parochial schools.In 1965, nearly 70% of all parochial school teachers, or 115,607, were religious sisters, priests, or brothers, according to the Cardinal Newman Society. By 1990, only 2.5% of parochial school faculty were priests or religious, and that number remains the same today.Quinn said costs started rising as more lay teachers replaced religious and priests in the classroom.


null / Credit: RasyidArt, Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 06:30 am (CNA).

Catholic schools are faring much better in dioceses in which state-funded voucher programs are available for parents to use to pay school tuition, one researcher has found, though enrollment is still declining in most places.

John F. Quinn, a historian at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, examined six Catholic dioceses over the last 16 years — three in states with voucher programs and three in states without them — and found that parochial schools are benefiting from vouchers.

He presented his research at the Society of Catholic Social Scientists’ annual conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, in October.

Quinn found that since 2009, the dioceses of Providence, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and Rockford, Illinois — none of which are located in states with voucher programs — have seen school closures and drops, some very large, in their parochial school enrollment.

Providence schools have seen a two-thirds drop, from 16,000 students in 2009 to about 10,000 in 2025, according to the historian. 

The Diocese of Fall River, meanwhile, saw a 36% drop in enrollment, going from 7,800 students in 2009 to 5,000 in 2025. Rockford’s diocese saw a precipitous 52% drop, with 15,500 students in 2009 and 7,400 today. All three dioceses also saw multiple parochial school closures.

The numbers are very different in the dioceses in states that have voucher programs.

According to Quinn, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis only saw its enrollment numbers drop 3% since 2009. Nearly 23,000 were enrolled in its parochial schools in 2009, and the number stands at 22,300 today. The overall population of the archdiocese has also dropped 5% over the same time period, he noted.  

Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program was launched in 2011 and expanded to nearly all residents in 2025.

Two other dioceses, Orlando and Venice, are both in Florida, a state that approved its voucher program in 1999 and expanded it significantly in 2023.

The Diocese of Orlando has seen a 13% drop, going from 14,500 students in 2009 to 12,750 in 2025.

The Diocese of Venice, a relatively new one established in 1984, has seen a 52% increase in parish school enrollment since 2009 and growth in its number of parochial schools. In 2009, 4,400 students attended three high schools and 10 elementary schools, and today there are four high schools and 12 elementary schools with an enrollment of 6,800.

Quinn acknowledged that Florida has a growing population but said even taking that into account, the voucher programs have indisputably aided the Catholic schools there.

“We are full up with nearly every school at capacity,” Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese of Venice Superintendent of Catholic Education, said in September.

History of parochial schooling

“America’s Catholic leaders have long seen parochial schools as critical to the well-being of the Church in America,” Quinn noted. 

He recalled the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884, at which the bishops “called for every parish to have a school and for all Catholic parents to send their children” to them.

Quinn noted that pastors would sometimes build a parish school first before completing the church building.

In 1965, the high point of parochial school enrollment, 52% of American Catholic children, or 5.2 million students, were enrolled at 13,000 Catholic grammar and high schools. 

Quinn cited the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report, released in the spring, that showed just under 1.7 million students are currently enrolled in the nation’s current 8,500 parochial schools.

In 1965, nearly 70% of all parochial school teachers, or 115,607, were religious sisters, priests, or brothers, according to the Cardinal Newman Society. 

By 1990, only 2.5% of parochial school faculty were priests or religious, and that number remains the same today.

Quinn said costs started rising as more lay teachers replaced religious and priests in the classroom.

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St. Charles Borromeo: Patron saint of stomach ailments, dieting — and obesity? #Catholic 
 
 The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.

St. Charles Borromeo: Patron saint of stomach ailments, dieting — and obesity? #Catholic The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.


The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.

And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.

Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.

Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.

Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.

Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.

Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.

The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.

He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”

In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.

A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.

At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.

This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  November 3: Venus and Spica, side by side Tonight Jupiter sports a three-for-one as Io transits with its shadow in tow and Europa’s shadow sneaks onto the disk in preparation for its own moon to transit. Jupiter rises around 9:30 P.M. localContinue reading “The Sky Today on Tuesday, November 4: Two shadows and a moon cross Jupiter”

The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, November 4: Two shadows and a moon cross Jupiter appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Most faithful St. Dymphna, you remained true to your baptismal promises to the very end. You are, therefore, honored, known, and loved after 1,400 years by people you have aided all over the world. We do not know how long or short a time is left to us of this life here, but help us in any case to be faithful to God to the end. Please gain for us the grace to live one day at a time as if each were to be our last. Amen.

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Trump threatens military action if Nigeria fails to end religious persecution of Christians  – #Catholic – 
 
 President Donald Trump holds a press briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August 2025. / Credit: Joey Sussman/ Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria if it fails to end Christian persecution.“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 1.The commander-in-chief further revealed he has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!” he added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”The post alluding to possible military action comes after Trump announced he would designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) on Oct. 31.Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearence, according to the State Department.“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump said Oct. 31.

Trump threatens military action if Nigeria fails to end religious persecution of Christians  – #Catholic – President Donald Trump holds a press briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August 2025. / Credit: Joey Sussman/ Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA). U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria if it fails to end Christian persecution.“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 1.The commander-in-chief further revealed he has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!” he added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”The post alluding to possible military action comes after Trump announced he would designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) on Oct. 31.Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearence, according to the State Department.“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump said Oct. 31.


President Donald Trump holds a press briefing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August 2025. / Credit: Joey Sussman/ Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against Nigeria if it fails to end Christian persecution.

“If the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 1.

The commander-in-chief further revealed he has instructed the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action.”

“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!” he added: “WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the post on Saturday, writing: “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

The post alluding to possible military action comes after Trump announced he would designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) on Oct. 31.

Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearence, according to the State Department.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump said Oct. 31.

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 04 November 2025 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 12:5-16ab Brothers and sisters: We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.From the Gospel according to Luke 14:15-24 One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." He replied to him, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’"A Christian is one who is invited to join in the feast, to the joy of being saved, to the joy of being redeemed, to the joy of sharing life with Christ. This is a joy! You are called to a party! A feast is a gathering of people who talk, laugh, celebrate, are happy together. I have never seen anyone party on their own. That would be boring, no? Opening the bottle of wine . . . That’s not a feast, it’s something else. You have to party with others, with the family, with friends, with those who’ve been invited, as I was invited. The Church is for everyone, beginning with those most marginalized. It is everyone’s Church! The Lord is very generous. The Lord opens all doors. The Lord also understands those who say to Him, ‘No, Lord, I don’t want to go to you.’ He understands and is waiting for them, because He is merciful. But the Lord does not like those who say ‘yes’ and do the opposite; who pretend to thank Him for all the good things; who have good manners, but go their own way and do not follow the way of the Lord. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 5 November 2013)

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
12:5-16ab

Brothers and sisters:
We, though many, are one Body in Christ
and individually parts of one another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us exercise them:
if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;
if ministry, in ministering;
if one is a teacher, in teaching;
if one exhorts, in exhortation;
if one contributes, in generosity;
if one is over others, with diligence;
if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

From the Gospel according to Luke
14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
"Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God."
He replied to him,
"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’"

A Christian is one who is invited to join in the feast, to the joy of being saved, to the joy of being redeemed, to the joy of sharing life with Christ. This is a joy! You are called to a party! A feast is a gathering of people who talk, laugh, celebrate, are happy together. I have never seen anyone party on their own. That would be boring, no? Opening the bottle of wine . . . That’s not a feast, it’s something else. You have to party with others, with the family, with friends, with those who’ve been invited, as I was invited. The Church is for everyone, beginning with those most marginalized. It is everyone’s Church! The Lord is very generous. The Lord opens all doors. The Lord also understands those who say to Him, ‘No, Lord, I don’t want to go to you.’ He understands and is waiting for them, because He is merciful. But the Lord does not like those who say ‘yes’ and do the opposite; who pretend to thank Him for all the good things; who have good manners, but go their own way and do not follow the way of the Lord. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 5 November 2013)

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Heritage Foundation wades into Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes debate - #Catholic - 
 
 Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts during a September 2025 interview with CNA. / Credit: Jack Haskins/EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:52 pm (CNA).
The Heritage Foundation is receiving backlash after Kevin Roberts, its president, defended Tucker Carlson’s recent controversial interview with Nick Fuentes. Roberts said in a video message on social media Oct. 30 that “the venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division” and that “their attempt to cancel him will fail.” While the Heritage Foundation president said he disagreed with and abhorred Fuentes’ views, he said “canceling him is not the answer.” “When we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate,” Roberts said. “And we have seen success in this approach as we continue to dismantle the vile ideas of the left.” During the interview, Fuentes, who said he is Catholic, at one point said he admired Joseph Stalin and lamented against “organized Jewry in America.” For his part, Carlson at another point said he disliked Christian Zionists “more than anybody” and referred to Christian Zionism as a “brain virus” and a “Christian heresy.” Reports also surfaced that the Heritage Foundation had spent roughly $1.2 million sponsoring Carlson’s show, for about $75,000 per episode for a 12-month period beginning in June 2024. Fallout ensued after Roberts’ video, with Heritage Foundation staffers posting a meme with the caption “Nazis are bad” in reference to Fuentes’ antisemetic views and self-professed admiration of Hitler. The Hill initially reported further dissatisfaction among staffers and that Ryan Neuhaus, Roberts’ chief of staff, had been relocated Friday to another position within the organization. This came after Neuhaus reposted multiple statements in defense of Roberts’ video. Neuhaus has since resigned. Legal scholar and moral philosopher Robert P. George weighed in on the debate surrounding Carlson’s interview Nov. 1, writing: “Engaging and forcefully arguing against people who deny the inherent and equal dignity of all is one thing, welcoming them into the movement or treating their ideas and ideologies as representing legitimate forms of conservatism is something entirely different.”He said American conservatism faces a challenge from those like Fuentes “seeking acceptance in the conservative movement and its institutions” with the ultimate goal of subverting “our commitment to inherent and equal human dignity.” “It is incumbent upon those of us who maintain the ‘ancient faith’ (to borrow a phrase from Lincoln) to make clear to friend and foe alike that we will not permit the integrity of our movement and its institutions to be compromised,” George concluded. 

Heritage Foundation wades into Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes debate – #Catholic – Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts during a September 2025 interview with CNA. / Credit: Jack Haskins/EWTN News Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:52 pm (CNA). The Heritage Foundation is receiving backlash after Kevin Roberts, its president, defended Tucker Carlson’s recent controversial interview with Nick Fuentes. Roberts said in a video message on social media Oct. 30 that “the venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division” and that “their attempt to cancel him will fail.” While the Heritage Foundation president said he disagreed with and abhorred Fuentes’ views, he said “canceling him is not the answer.” “When we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate,” Roberts said. “And we have seen success in this approach as we continue to dismantle the vile ideas of the left.” During the interview, Fuentes, who said he is Catholic, at one point said he admired Joseph Stalin and lamented against “organized Jewry in America.” For his part, Carlson at another point said he disliked Christian Zionists “more than anybody” and referred to Christian Zionism as a “brain virus” and a “Christian heresy.” Reports also surfaced that the Heritage Foundation had spent roughly $1.2 million sponsoring Carlson’s show, for about $75,000 per episode for a 12-month period beginning in June 2024. Fallout ensued after Roberts’ video, with Heritage Foundation staffers posting a meme with the caption “Nazis are bad” in reference to Fuentes’ antisemetic views and self-professed admiration of Hitler. The Hill initially reported further dissatisfaction among staffers and that Ryan Neuhaus, Roberts’ chief of staff, had been relocated Friday to another position within the organization. This came after Neuhaus reposted multiple statements in defense of Roberts’ video. Neuhaus has since resigned. Legal scholar and moral philosopher Robert P. George weighed in on the debate surrounding Carlson’s interview Nov. 1, writing: “Engaging and forcefully arguing against people who deny the inherent and equal dignity of all is one thing, welcoming them into the movement or treating their ideas and ideologies as representing legitimate forms of conservatism is something entirely different.”He said American conservatism faces a challenge from those like Fuentes “seeking acceptance in the conservative movement and its institutions” with the ultimate goal of subverting “our commitment to inherent and equal human dignity.” “It is incumbent upon those of us who maintain the ‘ancient faith’ (to borrow a phrase from Lincoln) to make clear to friend and foe alike that we will not permit the integrity of our movement and its institutions to be compromised,” George concluded. 


Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts during a September 2025 interview with CNA. / Credit: Jack Haskins/EWTN News

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:52 pm (CNA).

The Heritage Foundation is receiving backlash after Kevin Roberts, its president, defended Tucker Carlson’s recent controversial interview with Nick Fuentes. 

Roberts said in a video message on social media Oct. 30 that “the venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division” and that “their attempt to cancel him will fail.” While the Heritage Foundation president said he disagreed with and abhorred Fuentes’ views, he said “canceling him is not the answer.” 

“When we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate,” Roberts said. “And we have seen success in this approach as we continue to dismantle the vile ideas of the left.” 

During the interview, Fuentes, who said he is Catholic, at one point said he admired Joseph Stalin and lamented against “organized Jewry in America.” For his part, Carlson at another point said he disliked Christian Zionists “more than anybody” and referred to Christian Zionism as a “brain virus” and a “Christian heresy.” 

Reports also surfaced that the Heritage Foundation had spent roughly $1.2 million sponsoring Carlson’s show, for about $75,000 per episode for a 12-month period beginning in June 2024. 

Fallout ensued after Roberts’ video, with Heritage Foundation staffers posting a meme with the caption “Nazis are bad” in reference to Fuentes’ antisemetic views and self-professed admiration of Hitler. 

The Hill initially reported further dissatisfaction among staffers and that Ryan Neuhaus, Roberts’ chief of staff, had been relocated Friday to another position within the organization. This came after Neuhaus reposted multiple statements in defense of Roberts’ video. Neuhaus has since resigned. 

Legal scholar and moral philosopher Robert P. George weighed in on the debate surrounding Carlson’s interview Nov. 1, writing: “Engaging and forcefully arguing against people who deny the inherent and equal dignity of all is one thing, welcoming them into the movement or treating their ideas and ideologies as representing legitimate forms of conservatism is something entirely different.”

He said American conservatism faces a challenge from those like Fuentes “seeking acceptance in the conservative movement and its institutions” with the ultimate goal of subverting “our commitment to inherent and equal human dignity.” 

“It is incumbent upon those of us who maintain the ‘ancient faith’ (to borrow a phrase from Lincoln) to make clear to friend and foe alike that we will not permit the integrity of our movement and its institutions to be compromised,” George concluded. 

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Trump administration will partially fund SNAP as Catholic groups try to fill gap – #Catholic – 
 
 President Donald Trump’s administration says Nov. 3, 2025, that it will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits after several states sued to force a court order. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).
President Donald Trump’s administration will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown as Catholic nonprofits are working to accommodate people’s needs through charitable giving.Food stamp benefits from SNAP came to a temporary halt Nov. 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown or approve a stand-alone SNAP funding bill.Several states sued, which led a federal court to order the administration to fully or partially fund the program. According to a Nov. 3 court filing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to drain the SNAP contingency fund to ensure some benefits are received this month.The contingency fund can supply Americans on food assistance with about .6 billion in funds, which is about half of the  billion that was expected to be given. It is unclear when the benefits will show up on recipients’ Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.Neither the USDA nor the White House responded to a request for comment.As the shutdown reached its 34th day on Nov. 3, lawmakers were still disagreeing over extending taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and providing funding for a wall on the southern border, food assistance, and military pay. Most of the 2.9 million civilian federal workers are not receiving paychecks.Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, questioned the USDA inspector general nominee John Walk on Oct. 30 about why the contingency fund wasn’t being used, which prompted the litigation from states.“There’s nothing legally stopping the administration from making emergency food assistance funds that they’re just sitting on available for Georgia kids and families in November,” Warnock said. “But even as we debate what to do about these ACA subsidies, it is indisputable that the USDA under the Trump administration is choosing to pull hungry children into this fight.”Filling the gapCatholic organizations that provide food assistance to low-income people have been trying to fill the gap amid the funding losses. Catholic Charities USA launched a national fundraising effort Oct. 30 to “come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need,” according to a news release.Donations made through the new portal “will be used to buy and ship food directly to Catholic Charities agencies throughout the country that operate food pantries, soup kitchens, food delivery programs and a variety of other initiatives to support those facing hunger or food insecurity,” the news release noted. Some local Catholic Charities affiliates told CNA last week that they were committed to helping families in need access food but expressed concern that their organizations may be unable to fully supplement the billions of dollars in lost funding.John Berry, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States, said in a statement on Oct. 31 that the funding loss was “a bipartisan moral failure” and alleged that both parties “weaponized the defenseless.”“This crisis is not a distant tragedy: It is right in front of our face in the look in a mother’s eyes as she worries that her innocent children may soon feel the ache of an empty stomach,” Berry said.“Its roots run deep in the decisions of policymakers who have chosen partisan brinkmanship over human dignity, and the consequences demand an urgent moral critique through faith and reason,” he said. “This is not a partisan failure. Ironically, it’s one of the few times that both sides of the political aisle have managed to do something together — morally fail in their efforts to appeal to their supporters.”Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an Oct. 28 statement urged lawmakers to find a solution that reopens the government and funds SNAP.Broglio called the funding loss “unjust and unacceptable” and “catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.” He said it “places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward.” The shutdown is already the second-longest government shutdown. Unless it is quickly resolved, it will likely surpass the longest government shutdown, which was 35 days long and occurred during Trump’s first term.

Trump administration will partially fund SNAP as Catholic groups try to fill gap – #Catholic – President Donald Trump’s administration says Nov. 3, 2025, that it will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits after several states sued to force a court order. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA). President Donald Trump’s administration will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown as Catholic nonprofits are working to accommodate people’s needs through charitable giving.Food stamp benefits from SNAP came to a temporary halt Nov. 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown or approve a stand-alone SNAP funding bill.Several states sued, which led a federal court to order the administration to fully or partially fund the program. According to a Nov. 3 court filing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to drain the SNAP contingency fund to ensure some benefits are received this month.The contingency fund can supply Americans on food assistance with about $4.6 billion in funds, which is about half of the $9 billion that was expected to be given. It is unclear when the benefits will show up on recipients’ Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.Neither the USDA nor the White House responded to a request for comment.As the shutdown reached its 34th day on Nov. 3, lawmakers were still disagreeing over extending taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and providing funding for a wall on the southern border, food assistance, and military pay. Most of the 2.9 million civilian federal workers are not receiving paychecks.Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, questioned the USDA inspector general nominee John Walk on Oct. 30 about why the contingency fund wasn’t being used, which prompted the litigation from states.“There’s nothing legally stopping the administration from making emergency food assistance funds that they’re just sitting on available for Georgia kids and families in November,” Warnock said. “But even as we debate what to do about these ACA subsidies, it is indisputable that the USDA under the Trump administration is choosing to pull hungry children into this fight.”Filling the gapCatholic organizations that provide food assistance to low-income people have been trying to fill the gap amid the funding losses. Catholic Charities USA launched a national fundraising effort Oct. 30 to “come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need,” according to a news release.Donations made through the new portal “will be used to buy and ship food directly to Catholic Charities agencies throughout the country that operate food pantries, soup kitchens, food delivery programs and a variety of other initiatives to support those facing hunger or food insecurity,” the news release noted. Some local Catholic Charities affiliates told CNA last week that they were committed to helping families in need access food but expressed concern that their organizations may be unable to fully supplement the billions of dollars in lost funding.John Berry, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States, said in a statement on Oct. 31 that the funding loss was “a bipartisan moral failure” and alleged that both parties “weaponized the defenseless.”“This crisis is not a distant tragedy: It is right in front of our face in the look in a mother’s eyes as she worries that her innocent children may soon feel the ache of an empty stomach,” Berry said.“Its roots run deep in the decisions of policymakers who have chosen partisan brinkmanship over human dignity, and the consequences demand an urgent moral critique through faith and reason,” he said. “This is not a partisan failure. Ironically, it’s one of the few times that both sides of the political aisle have managed to do something together — morally fail in their efforts to appeal to their supporters.”Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an Oct. 28 statement urged lawmakers to find a solution that reopens the government and funds SNAP.Broglio called the funding loss “unjust and unacceptable” and “catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.” He said it “places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward.” The shutdown is already the second-longest government shutdown. Unless it is quickly resolved, it will likely surpass the longest government shutdown, which was 35 days long and occurred during Trump’s first term.


President Donald Trump’s administration says Nov. 3, 2025, that it will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits after several states sued to force a court order. / Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 3, 2025 / 17:08 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump’s administration will partially fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown as Catholic nonprofits are working to accommodate people’s needs through charitable giving.

Food stamp benefits from SNAP came to a temporary halt Nov. 1 after Congress failed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown or approve a stand-alone SNAP funding bill.

Several states sued, which led a federal court to order the administration to fully or partially fund the program. According to a Nov. 3 court filing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to drain the SNAP contingency fund to ensure some benefits are received this month.

The contingency fund can supply Americans on food assistance with about $4.6 billion in funds, which is about half of the $9 billion that was expected to be given. It is unclear when the benefits will show up on recipients’ Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.

Neither the USDA nor the White House responded to a request for comment.

As the shutdown reached its 34th day on Nov. 3, lawmakers were still disagreeing over extending taxpayer subsidies that lower health insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and providing funding for a wall on the southern border, food assistance, and military pay. Most of the 2.9 million civilian federal workers are not receiving paychecks.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, questioned the USDA inspector general nominee John Walk on Oct. 30 about why the contingency fund wasn’t being used, which prompted the litigation from states.

“There’s nothing legally stopping the administration from making emergency food assistance funds that they’re just sitting on available for Georgia kids and families in November,” Warnock said. “But even as we debate what to do about these ACA subsidies, it is indisputable that the USDA under the Trump administration is choosing to pull hungry children into this fight.”

Filling the gap

Catholic organizations that provide food assistance to low-income people have been trying to fill the gap amid the funding losses. Catholic Charities USA launched a national fundraising effort Oct. 30 to “come to the aid of our vulnerable brothers and sisters during this time of dire need,” according to a news release.

Donations made through the new portal “will be used to buy and ship food directly to Catholic Charities agencies throughout the country that operate food pantries, soup kitchens, food delivery programs and a variety of other initiatives to support those facing hunger or food insecurity,” the news release noted. 

Some local Catholic Charities affiliates told CNA last week that they were committed to helping families in need access food but expressed concern that their organizations may be unable to fully supplement the billions of dollars in lost funding.

John Berry, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States, said in a statement on Oct. 31 that the funding loss was “a bipartisan moral failure” and alleged that both parties “weaponized the defenseless.”

“This crisis is not a distant tragedy: It is right in front of our face in the look in a mother’s eyes as she worries that her innocent children may soon feel the ache of an empty stomach,” Berry said.

“Its roots run deep in the decisions of policymakers who have chosen partisan brinkmanship over human dignity, and the consequences demand an urgent moral critique through faith and reason,” he said. “This is not a partisan failure. Ironically, it’s one of the few times that both sides of the political aisle have managed to do something together — morally fail in their efforts to appeal to their supporters.”

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an Oct. 28 statement urged lawmakers to find a solution that reopens the government and funds SNAP.

Broglio called the funding loss “unjust and unacceptable” and “catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.” He said it “places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward.” 

The shutdown is already the second-longest government shutdown. Unless it is quickly resolved, it will likely surpass the longest government shutdown, which was 35 days long and occurred during Trump’s first term.

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Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: November 2025 #Catholic – 


11/1
Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Fr. Peter Glabik – St. Patrick Parish, Chatham.


11/2
Sun., 4 p.m. Mass for the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Morristown


11/3
Mon., 10 a.m. Mass with Solemn Profession – the Carmelite Monastery, Morristown.


11/4
Tue., 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown; 6 p.m. Tri County 44th Annual Awards Dinner – the Legacy Castle, Pompton Plains.


11/8
Sat., 8:30 a.m. USCCB Meetings – Baltimore, MD.


11/9
Sun., 11 a.m. Mass for the Centennial Celebration – Holy Cross Parish, Wayne.


11/10–13
Mon.-Thu. USCCB General Meeting – Baltimore, MD.


11/13
Thu., 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph.


11/14
Fri., 11 a.m. Grand opening of new Murray House — Clifton; 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Francis de Sales Parish, Vernon.


11/15
Sat., 9 a.m. Vocation Ministry Workshop – St. Peter the Apostle Parish Hall, Parsippany; 4 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 65th Anniversary of St. Jude Parish – Hopatcong.


11/16
Sun., 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 12:30 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 120th anniversary of St. Joseph Parish, West Milford and installation of Father Jakub Grzybowski as pastor; 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson.


11/17
Mon., 1 p.m. Dean’s Meeting – Chancery, Clifton.


11/18
Tue., 9 a.m. Major Superiors Annual Meeting – St. Paul inside the Walls, Madison.


11/20–21
Thu.-Fri NCYC – Indianapolis IN.


11/22
Sat., 4 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway.


11/23
Sun., 9 a.m. Mass – Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic; 11 a.m. Tri-lingual Mass – St. Paul Parish, Clifton.


11/24
Mon., 1 p.m. Presbyteral Council – Chancery, Clifton; 6 p.m. Pride in our Priests Dinner – The Hanover Manor, East Hanover.


11/27
Thu., 10 a.m. Mass on Thanksgiving – Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic.


11/30
Sun., 11 a.m. Installation Mass for Father Francis Conde – St. Clare Parish, Clifton.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: November 2025 #Catholic – 11/1 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Fr. Peter Glabik – St. Patrick Parish, Chatham. 11/2 Sun., 4 p.m. Mass for the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Morristown 11/3 Mon., 10 a.m. Mass with Solemn Profession – the Carmelite Monastery, Morristown. 11/4 Tue., 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown; 6 p.m. Tri County 44th Annual Awards Dinner – the Legacy Castle, Pompton Plains. 11/8 Sat., 8:30 a.m. USCCB Meetings – Baltimore, MD. 11/9 Sun., 11 a.m. Mass for the Centennial Celebration – Holy Cross Parish, Wayne. 11/10–13 Mon.-Thu. USCCB General Meeting – Baltimore, MD. 11/13 Thu., 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph. 11/14 Fri., 11 a.m. Grand opening of new Murray House — Clifton; 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Francis de Sales Parish, Vernon. 11/15 Sat., 9 a.m. Vocation Ministry Workshop – St. Peter the Apostle Parish Hall, Parsippany; 4 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 65th Anniversary of St. Jude Parish – Hopatcong. 11/16 Sun., 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 12:30 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 120th anniversary of St. Joseph Parish, West Milford and installation of Father Jakub Grzybowski as pastor; 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson. 11/17 Mon., 1 p.m. Dean’s Meeting – Chancery, Clifton. 11/18 Tue., 9 a.m. Major Superiors Annual Meeting – St. Paul inside the Walls, Madison. 11/20–21 Thu.-Fri NCYC – Indianapolis IN. 11/22 Sat., 4 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway. 11/23 Sun., 9 a.m. Mass – Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic; 11 a.m. Tri-lingual Mass – St. Paul Parish, Clifton. 11/24 Mon., 1 p.m. Presbyteral Council – Chancery, Clifton; 6 p.m. Pride in our Priests Dinner – The Hanover Manor, East Hanover. 11/27 Thu., 10 a.m. Mass on Thanksgiving – Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic. 11/30 Sun., 11 a.m. Installation Mass for Father Francis Conde – St. Clare Parish, Clifton.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Schedule: November 2025 #Catholic –

11/1 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Fr. Peter Glabik – St. Patrick Parish, Chatham.
11/2 Sun., 4 p.m. Mass for the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Morristown
11/3 Mon., 10 a.m. Mass with Solemn Profession – the Carmelite Monastery, Morristown.
11/4 Tue., 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown; 6 p.m. Tri County 44th Annual Awards Dinner – the Legacy Castle, Pompton Plains.
11/8 Sat., 8:30 a.m. USCCB Meetings – Baltimore, MD.
11/9 Sun., 11 a.m. Mass for the Centennial Celebration – Holy Cross Parish, Wayne.
11/10–13 Mon.-Thu. USCCB General Meeting – Baltimore, MD.
11/13 Thu., 6 p.m. Caritas Gala – The Meadow Wood, Randolph.
11/14 Fri., 11 a.m. Grand opening of new Murray House — Clifton; 6:30 p.m. Project Andrew – St. Francis de Sales Parish, Vernon.
11/15 Sat., 9 a.m. Vocation Ministry Workshop – St. Peter the Apostle Parish Hall, Parsippany; 4 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 65th Anniversary of St. Jude Parish – Hopatcong.
11/16 Sun., 10 a.m. Confirmation – Sacred Heart Parish, Rockaway; 12:30 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 120th anniversary of St. Joseph Parish, West Milford and installation of Father Jakub Grzybowski as pastor; 3 p.m. Silver and Gold Anniversary Mass – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson.
11/17 Mon., 1 p.m. Dean’s Meeting – Chancery, Clifton.
11/18 Tue., 9 a.m. Major Superiors Annual Meeting – St. Paul inside the Walls, Madison.
11/20–21 Thu.-Fri NCYC – Indianapolis IN.
11/22 Sat., 4 p.m. Mass in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway.
11/23 Sun., 9 a.m. Mass – Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic; 11 a.m. Tri-lingual Mass – St. Paul Parish, Clifton.
11/24 Mon., 1 p.m. Presbyteral Council – Chancery, Clifton; 6 p.m. Pride in our Priests Dinner – The Hanover Manor, East Hanover.
11/27 Thu., 10 a.m. Mass on Thanksgiving – Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic.
11/30 Sun., 11 a.m. Installation Mass for Father Francis Conde – St. Clare Parish, Clifton.

11/1 Sat., 8 a.m. Mass for Life & Procession – St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown; 5 p.m. Installation Mass for Fr. Peter Glabik – St. Patrick Parish, Chatham. 11/2 Sun., 4 p.m. Mass for the Diocesan Youth Conference – St. Elizabeth University, Morristown 11/3 Mon., 10 a.m. Mass with Solemn Profession – the Carmelite Monastery, Morristown. 11/4 Tue., 9:35 a.m. Mass – Delbarton School, Morristown; 6 p.m. Tri County 44th Annual Awards Dinner – the Legacy Castle, Pompton Plains. 11/8 Sat., 8:30 a.m. USCCB Meetings – Baltimore, MD. 11/9 Sun., 11 a.m. Mass for the Centennial Celebration – Holy

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3 Little Falls youth victorious in Knights soccer challenge #Catholic – Three youth from Little Falls, N.J., competed in and won the Knights of Columbus Paterson Diocese Regional Soccer Challenge held on Oct. 25 at the St. Mary Parish field in Wharton, N.J. The winners in their boy or girl age groups were Victoria Macaluso, 14; Zoey Nucum, 13; and William McGinn, 12. Our Lady of the Highway Knights of Columbus Council 3835 works closely with Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls.

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3 Little Falls youth victorious in Knights soccer challenge #Catholic –

Three youth from Little Falls, N.J., competed in and won the Knights of Columbus Paterson Diocese Regional Soccer Challenge held on Oct. 25 at the St. Mary Parish field in Wharton, N.J. The winners in their boy or girl age groups were Victoria Macaluso, 14; Zoey Nucum, 13; and William McGinn, 12. Our Lady of the Highway Knights of Columbus Council 3835 works closely with Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls.


Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Three youth from Little Falls, N.J., competed in and won the Knights of Columbus Paterson Diocese Regional Soccer Challenge held on Oct. 25 at the St. Mary Parish field in Wharton, N.J. The winners in their boy or girl age groups were Victoria Macaluso, 14; Zoey Nucum, 13; and William McGinn, 12. Our Lady of the Highway Knights of Columbus Council 3835 works closely with Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Sussex County Knights help raise funds for blood cancer research #Catholic – Knights of Columbus Marquette Council 588 of Sussex County in New Jersey teamed up with Knights Council 3533 of Livingston, N.J., at the annual Blood Cancer United’s Light The Night-Morris County event, held on the evening of Oct. 25. The team raised nearly 0 for blood cancer research and awareness. Participants joined and celebrated many survivors of blood cancer. This year’s event has raised more than  million — and counting.

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

The Marquette Council works closely with three Sussex County parishes: Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta, St. Thomas of Aquin in Ogdensburg, and Immaculate Conception in Franklin, all in New Jersey.

Sussex County Knights help raise funds for blood cancer research #Catholic –

Knights of Columbus Marquette Council 588 of Sussex County in New Jersey teamed up with Knights Council 3533 of Livingston, N.J., at the annual Blood Cancer United’s Light The Night-Morris County event, held on the evening of Oct. 25. The team raised nearly $700 for blood cancer research and awareness. Participants joined and celebrated many survivors of blood cancer. This year’s event has raised more than $1 million — and counting.


Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

The Marquette Council works closely with three Sussex County parishes: Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta, St. Thomas of Aquin in Ogdensburg, and Immaculate Conception in Franklin, all in New Jersey.

Knights of Columbus Marquette Council 588 of Sussex County in New Jersey teamed up with Knights Council 3533 of Livingston, N.J., at the annual Blood Cancer United’s Light The Night-Morris County event, held on the evening of Oct. 25. The team raised nearly $700 for blood cancer research and awareness. Participants joined and celebrated many survivors of blood cancer. This year’s event has raised more than $1 million — and counting. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. The Marquette Council works closely with three Sussex County parishes: Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta, St. Thomas of Aquin

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7 fascinating facts about St. Martin de Porres, the first Black saint of the Americas #Catholic 
 
 St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:1. His father refused to acknowledge him. De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life. 2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13. De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses. 3. He faced discrimination as a Dominican. De Porres entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for de Porres because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters.Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. “I cure them, but God heals them,” de Porres would say when curing the sick. He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day’s supply of fruit. 4. He levitated and bilocated. De Porres was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the crucified cross. De Porres reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances. 5. He refused to eat meat. De Porres loved animals. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations. De Porres was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres’ canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: “These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs.”7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death. Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at age 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him “Martin of Charity.”  This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and has been updated.

7 fascinating facts about St. Martin de Porres, the first Black saint of the Americas #Catholic St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:1. His father refused to acknowledge him. De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life. 2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13. De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses. 3. He faced discrimination as a Dominican. De Porres entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for de Porres because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters.Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. “I cure them, but God heals them,” de Porres would say when curing the sick. He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day’s supply of fruit. 4. He levitated and bilocated. De Porres was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the crucified cross. De Porres reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances. 5. He refused to eat meat. De Porres loved animals. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations. De Porres was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres’ canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: “These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs.”7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death. Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at age 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him “Martin of Charity.”  This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and has been updated.


St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.

Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:

1. His father refused to acknowledge him.

De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life. 

2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13.

De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses. 

3. He faced discrimination as a Dominican.

De Porres entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for de Porres because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters.

Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. “I cure them, but God heals them,” de Porres would say when curing the sick. He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day’s supply of fruit. 

4. He levitated and bilocated.

De Porres was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the crucified cross. De Porres reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances. 

5. He refused to eat meat.

De Porres loved animals. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.

6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations.

De Porres was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres’ canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: “These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs.”

7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death.

Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at age 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him “Martin of Charity.” 

This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and has been updated.

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To you Saint Martin de Porres we prayerfully lift up our hearts filled with serene confidence and devotion. Mindful of your unbounded and helpful charity to all levels of society and also of your meekness and humility of heart, we offer our petitions to you.
Pour out upon our families the precious gifts of your solicitous and generous intercession; show to the people of every race and every color the paths of unity and of justice; implore from our Father in heaven the coming of his kingdom, …

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 03 November 2025 – A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 11:29-36 Brothers and sisters: The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To God be glory forever. Amen.From the Gospel according to Luke 14:12-14 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."If one does not understand the gratuity of God’s invitation, then one understands nothing. God’s invitation is “always free”, thus posing the question: “In order to go to this banquet what should one pay?”. The entrance ticket is to be sick, to be poor, to be a sinner, that is, we must be in need, both in body and in soul. To be in need of care, healing, and love. And I, who am a practising Catholic, I go to mass every Sunday, I carry out my duties, and to me, nothing? The fact is that “he does not understand the gratuity of salvation; he thinks that salvation is the fruit of ‘I pay and you save me’”. Rather, “salvation is free, if you do not enter into such a dynamic of gratuity you will not understand anything”. Salvation, “is a gift from God to which I respond with another gift, the gift of my heart”. (…) They feel safe, they feel secure, they feel saved in their own way, outside of the banquet”, for “they have lost the meaning of gratuity; they have lost the meaning of love and they have lost a greater and more beautiful thing”, namely, “the capacity to feel themselves loved”, which leaves “no hope”; when you no longer feel loved, “you have lost everything”. (…) “we implore the Lord to save us from losing the capacity to feel loved”. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 7 November 2017)

A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
11:29-36

Brothers and sisters:
The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy
because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given him anything
that he may be repaid?

For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To God be glory forever. Amen.

From the Gospel according to Luke
14:12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

If one does not understand the gratuity of God’s invitation, then one understands nothing. God’s invitation is “always free”, thus posing the question: “In order to go to this banquet what should one pay?”. The entrance ticket is to be sick, to be poor, to be a sinner, that is, we must be in need, both in body and in soul. To be in need of care, healing, and love.

And I, who am a practising Catholic, I go to mass every Sunday, I carry out my duties, and to me, nothing? The fact is that “he does not understand the gratuity of salvation; he thinks that salvation is the fruit of ‘I pay and you save me’”. Rather, “salvation is free, if you do not enter into such a dynamic of gratuity you will not understand anything”. Salvation, “is a gift from God to which I respond with another gift, the gift of my heart”. (…) They feel safe, they feel secure, they feel saved in their own way, outside of the banquet”, for “they have lost the meaning of gratuity; they have lost the meaning of love and they have lost a greater and more beautiful thing”, namely, “the capacity to feel themselves loved”, which leaves “no hope”; when you no longer feel loved, “you have lost everything”. (…) “we implore the Lord to save us from losing the capacity to feel loved”. (Pope Francis, Santa Marta, 7 November 2017)

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Pope Leo XIV: Death is 'a hope for the future' – #Catholic – 
 
 Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass commemorating the faithful departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery on Nov. 2, 2025. / Daniel Ibáñez

Rome, Italy, Nov 2, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).
Celebrating Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at Rome’s Verano Cemetery, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to contemplate death “not so much as a recollection of the past, but above all as a hope for the future.”The pope said the Christian vision of death is not one of despair or nostalgia but of confident expectation rooted in the resurrection of Christ. “Our Christian faith, founded upon Christ’s Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future,” he said in his homily.He encouraged the faithful not to remain “in the sorrow for those who are no longer with us,” but instead to look forward “towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feast that awaits us.”“This hope for the future brings to life our remembrance and prayer today,” the pope continued. “This is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism. Instead, it is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life.”Pope Leo emphasized that love is the key to this journey. “It was out of love that God created us, through the love of his Son that he saves us from death, and in the joy of that same love, he desires that we live forever with him and with our loved ones,” he said.He urged Christians to anticipate eternal life by practicing charity in their daily lives. “Whenever we dwell in love and show charity to others, especially the weakest and most needy, then we can journey towards our goal, and even now anticipate it through an unbreakable bond with those who have gone before us.”“Love conquers death,” he said simply. “In love, God will gather us together with our loved ones. And, if we journey together in charity, our very lives become a prayer rising up to God, uniting us with the departed, drawing us closer to them as we await to meet them again in the joy of eternal life.”Concluding his homily, the pope invited those mourning loved ones to turn to the Risen Christ as their sure source of comfort and promise. “Even as our sorrow for those no longer among us remains etched in our hearts, let us entrust ourselves to the hope that does not disappoint,” he said. “Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light.”“The Lord awaits us,” he added. “And when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us. May this promise sustain us, dry our tears, and raise our gaze upwards toward the hope for the future that never fades.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV: Death is 'a hope for the future' – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass commemorating the faithful departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery on Nov. 2, 2025. / Daniel Ibáñez Rome, Italy, Nov 2, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA). Celebrating Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at Rome’s Verano Cemetery, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to contemplate death “not so much as a recollection of the past, but above all as a hope for the future.”The pope said the Christian vision of death is not one of despair or nostalgia but of confident expectation rooted in the resurrection of Christ. “Our Christian faith, founded upon Christ’s Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future,” he said in his homily.He encouraged the faithful not to remain “in the sorrow for those who are no longer with us,” but instead to look forward “towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feast that awaits us.”“This hope for the future brings to life our remembrance and prayer today,” the pope continued. “This is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism. Instead, it is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life.”Pope Leo emphasized that love is the key to this journey. “It was out of love that God created us, through the love of his Son that he saves us from death, and in the joy of that same love, he desires that we live forever with him and with our loved ones,” he said.He urged Christians to anticipate eternal life by practicing charity in their daily lives. “Whenever we dwell in love and show charity to others, especially the weakest and most needy, then we can journey towards our goal, and even now anticipate it through an unbreakable bond with those who have gone before us.”“Love conquers death,” he said simply. “In love, God will gather us together with our loved ones. And, if we journey together in charity, our very lives become a prayer rising up to God, uniting us with the departed, drawing us closer to them as we await to meet them again in the joy of eternal life.”Concluding his homily, the pope invited those mourning loved ones to turn to the Risen Christ as their sure source of comfort and promise. “Even as our sorrow for those no longer among us remains etched in our hearts, let us entrust ourselves to the hope that does not disappoint,” he said. “Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light.”“The Lord awaits us,” he added. “And when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us. May this promise sustain us, dry our tears, and raise our gaze upwards toward the hope for the future that never fades.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.


Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass commemorating the faithful departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery on Nov. 2, 2025. / Daniel Ibáñez

Rome, Italy, Nov 2, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).

Celebrating Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at Rome’s Verano Cemetery, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to contemplate death “not so much as a recollection of the past, but above all as a hope for the future.”

The pope said the Christian vision of death is not one of despair or nostalgia but of confident expectation rooted in the resurrection of Christ. “Our Christian faith, founded upon Christ’s Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future,” he said in his homily.

He encouraged the faithful not to remain “in the sorrow for those who are no longer with us,” but instead to look forward “towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feast that awaits us.”

“This hope for the future brings to life our remembrance and prayer today,” the pope continued. “This is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism. Instead, it is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life.”

Pope Leo emphasized that love is the key to this journey. “It was out of love that God created us, through the love of his Son that he saves us from death, and in the joy of that same love, he desires that we live forever with him and with our loved ones,” he said.

He urged Christians to anticipate eternal life by practicing charity in their daily lives. “Whenever we dwell in love and show charity to others, especially the weakest and most needy, then we can journey towards our goal, and even now anticipate it through an unbreakable bond with those who have gone before us.”

“Love conquers death,” he said simply. “In love, God will gather us together with our loved ones. And, if we journey together in charity, our very lives become a prayer rising up to God, uniting us with the departed, drawing us closer to them as we await to meet them again in the joy of eternal life.”

Concluding his homily, the pope invited those mourning loved ones to turn to the Risen Christ as their sure source of comfort and promise. “Even as our sorrow for those no longer among us remains etched in our hearts, let us entrust ourselves to the hope that does not disappoint,” he said. “Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light.”

“The Lord awaits us,” he added. “And when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us. May this promise sustain us, dry our tears, and raise our gaze upwards toward the hope for the future that never fades.”

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

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Pope Leo XIV urges ceasefire in Sudan, condemns post-election violence in Tanzania – #Catholic – 
 
 Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 2, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV issued urgent appeals for peace and humanitarian access in Sudan and Tanzania on Sunday, decrying escalating violence that has left civilians dead and aid blocked in parts of Africa.“With great sorrow I am following the tragic news coming from Sudan, especially from the city of El Fasher in the war-torn region of North Darfur,” the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on November 2. He condemned “indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians, and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid,” and called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.“I renew my heartfelt appeal to all parties involved to agree to a ceasefire and to urgently open humanitarian corridors,” he said, urging the international community “to act with determination and generosity” to support relief efforts.Turning to Tanzania, the pope expressed sadness over deadly clashes following recent elections, encouraging citizens “to avoid all forms of violence and to follow the path of dialogue.”The pope also greeted pilgrims from Italy and abroad, including youth and religious groups, and said that he would celebrate Mass that afternoon at Rome’s Verano Cemetery in remembrance of the faithful departed. “In spirit, I will visit the graves of my loved ones, and I will also pray for those who have no one to remember them,” he said. “Our heavenly Father knows and loves each of us, and he forgets no one.”Earlier, before the recitation of the Angelus, the pope reflected on the meaning of All Souls’ Day, telling the faithful that “the resurrection of the crucified Jesus from the dead sheds light on the destiny of each one of us.”Quoting from the Gospel of John, he said: “This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” From this, the pope explained, “the focus of God’s concerns is clear: that no one should perish forever and that everyone should have their own place and radiate their unique beauty.”He linked this hope to the previous day’s feast of All Saints, calling it “a communion of differences that extends God’s life to all his daughters and sons who wish to share in it.” Citing Pope Benedict XVI, he described eternal life as “being so immersed in an ocean of infinite love that time, before, and after no longer exist.”Concluding his reflection, the pope invited Christians to live this day as a remembrance filled with hope. “Let us commemorate, therefore, the future,” he said. “We are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV urges ceasefire in Sudan, condemns post-election violence in Tanzania – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Vatican Media Vatican City, Nov 2, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA). Pope Leo XIV issued urgent appeals for peace and humanitarian access in Sudan and Tanzania on Sunday, decrying escalating violence that has left civilians dead and aid blocked in parts of Africa.“With great sorrow I am following the tragic news coming from Sudan, especially from the city of El Fasher in the war-torn region of North Darfur,” the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on November 2. He condemned “indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians, and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid,” and called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.“I renew my heartfelt appeal to all parties involved to agree to a ceasefire and to urgently open humanitarian corridors,” he said, urging the international community “to act with determination and generosity” to support relief efforts.Turning to Tanzania, the pope expressed sadness over deadly clashes following recent elections, encouraging citizens “to avoid all forms of violence and to follow the path of dialogue.”The pope also greeted pilgrims from Italy and abroad, including youth and religious groups, and said that he would celebrate Mass that afternoon at Rome’s Verano Cemetery in remembrance of the faithful departed. “In spirit, I will visit the graves of my loved ones, and I will also pray for those who have no one to remember them,” he said. “Our heavenly Father knows and loves each of us, and he forgets no one.”Earlier, before the recitation of the Angelus, the pope reflected on the meaning of All Souls’ Day, telling the faithful that “the resurrection of the crucified Jesus from the dead sheds light on the destiny of each one of us.”Quoting from the Gospel of John, he said: “This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” From this, the pope explained, “the focus of God’s concerns is clear: that no one should perish forever and that everyone should have their own place and radiate their unique beauty.”He linked this hope to the previous day’s feast of All Saints, calling it “a communion of differences that extends God’s life to all his daughters and sons who wish to share in it.” Citing Pope Benedict XVI, he described eternal life as “being so immersed in an ocean of infinite love that time, before, and after no longer exist.”Concluding his reflection, the pope invited Christians to live this day as a remembrance filled with hope. “Let us commemorate, therefore, the future,” he said. “We are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.


Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 2, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV issued urgent appeals for peace and humanitarian access in Sudan and Tanzania on Sunday, decrying escalating violence that has left civilians dead and aid blocked in parts of Africa.

“With great sorrow I am following the tragic news coming from Sudan, especially from the city of El Fasher in the war-torn region of North Darfur,” the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square on November 2. He condemned “indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians, and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid,” and called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.

“I renew my heartfelt appeal to all parties involved to agree to a ceasefire and to urgently open humanitarian corridors,” he said, urging the international community “to act with determination and generosity” to support relief efforts.

Turning to Tanzania, the pope expressed sadness over deadly clashes following recent elections, encouraging citizens “to avoid all forms of violence and to follow the path of dialogue.”

The pope also greeted pilgrims from Italy and abroad, including youth and religious groups, and said that he would celebrate Mass that afternoon at Rome’s Verano Cemetery in remembrance of the faithful departed. “In spirit, I will visit the graves of my loved ones, and I will also pray for those who have no one to remember them,” he said. “Our heavenly Father knows and loves each of us, and he forgets no one.”

Earlier, before the recitation of the Angelus, the pope reflected on the meaning of All Souls’ Day, telling the faithful that “the resurrection of the crucified Jesus from the dead sheds light on the destiny of each one of us.”

Quoting from the Gospel of John, he said: “This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” From this, the pope explained, “the focus of God’s concerns is clear: that no one should perish forever and that everyone should have their own place and radiate their unique beauty.”

He linked this hope to the previous day’s feast of All Saints, calling it “a communion of differences that extends God’s life to all his daughters and sons who wish to share in it.” Citing Pope Benedict XVI, he described eternal life as “being so immersed in an ocean of infinite love that time, before, and after no longer exist.”

Concluding his reflection, the pope invited Christians to live this day as a remembrance filled with hope. “Let us commemorate, therefore, the future,” he said. “We are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb.”

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

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Brooklyn Franciscan brother traces his vocation to Paterson Diocese #Catholic – For almost 20 years, Brother Gregory Cellini has shared God’s love and inspired others to live fearlessly in that love as a part of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., across the Hudson River from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey.
Yet, the seeds of Brother Cellini ‘s vocation were planted in his youth in the Paterson Diocese at his home parish of St. Paul in Clifton, N.J., and with encouragement from several local priests. He attended weekly Mass at St. Paul’s with his late parents, Lucia and Ceasar, and siblings Robert, Celeste, Stephen, and Virginia. Brother Cellini, now 66, was also an altar server.
“I felt stirrings of the priesthood in high school,” said Brother Cellini. He was also influenced by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, who taught at the former St. Paul School in Clifton, where he graduated in 1973, and the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, who taught at Paul VI High School, also in Clifton, where he graduated in 1977. “All the sisters had love and compassion, fidelity to Christ, and joy,” he said.
Today, Brother Cellini is director of the Office of Mission, Ministry, and Interfaith Dialogue at St. Francis College. He also created and hosts Thank God For Monday, a weekly workplace talk show heard on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (EST) on WSOU 89.5 FM, the radio station of Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., or at www.wsou.net. He also authored a book, “Transform Yourself —Transform the World: A Franciscan View of Career.”

Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

For the past two years, Brother Cellini has led Franciscan Month in October — a growing movement to invite Franciscan college students and communities to live out Franciscan spirituality. A recent Vatican News Agency story featured the initiative, which went nationwide this year and ends on Oct. 30. Franciscan Month encourages people to embrace the message of St. Francis of Assisi, the community’s founder, emphasizing peace, humility, and care for creation.
“The world is broken in many ways, and it’s the Franciscan way that can help transform it,” Brother Cellini told the Vatican News Agency. “We want people of all ages to be inspired to live a Franciscan way, not just in October, but every day of the year.”
As a youth in the Paterson Diocese, Brother Cellini was also influenced by the late Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, pastor of St. Paul’s before becoming the sixth Bishop of Paterson, and Father Richard Rento, then from St. Brendan Parish, also in Clifton. He said the priests “were committed to Christ and serving those who were poor.”
Upon graduating from Paul VI, Brother Cellini began working full-time for Hoffman-La Roche pharmaceutical company in Nutley, N.J. He earned degrees from Rutgers Graduate School of Management in New Jersey and Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. Brother Cellini spent 29 years in the pharmaceutical industry before being “downsized” in 2006.
His conversion moment, however, arrived before that on May 25, 2005. Brother Cellini, an acolyte, prostrated himself in front of the tabernacle during Mass, looked at it, and said, “God, I’ve screwed this up enough. You take it over,” he said.
Before being laid off, Brother Cellini took career coaching sessions. His coach, a former Franciscan sister, said a career assessment he completed revealed his strengths lie in a religious vocation. She assigned him to visit two religious congregations. The third — the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn —seemed like a great fit.
“I loved the Franciscans’ simplicity, humility, and fraternity,” said Brother Cellini, who joined the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn in 2006.
Brother Cellini earned an advanced certificate in Franciscan Studies from St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. Throughout his discernment, he received encouragement from Paterson priests, Father Nicholas Bozza and Msgr. Raymond Kupke, and Msgr. Paul Bochicchio, of the Newark Archdiocese in New Jersey. Brother Cellini professed his final vows in 2012 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Brooklyn.
Local Franciscan Month activities have included animal blessings. In contrast, national events this year have included daily simultaneous Eucharistic adoration uniting members of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities. Also in 2025, Franciscan Media created FranciscanMonth.org, offering resources for living the Franciscan way.
Brother Cellini told BeaconNJ.org, “I’m where God wants me to be,” at St. Francis College.
“I take an interest in our college students, giving them a little perspective that could help them. I want them to see the good in themselves so they can share that good with others,” Brother Cellini said.
Click here to read the Vatican News Agency story on Franciscan Month.
 

Brooklyn Franciscan brother traces his vocation to Paterson Diocese #Catholic – For almost 20 years, Brother Gregory Cellini has shared God’s love and inspired others to live fearlessly in that love as a part of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., across the Hudson River from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey. Yet, the seeds of Brother Cellini ‘s vocation were planted in his youth in the Paterson Diocese at his home parish of St. Paul in Clifton, N.J., and with encouragement from several local priests. He attended weekly Mass at St. Paul’s with his late parents, Lucia and Ceasar, and siblings Robert, Celeste, Stephen, and Virginia. Brother Cellini, now 66, was also an altar server. “I felt stirrings of the priesthood in high school,” said Brother Cellini. He was also influenced by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, who taught at the former St. Paul School in Clifton, where he graduated in 1973, and the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, who taught at Paul VI High School, also in Clifton, where he graduated in 1977. “All the sisters had love and compassion, fidelity to Christ, and joy,” he said. Today, Brother Cellini is director of the Office of Mission, Ministry, and Interfaith Dialogue at St. Francis College. He also created and hosts Thank God For Monday, a weekly workplace talk show heard on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (EST) on WSOU 89.5 FM, the radio station of Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., or at www.wsou.net. He also authored a book, “Transform Yourself —Transform the World: A Franciscan View of Career.” Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. For the past two years, Brother Cellini has led Franciscan Month in October — a growing movement to invite Franciscan college students and communities to live out Franciscan spirituality. A recent Vatican News Agency story featured the initiative, which went nationwide this year and ends on Oct. 30. Franciscan Month encourages people to embrace the message of St. Francis of Assisi, the community’s founder, emphasizing peace, humility, and care for creation. “The world is broken in many ways, and it’s the Franciscan way that can help transform it,” Brother Cellini told the Vatican News Agency. “We want people of all ages to be inspired to live a Franciscan way, not just in October, but every day of the year.” As a youth in the Paterson Diocese, Brother Cellini was also influenced by the late Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, pastor of St. Paul’s before becoming the sixth Bishop of Paterson, and Father Richard Rento, then from St. Brendan Parish, also in Clifton. He said the priests “were committed to Christ and serving those who were poor.” Upon graduating from Paul VI, Brother Cellini began working full-time for Hoffman-La Roche pharmaceutical company in Nutley, N.J. He earned degrees from Rutgers Graduate School of Management in New Jersey and Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. Brother Cellini spent 29 years in the pharmaceutical industry before being “downsized” in 2006. His conversion moment, however, arrived before that on May 25, 2005. Brother Cellini, an acolyte, prostrated himself in front of the tabernacle during Mass, looked at it, and said, “God, I’ve screwed this up enough. You take it over,” he said. Before being laid off, Brother Cellini took career coaching sessions. His coach, a former Franciscan sister, said a career assessment he completed revealed his strengths lie in a religious vocation. She assigned him to visit two religious congregations. The third — the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn —seemed like a great fit. “I loved the Franciscans’ simplicity, humility, and fraternity,” said Brother Cellini, who joined the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn in 2006. Brother Cellini earned an advanced certificate in Franciscan Studies from St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. Throughout his discernment, he received encouragement from Paterson priests, Father Nicholas Bozza and Msgr. Raymond Kupke, and Msgr. Paul Bochicchio, of the Newark Archdiocese in New Jersey. Brother Cellini professed his final vows in 2012 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Brooklyn. Local Franciscan Month activities have included animal blessings. In contrast, national events this year have included daily simultaneous Eucharistic adoration uniting members of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities. Also in 2025, Franciscan Media created FranciscanMonth.org, offering resources for living the Franciscan way. Brother Cellini told BeaconNJ.org, “I’m where God wants me to be,” at St. Francis College. “I take an interest in our college students, giving them a little perspective that could help them. I want them to see the good in themselves so they can share that good with others,” Brother Cellini said. Click here to read the Vatican News Agency story on Franciscan Month.  

Brooklyn Franciscan brother traces his vocation to Paterson Diocese #Catholic –

For almost 20 years, Brother Gregory Cellini has shared God’s love and inspired others to live fearlessly in that love as a part of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., across the Hudson River from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey.

Yet, the seeds of Brother Cellini ‘s vocation were planted in his youth in the Paterson Diocese at his home parish of St. Paul in Clifton, N.J., and with encouragement from several local priests. He attended weekly Mass at St. Paul’s with his late parents, Lucia and Ceasar, and siblings Robert, Celeste, Stephen, and Virginia. Brother Cellini, now 66, was also an altar server.

“I felt stirrings of the priesthood in high school,” said Brother Cellini. He was also influenced by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, who taught at the former St. Paul School in Clifton, where he graduated in 1973, and the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, who taught at Paul VI High School, also in Clifton, where he graduated in 1977. “All the sisters had love and compassion, fidelity to Christ, and joy,” he said.

Today, Brother Cellini is director of the Office of Mission, Ministry, and Interfaith Dialogue at St. Francis College. He also created and hosts Thank God For Monday, a weekly workplace talk show heard on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. (EST) on WSOU 89.5 FM, the radio station of Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., or at www.wsou.net. He also authored a book, “Transform Yourself —Transform the World: A Franciscan View of Career.”


Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

For the past two years, Brother Cellini has led Franciscan Month in October — a growing movement to invite Franciscan college students and communities to live out Franciscan spirituality. A recent Vatican News Agency story featured the initiative, which went nationwide this year and ends on Oct. 30. Franciscan Month encourages people to embrace the message of St. Francis of Assisi, the community’s founder, emphasizing peace, humility, and care for creation.

“The world is broken in many ways, and it’s the Franciscan way that can help transform it,” Brother Cellini told the Vatican News Agency. “We want people of all ages to be inspired to live a Franciscan way, not just in October, but every day of the year.”

As a youth in the Paterson Diocese, Brother Cellini was also influenced by the late Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, pastor of St. Paul’s before becoming the sixth Bishop of Paterson, and Father Richard Rento, then from St. Brendan Parish, also in Clifton. He said the priests “were committed to Christ and serving those who were poor.”

Upon graduating from Paul VI, Brother Cellini began working full-time for Hoffman-La Roche pharmaceutical company in Nutley, N.J. He earned degrees from Rutgers Graduate School of Management in New Jersey and Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. Brother Cellini spent 29 years in the pharmaceutical industry before being “downsized” in 2006.

His conversion moment, however, arrived before that on May 25, 2005. Brother Cellini, an acolyte, prostrated himself in front of the tabernacle during Mass, looked at it, and said, “God, I’ve screwed this up enough. You take it over,” he said.

Before being laid off, Brother Cellini took career coaching sessions. His coach, a former Franciscan sister, said a career assessment he completed revealed his strengths lie in a religious vocation. She assigned him to visit two religious congregations. The third — the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn —seemed like a great fit.

“I loved the Franciscans’ simplicity, humility, and fraternity,” said Brother Cellini, who joined the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn in 2006.

Brother Cellini earned an advanced certificate in Franciscan Studies from St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. Throughout his discernment, he received encouragement from Paterson priests, Father Nicholas Bozza and Msgr. Raymond Kupke, and Msgr. Paul Bochicchio, of the Newark Archdiocese in New Jersey. Brother Cellini professed his final vows in 2012 at Our Lady of Angels Church in Brooklyn.

Local Franciscan Month activities have included animal blessings. In contrast, national events this year have included daily simultaneous Eucharistic adoration uniting members of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities. Also in 2025, Franciscan Media created FranciscanMonth.org, offering resources for living the Franciscan way.

Brother Cellini told BeaconNJ.org, “I’m where God wants me to be,” at St. Francis College.

“I take an interest in our college students, giving them a little perspective that could help them. I want them to see the good in themselves so they can share that good with others,” Brother Cellini said.

Click here to read the Vatican News Agency story on Franciscan Month.

 

For almost 20 years, Brother Gregory Cellini has shared God’s love and inspired others to live fearlessly in that love as a part of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., across the Hudson River from the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey. Yet, the seeds of Brother Cellini ‘s vocation were planted in his youth in the Paterson Diocese at his home parish of St. Paul in Clifton, N.J., and with encouragement from several local priests. He attended weekly Mass at St. Paul’s with his late parents, Lucia and Ceasar, and siblings Robert, Celeste, Stephen, and Virginia. Brother Cellini, now 66,

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Born Nov. 2, 1885, In Missouri, Harlow Shapley earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1913. From 1914 to 1921, he was posted at Mount Wilson Observatory, where he used the 60-inch telescope to study globular clusters and Cepheid variables. From 1921 to 1952, Shapley was the director of the Harvard College Observatory, helping establishContinue reading “Nov. 2, 1885: Birth of Harlow Shapley”

The post Nov. 2, 1885: Birth of Harlow Shapley appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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CNA explains: What does it mean to be a doctor of the Church? – #Catholic – 
 
 St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credi: cinemavision/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The Vatican on Saturday named St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. The 19th-century English saint — a former Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism — joined 37 other saints who have been given the same honor.Born in London and baptized into the Church of England in 1801, Newman was a popular and respected Anglican priest, theologian, and writer among his peers prior to his conversion to Catholicism in 1845. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847 and later made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879.As a Catholic, Newman deepened and contributed to the Church’s teaching, thanks to his broad knowledge of theology and his keen insight into modern times, grounded in the Gospel. His body of work includes 40 books and more than 20,000 letters.He died in Edgbaston, England, in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019.What is a ‘doctor of the Church’?The title “doctor of the Church” recognizes those canonized men and women who possessed profound knowledge, were superb teachers, and contributed significantly to the Church’s theology.Traditionally, the title has been granted on the basis of three requirements: the manifest holiness of a candidate affirmed by his or her canonization as a saint; the person’s eminence in doctrine demonstrated by the leaving behind of a body of teachings that made significant and lasting contributions to the life of the Church; and a formal declaration by the Church, usually by a pope.While their teachings are not considered infallible, being declared a “doctor” means that they contributed to the formulation of Christian teaching in at least one significant area and this teaching has impacted later generations. Not quite half of the saints revered as doctors in the Catholic Church are also honored in the Orthodox church since they lived before the Great Schism in 1054.The most recent doctor of the Church to be named was St. Irenaeus of Lyon, with the title “doctor unitatis” (“doctor of unity”), in 2022. Pope Francis had previously in 2015 named as a doctor of the Church St. Gregory of Narek, a 10th-century priest, monk, mystic, and poet beloved among Armenian Christians.Other notable saints who are doctors of the Church include St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Francis de Sales, among others.This story was first published on Aug. 1, 2025, and has been updated.

CNA explains: What does it mean to be a doctor of the Church? – #Catholic – St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credi: cinemavision/Shutterstock CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). The Vatican on Saturday named St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. The 19th-century English saint — a former Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism — joined 37 other saints who have been given the same honor.Born in London and baptized into the Church of England in 1801, Newman was a popular and respected Anglican priest, theologian, and writer among his peers prior to his conversion to Catholicism in 1845. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847 and later made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879.As a Catholic, Newman deepened and contributed to the Church’s teaching, thanks to his broad knowledge of theology and his keen insight into modern times, grounded in the Gospel. His body of work includes 40 books and more than 20,000 letters.He died in Edgbaston, England, in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019.What is a ‘doctor of the Church’?The title “doctor of the Church” recognizes those canonized men and women who possessed profound knowledge, were superb teachers, and contributed significantly to the Church’s theology.Traditionally, the title has been granted on the basis of three requirements: the manifest holiness of a candidate affirmed by his or her canonization as a saint; the person’s eminence in doctrine demonstrated by the leaving behind of a body of teachings that made significant and lasting contributions to the life of the Church; and a formal declaration by the Church, usually by a pope.While their teachings are not considered infallible, being declared a “doctor” means that they contributed to the formulation of Christian teaching in at least one significant area and this teaching has impacted later generations. Not quite half of the saints revered as doctors in the Catholic Church are also honored in the Orthodox church since they lived before the Great Schism in 1054.The most recent doctor of the Church to be named was St. Irenaeus of Lyon, with the title “doctor unitatis” (“doctor of unity”), in 2022. Pope Francis had previously in 2015 named as a doctor of the Church St. Gregory of Narek, a 10th-century priest, monk, mystic, and poet beloved among Armenian Christians.Other notable saints who are doctors of the Church include St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Francis de Sales, among others.This story was first published on Aug. 1, 2025, and has been updated.


St. Peter’s Basilica. / Credi: cinemavision/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The Vatican on Saturday named St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. The 19th-century English saint — a former Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism — joined 37 other saints who have been given the same honor.

Born in London and baptized into the Church of England in 1801, Newman was a popular and respected Anglican priest, theologian, and writer among his peers prior to his conversion to Catholicism in 1845. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1847 and later made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879.

As a Catholic, Newman deepened and contributed to the Church’s teaching, thanks to his broad knowledge of theology and his keen insight into modern times, grounded in the Gospel. His body of work includes 40 books and more than 20,000 letters.

He died in Edgbaston, England, in 1890. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 19, 2010, and canonized by Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019.

What is a ‘doctor of the Church’?

The title “doctor of the Church” recognizes those canonized men and women who possessed profound knowledge, were superb teachers, and contributed significantly to the Church’s theology.

Traditionally, the title has been granted on the basis of three requirements: the manifest holiness of a candidate affirmed by his or her canonization as a saint; the person’s eminence in doctrine demonstrated by the leaving behind of a body of teachings that made significant and lasting contributions to the life of the Church; and a formal declaration by the Church, usually by a pope.

While their teachings are not considered infallible, being declared a “doctor” means that they contributed to the formulation of Christian teaching in at least one significant area and this teaching has impacted later generations. 

Not quite half of the saints revered as doctors in the Catholic Church are also honored in the Orthodox church since they lived before the Great Schism in 1054.

The most recent doctor of the Church to be named was St. Irenaeus of Lyon, with the title “doctor unitatis” (“doctor of unity”), in 2022. Pope Francis had previously in 2015 named as a doctor of the Church St. Gregory of Narek, a 10th-century priest, monk, mystic, and poet beloved among Armenian Christians.

Other notable saints who are doctors of the Church include St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Francis de Sales, among others.

This story was first published on Aug. 1, 2025, and has been updated.

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Preparing for death with the Sister Servants of Mary #Catholic 
 
 The Sister Servants of Mary hold a procession with the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption at Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
When a 93-year-old Catholic father from New Orleans had a stroke, he knew he was prepared to die.Clinton Jacob attended adoration and Mass daily and was “rarely without a prayer book or rosary in hand,” according to his daughter, Kim DeSopo.“[He] never spoke of death with fear or sadness,” she told CNA. “He would simply say, ‘I’ll be going home.’”But not everyone feels prepared for death.The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, is a Catholic community of sisters who dedicate their lives to caring for the sick and dying in New Orleans and around the world. As nurses, they are at the bedside of the dying through the long nights, whether their patients are lifelong Catholics or have never thought about religion.The sisters often encounter patients as well as family members who are struggling to accept “an illness or imminent death,” Sister Catherine Bussen, a Servant of Mary, told CNA.“Many times, there is a need for reconciliation within the family, for a return to their faith, for acceptance of their condition, etc.,” Bussen said.As medical professionals, the sisters provide physical treatment, but they also walk with their patients throughout their illnesses, encouraging patients and families “always with the hope of eternal life,” Bussen said. DeSopo, Jacob’s daughter, called the sisters for support. The next day, Bussen arrived at their doorstep, and every night for two weeks, she sat at Jacob’s bedside. Bussen’s presence was “a gift,” DeSopo said. “Sister Catherine brought peace and calm into a time filled with stress and sorrow.”“Her prayers, patience, and care provided comfort not only to my father but also to my mother, who could finally sleep knowing someone trustworthy and compassionate was by his side,” DeSopo said, recalling Bussen’s “selfless dedication” and “unwavering faith.” Bussen was with Jacob when he died on Sept. 26, 2024. She prepared his body, cleaning him and sprinkling him with holy water, and then prayed with his wife and daughter.“I will never forget the care and dignity she gave him, even after his final breath,” DeSopo said.Sister Catherine (left) and Sister Dorian Salvador (right) pray for the soul of Kim DeSopa’s father on Oct. 1, 2024, at St. Clement of Rome Church in Metairie, Louisiana. Credit: Photo courtesy of Kim DeSopa and Sister CatherineMary at the foot of the cross “I was sick and you visited me.”This Scripture verse, Matthew 25:36, summarizes the charism of the Servants of Mary, according to Bussen. When they care for the sick, they care for Christ.The sisters will care for anyone in need, preferably within the sick person’s own home. In those who are suffering, the sisters “discover Jesus carrying his cross,” Bussen explained. “By caring for the sick, we believe that we are caring for Christ himself, who still suffers today in the suffering mystical body of Christ,” she said.Sister Angélica Ramos cares for Mrs. Hura, a resident of Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the SickFounded in Madrid, Spain, in the 1800s, the sisters care for the sick and dying in Louisiana, Kansas, and California as well as throughout Central and South America, Spain, France, England, Italy, Cameroon, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They run a hospital for the poor in Bamenda, Cameroon, as well as two missionary houses in Oaxaca, Mexico.The sisters look to Mary as an example as they accompany those who are suffering.“Although we are not able to take away someone’s cross, we are present to them, offering all to the Father, like Mary did at the cross of Jesus, that all suffering may be redemptive and fruitful,” Bussen said.“Every one of us sisters would tell you that it is an absolute privilege to be able to enter into the intimacy of a family’s home, listening to the dying, praying with them, and encouraging them on the final stage of their journey as their soul passes into eternity,” she said.Sister Servants of Mary Fatima Muñoz and Carmela Sanz (front) celebrate a May crowning in Kansas City, Kansas. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick“Our Catholic Christian faith is a beautiful comfort during these times because it is all about looking forward to the promised life to come, the whole goal of our lives, eternal life,” Bussen said.One woman from New Orleans received news no one wants to hear — she had a terminal illness. Though she was not religious, she knew she needed help and did not know who else to turn to, so she called the Servants of Mary.As they cared for her and helped her deal with her terminal diagnosis, the sisters learned the woman was “completely alone in the world,” said Bussen, who took care of her. Other people from the surrounding Catholic community volunteered to stay with her.During that time, the woman found a home in the Catholic Church and received the sacrament of baptism.Her “anxiety was transformed into peace,” said Bussen, who was with her as she died.“As the end drew near, she had a new faith family,” Bussen said. “She was no longer alone.”Remembering the dead The life of a sister Servant of Mary is “contemplative in action.” The sisters unite “our prayer life with our work — going about what we are doing, in all the business of daily life, in a prayerful spirit,” Bussen said.The sisters have time set aside for prayer and work, “but these two aspects cannot be separated from one another,” she continued. “The grace and light received in prayer flows into our work and ministry, and everything we experience in our ministry is taken to prayer.”The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick care for the sick and the dying. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the SickThroughout the year, the sisters take special care to remember the dead. In November especially, Bussen said the sisters “remember all our patients who have died with us by placing their names in our chapel and offering Masses for their eternal happiness.”“Even after a patient has passed,” she said, “and they no longer need physical care, our ministry continues by praying for their soul.”

Preparing for death with the Sister Servants of Mary #Catholic The Sister Servants of Mary hold a procession with the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption at Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA). When a 93-year-old Catholic father from New Orleans had a stroke, he knew he was prepared to die.Clinton Jacob attended adoration and Mass daily and was “rarely without a prayer book or rosary in hand,” according to his daughter, Kim DeSopo.“[He] never spoke of death with fear or sadness,” she told CNA. “He would simply say, ‘I’ll be going home.’”But not everyone feels prepared for death.The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, is a Catholic community of sisters who dedicate their lives to caring for the sick and dying in New Orleans and around the world. As nurses, they are at the bedside of the dying through the long nights, whether their patients are lifelong Catholics or have never thought about religion.The sisters often encounter patients as well as family members who are struggling to accept “an illness or imminent death,” Sister Catherine Bussen, a Servant of Mary, told CNA.“Many times, there is a need for reconciliation within the family, for a return to their faith, for acceptance of their condition, etc.,” Bussen said.As medical professionals, the sisters provide physical treatment, but they also walk with their patients throughout their illnesses, encouraging patients and families “always with the hope of eternal life,” Bussen said. DeSopo, Jacob’s daughter, called the sisters for support. The next day, Bussen arrived at their doorstep, and every night for two weeks, she sat at Jacob’s bedside. Bussen’s presence was “a gift,” DeSopo said. “Sister Catherine brought peace and calm into a time filled with stress and sorrow.”“Her prayers, patience, and care provided comfort not only to my father but also to my mother, who could finally sleep knowing someone trustworthy and compassionate was by his side,” DeSopo said, recalling Bussen’s “selfless dedication” and “unwavering faith.” Bussen was with Jacob when he died on Sept. 26, 2024. She prepared his body, cleaning him and sprinkling him with holy water, and then prayed with his wife and daughter.“I will never forget the care and dignity she gave him, even after his final breath,” DeSopo said.Sister Catherine (left) and Sister Dorian Salvador (right) pray for the soul of Kim DeSopa’s father on Oct. 1, 2024, at St. Clement of Rome Church in Metairie, Louisiana. Credit: Photo courtesy of Kim DeSopa and Sister CatherineMary at the foot of the cross “I was sick and you visited me.”This Scripture verse, Matthew 25:36, summarizes the charism of the Servants of Mary, according to Bussen. When they care for the sick, they care for Christ.The sisters will care for anyone in need, preferably within the sick person’s own home. In those who are suffering, the sisters “discover Jesus carrying his cross,” Bussen explained. “By caring for the sick, we believe that we are caring for Christ himself, who still suffers today in the suffering mystical body of Christ,” she said.Sister Angélica Ramos cares for Mrs. Hura, a resident of Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the SickFounded in Madrid, Spain, in the 1800s, the sisters care for the sick and dying in Louisiana, Kansas, and California as well as throughout Central and South America, Spain, France, England, Italy, Cameroon, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They run a hospital for the poor in Bamenda, Cameroon, as well as two missionary houses in Oaxaca, Mexico.The sisters look to Mary as an example as they accompany those who are suffering.“Although we are not able to take away someone’s cross, we are present to them, offering all to the Father, like Mary did at the cross of Jesus, that all suffering may be redemptive and fruitful,” Bussen said.“Every one of us sisters would tell you that it is an absolute privilege to be able to enter into the intimacy of a family’s home, listening to the dying, praying with them, and encouraging them on the final stage of their journey as their soul passes into eternity,” she said.Sister Servants of Mary Fatima Muñoz and Carmela Sanz (front) celebrate a May crowning in Kansas City, Kansas. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick“Our Catholic Christian faith is a beautiful comfort during these times because it is all about looking forward to the promised life to come, the whole goal of our lives, eternal life,” Bussen said.One woman from New Orleans received news no one wants to hear — she had a terminal illness. Though she was not religious, she knew she needed help and did not know who else to turn to, so she called the Servants of Mary.As they cared for her and helped her deal with her terminal diagnosis, the sisters learned the woman was “completely alone in the world,” said Bussen, who took care of her. Other people from the surrounding Catholic community volunteered to stay with her.During that time, the woman found a home in the Catholic Church and received the sacrament of baptism.Her “anxiety was transformed into peace,” said Bussen, who was with her as she died.“As the end drew near, she had a new faith family,” Bussen said. “She was no longer alone.”Remembering the dead The life of a sister Servant of Mary is “contemplative in action.” The sisters unite “our prayer life with our work — going about what we are doing, in all the business of daily life, in a prayerful spirit,” Bussen said.The sisters have time set aside for prayer and work, “but these two aspects cannot be separated from one another,” she continued. “The grace and light received in prayer flows into our work and ministry, and everything we experience in our ministry is taken to prayer.”The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick care for the sick and the dying. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the SickThroughout the year, the sisters take special care to remember the dead. In November especially, Bussen said the sisters “remember all our patients who have died with us by placing their names in our chapel and offering Masses for their eternal happiness.”“Even after a patient has passed,” she said, “and they no longer need physical care, our ministry continues by praying for their soul.”


The Sister Servants of Mary hold a procession with the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption at Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When a 93-year-old Catholic father from New Orleans had a stroke, he knew he was prepared to die.

Clinton Jacob attended adoration and Mass daily and was “rarely without a prayer book or rosary in hand,” according to his daughter, Kim DeSopo.

“[He] never spoke of death with fear or sadness,” she told CNA. “He would simply say, ‘I’ll be going home.’”

But not everyone feels prepared for death.

The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick, is a Catholic community of sisters who dedicate their lives to caring for the sick and dying in New Orleans and around the world. As nurses, they are at the bedside of the dying through the long nights, whether their patients are lifelong Catholics or have never thought about religion.

The sisters often encounter patients as well as family members who are struggling to accept “an illness or imminent death,” Sister Catherine Bussen, a Servant of Mary, told CNA.

“Many times, there is a need for reconciliation within the family, for a return to their faith, for acceptance of their condition, etc.,” Bussen said.

As medical professionals, the sisters provide physical treatment, but they also walk with their patients throughout their illnesses, encouraging patients and families “always with the hope of eternal life,” Bussen said. 

DeSopo, Jacob’s daughter, called the sisters for support. The next day, Bussen arrived at their doorstep, and every night for two weeks, she sat at Jacob’s bedside. 

Bussen’s presence was “a gift,” DeSopo said. “Sister Catherine brought peace and calm into a time filled with stress and sorrow.”

“Her prayers, patience, and care provided comfort not only to my father but also to my mother, who could finally sleep knowing someone trustworthy and compassionate was by his side,” DeSopo said, recalling Bussen’s “selfless dedication” and “unwavering faith.” 

Bussen was with Jacob when he died on Sept. 26, 2024. She prepared his body, cleaning him and sprinkling him with holy water, and then prayed with his wife and daughter.

“I will never forget the care and dignity she gave him, even after his final breath,” DeSopo said.

Sister Catherine (left) and Sister Dorian Salvador (right) pray for the soul of Kim DeSopa’s father on Oct. 1, 2024, at St. Clement of Rome Church in Metairie, Louisiana. Credit: Photo courtesy of Kim DeSopa and Sister Catherine
Sister Catherine (left) and Sister Dorian Salvador (right) pray for the soul of Kim DeSopa’s father on Oct. 1, 2024, at St. Clement of Rome Church in Metairie, Louisiana. Credit: Photo courtesy of Kim DeSopa and Sister Catherine

Mary at the foot of the cross 

“I was sick and you visited me.”

This Scripture verse, Matthew 25:36, summarizes the charism of the Servants of Mary, according to Bussen. 

When they care for the sick, they care for Christ.

The sisters will care for anyone in need, preferably within the sick person’s own home. In those who are suffering, the sisters “discover Jesus carrying his cross,” Bussen explained. 

“By caring for the sick, we believe that we are caring for Christ himself, who still suffers today in the suffering mystical body of Christ,” she said.

Sister Angélica Ramos cares for Mrs. Hura, a resident of Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick
Sister Angélica Ramos cares for Mrs. Hura, a resident of Mary Health of the Sick Convalescent Hospital in Newbury Park, California. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick

Founded in Madrid, Spain, in the 1800s, the sisters care for the sick and dying in Louisiana, Kansas, and California as well as throughout Central and South America, Spain, France, England, Italy, Cameroon, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They run a hospital for the poor in Bamenda, Cameroon, as well as two missionary houses in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The sisters look to Mary as an example as they accompany those who are suffering.

“Although we are not able to take away someone’s cross, we are present to them, offering all to the Father, like Mary did at the cross of Jesus, that all suffering may be redemptive and fruitful,” Bussen said.

“Every one of us sisters would tell you that it is an absolute privilege to be able to enter into the intimacy of a family’s home, listening to the dying, praying with them, and encouraging them on the final stage of their journey as their soul passes into eternity,” she said.

Sister Servants of Mary Fatima Muñoz and Carmela Sanz (front) celebrate a May crowning in Kansas City, Kansas. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick
Sister Servants of Mary Fatima Muñoz and Carmela Sanz (front) celebrate a May crowning in Kansas City, Kansas. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick

“Our Catholic Christian faith is a beautiful comfort during these times because it is all about looking forward to the promised life to come, the whole goal of our lives, eternal life,” Bussen said.

One woman from New Orleans received news no one wants to hear — she had a terminal illness. Though she was not religious, she knew she needed help and did not know who else to turn to, so she called the Servants of Mary.

As they cared for her and helped her deal with her terminal diagnosis, the sisters learned the woman was “completely alone in the world,” said Bussen, who took care of her. Other people from the surrounding Catholic community volunteered to stay with her.

During that time, the woman found a home in the Catholic Church and received the sacrament of baptism.

Her “anxiety was transformed into peace,” said Bussen, who was with her as she died.

“As the end drew near, she had a new faith family,” Bussen said. “She was no longer alone.”

Remembering the dead 

The life of a sister Servant of Mary is “contemplative in action.” 

The sisters unite “our prayer life with our work — going about what we are doing, in all the business of daily life, in a prayerful spirit,” Bussen said.

The sisters have time set aside for prayer and work, “but these two aspects cannot be separated from one another,” she continued. “The grace and light received in prayer flows into our work and ministry, and everything we experience in our ministry is taken to prayer.”

The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick care for the sick and the dying. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick
The Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick care for the sick and the dying. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick

Throughout the year, the sisters take special care to remember the dead. 

In November especially, Bussen said the sisters “remember all our patients who have died with us by placing their names in our chapel and offering Masses for their eternal happiness.”

“Even after a patient has passed,” she said, “and they no longer need physical care, our ministry continues by praying for their soul.”

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  November 1: Dip into the Bay of Rainbows Daylight saving time ends today at 2 A.M. So, if you are in an area that observes daylight saving time, your clocks will “fall back” from 1:59 A.M. daylight time to 1 A.M. standardContinue reading “The Sky Today on Sunday, November 2: Neptune nestles between Saturn and the Moon”

The post The Sky Today on Sunday, November 2: Neptune nestles between Saturn and the Moon appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

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Immortal God, holy Lord,
Father and Protector of all You have created,
we raise our hearts to You today for those
who have passed out of this mortal life.

In Your loving mercy, Father of all,
be pleased to receive them in Your heavenly company,
and forgive the failings and faults
they may have done from human frailty.

Your only Son, Christ, our Saviour,
suffered so cruelly that
He might deliver them from the second death.
By his merits may they share in the glory …

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Gospel and Word of the Day – 02 November 2025 – A reading from the Book of Wisdom 3:1-9 The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.   From the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 5:5-11 Brothers and sisters: Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.From the Gospel according to John 6:37-40 Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), Paul told us. Hope draws us and gives meaning to our life. I do not see the afterlife, but hope is God’s gift that draws us toward life, toward eternal joy. Hope is an anchor that we have from the other side, and we, grasping the rope, sustain ourselves (cf. Heb 6:18-19). ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him’. And repeat this in times of joy and in bad times, in times of death, let us say this. This certitude is a gift of God, because we can never have hope by our own efforts. We must ask for it. Hope is a freely given gift that we never deserve: it is given; it is offered. It is grace. And then, the Lord confirms this, this hope that does not disappoint. “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (Jn 6:37). This is the aim of hope: to go to Jesus. And “him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:37-38). The Lord who welcomes us there, where the anchor lies. Life in hope is to live like this: grasping, with the rope in hand, strong, knowing that the anchor is below. And this anchor does not disappoint; it does not disappoint. Today, in the thoughts of many brothers and sisters who have passed on, it will do us good to look at the cemeteries and to look heavenward. And to repeat, like Job: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I myself will see him. My eyes shall behold him, and not another’. And this is the strength that hope gives us, this freely given gift that is the virtue of hope. May the Lord give it to all of us. (Pope Francis, Homily, Pontifical Teutonic College Santa Maria in Camposanto, 2 November 2020)

A reading from the Book of Wisdom
3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

 

From the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
5:5-11

Brothers and sisters:
Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

From the Gospel according to John
6:37-40

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), Paul told us. Hope draws us and gives meaning to our life. I do not see the afterlife, but hope is God’s gift that draws us toward life, toward eternal joy. Hope is an anchor that we have from the other side, and we, grasping the rope, sustain ourselves (cf. Heb 6:18-19). ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him’. And repeat this in times of joy and in bad times, in times of death, let us say this.

This certitude is a gift of God, because we can never have hope by our own efforts. We must ask for it. Hope is a freely given gift that we never deserve: it is given; it is offered. It is grace.

And then, the Lord confirms this, this hope that does not disappoint. “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (Jn 6:37). This is the aim of hope: to go to Jesus. And “him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:37-38). The Lord who welcomes us there, where the anchor lies. Life in hope is to live like this: grasping, with the rope in hand, strong, knowing that the anchor is below. And this anchor does not disappoint; it does not disappoint.

Today, in the thoughts of many brothers and sisters who have passed on, it will do us good to look at the cemeteries and to look heavenward. And to repeat, like Job: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I myself will see him. My eyes shall behold him, and not another’. And this is the strength that hope gives us, this freely given gift that is the virtue of hope. May the Lord give it to all of us. (Pope Francis, Homily, Pontifical Teutonic College Santa Maria in Camposanto, 2 November 2020)

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Detainees denied communion at Illinois detention facility – #Catholic – 
 
 Scene from Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA

Chicago, Illinois, Nov 1, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).
Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado celebrated a Mass Nov. 1 outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees.Maldonado, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago, and a group of eight spiritual leaders sought to bring Holy Communion to detainees and were not admitted. Mass organizers said they followed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines to obtain access and submitted the request weeks in advance.An estimated 2,000 Catholics attended the outdoor Mass including Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy and longtime advocate for immigrant rights in the Chicago area. Persch said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Obtaining access initially took time when she first began visiting the facility a decade ago, she said.Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy, said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA“Our motto is peacefully, respectfully, but never take no for an answer, so we kept working with ICE,” Persch said. “Finally, we got inside.”Father David Inczauskis, S.J., who worked with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and Broadview, Illinois’ mayor to request access, said, “On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make, fitting with our Constitution and with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.”A full slate of information about who is inside the facility is lacking, he said. But family members of detainees say their loved ones are inside desiring communion, he said. Authorities cited “safety reasons” for denying the group access, Inczauskis said.“The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It’s such an important thing for people to be able to receive communion. To be denied that right, that opportunity, as Catholics, is devastating,” Inczauskis said.”On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make,’ said Father David Inczauskis, S.J., shown here speaking to one of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNAMichael Okinczyc-Cruz, executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, cited media reports saying people are being kept at the Broadview facility for days, sleeping on floors, having medications withheld, with no showers.The American Civil Liberties Union and Marshall Justice Center sued the federal government Oct. 31, saying migrants are housed in inhumane conditions at Broadview and denied their right to access counsel. The Department of Homeland Security has vigorously denied the allegations of subprime conditions.Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead counsel on the suit said in a statement, “Community members are being kidnapped off the streets, packed in hold cells, denied food, medical care, and basic necessities, and forced to sign away their legal rights. This is a vicious abuse of power and gross violation of basic human rights by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. It must end now.”  A view of some of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview ICE detention center. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNAThe suit alleges ICE agents at Broadview deny detainees sufficient food, water, hygiene, and medical care. The suit alleged detainees are deprived of sleep, privacy, menstrual products, and the ability to shower.   President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.Genin De la Peña is a Chicago resident who said she attended the Mass at Broadview “because others cannot, I want to support,” she said.

Detainees denied communion at Illinois detention facility – #Catholic – Scene from Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA Chicago, Illinois, Nov 1, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA). Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado celebrated a Mass Nov. 1 outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees.Maldonado, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago, and a group of eight spiritual leaders sought to bring Holy Communion to detainees and were not admitted. Mass organizers said they followed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines to obtain access and submitted the request weeks in advance.An estimated 2,000 Catholics attended the outdoor Mass including Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy and longtime advocate for immigrant rights in the Chicago area. Persch said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Obtaining access initially took time when she first began visiting the facility a decade ago, she said.Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy, said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA“Our motto is peacefully, respectfully, but never take no for an answer, so we kept working with ICE,” Persch said. “Finally, we got inside.”Father David Inczauskis, S.J., who worked with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and Broadview, Illinois’ mayor to request access, said, “On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make, fitting with our Constitution and with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.”A full slate of information about who is inside the facility is lacking, he said. But family members of detainees say their loved ones are inside desiring communion, he said. Authorities cited “safety reasons” for denying the group access, Inczauskis said.“The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It’s such an important thing for people to be able to receive communion. To be denied that right, that opportunity, as Catholics, is devastating,” Inczauskis said.”On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make,’ said Father David Inczauskis, S.J., shown here speaking to one of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNAMichael Okinczyc-Cruz, executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, cited media reports saying people are being kept at the Broadview facility for days, sleeping on floors, having medications withheld, with no showers.The American Civil Liberties Union and Marshall Justice Center sued the federal government Oct. 31, saying migrants are housed in inhumane conditions at Broadview and denied their right to access counsel. The Department of Homeland Security has vigorously denied the allegations of subprime conditions.Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead counsel on the suit said in a statement, “Community members are being kidnapped off the streets, packed in hold cells, denied food, medical care, and basic necessities, and forced to sign away their legal rights. This is a vicious abuse of power and gross violation of basic human rights by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. It must end now.”  A view of some of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview ICE detention center. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNAThe suit alleges ICE agents at Broadview deny detainees sufficient food, water, hygiene, and medical care. The suit alleged detainees are deprived of sleep, privacy, menstrual products, and the ability to shower.   President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.Genin De la Peña is a Chicago resident who said she attended the Mass at Broadview “because others cannot, I want to support,” she said.


Scene from Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA

Chicago, Illinois, Nov 1, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).

Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado celebrated a Mass Nov. 1 outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees.

Maldonado, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago, and a group of eight spiritual leaders sought to bring Holy Communion to detainees and were not admitted. Mass organizers said they followed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s guidelines to obtain access and submitted the request weeks in advance.

An estimated 2,000 Catholics attended the outdoor Mass including Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy and longtime advocate for immigrant rights in the Chicago area.

Persch said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Obtaining access initially took time when she first began visiting the facility a decade ago, she said.

Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy, said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy, said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA

“Our motto is peacefully, respectfully, but never take no for an answer, so we kept working with ICE,” Persch said. “Finally, we got inside.”

Father David Inczauskis, S.J., who worked with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and Broadview, Illinois’ mayor to request access, said, “On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make, fitting with our Constitution and with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.”

A full slate of information about who is inside the facility is lacking, he said. But family members of detainees say their loved ones are inside desiring communion, he said. Authorities cited “safety reasons” for denying the group access, Inczauskis said.

“The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It’s such an important thing for people to be able to receive communion. To be denied that right, that opportunity, as Catholics, is devastating,” Inczauskis said.

"On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make,' said Father David Inczauskis, S.J., shown here speaking to one of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
“On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That’s a reasonable request to make,’ said Father David Inczauskis, S.J., shown here speaking to one of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA

Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, cited media reports saying people are being kept at the Broadview facility for days, sleeping on floors, having medications withheld, with no showers.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Marshall Justice Center sued the federal government Oct. 31, saying migrants are housed in inhumane conditions at Broadview and denied their right to access counsel. The Department of Homeland Security has vigorously denied the allegations of subprime conditions.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office and lead counsel on the suit said in a statement, “Community members are being kidnapped off the streets, packed in hold cells, denied food, medical care, and basic necessities, and forced to sign away their legal rights. This is a vicious abuse of power and gross violation of basic human rights by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. It must end now.”  

A view of some of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview ICE detention center. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
A view of some of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview ICE detention center. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA

The suit alleges ICE agents at Broadview deny detainees sufficient food, water, hygiene, and medical care. The suit alleged detainees are deprived of sleep, privacy, menstrual products, and the ability to shower.   

President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.

Genin De la Peña is a Chicago resident who said she attended the Mass at Broadview “because others cannot, I want to support,” she said.

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Hundreds killed in Darfur hospital massacre amid Sudan’s deadly civil war – #Catholic – 
 
 Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 1, 2025 / 12:58 pm (CNA).
Graphic evidence emerged Friday of large-scale massacres of civilians in Sudan, including satellite imagery of bodies and blood-stained ground taken outside a hospital in Darfur.More than 460 patients and their family members were reported shot and killed in the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Tuesday, after the Sudanese army surrendered the city to paramilitary fighters on Sunday following an 18-month siege.The government’s forces remain in control of the capital city of Khartoum, according to news reports.The massacre is the latest tragedy in the conflict that has consumed the western Darfur region since full-scale civil war broke out in 2023. The war between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 people and displaced as many as 14 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relation’s Global Conflict Tracker.UN: It’s the world’s ‘most devastating’ humanitarian crisisIn January, the U.S. State Department declared that the RSF had committed genocide against non-Arab ethic groups in Sudan. The United Nations has described the situation in Sudan as “most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world.” Former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, earlier this year, said that “men and boys ¾ even infants ¾ on an ethnic basis” had been killed and that the RSF fighters “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” CNN reported.The atrocities that have taken place in Sudan constitute ethnic cleansing, according to Human Rights Watch, which in its 2024 report said “crimes against humanity and widespread war crimes were committed in the context of an ethnic cleansing campaign against the ethnic Massalit and other non-Arab populations.” The Republic of Sudan, in northeastern Africa, has a population of about 50 million people, 90.7% of whom are Muslim, with Christians forming the largest minority. In 2019, a revolution toppled President Omar al-Bashir, ending decades of authoritarian rule. Two years later, military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ousted civilian leaders and seized power. Their forces turned on each other in April 2023, plunging the country into war.In September, Pope Leo XIV called on Sudan’s warring leaders to end the violence in the country in order to get much-needed humanitarian assistance to the 260,000 people said to be trapped in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in el-Fasher. “Dramatic news is coming from Sudan, particularly from Darfur,” Pope Leo said. “In el-Fasher many civilians are trapped in the city, victims of famine and violence. In Tarasin, a devastating landslide has caused numerous deaths, leaving behind pain and despair. And as if that weren’t enough, the spread of cholera is threatening hundreds of thousands of people who are already exhausted.”“I make a heartfelt appeal to those in positions of responsibility and to the international community to ensure humanitarian corridors are open and to implement a coordinated response to stop this humanitarian catastrophe,” the Pope said.“It is a forgotten war because the people are really forgotten,” Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu in South Sudan told OSV News.“Unfortunately, it’s a forgotten war for the international community, but it’s not forgotten for the weapon merchants, who are making a lot of profits out of this war,” he told the outlet.According to the United Nations, Sudan is becoming “the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history.” As many as 24.6 million people ¾ more than half the population ¾ are “food insecure,” according to the U.N.In February of this year, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas agencies warned that the Trump administration’s freezing of assistance through U.S. Agency for International Development would exacerbate an already dangerous situation.This story was first published by the National Catholic Register.

Hundreds killed in Darfur hospital massacre amid Sudan’s deadly civil war – #Catholic – Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 1, 2025 / 12:58 pm (CNA). Graphic evidence emerged Friday of large-scale massacres of civilians in Sudan, including satellite imagery of bodies and blood-stained ground taken outside a hospital in Darfur.More than 460 patients and their family members were reported shot and killed in the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Tuesday, after the Sudanese army surrendered the city to paramilitary fighters on Sunday following an 18-month siege.The government’s forces remain in control of the capital city of Khartoum, according to news reports.The massacre is the latest tragedy in the conflict that has consumed the western Darfur region since full-scale civil war broke out in 2023. The war between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 people and displaced as many as 14 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relation’s Global Conflict Tracker.UN: It’s the world’s ‘most devastating’ humanitarian crisisIn January, the U.S. State Department declared that the RSF had committed genocide against non-Arab ethic groups in Sudan. The United Nations has described the situation in Sudan as “most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world.” Former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, earlier this year, said that “men and boys ¾ even infants ¾ on an ethnic basis” had been killed and that the RSF fighters “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” CNN reported.The atrocities that have taken place in Sudan constitute ethnic cleansing, according to Human Rights Watch, which in its 2024 report said “crimes against humanity and widespread war crimes were committed in the context of an ethnic cleansing campaign against the ethnic Massalit and other non-Arab populations.” The Republic of Sudan, in northeastern Africa, has a population of about 50 million people, 90.7% of whom are Muslim, with Christians forming the largest minority. In 2019, a revolution toppled President Omar al-Bashir, ending decades of authoritarian rule. Two years later, military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ousted civilian leaders and seized power. Their forces turned on each other in April 2023, plunging the country into war.In September, Pope Leo XIV called on Sudan’s warring leaders to end the violence in the country in order to get much-needed humanitarian assistance to the 260,000 people said to be trapped in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in el-Fasher. “Dramatic news is coming from Sudan, particularly from Darfur,” Pope Leo said. “In el-Fasher many civilians are trapped in the city, victims of famine and violence. In Tarasin, a devastating landslide has caused numerous deaths, leaving behind pain and despair. And as if that weren’t enough, the spread of cholera is threatening hundreds of thousands of people who are already exhausted.”“I make a heartfelt appeal to those in positions of responsibility and to the international community to ensure humanitarian corridors are open and to implement a coordinated response to stop this humanitarian catastrophe,” the Pope said.“It is a forgotten war because the people are really forgotten,” Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu in South Sudan told OSV News.“Unfortunately, it’s a forgotten war for the international community, but it’s not forgotten for the weapon merchants, who are making a lot of profits out of this war,” he told the outlet.According to the United Nations, Sudan is becoming “the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history.” As many as 24.6 million people ¾ more than half the population ¾ are “food insecure,” according to the U.N.In February of this year, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas agencies warned that the Trump administration’s freezing of assistance through U.S. Agency for International Development would exacerbate an already dangerous situation.This story was first published by the National Catholic Register.


Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 1, 2025 / 12:58 pm (CNA).

Graphic evidence emerged Friday of large-scale massacres of civilians in Sudan, including satellite imagery of bodies and blood-stained ground taken outside a hospital in Darfur.

More than 460 patients and their family members were reported shot and killed in the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Tuesday, after the Sudanese army surrendered the city to paramilitary fighters on Sunday following an 18-month siege.

The government’s forces remain in control of the capital city of Khartoum, according to news reports.

The massacre is the latest tragedy in the conflict that has consumed the western Darfur region since full-scale civil war broke out in 2023. 

The war between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 people and displaced as many as 14 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relation’s Global Conflict Tracker.

UN: It’s the world’s ‘most devastating’ humanitarian crisis

In January, the U.S. State Department declared that the RSF had committed genocide against non-Arab ethic groups in Sudan. The United Nations has described the situation in Sudan as “most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world.” 

Former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, earlier this year, said that “men and boys ¾ even infants ¾ on an ethnic basis” had been killed and that the RSF fighters “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” CNN reported.

The atrocities that have taken place in Sudan constitute ethnic cleansing, according to Human Rights Watch, which in its 2024 report said “crimes against humanity and widespread war crimes were committed in the context of an ethnic cleansing campaign against the ethnic Massalit and other non-Arab populations.” 

The Republic of Sudan, in northeastern Africa, has a population of about 50 million people, 90.7% of whom are Muslim, with Christians forming the largest minority. In 2019, a revolution toppled President Omar al-Bashir, ending decades of authoritarian rule. Two years later, military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ousted civilian leaders and seized power. Their forces turned on each other in April 2023, plunging the country into war.

In September, Pope Leo XIV called on Sudan’s warring leaders to end the violence in the country in order to get much-needed humanitarian assistance to the 260,000 people said to be trapped in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in el-Fasher. 

“Dramatic news is coming from Sudan, particularly from Darfur,” Pope Leo said. “In el-Fasher many civilians are trapped in the city, victims of famine and violence. In Tarasin, a devastating landslide has caused numerous deaths, leaving behind pain and despair. And as if that weren’t enough, the spread of cholera is threatening hundreds of thousands of people who are already exhausted.”

“I make a heartfelt appeal to those in positions of responsibility and to the international community to ensure humanitarian corridors are open and to implement a coordinated response to stop this humanitarian catastrophe,” the Pope said.

“It is a forgotten war because the people are really forgotten,” Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu in South Sudan told OSV News.

“Unfortunately, it’s a forgotten war for the international community, but it’s not forgotten for the weapon merchants, who are making a lot of profits out of this war,” he told the outlet.

According to the United Nations, Sudan is becoming “the world’s largest hunger crisis in recent history.” As many as 24.6 million people ¾ more than half the population ¾ are “food insecure,” according to the U.N.

In February of this year, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas agencies warned that the Trump administration’s freezing of assistance through U.S. Agency for International Development would exacerbate an already dangerous situation.

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register.

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Drawing inspiration from Newman: 'Without his legacy, perhaps I would not be Catholic today' – #Catholic – 
 
 Ryan Marr is an expert on the English saint and is a former associate editor of the Newman Studies Journal. / Credit: Courtesy of Ryan Marr

Vatican City, Nov 1, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).
St. John Henry Newman, the Anglican clergyman who converted to Catholicism but whom many in both London and Rome distrusted for years, stands today as a beacon that continues to inspire many to embrace the Catholic faith as he did.“I am personally grateful for the testimony of Newman’s life, because without his legacy I might not be Catholic today,” confesses Ryan “Bud” Marr, a renowned scholar of the English saint, upon whom Pope Leo XIV conferred Saturday the title of doctor of the Church.Newman’s memorable quote — “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant” — was pivotal in Marr’s personal conversion. When he first read it, “I was studying to be a Protestant pastor,” he revealed in a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.”I immediately understood that I had to read the rest of Newman’s essay to put to the test the truth of his statement. I couldn’t simply ignore that challenge and continue on the path I was on,” he explained.The expert, a former associate editor of the Newman Studies Journal, added that “there are countless similar testimonies” to his and that they will continue to grow in the coming years in light of Newman’s designation as the 38th doctor of the Church.For Marr, Newman possessed a singular gift: “Expressing fundamental truths in brief and memorable phrases,” capable of transcending time and touching consciences. This is why so many people, over more than a century, have found in his writings a path to conversion.Development of doctrine, a decisive contributionFor Marr, Newman’s most significant contribution to contemporary Catholic theology is on the subject of the development of doctrine. “It’s not that Newman wrote something entirely new,” he explained.“Other Catholic theologians, especially St. Vincent of Lérins, had already addressed the topic of doctrinal development. But Newman synthesized diverse ideas into a unified and compelling theory, so that any subsequent theologian has had to start from his “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” when addressing this topic,” he pointed out.This vision, he added, was decisive for 20th-century thought. Newman showed that “the Church’s understanding of revealed truths deepens over time.” “In some cases, the Church offers new formulations — as happened with the Nicene Creed — but these developments always affirm and clarify what has been handed down,” he emphasized.“The deposit of faith is immutable, but our understanding of that deposit actually expands,” he added. Each generation, Marr emphasized, must “proclaim the truth of the faith within its own linguistic categories,” but always preserving the “essential while facing the challenges of its time.”Conscience and the sensus fidei as means of Christian discernmentWhen it was announced that Newman would be proclaimed a doctor of the Church, Marr recalled, “some observers predicted that Pope Leo XIV might bestow upon him the title of Doctor of Conscience.” This is no coincidence. Newman, he noted, dedicated some of his most influential writings to the “centrality of conscience in the journey to God,” both during his Anglican period and in his new life as a Catholic.Like St. Thomas Aquinas, Marr explained, “Newman believed that a person should never act against the dictates of their conscience,” because doing so “would undermine the very coherence of the moral life.”However, the former champion of Anglicanism, who converted to Catholicism at the age of 45, also warned about the human tendency toward “self-deception,” Marr explained. The scholar noted that Newman insisted on the need to “form the conscience according to divine and natural law.”In his 1874 “Letter to the Duke of Norfolk,” one of his most celebrated essays, Newman cautioned against a “false notion of conscience,” identified with the right to one’s own will, an idea that, according to Marr, “reflects the modern mindset” that values ​​subjective independence over objective truth.He therefore pointed out that “as Catholics, we must work to restore the true vision of conscience, in line with the teaching of theological giants like Aquinas and Newman.”The sensus fidei is not ‘a populist counterweight to the hierarchy’This theme is intertwined with the concept of the sensus fidei, the supernatural sense of the faith bestowed upon the baptized: “Newman was ahead of his time in recognizing that the lay faithful have an essential role in the defense and transmission of tradition. The priesthood of all believers means, in part, that the baptized possess a special sense of the faith, a capacity that we must strengthen through devotion and study.”Marr noted that, for Newman, this sense also had a communal dimension, the sensus fidelium, or sense of the faithful. “He did not understand it as a populist counterweight to the hierarchy,” he clarified. “He knew that the pope and the bishops exercise a divinely instituted authority, but he remembered that there have been times in history — such as during the Arian controversy — when the laity defended the faith, even when some pastors wavered.”A prophet in the face of modern apostasyWith prophetic clarity, the expert noted, Newman “foresaw the growing irreligion of the modern world.” In his 1873 sermon “The Infidelity of the Future,” Newman warned that the trials of the future would be so great “that they would shake even hearts as valiant as those of St. Athanasius or St. Gregory the Great,” Marr said.Newman, he explained, perceived that the greatest danger of modernity would be precisely the spread of unbelief, a society that is “simply irreligious.”However, faced with this bleak outlook, “Newman neither called for retreat nor proposed authoritarian strategies.” He courageously confronted the philosophical ideas of his time and offered a compelling explanation of the “reasonableness of the Christian faith,” deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and in dialogue with modern philosophy, he noted.Newman and the intellectual mission of the laityNewman, the expert continued, understood the life of the Catholic Church as something “dynamic,” where “all members of the Body of Christ have an active role in the proclamation of the truth.”The fathers of the Second Vatican Council took up this vision, presenting it as an urgent call to contemporary Catholics. The expert warned that it is important to understand this call well: “The laity do not fulfill their vocation by becoming more clerical, but by sanctifying the world according to their own specific mission, bringing the Gospel to education, law, medicine, and culture.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Drawing inspiration from Newman: 'Without his legacy, perhaps I would not be Catholic today' – #Catholic – Ryan Marr is an expert on the English saint and is a former associate editor of the Newman Studies Journal. / Credit: Courtesy of Ryan Marr Vatican City, Nov 1, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA). St. John Henry Newman, the Anglican clergyman who converted to Catholicism but whom many in both London and Rome distrusted for years, stands today as a beacon that continues to inspire many to embrace the Catholic faith as he did.“I am personally grateful for the testimony of Newman’s life, because without his legacy I might not be Catholic today,” confesses Ryan “Bud” Marr, a renowned scholar of the English saint, upon whom Pope Leo XIV conferred Saturday the title of doctor of the Church.Newman’s memorable quote — “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant” — was pivotal in Marr’s personal conversion. When he first read it, “I was studying to be a Protestant pastor,” he revealed in a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.”I immediately understood that I had to read the rest of Newman’s essay to put to the test the truth of his statement. I couldn’t simply ignore that challenge and continue on the path I was on,” he explained.The expert, a former associate editor of the Newman Studies Journal, added that “there are countless similar testimonies” to his and that they will continue to grow in the coming years in light of Newman’s designation as the 38th doctor of the Church.For Marr, Newman possessed a singular gift: “Expressing fundamental truths in brief and memorable phrases,” capable of transcending time and touching consciences. This is why so many people, over more than a century, have found in his writings a path to conversion.Development of doctrine, a decisive contributionFor Marr, Newman’s most significant contribution to contemporary Catholic theology is on the subject of the development of doctrine. “It’s not that Newman wrote something entirely new,” he explained.“Other Catholic theologians, especially St. Vincent of Lérins, had already addressed the topic of doctrinal development. But Newman synthesized diverse ideas into a unified and compelling theory, so that any subsequent theologian has had to start from his “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” when addressing this topic,” he pointed out.This vision, he added, was decisive for 20th-century thought. Newman showed that “the Church’s understanding of revealed truths deepens over time.” “In some cases, the Church offers new formulations — as happened with the Nicene Creed — but these developments always affirm and clarify what has been handed down,” he emphasized.“The deposit of faith is immutable, but our understanding of that deposit actually expands,” he added. Each generation, Marr emphasized, must “proclaim the truth of the faith within its own linguistic categories,” but always preserving the “essential while facing the challenges of its time.”Conscience and the sensus fidei as means of Christian discernmentWhen it was announced that Newman would be proclaimed a doctor of the Church, Marr recalled, “some observers predicted that Pope Leo XIV might bestow upon him the title of Doctor of Conscience.” This is no coincidence. Newman, he noted, dedicated some of his most influential writings to the “centrality of conscience in the journey to God,” both during his Anglican period and in his new life as a Catholic.Like St. Thomas Aquinas, Marr explained, “Newman believed that a person should never act against the dictates of their conscience,” because doing so “would undermine the very coherence of the moral life.”However, the former champion of Anglicanism, who converted to Catholicism at the age of 45, also warned about the human tendency toward “self-deception,” Marr explained. The scholar noted that Newman insisted on the need to “form the conscience according to divine and natural law.”In his 1874 “Letter to the Duke of Norfolk,” one of his most celebrated essays, Newman cautioned against a “false notion of conscience,” identified with the right to one’s own will, an idea that, according to Marr, “reflects the modern mindset” that values ​​subjective independence over objective truth.He therefore pointed out that “as Catholics, we must work to restore the true vision of conscience, in line with the teaching of theological giants like Aquinas and Newman.”The sensus fidei is not ‘a populist counterweight to the hierarchy’This theme is intertwined with the concept of the sensus fidei, the supernatural sense of the faith bestowed upon the baptized: “Newman was ahead of his time in recognizing that the lay faithful have an essential role in the defense and transmission of tradition. The priesthood of all believers means, in part, that the baptized possess a special sense of the faith, a capacity that we must strengthen through devotion and study.”Marr noted that, for Newman, this sense also had a communal dimension, the sensus fidelium, or sense of the faithful. “He did not understand it as a populist counterweight to the hierarchy,” he clarified. “He knew that the pope and the bishops exercise a divinely instituted authority, but he remembered that there have been times in history — such as during the Arian controversy — when the laity defended the faith, even when some pastors wavered.”A prophet in the face of modern apostasyWith prophetic clarity, the expert noted, Newman “foresaw the growing irreligion of the modern world.” In his 1873 sermon “The Infidelity of the Future,” Newman warned that the trials of the future would be so great “that they would shake even hearts as valiant as those of St. Athanasius or St. Gregory the Great,” Marr said.Newman, he explained, perceived that the greatest danger of modernity would be precisely the spread of unbelief, a society that is “simply irreligious.”However, faced with this bleak outlook, “Newman neither called for retreat nor proposed authoritarian strategies.” He courageously confronted the philosophical ideas of his time and offered a compelling explanation of the “reasonableness of the Christian faith,” deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and in dialogue with modern philosophy, he noted.Newman and the intellectual mission of the laityNewman, the expert continued, understood the life of the Catholic Church as something “dynamic,” where “all members of the Body of Christ have an active role in the proclamation of the truth.”The fathers of the Second Vatican Council took up this vision, presenting it as an urgent call to contemporary Catholics. The expert warned that it is important to understand this call well: “The laity do not fulfill their vocation by becoming more clerical, but by sanctifying the world according to their own specific mission, bringing the Gospel to education, law, medicine, and culture.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.


Ryan Marr is an expert on the English saint and is a former associate editor of the Newman Studies Journal. / Credit: Courtesy of Ryan Marr

Vatican City, Nov 1, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).

St. John Henry Newman, the Anglican clergyman who converted to Catholicism but whom many in both London and Rome distrusted for years, stands today as a beacon that continues to inspire many to embrace the Catholic faith as he did.

“I am personally grateful for the testimony of Newman’s life, because without his legacy I might not be Catholic today,” confesses Ryan “Bud” Marr, a renowned scholar of the English saint, upon whom Pope Leo XIV conferred Saturday the title of doctor of the Church.

Newman’s memorable quote — “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant” — was pivotal in Marr’s personal conversion. When he first read it, “I was studying to be a Protestant pastor,” he revealed in a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“I immediately understood that I had to read the rest of Newman’s essay to put to the test the truth of his statement. I couldn’t simply ignore that challenge and continue on the path I was on,” he explained.

The expert, a former associate editor of the Newman Studies Journal, added that “there are countless similar testimonies” to his and that they will continue to grow in the coming years in light of Newman’s designation as the 38th doctor of the Church.

For Marr, Newman possessed a singular gift: “Expressing fundamental truths in brief and memorable phrases,” capable of transcending time and touching consciences. This is why so many people, over more than a century, have found in his writings a path to conversion.

Development of doctrine, a decisive contribution

For Marr, Newman’s most significant contribution to contemporary Catholic theology is on the subject of the development of doctrine. “It’s not that Newman wrote something entirely new,” he explained.

“Other Catholic theologians, especially St. Vincent of Lérins, had already addressed the topic of doctrinal development. But Newman synthesized diverse ideas into a unified and compelling theory, so that any subsequent theologian has had to start from his “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” when addressing this topic,” he pointed out.

This vision, he added, was decisive for 20th-century thought. Newman showed that “the Church’s understanding of revealed truths deepens over time.” “In some cases, the Church offers new formulations — as happened with the Nicene Creed — but these developments always affirm and clarify what has been handed down,” he emphasized.

“The deposit of faith is immutable, but our understanding of that deposit actually expands,” he added. Each generation, Marr emphasized, must “proclaim the truth of the faith within its own linguistic categories,” but always preserving the “essential while facing the challenges of its time.”

Conscience and the sensus fidei as means of Christian discernment

When it was announced that Newman would be proclaimed a doctor of the Church, Marr recalled, “some observers predicted that Pope Leo XIV might bestow upon him the title of Doctor of Conscience.” This is no coincidence. Newman, he noted, dedicated some of his most influential writings to the “centrality of conscience in the journey to God,” both during his Anglican period and in his new life as a Catholic.

Like St. Thomas Aquinas, Marr explained, “Newman believed that a person should never act against the dictates of their conscience,” because doing so “would undermine the very coherence of the moral life.”

However, the former champion of Anglicanism, who converted to Catholicism at the age of 45, also warned about the human tendency toward “self-deception,” Marr explained. The scholar noted that Newman insisted on the need to “form the conscience according to divine and natural law.”

In his 1874 “Letter to the Duke of Norfolk,” one of his most celebrated essays, Newman cautioned against a “false notion of conscience,” identified with the right to one’s own will, an idea that, according to Marr, “reflects the modern mindset” that values ​​subjective independence over objective truth.

He therefore pointed out that “as Catholics, we must work to restore the true vision of conscience, in line with the teaching of theological giants like Aquinas and Newman.”

The sensus fidei is not ‘a populist counterweight to the hierarchy’

This theme is intertwined with the concept of the sensus fidei, the supernatural sense of the faith bestowed upon the baptized: “Newman was ahead of his time in recognizing that the lay faithful have an essential role in the defense and transmission of tradition. The priesthood of all believers means, in part, that the baptized possess a special sense of the faith, a capacity that we must strengthen through devotion and study.”

Marr noted that, for Newman, this sense also had a communal dimension, the sensus fidelium, or sense of the faithful. “He did not understand it as a populist counterweight to the hierarchy,” he clarified. “He knew that the pope and the bishops exercise a divinely instituted authority, but he remembered that there have been times in history — such as during the Arian controversy — when the laity defended the faith, even when some pastors wavered.”

A prophet in the face of modern apostasy

With prophetic clarity, the expert noted, Newman “foresaw the growing irreligion of the modern world.” In his 1873 sermon “The Infidelity of the Future,” Newman warned that the trials of the future would be so great “that they would shake even hearts as valiant as those of St. Athanasius or St. Gregory the Great,” Marr said.

Newman, he explained, perceived that the greatest danger of modernity would be precisely the spread of unbelief, a society that is “simply irreligious.”

However, faced with this bleak outlook, “Newman neither called for retreat nor proposed authoritarian strategies.” He courageously confronted the philosophical ideas of his time and offered a compelling explanation of the “reasonableness of the Christian faith,” deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and in dialogue with modern philosophy, he noted.

Newman and the intellectual mission of the laity

Newman, the expert continued, understood the life of the Catholic Church as something “dynamic,” where “all members of the Body of Christ have an active role in the proclamation of the truth.”

The fathers of the Second Vatican Council took up this vision, presenting it as an urgent call to contemporary Catholics. The expert warned that it is important to understand this call well: “The laity do not fulfill their vocation by becoming more clerical, but by sanctifying the world according to their own specific mission, bringing the Gospel to education, law, medicine, and culture.”

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

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