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View of the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey. The Basilica Cistern, or Cisterna Basilica is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. This subterranean cistern was called Basilica because it was located under a large public square, the Stoa Basilica, on the First Hill of Constantinople. The cistern, built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I, provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to the Topkapı Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times. Today it is kept with little water, for public access inside the space.
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![Pope Leo XIV appoints Cardinal Mauro Gambetti to lead the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Italian Cardinal Mauro Gambetti to serve as the archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, the Vatican announced on Oct. 3. Gambetti will leave his post as the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he has served for the past five years after being appointed by Pope Francis in 2021. He will take over the position in Chieti-Vasto from current Archbishop Bruno Forte, who has served there since 2004. Forte turned 77 in August, making him two years past the customary retirement age for prelates. In a statement after the announcement, Forte described Gambetti’s appointment as “a special sign of the Lord’s benevolence.” “I am certain that [Gambetti] — rich in both academic background and pastoral experience — will give new impetus to the care of the faithful and the work of evangelization, efforts that have been sustained in recent years through the collaboration of so many,” Forte said. The outgoing archbishop said he would retire to Naples, his hometown, where he would pray for both Gambetti and the Church. Born in Castel San Pietro Terme, Italy, Gambetti took his final vows with the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in 1998 and was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 8, 2000. He has served various leadership roles in his order in Italy and also served as the episcopal vicar of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Umbria. Pope Francis named him a cardinal in 2020; he was consecrated a bishop the same year. The late Holy Father also named him a member of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State in 2021.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/pope-leo-xiv-appoints-cardinal-mauro-gambetti-to-lead-the-archdiocese-of-chieti-vasto-catholic-pope-leo-xiv-has-appointed-italian-cardinal-mauro-gambetti-to-serve-as-the-archbishop-of-chieti-vast-scaled.jpg "Pope Leo XIV appoints Cardinal Mauro Gambetti to lead the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Italian Cardinal Mauro Gambetti to serve as the archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, the Vatican announced on Oct. 3. Gambetti will leave his post as the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he has served for the past five years after being appointed by Pope Francis in 2021. He will take over the position in Chieti-Vasto from current Archbishop Bruno Forte, who has served there since 2004. Forte turned 77 in August, making him two years past the customary retirement age for prelates. In a statement after the announcement, Forte described Gambetti’s appointment as “a special sign of the Lord’s benevolence.” “I am certain that [Gambetti] — rich in both academic background and pastoral experience — will give new impetus to the care of the faithful and the work of evangelization, efforts that have been sustained in recent years through the collaboration of so many,” Forte said. The outgoing archbishop said he would retire to Naples, his hometown, where he would pray for both Gambetti and the Church. Born in Castel San Pietro Terme, Italy, Gambetti took his final vows with the Order of Friars Minor Conventual in 1998 and was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 8, 2000. He has served various leadership roles in his order in Italy and also served as the episcopal vicar of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Umbria. Pope Francis named him a cardinal in 2020; he was consecrated a bishop the same year. The late Holy Father also named him a member of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State in 2021.")
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![What did St. Josemaría see on the day Opus Dei was founded? – #Catholic – On Oct. 2, 1928, “the Lord founded His Work; brought Opus Dei (The Work of God) into being,” wrote St. Josemaría Escrivá in his personal notes, as recorded by Andrés Vázquez de Prada in the Spanish-language volume of “The Founder of Opus Dei,” a definitive text on the Spanish saint’s life.“The Work of God was not imagined by a man,” he would later say. “For many years, the Lord had been inspiring it in an inept and deaf instrument, who saw it for the first time on the Feast of the Guardian Angels.”It was, the saint understood, the answer to the prayers he repeatedly addressed to God: “Domine, ut videam!” and “Domine, ut sit!” (“Lord, that I may see!” and “Lord, that it may come to be!”)On that October day, the founder of Opus Dei was making a spiritual retreat at the Central House of the Vincentian missionaries in Madrid. “I received enlightenment regarding the whole Work … Deeply moved, I knelt down, I was alone in my room in the interval between talks, and thanked the Lord; I recall with emotion the ringing of the bells of the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.”On that occasion, Vázquez de Prada notes, St. Josemaría’s mind “was illuminated with a clear, general idea of his mission.”“The scattered notes the retreatant had brought with him to meditate upon during the retreat consisted of ideas that were, it seems, unsystematized. In the days that followed, he compiled them in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the general enlightenment he had just received regarding the whole work,” the author explains.Building on that foundation, over the years St. Josemaría “drafted documents that he would later hand to his children in Opus Dei,” Vázquez de Prada continues.In 1930, he wrote in a letter: “We have come to say with the humility of one who knows himself to be a sinner and of little account (“homo peccator sum” — I am a sinful man [Luke 5:8], we say with Peter), yet with the faith of one who allows himself to be guided by the hand of God, that holiness is not reserved for a privileged few: that the Lord calls all of us, that he expects love from everyone, from everyone, wherever they may be; from everyone, whatever their state in life, their profession, or their trade.”“For that ordinary, everyday life without pretense can be a means of holiness; there is no need to abandon one’s state in life to seek God — if the Lord has not given a soul a religious vocation — since every way of life on this earth can be an occasion for an encounter with Christ,” the founder of Opus Dei said.What is Opus Dei?Its official Spanish-language website defines Opus Dei as “a hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church, a personal prelature, whose purpose is to contribute to the Church’s evangelizing mission.”“Specifically, the aim is to spread a deep awareness of the universal call to holiness and the sanctifying value of ordinary work,” the website adds.Among the faithful who discover a “vocation to Opus Dei” and request to join, a distinction is made between numeraries, who live apostolic celibacy and are fully available for the work of the prelature; associates, who also live apostolic celibacy but whose personal, family, or professional circumstances limit that availability; and supernumeraries, whether married or single, who do not commit to celibacy. Priests incardinated in the prelature are drawn from the ranks of numeraries or associates.According to the most recent data released by Opus Dei, around 94,450 people are part of the institution, which is present in 68 countries across five continents.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/what-did-st-josemaria-see-on-the-day-opus-dei-was-founded-catholic-on-oct-2-1928-the-lord-founded-his-work-brought-opus-dei-the-work-of-god-into-being-wrote-st-josemar.jpg "What did St. Josemaría see on the day Opus Dei was founded? – #Catholic – On Oct. 2, 1928, “the Lord founded His Work; brought Opus Dei (The Work of God) into being,” wrote St. Josemaría Escrivá in his personal notes, as recorded by Andrés Vázquez de Prada in the Spanish-language volume of “The Founder of Opus Dei,” a definitive text on the Spanish saint’s life.“The Work of God was not imagined by a man,” he would later say. “For many years, the Lord had been inspiring it in an inept and deaf instrument, who saw it for the first time on the Feast of the Guardian Angels.”It was, the saint understood, the answer to the prayers he repeatedly addressed to God: “Domine, ut videam!” and “Domine, ut sit!” (“Lord, that I may see!” and “Lord, that it may come to be!”)On that October day, the founder of Opus Dei was making a spiritual retreat at the Central House of the Vincentian missionaries in Madrid. “I received enlightenment regarding the whole Work … Deeply moved, I knelt down, I was alone in my room in the interval between talks, and thanked the Lord; I recall with emotion the ringing of the bells of the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.”On that occasion, Vázquez de Prada notes, St. Josemaría’s mind “was illuminated with a clear, general idea of his mission.”“The scattered notes the retreatant had brought with him to meditate upon during the retreat consisted of ideas that were, it seems, unsystematized. In the days that followed, he compiled them in an orderly fashion, in accordance with the general enlightenment he had just received regarding the whole work,” the author explains.Building on that foundation, over the years St. Josemaría “drafted documents that he would later hand to his children in Opus Dei,” Vázquez de Prada continues.In 1930, he wrote in a letter: “We have come to say with the humility of one who knows himself to be a sinner and of little account (“homo peccator sum” — I am a sinful man [Luke 5:8], we say with Peter), yet with the faith of one who allows himself to be guided by the hand of God, that holiness is not reserved for a privileged few: that the Lord calls all of us, that he expects love from everyone, from everyone, wherever they may be; from everyone, whatever their state in life, their profession, or their trade.”“For that ordinary, everyday life without pretense can be a means of holiness; there is no need to abandon one’s state in life to seek God — if the Lord has not given a soul a religious vocation — since every way of life on this earth can be an occasion for an encounter with Christ,” the founder of Opus Dei said.What is Opus Dei?Its official Spanish-language website defines Opus Dei as “a hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church, a personal prelature, whose purpose is to contribute to the Church’s evangelizing mission.”“Specifically, the aim is to spread a deep awareness of the universal call to holiness and the sanctifying value of ordinary work,” the website adds.Among the faithful who discover a “vocation to Opus Dei” and request to join, a distinction is made between numeraries, who live apostolic celibacy and are fully available for the work of the prelature; associates, who also live apostolic celibacy but whose personal, family, or professional circumstances limit that availability; and supernumeraries, whether married or single, who do not commit to celibacy. Priests incardinated in the prelature are drawn from the ranks of numeraries or associates.According to the most recent data released by Opus Dei, around 94,450 people are part of the institution, which is present in 68 countries across five continents.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
![Brazilian court rules posts making false claims about conservative candidate must be removed – #Catholic – Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled on Sept. 30 to uphold the removal of false social media posts linking conservative Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a Liberal Party candidate for president, to an alleged initiative to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil. Under the decision reached in the virtual plenary session, content clearly linking Bolsonaro to the initiative must be removed. However, posts where there is reasonable doubt regarding the link to the candidate are to be preserved. This applies to a post by comedian Antonio Tabet, which was permitted to remain online by the reporting justice, André Mendonça.The case began on Sept. 24 when Tabet posted an image of the dark-skinned Our Lady of Aparecida on X with the caption: “The militia family hates black women so much that they decided to attack Our Lady of Aparecida.” The post did not mention Bolsonaro by name. The senator is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who was president of Brazil from 2019-2023.The following day, Mendonça, the vice president of the Superior Electoral Court and the rapporteur for the case, ordered the removal of content that claimed Bolsonaro or his family intended to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil.Upon reconsidering his vote, the judge concluded there was doubt regarding the link between Tabet’s post and Bolsonaro and decided to allow the post to stay online.“As it is reasonable to take the content to be ambiguous, I believe the solution most consistent with the criteria of minimal intervention [by the courts] and heightened protection of freedom of expression is to keep the post online,” Mendonça said. According to the judge, the decisions ordering the removal of the content specifically naming Flávio Bolsonaro “do not amount to prior restraint” nor did they violate religious freedom.“Confusing a ‘fake news’ report with a restriction on faith represents a distortion of the decision’s actual substance. Faith was not on trial,” Mendonça said. He further noted that “the insinuation that the decisions issued in these proceedings sought to prevent Catholics from expressing support for or devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida is particularly baffling” and emphasized: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the decisions warrants such a conclusion.”He also stated that this change does not alter the other points of his decision and emphasized that he considers “objectively false” the claims that Bolsonaro “had authored, presented, proposed, supported, or concretely orchestrated an initiative aimed at removing Our Lady of Aparecida from her status as the patroness of Brazil.”The president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Justice Nunes Marques, concurred with Mendonça and stated that the decision “protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension.”“In my view, the relief granted protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension, as it prevents the faith of millions of Brazilians from being instrumentalized within days of the election [Oct. 4] through a claim without a factual basis designed to artificially stir up emotional reactions among the electorate,” Marques said.He also highlighted that “the contested post did not need to name the candidate to attribute the claim to him; because it was disseminated at the height of the false narrativeʼs circulation — accompanied by the image of the patroness. Its message was only fully realized and achieved its intended effect due to the context of current news stories in which it was embedded.” Nevertheless, Marques’ difference of opinion regarding Tabet does not alter the effect of the ruling.This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/brazilian-court-rules-posts-making-false-claims-about-conservative-candidate-must-be-removed-catholic-brazils-superior-electoral-court-ruled-on-sept-30-to-uphold-the-removal-of-false-so.jpg "Brazilian court rules posts making false claims about conservative candidate must be removed – #Catholic – Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled on Sept. 30 to uphold the removal of false social media posts linking conservative Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a Liberal Party candidate for president, to an alleged initiative to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil. Under the decision reached in the virtual plenary session, content clearly linking Bolsonaro to the initiative must be removed. However, posts where there is reasonable doubt regarding the link to the candidate are to be preserved. This applies to a post by comedian Antonio Tabet, which was permitted to remain online by the reporting justice, André Mendonça.The case began on Sept. 24 when Tabet posted an image of the dark-skinned Our Lady of Aparecida on X with the caption: “The militia family hates black women so much that they decided to attack Our Lady of Aparecida.” The post did not mention Bolsonaro by name. The senator is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, who was president of Brazil from 2019-2023.The following day, Mendonça, the vice president of the Superior Electoral Court and the rapporteur for the case, ordered the removal of content that claimed Bolsonaro or his family intended to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patroness of Brazil.Upon reconsidering his vote, the judge concluded there was doubt regarding the link between Tabet’s post and Bolsonaro and decided to allow the post to stay online.“As it is reasonable to take the content to be ambiguous, I believe the solution most consistent with the criteria of minimal intervention [by the courts] and heightened protection of freedom of expression is to keep the post online,” Mendonça said. According to the judge, the decisions ordering the removal of the content specifically naming Flávio Bolsonaro “do not amount to prior restraint” nor did they violate religious freedom.“Confusing a ‘fake news’ report with a restriction on faith represents a distortion of the decision’s actual substance. Faith was not on trial,” Mendonça said. He further noted that “the insinuation that the decisions issued in these proceedings sought to prevent Catholics from expressing support for or devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida is particularly baffling” and emphasized: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the decisions warrants such a conclusion.”He also stated that this change does not alter the other points of his decision and emphasized that he considers “objectively false” the claims that Bolsonaro “had authored, presented, proposed, supported, or concretely orchestrated an initiative aimed at removing Our Lady of Aparecida from her status as the patroness of Brazil.”The president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Justice Nunes Marques, concurred with Mendonça and stated that the decision “protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension.”“In my view, the relief granted protects religious freedom in its collective and democratic dimension, as it prevents the faith of millions of Brazilians from being instrumentalized within days of the election [Oct. 4] through a claim without a factual basis designed to artificially stir up emotional reactions among the electorate,” Marques said.He also highlighted that “the contested post did not need to name the candidate to attribute the claim to him; because it was disseminated at the height of the false narrativeʼs circulation — accompanied by the image of the patroness. Its message was only fully realized and achieved its intended effect due to the context of current news stories in which it was embedded.” Nevertheless, Marques’ difference of opinion regarding Tabet does not alter the effect of the ruling.This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
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![Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square – #Catholic – A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed. The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781. Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space. A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen. The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place. He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted. The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays. Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request. But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.” “Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said. The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/federal-appeals-court-says-historic-cross-nativity-can-remain-in-los-angeles-public-square-catholic-a-cross-and-nativity-will-remain-in-a-los-angeles-public-plaza-after-a-u-s-appeals-court-rule.jpg "Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square – #Catholic – A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed. The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781. Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space. A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen. The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place. He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted. The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays. Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request. But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.” “Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said. The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”")
![Pope Leo says he is not ‘in panic mode’ over AI dangers – #Catholic – ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT — Pope Leo XIV said he takes seriously the warnings raised by tech experts about the dangers of AI — including risks to humanity — but he is not panicking over dire predictions.“If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode, no I’m not, I sleep at night. I do think the concerns raised by many experts in AI should be taken seriously,” the pope told reporters accompanying him on his flight to Rome from Metz, France, Sept. 28.“I don’t think that is fake news, as some have said, to try and cause … financial or some other kind of benefit,” he added.A former safety researcher at the AI company Anthropic warned earlier this month that he believes the technology’s rapid advancement could mean there’s a more than 10% chance that AI could “could kill all humans” within a decade.Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responded by calling on the AI industry to slow down the pace of advanced model development to address risks, and other industry leaders publicly supported his call.That drew criticism of Amodei from President Donald Trump, who dismissed dire scenarios and said restrictions on AI development in the U.S. would benefit China. The two men dined together on Sunday in an apparent attempt to address their differences.The pope’s encyclical on AI, Magnifica Humanitas, published just four months ago, included a broad call for regulation of the technology.In recent months, concerns have grown over AI’s risks of creating advanced cyberattacks and autonomous agents that will get past human control and threaten humanity.Pope Leo told journalists on Monday that the Vatican has organized its own commission on AI, both to coordinate its own use of the technology and to “continue to promote dialogue, study, investigation to find ways to make sure that AI doesn’t get to a point where it destroys humanity.”“But we have to keep working. We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen,” he said.Leo was returning to Rome after a four-day trip to France.In response to another reporter’s question, the pope said it was vital for the Church to proclaim Catholic social doctrine even on controversial matters such as end-of-life issues and political extremism.Asked if he had “crossed a line” in France, where there is a strict separation of church and state, by speaking against the recent legalization there of euthanasia and assisted suicide, he said: “I didn’t cross it,” because “we’re not entering into politics; we’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives.”“The defense of life is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches, believes very deeply,” the pope said.“Being in a place especially like Lourdes, where people are searching for something much deeper and understanding that their lives, even in the midst of sickness or disability or pain of different kinds, that their life has meaning, the Church, because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that that life itself I think holds for all of us,” the pope said.Asked whether he thought clerical sexual abuse was “systemic” in the Church, Leo said he preferred “to express it in a different way.”He said some organizations within the Church have, at times, “as a system, been abusive.”“But I think itʼs important to make the distinction. Sexual abuse is first and foremost a human problem. … When it happens within the Church it actually has another whole dimension added to it, because peopleʼs lives of faith are deeply wounded and sometimes even destroyed,” the pontiff said.“The Church, in certain ways, has been seen as being responsible, but in the same way, the Church, I think, is an important part of helping [victims] to find healing.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pope-leo-says-he-is-not-in-panic-mode-over-ai-dangers-catholic-aboard-the-papal-flight-pope-leo-xiv-said-he-takes-seriously-the-warnings-raised-by-tech-experts-about-t.jpg "Pope Leo says he is not ‘in panic mode’ over AI dangers – #Catholic – ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT — Pope Leo XIV said he takes seriously the warnings raised by tech experts about the dangers of AI — including risks to humanity — but he is not panicking over dire predictions.“If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode, no I’m not, I sleep at night. I do think the concerns raised by many experts in AI should be taken seriously,” the pope told reporters accompanying him on his flight to Rome from Metz, France, Sept. 28.“I don’t think that is fake news, as some have said, to try and cause … financial or some other kind of benefit,” he added.A former safety researcher at the AI company Anthropic warned earlier this month that he believes the technology’s rapid advancement could mean there’s a more than 10% chance that AI could “could kill all humans” within a decade.Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responded by calling on the AI industry to slow down the pace of advanced model development to address risks, and other industry leaders publicly supported his call.That drew criticism of Amodei from President Donald Trump, who dismissed dire scenarios and said restrictions on AI development in the U.S. would benefit China. The two men dined together on Sunday in an apparent attempt to address their differences.The pope’s encyclical on AI, Magnifica Humanitas, published just four months ago, included a broad call for regulation of the technology.In recent months, concerns have grown over AI’s risks of creating advanced cyberattacks and autonomous agents that will get past human control and threaten humanity.Pope Leo told journalists on Monday that the Vatican has organized its own commission on AI, both to coordinate its own use of the technology and to “continue to promote dialogue, study, investigation to find ways to make sure that AI doesn’t get to a point where it destroys humanity.”“But we have to keep working. We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen,” he said.Leo was returning to Rome after a four-day trip to France.In response to another reporter’s question, the pope said it was vital for the Church to proclaim Catholic social doctrine even on controversial matters such as end-of-life issues and political extremism.Asked if he had “crossed a line” in France, where there is a strict separation of church and state, by speaking against the recent legalization there of euthanasia and assisted suicide, he said: “I didn’t cross it,” because “we’re not entering into politics; we’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives.”“The defense of life is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches, believes very deeply,” the pope said.“Being in a place especially like Lourdes, where people are searching for something much deeper and understanding that their lives, even in the midst of sickness or disability or pain of different kinds, that their life has meaning, the Church, because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that that life itself I think holds for all of us,” the pope said.Asked whether he thought clerical sexual abuse was “systemic” in the Church, Leo said he preferred “to express it in a different way.”He said some organizations within the Church have, at times, “as a system, been abusive.”“But I think itʼs important to make the distinction. Sexual abuse is first and foremost a human problem. … When it happens within the Church it actually has another whole dimension added to it, because peopleʼs lives of faith are deeply wounded and sometimes even destroyed,” the pontiff said.“The Church, in certain ways, has been seen as being responsible, but in the same way, the Church, I think, is an important part of helping [victims] to find healing.”")
![Knights of Columbus pitch their role at Symposium on Young American Men – #Catholic – A senior adviser to the Knights of Columbus discussed the need for men to have fraternal community at the Second Symposium on Young American Men held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25.“We’re social beings, so we want to join communities … where we can be our authentic selves,” said Joseph McInerney, the Knights’ chief strategy adviser and senior vice president for leader development.The symposium, sponsored in part by the Knights, was focused on problems faced by young American men in 2026. The symposium focused primarily on public policy solutions advanced by both Republicans and Democrats but also included talks unrelated to government, such as McInerney’s, which was about the role of fraternal community in helping strengthen men.Other conference sponsors included the Institute for Family Studies, the National Parents Organization, and the Men’s Health Network. Although the Knights are known for being popular with older, retired men, McInerney noted significant growth in recent years with young men on college campuses and those who recently entered the workforce. He pointed out that men who are under 35 are the organization’s fastest-growing membership segment, and there are now more than 300 active college Knights councils, with nearly half of those in the United States.“The lifeblood of the Knights is young men,” McInerney said, adding that “it’s a place where they can … spend time with other men — their peers — and that, frankly, is very powerful.”McInerney pitched fraternal communities as a means to combat male loneliness and isolation but also to build up men into leaders and “better themselves so they can be better husbands, fathers, … and members of their community.”Warning against isolation, which McInerney said is amplified through the internet and media, he said: “We’re not made for that.” Rather, “we’re made for rich and beautiful relationships with the people that we love.”Although the broader symposium was not primarily focused on matters of faith, McInerney said a major attraction of the Knights for young men is faith formation. He referenced in particular the Knights’ Cor program, which develops small groups for men focused on prayer, formation, and fraternity. The Knights also run the McGivney Fellowship, which is a two-year leadership formation program.“They become good people,” McInerney said of the goals of the Knights’ programs. “They become people who are worthy of trust, and those are the type of people we want to lead us.”Speaking to EWTN News after his talk, McInerney noted that the uniqueness of the Knights of Columbus is that it is a Catholic fraternal organization that is also focused on serving others through charity, which he sees as another attraction for young men.“We want to help people spiritually, but we also have this mandate to serve,” he said. “Thatʼs why we exist, [it] is to help other people. And so, when you join the group, thatʼs kind of part of the package deal that we offer.”“Itʼs natural if youʼre working on your spiritual life, you want to share the grace that youʼre receiving in your relationship with God,” McInerney said.McInerney said Catholic men who wish to join can visit their website and get connected to a local council.“Whatever councilʼs closest to you, weʼll get that person in contact,” he said. “And then whatʼs most important. … Entry might be online there, but whatʼs most important is then getting that man in touch with a man face-to-face.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/knights-of-columbus-pitch-their-role-at-symposium-on-young-american-men-catholic-a-senior-adviser-to-the-knights-of-columbus-discussed-the-need-for-men-to-have-fraternal-community-at-the-second-s-scaled.jpg "Knights of Columbus pitch their role at Symposium on Young American Men – #Catholic – A senior adviser to the Knights of Columbus discussed the need for men to have fraternal community at the Second Symposium on Young American Men held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25.“We’re social beings, so we want to join communities … where we can be our authentic selves,” said Joseph McInerney, the Knights’ chief strategy adviser and senior vice president for leader development.The symposium, sponsored in part by the Knights, was focused on problems faced by young American men in 2026. The symposium focused primarily on public policy solutions advanced by both Republicans and Democrats but also included talks unrelated to government, such as McInerney’s, which was about the role of fraternal community in helping strengthen men.Other conference sponsors included the Institute for Family Studies, the National Parents Organization, and the Men’s Health Network. Although the Knights are known for being popular with older, retired men, McInerney noted significant growth in recent years with young men on college campuses and those who recently entered the workforce. He pointed out that men who are under 35 are the organization’s fastest-growing membership segment, and there are now more than 300 active college Knights councils, with nearly half of those in the United States.“The lifeblood of the Knights is young men,” McInerney said, adding that “it’s a place where they can … spend time with other men — their peers — and that, frankly, is very powerful.”McInerney pitched fraternal communities as a means to combat male loneliness and isolation but also to build up men into leaders and “better themselves so they can be better husbands, fathers, … and members of their community.”Warning against isolation, which McInerney said is amplified through the internet and media, he said: “We’re not made for that.” Rather, “we’re made for rich and beautiful relationships with the people that we love.”Although the broader symposium was not primarily focused on matters of faith, McInerney said a major attraction of the Knights for young men is faith formation. He referenced in particular the Knights’ Cor program, which develops small groups for men focused on prayer, formation, and fraternity. The Knights also run the McGivney Fellowship, which is a two-year leadership formation program.“They become good people,” McInerney said of the goals of the Knights’ programs. “They become people who are worthy of trust, and those are the type of people we want to lead us.”Speaking to EWTN News after his talk, McInerney noted that the uniqueness of the Knights of Columbus is that it is a Catholic fraternal organization that is also focused on serving others through charity, which he sees as another attraction for young men.“We want to help people spiritually, but we also have this mandate to serve,” he said. “Thatʼs why we exist, [it] is to help other people. And so, when you join the group, thatʼs kind of part of the package deal that we offer.”“Itʼs natural if youʼre working on your spiritual life, you want to share the grace that youʼre receiving in your relationship with God,” McInerney said.McInerney said Catholic men who wish to join can visit their website and get connected to a local council.“Whatever councilʼs closest to you, weʼll get that person in contact,” he said. “And then whatʼs most important. … Entry might be online there, but whatʼs most important is then getting that man in touch with a man face-to-face.”")
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![A ‘porter’ who led others to Christ: Archbishop Fulton Sheen declared ‘blessed’ – #Catholic – ST. LOUIS — Archbishop Fulton Sheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Sept. 24, before a crowd of tens of thousands at The Dome at America’s Center, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.Cardinal Luis Tagle, the pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass, reflected on the meaning of “blessed” during his homily — noting that throughout history many who shared the Christian faith suffered persecution, yet their lives were still marked by joy. It is Sheen’s deep, humble relationship with Jesus Christ and his radical solidarity with the poor and vulnerable that characterized his life as a missionary, one that all Catholics should emulate, Tagle said.Despite his massive worldly popularity and the fact that he personally accompanied countless converts in their journey to become Catholic, Tagle noted that Sheen did not “claim” the converts as his own but rather described himself as a mere “porter” who led people to the “open door of the house of God.”
Cardinal Luis Tagle serves as the pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass on Sept. 24, 2026, in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
“It is for being a zealous and creative evangelizer, an advocate for mission that Fulton Sheen is called ‘blessed’ or ‘fortunate’ or ‘happy’… Blessed is the Evangelizer, converted by beholding and touching the wounds of the risen Christ in wounded brothers and sisters, blessed is the missionary who digs deep into the heart of the poor to meet Jesus there. Blessed Fulton J. Sheen!” Tagle proclaimed.Jam-packed crowds of Catholics of all ages — from the elderly who were around when Sheen’s shows first aired, to numerous families with small children — had descended on the stadium for the Mass, which began with a lengthy procession of some 1,000 priests, 89 bishops, and hundreds of seminarians and deacons.The actual moment when Sheen became “blessed” happened early in the proceedings, following the proclamation of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV. As is customary at beatifications, the decree was read first in Latin by Tagle, the pope’s representative and the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and afterward in the vernacular — in this case English — by Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, in whose diocese Sheen was born.Immediately following the reading, a portrait of Blessed Sheen was revealed showing him with a halo, to thunderous applause. The same portrait was simultaneously unveiled at his tomb at the Cathedral St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.
A new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen is displayed after he is declared “blessed” at the Mass for his beatification on Sept. 24, 2026, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Earlier in the day, Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, announced that six purported miracles are attributed to the intercession of Sheen as part of the process that could lead to his canonization. Any purported miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession that has taken place since Pope Francis announced his beatification in July 2019 can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward.James Fulton Engstrom, recipient of the confirmed miracle that cleared the way for Sheen’s beatification, survived in spite of having spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat. The healthy 16-year-old presented several of Sheen’s relics during the beatification Mass today.Catholics from all over the world hailed Sheen’s example as a highly creative and effective missionary, who used every means available to him to share the love of Christ.Father Solomon Patrick Zaku, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, flew to the U.S. for his first-ever visit to the country to attend the beatification of Sheen, who previously served as the Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director for the U.S.“While I was in the seminary, I read about his book and about his life, and I was somewhat touched by his life. One of the things I have learned from him is the Holy Hour, spending an hour daily, and that has been part of my daily routine, which has been my source of inspiration,” Zaku said. “As the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, [we] promote the Mission Rosary, which Archbishop Fulton Sheen introduced … I pray it daily.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/a-porter-who-led-others-to-christ-archbishop-fulton-sheen-declared-blessed-catholic-st-louis-archbishop-fulton-sheen-despite-his-humble-origins-in-scaled.jpg "A ‘porter’ who led others to Christ: Archbishop Fulton Sheen declared ‘blessed’ – #Catholic – ST. LOUIS — Archbishop Fulton Sheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Sept. 24, before a crowd of tens of thousands at The Dome at America’s Center, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.Cardinal Luis Tagle, the pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass, reflected on the meaning of “blessed” during his homily — noting that throughout history many who shared the Christian faith suffered persecution, yet their lives were still marked by joy. It is Sheen’s deep, humble relationship with Jesus Christ and his radical solidarity with the poor and vulnerable that characterized his life as a missionary, one that all Catholics should emulate, Tagle said.Despite his massive worldly popularity and the fact that he personally accompanied countless converts in their journey to become Catholic, Tagle noted that Sheen did not “claim” the converts as his own but rather described himself as a mere “porter” who led people to the “open door of the house of God.”
Cardinal Luis Tagle serves as the pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass on Sept. 24, 2026, in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
“It is for being a zealous and creative evangelizer, an advocate for mission that Fulton Sheen is called ‘blessed’ or ‘fortunate’ or ‘happy’… Blessed is the Evangelizer, converted by beholding and touching the wounds of the risen Christ in wounded brothers and sisters, blessed is the missionary who digs deep into the heart of the poor to meet Jesus there. Blessed Fulton J. Sheen!” Tagle proclaimed.Jam-packed crowds of Catholics of all ages — from the elderly who were around when Sheen’s shows first aired, to numerous families with small children — had descended on the stadium for the Mass, which began with a lengthy procession of some 1,000 priests, 89 bishops, and hundreds of seminarians and deacons.The actual moment when Sheen became “blessed” happened early in the proceedings, following the proclamation of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV. As is customary at beatifications, the decree was read first in Latin by Tagle, the pope’s representative and the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and afterward in the vernacular — in this case English — by Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, in whose diocese Sheen was born.Immediately following the reading, a portrait of Blessed Sheen was revealed showing him with a halo, to thunderous applause. The same portrait was simultaneously unveiled at his tomb at the Cathedral St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.
A new image of Blessed Fulton Sheen is displayed after he is declared “blessed” at the Mass for his beatification on Sept. 24, 2026, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. | Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Earlier in the day, Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, announced that six purported miracles are attributed to the intercession of Sheen as part of the process that could lead to his canonization. Any purported miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession that has taken place since Pope Francis announced his beatification in July 2019 can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward.James Fulton Engstrom, recipient of the confirmed miracle that cleared the way for Sheen’s beatification, survived in spite of having spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat. The healthy 16-year-old presented several of Sheen’s relics during the beatification Mass today.Catholics from all over the world hailed Sheen’s example as a highly creative and effective missionary, who used every means available to him to share the love of Christ.Father Solomon Patrick Zaku, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, flew to the U.S. for his first-ever visit to the country to attend the beatification of Sheen, who previously served as the Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director for the U.S.“While I was in the seminary, I read about his book and about his life, and I was somewhat touched by his life. One of the things I have learned from him is the Holy Hour, spending an hour daily, and that has been part of my daily routine, which has been my source of inspiration,” Zaku said. “As the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, [we] promote the Mission Rosary, which Archbishop Fulton Sheen introduced … I pray it daily.”")
![Bishops ask Supreme Court for Catholic inclusion in Colorado universal preschool program – #Catholic – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Catholic schools in Colorado that want to be included in the state’s universal preschool program.Two parents, two Catholic parishes, and the Archdiocese of Denver are suing the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the state’s Universal Preschool Program. The USCCB’s amicus brief argues Catholic schools should be allowed to participate without compromising their faith.Although Colorado permits secular and faith-based schools to participate in the program, schools are prohibited from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the admissions process. The schools argue that this prevents them from only admitting children if their parents agree with Church teachings on those issues.The USCCB’s amicus brief said the case was the latest example of states and cities using nondiscrimination rules to quietly pressure or sideline certain religious beliefs.“If this trend continues, it will impair the ability of Catholic organizations and other faith-based service providers to partner with state and local governments to serve the public,” it adds. “The resulting harm to the nation’s social support infrastructure would be immense.”The bishops urged the court to rule in favor of the Catholic schools and provide “clear instruction to courts across the country that religious organizations cannot be barred from participation in public life merely because they live out their sincerely held religious beliefs.”“[This] will ensure that these organizations can continue providing vital, irreplaceable services in partnership with the states while freely exercising their faith,” the court filing adds.Benedictine College gets candidate status for medical schoolBenedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, announced that its proposed School of Osteopathic Medicine received candidate status by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.“Achieving Candidate Status is a significant milestone for Benedictine College. It reflects the dedication and hard work of many people who have helped bring this vision forward,” Dr. Marla Golden, the founding dean, said in a statement. “Our attention now turns to the next major step of achieving Pre-Accreditation Status.”According to a news release, receiving candidate status allows the college to move forward toward the process of being accredited.Study shows economic impact of Franciscan UniversityA study by the analytics company Lightcast found that Franciscan University of Steubenville generates $81.2 million in its annual economic impact and supports 1,146 jobs in the Ohio Valley.According to a news release from the university, Franciscan’s economic impact was equal to about 1.6% of the Ohio Valley’s gross regional product. It found the university and its students supported 1 in every 45 regional jobs.“Franciscan University’s first mission is to form men and women in Christ and prepare them to serve God and others through their families, professions, and communities,” Father Dave Pivonka, university president, said in a statement.“This study gives us a remarkable glimpse at another dimension of that mission,” he said. Franciscan is also an economic anchor for the Ohio Valley — providing jobs, supporting businesses, bringing students and visitors to the region, and sending graduates into the world prepared to contribute and serve.”New Catholic head of Intercollegiate Studies InstituteThe Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) — founded by William F. Buckley and Frank Chodorov to support conservative college students — named Christopher Fisher, who has a background in Catholic education, as its new president.Fisher serves as superintendent of Catholic schools at the Archdiocese of San Francisco and previously worked as the executive director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture at Portsmouth Abbey, a Catholic monastery and boarding school.“Chrisʼs deep commitment to the enduring ideas of the Western tradition, his record of institutional leadership, and his passion for forming the next generation of thoughtful, engaged citizens make him exceptionally well-suited to lead ISI into its next chapter,” read an ISI post on X.In a post on X, Fisher said he is “honored and humbled to be chosen as the next President of ISI, and am deeply grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead an institution that shaped my own education and vocation.”Tennessee school district adds Ten Commandments in schoolsThe Hamilton County School Board in Tennessee voted 6-4 to require all public schools in the county to display the Ten Commandments, joining at least five other counties that have adopted similar rules.These mandates come less than three months after a state law became effective, which expressly allows public schools and charter schools to display the Ten Commandments alongside the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bishops-ask-supreme-court-for-catholic-inclusion-in-colorado-universal-preschool-program-catholic-the-u-s-conference-of-catholic-bishops-usccb-petitioned-the-u-s-supreme-court-on-behalf-of-ca-scaled.jpg "Bishops ask Supreme Court for Catholic inclusion in Colorado universal preschool program – #Catholic – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Catholic schools in Colorado that want to be included in the state’s universal preschool program.Two parents, two Catholic parishes, and the Archdiocese of Denver are suing the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the state’s Universal Preschool Program. The USCCB’s amicus brief argues Catholic schools should be allowed to participate without compromising their faith.Although Colorado permits secular and faith-based schools to participate in the program, schools are prohibited from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the admissions process. The schools argue that this prevents them from only admitting children if their parents agree with Church teachings on those issues.The USCCB’s amicus brief said the case was the latest example of states and cities using nondiscrimination rules to quietly pressure or sideline certain religious beliefs.“If this trend continues, it will impair the ability of Catholic organizations and other faith-based service providers to partner with state and local governments to serve the public,” it adds. “The resulting harm to the nation’s social support infrastructure would be immense.”The bishops urged the court to rule in favor of the Catholic schools and provide “clear instruction to courts across the country that religious organizations cannot be barred from participation in public life merely because they live out their sincerely held religious beliefs.”“[This] will ensure that these organizations can continue providing vital, irreplaceable services in partnership with the states while freely exercising their faith,” the court filing adds.Benedictine College gets candidate status for medical schoolBenedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, announced that its proposed School of Osteopathic Medicine received candidate status by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.“Achieving Candidate Status is a significant milestone for Benedictine College. It reflects the dedication and hard work of many people who have helped bring this vision forward,” Dr. Marla Golden, the founding dean, said in a statement. “Our attention now turns to the next major step of achieving Pre-Accreditation Status.”According to a news release, receiving candidate status allows the college to move forward toward the process of being accredited.Study shows economic impact of Franciscan UniversityA study by the analytics company Lightcast found that Franciscan University of Steubenville generates $81.2 million in its annual economic impact and supports 1,146 jobs in the Ohio Valley.According to a news release from the university, Franciscan’s economic impact was equal to about 1.6% of the Ohio Valley’s gross regional product. It found the university and its students supported 1 in every 45 regional jobs.“Franciscan University’s first mission is to form men and women in Christ and prepare them to serve God and others through their families, professions, and communities,” Father Dave Pivonka, university president, said in a statement.“This study gives us a remarkable glimpse at another dimension of that mission,” he said. Franciscan is also an economic anchor for the Ohio Valley — providing jobs, supporting businesses, bringing students and visitors to the region, and sending graduates into the world prepared to contribute and serve.”New Catholic head of Intercollegiate Studies InstituteThe Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) — founded by William F. Buckley and Frank Chodorov to support conservative college students — named Christopher Fisher, who has a background in Catholic education, as its new president.Fisher serves as superintendent of Catholic schools at the Archdiocese of San Francisco and previously worked as the executive director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture at Portsmouth Abbey, a Catholic monastery and boarding school.“Chrisʼs deep commitment to the enduring ideas of the Western tradition, his record of institutional leadership, and his passion for forming the next generation of thoughtful, engaged citizens make him exceptionally well-suited to lead ISI into its next chapter,” read an ISI post on X.In a post on X, Fisher said he is “honored and humbled to be chosen as the next President of ISI, and am deeply grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead an institution that shaped my own education and vocation.”Tennessee school district adds Ten Commandments in schoolsThe Hamilton County School Board in Tennessee voted 6-4 to require all public schools in the county to display the Ten Commandments, joining at least five other counties that have adopted similar rules.These mandates come less than three months after a state law became effective, which expressly allows public schools and charter schools to display the Ten Commandments alongside the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.")
![‘A foretaste of heaven’: Sheen beatification organizers eager for Mass – #Catholic – ST. LOUIS — For Bonnie Engstrom, who witnessed her newborn child miraculously healed through the intercession of soon-to-be Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the journey to the prelate’s beatification has been an “emotional roller coaster.”The Sept. 24 Mass will be “a foretaste of heaven,” she predicted, “where we are all going to be worshipping God together and celebrating the Church as a whole, and the power of the body of Christ and every good grace that God has given us. I am so looking forward to it,” Engstrom said at a Thursday morning press conference.Engstrom spoke to the media along with Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, and Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria. Gray said it is a relief, after years of technical investigations and paperwork, to see their work finally come to fruition and be able to join in the celebration of Sheen with the faithful.That said, Gray admitted he has been surprised during the process at how much attention Sheen has attracted, particularly among young people.“One question that came up early on [was]: Whoʼs going to care? All the people who knew him when his program was on are very old. But weʼve discovered young people are inspired by Sheen, because heʼs a voice of integrity that inspires people who did not know him in life, that have discovered him in the years since,” Gray said. “So itʼs just exciting to see how much enthusiasm there is,”Tylka agreed, highlighting the fact that Sheen pioneered “new media” in his day — attracting wide attention, including from non-Catholics — serving as an inspiration to those looking to do the same in 2026. He also showed how to bridge divisions in the Church and in the world because he “always spoke with the truth of the Gospel, with charity and with clarity.”“Sheenʼs message is timeless because he spoke the truth and he spoke the truth with clarity and charity. I think a lot of people in the world, especially young people, are searching for purpose and meaning and to have a voice that so convicted, he presents the truth of our faith, our belief in Jesus Christ, the truth that God loves us and that life is worth living. I think thatʼs very appealing,” Tylka said.‘Local boy’The beatification Mass Thursday afternoon will include 89 bishops, about 1,000 priests, about 850 each of seminarians and religious, and 250 deacons, along with about 50,000 total attendees, Gray said. The Mass, which can be viewed live on EWTN with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s representative.James Fulton Engstrom, the third of Bonnie and Travis’ eight children and the recipient of the confirmed miracle that led to Sheen’s beatification, will play a part in the Mass by presenting several relics of Sheen onstage. Gray and Tylka both displayed two of the relics during the press conference: one of Sheen’s zuchettos — the reddish-purple skullcap worn by archbishops — and Sheen’s pectoral cross.
One of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s zuchettos, the reddish-purple skullcap worn by archbishops, is displayed during a press conference ahead of Sheenʼs beatification on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jonah McKeown/EWTN News
James Fulton, who was born in 2010, spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat while his mother prayed fervently to Sheen to help her child — whom she and her husband had already named after the famous archbishop. Almost exactly 16 years later, James is a happy and healthy teenager. The fact that James’ healing was a miracle was attested to unanimously by the medical experts, cardinals and others at the Vatican tasked with investigating it. In a later on-air interview with EWTN on Thursday, his mother said she sees a connection between Sheen’s devotion to spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day and the 61 minutes her son lie lifeless.“As a laywoman, I was so impressed with how thorough the investigation was. And Travis and I felt very reassured that, wow, when the Catholic Church says something is a miracle, it is a miracle,” Engstrom commented during the press conference.When asked why she chose to call upon Sheen specifically in such a dire moment, Engstrom noted that Sheen had been a favorite of their family for years — a “local boy” with a down-to-earth Midwestern air, a “warm character” who reminded Engstrom of her own grandfather and great-grandfather. In that context, calling on Sheen during the worst hour of her and her husband’s life made complete sense, she said.Despite his highly unusual birth story, James himself is an ordinary kid, a “punk teenage boy,” Engstrom joked, who didn’t ask to be thrust into the spotlight. Nevertheless, he is also a “delightful young man” who is excited — albeit a little nervous — to play a part in the beatification Mass for the intercessor who helped save his life, Engstrom continued.“For all of our children, weʼve put all of our kids under the patronage of a saint and have really built a culture where we are celebrating feast days. We are calling on their intercession. I want all of my kids to feel like they have a squad that surrounds them, that is following them through life, praying for them, interceding, cheering them on,” she said.Gray noted that because the late Pope Francis originally announced Sheen’s beatification in July 2019, any purported miracle attributed to his intercession that has taken place since then can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward. Gray said the Vatican is considering six different potential miracles involving Sheen’s intercession, including an alleged instantaneous healing from cancer and a healing of another newborn from a condition similar to James’. Pope Leo, a native of Illinois like Sheen, is well aware of the archbishop’s cause, Tylka added.Both Tylka and Gray said they have no doubt that Sheen will one day be canonized.“Americaʼs bishop, as Sheen was known, is being beatified during the 250th anniversary of our nation,” Tylka said. “And we have a pope from Chicago, a native son of Illinois, who gave the green light for this to move forward. So I think all of those things say itʼs pretty opportune … I hope that the time between now and actual canonization wonʼt be that long.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/a-foretaste-of-heaven-sheen-beatification-organizers-eager-for-mass-catholic-st-louis-for-bonnie-engstrom-who-witnessed-her-newborn-child-miraculously-healed-throug-scaled.jpg "‘A foretaste of heaven’: Sheen beatification organizers eager for Mass – #Catholic – ST. LOUIS — For Bonnie Engstrom, who witnessed her newborn child miraculously healed through the intercession of soon-to-be Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the journey to the prelate’s beatification has been an “emotional roller coaster.”The Sept. 24 Mass will be “a foretaste of heaven,” she predicted, “where we are all going to be worshipping God together and celebrating the Church as a whole, and the power of the body of Christ and every good grace that God has given us. I am so looking forward to it,” Engstrom said at a Thursday morning press conference.Engstrom spoke to the media along with Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, and Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria. Gray said it is a relief, after years of technical investigations and paperwork, to see their work finally come to fruition and be able to join in the celebration of Sheen with the faithful.That said, Gray admitted he has been surprised during the process at how much attention Sheen has attracted, particularly among young people.“One question that came up early on [was]: Whoʼs going to care? All the people who knew him when his program was on are very old. But weʼve discovered young people are inspired by Sheen, because heʼs a voice of integrity that inspires people who did not know him in life, that have discovered him in the years since,” Gray said. “So itʼs just exciting to see how much enthusiasm there is,”Tylka agreed, highlighting the fact that Sheen pioneered “new media” in his day — attracting wide attention, including from non-Catholics — serving as an inspiration to those looking to do the same in 2026. He also showed how to bridge divisions in the Church and in the world because he “always spoke with the truth of the Gospel, with charity and with clarity.”“Sheenʼs message is timeless because he spoke the truth and he spoke the truth with clarity and charity. I think a lot of people in the world, especially young people, are searching for purpose and meaning and to have a voice that so convicted, he presents the truth of our faith, our belief in Jesus Christ, the truth that God loves us and that life is worth living. I think thatʼs very appealing,” Tylka said.‘Local boy’The beatification Mass Thursday afternoon will include 89 bishops, about 1,000 priests, about 850 each of seminarians and religious, and 250 deacons, along with about 50,000 total attendees, Gray said. The Mass, which can be viewed live on EWTN with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s representative.James Fulton Engstrom, the third of Bonnie and Travis’ eight children and the recipient of the confirmed miracle that led to Sheen’s beatification, will play a part in the Mass by presenting several relics of Sheen onstage. Gray and Tylka both displayed two of the relics during the press conference: one of Sheen’s zuchettos — the reddish-purple skullcap worn by archbishops — and Sheen’s pectoral cross.
One of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s zuchettos, the reddish-purple skullcap worn by archbishops, is displayed during a press conference ahead of Sheenʼs beatification on Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: Jonah McKeown/EWTN News
James Fulton, who was born in 2010, spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat while his mother prayed fervently to Sheen to help her child — whom she and her husband had already named after the famous archbishop. Almost exactly 16 years later, James is a happy and healthy teenager. The fact that James’ healing was a miracle was attested to unanimously by the medical experts, cardinals and others at the Vatican tasked with investigating it. In a later on-air interview with EWTN on Thursday, his mother said she sees a connection between Sheen’s devotion to spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day and the 61 minutes her son lie lifeless.“As a laywoman, I was so impressed with how thorough the investigation was. And Travis and I felt very reassured that, wow, when the Catholic Church says something is a miracle, it is a miracle,” Engstrom commented during the press conference.When asked why she chose to call upon Sheen specifically in such a dire moment, Engstrom noted that Sheen had been a favorite of their family for years — a “local boy” with a down-to-earth Midwestern air, a “warm character” who reminded Engstrom of her own grandfather and great-grandfather. In that context, calling on Sheen during the worst hour of her and her husband’s life made complete sense, she said.Despite his highly unusual birth story, James himself is an ordinary kid, a “punk teenage boy,” Engstrom joked, who didn’t ask to be thrust into the spotlight. Nevertheless, he is also a “delightful young man” who is excited — albeit a little nervous — to play a part in the beatification Mass for the intercessor who helped save his life, Engstrom continued.“For all of our children, weʼve put all of our kids under the patronage of a saint and have really built a culture where we are celebrating feast days. We are calling on their intercession. I want all of my kids to feel like they have a squad that surrounds them, that is following them through life, praying for them, interceding, cheering them on,” she said.Gray noted that because the late Pope Francis originally announced Sheen’s beatification in July 2019, any purported miracle attributed to his intercession that has taken place since then can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward. Gray said the Vatican is considering six different potential miracles involving Sheen’s intercession, including an alleged instantaneous healing from cancer and a healing of another newborn from a condition similar to James’. Pope Leo, a native of Illinois like Sheen, is well aware of the archbishop’s cause, Tylka added.Both Tylka and Gray said they have no doubt that Sheen will one day be canonized.“Americaʼs bishop, as Sheen was known, is being beatified during the 250th anniversary of our nation,” Tylka said. “And we have a pope from Chicago, a native son of Illinois, who gave the green light for this to move forward. So I think all of those things say itʼs pretty opportune … I hope that the time between now and actual canonization wonʼt be that long.”")
