The pope also accepted Wednesday the resignation of Bishop Frank J. Dewane, 76, who led the Diocese of Venice, Florida, since 2007.
The Ortega regime’s repression of the Catholic Church could not silence God’s call to Cristhian Mendieta. Having fled Nicaragua as a seminarian, the young man was ordained to the priesthood in Miami.
8 men to be ordained permanent deacons May 30 #Catholic – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will ordain eight men of diverse backgrounds to the permanent diaconate of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., on Saturday, May 30, at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J.
This class of permanent deacons is the first to be ordained in the diocese since 2023.
The men received their spiritual and pastoral formation through the Paterson Diocese diaconate formation program and received their academic formation in theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in South Orange, N.J. Depending on their educational background at the start of formation, the men received a Master of Arts in Theology, and/or a Certificate in Diaconal Studies or a Certificate in Spirituality from the Seminary.
The men to be ordained are: Stephen Deehan of St. Luke Parish in the Long Valley of Washington Township, N.J., Paul DePinto of St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park, N.J., Timothy P. Dunmyer of St. Jude Parish in Hopatcong, N.J., James Gillespie of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mountain Lakes, N.J., Tobi Ippolito of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J., Tom Kimble of St. Jude Thaddeus Parish in the Budd Lake neighborhood of Mount Olive Township, N.J., Gregory Marchesi of St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., Elmer Lopez Maximo of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J.
“These are all men of deep faith and spiritual commitment,” said Deacon William Ruane, the director of the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate. “They have studied and trained hard these past five years under the direction of the deacons in their formation team, led by Deacon John Mihalko. They will be a tremendous asset to the diocese and we take great joy in seeing them ordained to serve the Church of Paterson,” he said.
A permanent deacon is an ordained minister in the Catholic Church, belonging to the clergy but often married and holding a secular job. As a permanent member of the hierarchy—not on the way to priesthood — he acts as a “servant” to the bishop and pastor, focusing on the ministry of liturgy, word, and charity, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
There are 125 active and retired permanent deacons serving 74 parishes in the diocese. The first were ordained in 1974. Since then, about 340 men have been ordained.
The permanent deacon candidates are:
DEEHAN
Stephen Deehan
Stephen Deehan, 59, belongs to St. Luke Parish in Washington Township. His faith journey started as an altar server and continued with years of ministry at St. Luke Parish. The call to pursue the diaconate grew in part from his and his family’s work establishing the St. Luke Food Pantry.
Deehan has been married to his wife, Yvonne, for 32 years, and together they are parents of four children: Patrick, 29, and his spouse, Nikki; Christian, 27; Stephen, 25, and his fiancée, Gillian; and Noelle, 22.
He graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, N.J. and Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. He then earned his doctorate from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–New Jersey Dental School in Newark, N.J.
Deehan has operated a private dental practice in Hackettstown, N.J., for 31 years.
“I look forward to the challenges and blessings of serving God and his Church on the path guided by the Holy Spirit,” Deehan said.
DEPINTO
Paul DePinto
Paul DePinto, 57, and his wife, Loren, have been married since 1997 and have lived in Lincoln Park for 25 years as members of St. Joseph Parish.
DePinto earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Rutgers University, a master’s in counseling from Montclair University, a master’s in educational leadership from St. Elizabeth University in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morris Township, N.J.
Paul and Loren have two children: Gia, 26, and Alec, 23.
DePinto has worked for Strength For Change private counseling practice as a licensed professional counselor since 2004. He also spent more than 12 years in the public school system, serving as a student assistance counselor, psychology teacher, and vice principal from 2001 to 2014.
DUNMYER
Timothy P. Dunmyer
Timothy P. Dunmyer, 61, and his wife Lisa, married for 20 years, serve as lectors, catechists, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at St. Jude Parish in Hopatcong, N.J.
Dunmyer was grand knight and district deputy in the Knights of Columbus. He now belongs to the Hopatcong Knights of Columbus Council 9914.
Dunmyer is a recently retired police lieutenant with 36 years of service in the Livingston Police Department in New Jersey.
GILLESPIE
James Gillespie
James Gillespie, 60, and Beth, his wife of 30 years, have been members of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mountain Lakes, N.J., for 30 years. They have three adult children.
At St. Catherine, Gillespie has served as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, a lector, and an usher. He is a member of the Lazarus ministry, the men’s group, and the Blessed Sacrament Society. He also belongs to Knights of Columbus Council 3359, which supports St. Catherine’s and other parishes in the diocese.
In 1984, Gillespie graduated from Morris Catholic High School in Denville, N.J. He earned an associate’s degree in business administration from the County College of Morris in Randolph.
For many years, Gillespie has worked with his father in a family-owned business in the flooring industry. For the past 28 years, he has also been a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 251. He installs commercial flooring in many hospitals, schools, and corporate office spaces.
About his journey to the permanent diaconate, Gillespie thanked his wife for her encouragement, support, and love. He acknowledged the bond he and his wife have created with the men and their wives in his cohort, “allowing us to be united in our shared love of the Church and our faith.”
“I have been truly humbled by the endless gifts of prayer and support my cohort and I have received during our faith journey,” Gillespie said. “As an ordained minister, I look forward to serving my parish and the Diocese of Paterson. I want to share my love of the faith and the knowledge I have gained during five years of formation,” he said.
IPPOLITO
Tobi Ippolito
Tobi Ippolito, 58, and his wife, Anne Brauner, married in 1995, belong to Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J., where they are active in several ministries. They live in East Hanover with their three children: Toby, Michael, and Jessica.
Ippolito graduated from DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, N.J, where he met Brauner, and a doctor of medicine from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School in Newark.
Ippolito completed an internal medicine residency and now practices with RWJ Barnabas Medical Group.
KIMBLE
Tom Kimble
Tom Kimble belongs to St. Jude Thaddeus Parish in the Budd Lake neighborhood of Mount Olive Township, N.J., where he serves as pastoral ministries director and directs the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults’ (OCIA) catechesis.
Previously, Kimble was director for Men’s Cornerstone at St. Jude’s, a parish trustee, and Diocesan Ministries Appeal chairman.
Kimble has been married to his wife, Karla, for 32 years; they have three children: Alex, 32, Cassie, 28, and Samie, 26. He is a mechanical Engineer who has been employed with Sealed Air Corporation since 1989.
MARCHESI
Gregory Marchesi
Gregory Marchesi, 57, belongs to St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J., where he serves as the faith-formation director and co-director of OCIA. He also serves as a lector, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and an acolyte.
For 29 years, Marchesi has been married to his wife, Jennifer; together they have three children: Alexander, 27, Nicholas, 23, and Madison, 21.
Marchesi graduated from Manalapan High School in Englishtown, N.J. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Kean University, where he played men’s soccer and received Second Team honors. Marchesi also earned a certification for teaching of the handicapped from Kean and a master’s degree in education from Marygrove College in 2002.
Marchesi worked 29 years for the Board of Education of West Orange, N.J., before retiring in 2023. There, he coached baseball at various high school levels, concluding his career as the West Orange Boys’ varsity soccer assistant coach. He also coached with the Player Development Academy in Zarephath, N.J., where his team won the Under-19 State Championship.
MAXIMO
Elmer Lopez Maximo
Elmer Lopez Maximo, 58, was born and raised in the Philippines and now belongs to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J. He serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, a lector, a liturgical coordinator, and a parish leader. He is also a member of the Rosary Society, the Pro-Life ministry, the Finance Board, and the Pastoral Council.
At the diocesan level, Maximo serves as president of the Diocesan Commission for Catholic Filipino Ministries. This group supports the faith formation and community life of Filipinos in our diocese.
Maximo earned a bachelor’s in commerce, specializing in business management, from San Beda College, now San Beda University, in Manila, the Philippines.
For 28 years, Maximo has been senior managing director of HR and administration at Seven Seven Softwares, Inc., an IT and global services company.
Reflecting on his call to the permanent diaconate, Maximo said, “My vocation developed through prayer, service, and love for the Eucharist.”
“Guided by the Blessed Virgin Mary, I learned to trust in God’s will. Through both joy and suffering, I came to see the diaconate as a call to serve as a bridge between the Church and the world,” Maximo said. “With gratitude, holiness, and humility, I offer my life in service to Christ and His people. I trust in His grace,” he said.
– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will ordain eight men of diverse backgrounds to the permanent diaconate of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., on Saturday, May 30, at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. This class of permanent deacons is the first to be ordained in the diocese since 2023. The men received their spiritual and pastoral formation through the Paterson Diocese diaconate formation program and received their academic formation in theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in South Orange, N.J. Depending on their educational background at the start of formation, the men received
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
After Paul’s escorts had taken him to Athens,
they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy
to join him as soon as possible.
Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said:
"You Athenians, I see that in every respect
you are very religious.
For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines,
I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’
What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and all that is in it,
the Lord of heaven and earth,
does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,
nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.
Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
He made from one the whole human race
to dwell on the entire surface of the earth,
and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,
so that people might seek God,
even perhaps grope for him and find him,
though indeed he is not far from any one of us.
For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’
as even some of your poets have said,
‘For we too are his offspring.’
Since therefore we are the offspring of God,
we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image
fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.
God has overlooked the times of ignorance,
but now he demands that all people everywhere repent
because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world
with justice’ through a man he has appointed,
and he has provided confirmation for all
by raising him from the dead."
When they heard about resurrection of the dead,
some began to scoff, but others said,
"We should like to hear you on this some other time."
And so Paul left them.
But some did join him, and became believers.
Among them were Dionysius,
a member of the Court of the Areopagus,
a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.
From the Gospel according to John
16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."
The Gospel of St John gives us part of the long farewell discourse pronounced by Jesus shortly before his Passion. In this discourse, he explains to the disciples the deepest truths about himself, and thus he outlines the relationship between Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus knows that the fulfillment of the Father’s plan is approaching and will be completed with his death and resurrection. Because of this he wants to assure his followers that he won’t abandon them, because his mission will be prolonged by the Holy Spirit. It will be the Holy Spirit who continues the mission of Jesus, that is, guide the Church forward. Jesus reveals what this mission is. In the first place, the Spirit guides us to understand the many things that Jesus himself still had to say (cf. Jn 16:12). This doesn’t refer to new or special doctrines, but to a full understanding of all that the Son has heard from the Father and has made known to the disciples (cf. v. 15). The Spirit guides us in new existential situations with a gaze fixed on Jesus and at the same time, open to events and to the future. He helps us to walk in history, firmly rooted in the Gospel and with dynamic fidelity to our traditions and customs. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 22 May 2016)
Read More![The Solemnities of the Ascension and Pentecost #Catholic - “Accompany with your Blessing from this day forward O Lord those who have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Sacrament of your Son. So that, with all trials overcome, they may gladden your Church by their holiness and, by their works and their charity foster her growth in the world. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
— Prayer after Communion, Ritual Mass of Confirmation
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
The Prayer cited above has become one of my favorite prayers. Often, as I say that prayer after Communion at a Mass when I have celebrated confirmation, I am tempted to give a “second homily.” As much as I love the prayer, I have not (yet) fallen to that temptation (one homily is enough). I am hoping that this column will give me the opportunity to say something I have been wanting to say about that prayer for the past few years.
If you take some time to consider the words of the prayer above and the context in which the words are prayed, the bishop (or celebrant) is certainly asking God to bless those who have just received the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of confirmation and who have also received Jesus in Holy Communion – “…those who have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Sacrament of you Son…”
Is the prayer asking God to bless ONLY the newly confirmed? Or, is the prayer not asking that the Lord’s blessing “accompany” ALL (especially those in church at that moment) who have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and have received Jesus in Holy Communion? Something I do try to say during the homily at confirmation is that the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation is a “blessed moment” for all in attendance. Whether someone was confirmed in the past year or many years ago, attending the celebration of the sacrament can be a reminder that we should all be prayerfully asking every day for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and praying that we can “live” or use those gifts so that they “bear fruit” in our lives so that, as the prayer asks, “… with all trials overcome, they (we – you and I) may gladden your Church by their holiness and, by their works and their charity foster her growth in the world…”
As we approach, in the Church’s calendar, the conclusion of the 50 days of the Easter season, the Solemnities of the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost offer us a wonderful opportunity to consider the importance of the gifts and “fruits” of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I imagine that some readers of this column might continue to feel disappointed or upset by the decision of the bishops of New Jersey to “transfer” the Solemnity of the Ascension from a Thursday (10 days before Pentecost) to a Sunday (seven days before Pentecost). For those who may still have those feelings, I would ask your patience and understanding – a “fruit” and a gift of the Holy Spirit. I also invite you to try to “see the positive,” such as the beauty of the Solemnity of the Ascension, leading us to Pentecost, regardless of whether it is celebrated on a Thursday or Sunday.
As I ask for “patience and understanding,” I hope that provides an example of the circumstances and situations in which we find ourselves in our “day to day” lives when we need to ask that the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit be “enflamed” in our lives so that our “works and charity” can “foster the growth of the Church in the world” by producing and sharing the “fruits” of the Holy Spirit.
One of the blessings of my ministry as bishop, especially during this time of year, is the opportunity to frequently celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the Prayer of Confirmation by which the bishop (or celebrant) “calls down” the gifts of the Holy Spirit on those being confirmed, the sevenfold Gifts are named: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Fortitude, Counsel, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. Can you recall the last time that you asked for or needed one of those gifts in particular? If you are not regularly in the habit of asking for or thinking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, these days leading up to Pentecost are a great time to be reflecting upon and asking for the gifts of the Spirit in prayer.
I found a very interesting, informative, and thought-provoking article, available online, from the website “Catholic Answers,” with the subtitle: “What are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and why do they matter?” After a brief description of each of the seven gifts, it says this:
“These are heroic character traits that Jesus Christ alone possesses in their plenitude but that he freely shares with the members of his mystical body (i.e., his Church). These traits are infused into every Christian as a permanent endowment at his baptism, nurtured by the practice of the seven virtues, and sealed in the sacrament of confirmation. They are also known as the sanctifying gifts of the Spirit, because they serve the purpose of rendering their recipients docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in their lives, helping them to grow in holiness and making them fit for heaven…” The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
I hope that most readers are aware that, as we speak of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Church also identifies 12 “fruits” of the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church names the gifts in articles 1830-31, fruits of the Holy Spirit in article 1832: “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. the tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.” [ See: The Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit.]
Father Mike Schmitz offers a very good (19-minute) summary of the gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit in a chapter/episode of his Catechism in a Year podcast that can be found on YouTube here.
One way to meditate and reflect on the importance of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is to just slowly read the list of those 12 virtues or character-traits and ask how needed (and valued?) they are in our world and culture today. We might also review the list and choose to reflect on one or two each day as we move toward the celebration of the Ascension and Pentecost, or choose one, two, or three of the fruits that you may want to “practice” or live out in your life and relationships?
With each Confirmation Mass I celebrate, and each time I pray that beautiful Prayer after Communion, I am more convinced that each of us should be asking for the grace to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, day by day, so that we may “produce” and share the fruits of the Holy Spirit. So that, “with all trials overcome, (we) may gladden (the) Church by (our) holiness and, by (our) works and charity foster her growth in the world.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/the-solemnities-of-the-ascension-and-pentecost-catholic-accompany-with-your-blessing-from-this-day-forward-o-lord-those-who-have-been-anointed-with-the-holy-spirit-and-nourished-by-the-sac.jpg)
The Solemnities of the Ascension and Pentecost #Catholic – 
“Accompany with your Blessing from this day forward O Lord those who have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Sacrament of your Son. So that, with all trials overcome, they may gladden your Church by their holiness and, by their works and their charity foster her growth in the world. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
— Prayer after Communion, Ritual Mass of Confirmation
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
The Prayer cited above has become one of my favorite prayers. Often, as I say that prayer after Communion at a Mass when I have celebrated confirmation, I am tempted to give a “second homily.” As much as I love the prayer, I have not (yet) fallen to that temptation (one homily is enough). I am hoping that this column will give me the opportunity to say something I have been wanting to say about that prayer for the past few years.
If you take some time to consider the words of the prayer above and the context in which the words are prayed, the bishop (or celebrant) is certainly asking God to bless those who have just received the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of confirmation and who have also received Jesus in Holy Communion – “…those who have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Sacrament of you Son…”
Is the prayer asking God to bless ONLY the newly confirmed? Or, is the prayer not asking that the Lord’s blessing “accompany” ALL (especially those in church at that moment) who have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and have received Jesus in Holy Communion? Something I do try to say during the homily at confirmation is that the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation is a “blessed moment” for all in attendance. Whether someone was confirmed in the past year or many years ago, attending the celebration of the sacrament can be a reminder that we should all be prayerfully asking every day for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and praying that we can “live” or use those gifts so that they “bear fruit” in our lives so that, as the prayer asks, “… with all trials overcome, they (we – you and I) may gladden your Church by their holiness and, by their works and their charity foster her growth in the world…”
As we approach, in the Church’s calendar, the conclusion of the 50 days of the Easter season, the Solemnities of the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost offer us a wonderful opportunity to consider the importance of the gifts and “fruits” of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I imagine that some readers of this column might continue to feel disappointed or upset by the decision of the bishops of New Jersey to “transfer” the Solemnity of the Ascension from a Thursday (10 days before Pentecost) to a Sunday (seven days before Pentecost). For those who may still have those feelings, I would ask your patience and understanding – a “fruit” and a gift of the Holy Spirit. I also invite you to try to “see the positive,” such as the beauty of the Solemnity of the Ascension, leading us to Pentecost, regardless of whether it is celebrated on a Thursday or Sunday.
As I ask for “patience and understanding,” I hope that provides an example of the circumstances and situations in which we find ourselves in our “day to day” lives when we need to ask that the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit be “enflamed” in our lives so that our “works and charity” can “foster the growth of the Church in the world” by producing and sharing the “fruits” of the Holy Spirit.
One of the blessings of my ministry as bishop, especially during this time of year, is the opportunity to frequently celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. In the Prayer of Confirmation by which the bishop (or celebrant) “calls down” the gifts of the Holy Spirit on those being confirmed, the sevenfold Gifts are named: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Fortitude, Counsel, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. Can you recall the last time that you asked for or needed one of those gifts in particular? If you are not regularly in the habit of asking for or thinking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, these days leading up to Pentecost are a great time to be reflecting upon and asking for the gifts of the Spirit in prayer.
I found a very interesting, informative, and thought-provoking article, available online, from the website “Catholic Answers,” with the subtitle: “What are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and why do they matter?” After a brief description of each of the seven gifts, it says this:
“These are heroic character traits that Jesus Christ alone possesses in their plenitude but that he freely shares with the members of his mystical body (i.e., his Church). These traits are infused into every Christian as a permanent endowment at his baptism, nurtured by the practice of the seven virtues, and sealed in the sacrament of confirmation. They are also known as the sanctifying gifts of the Spirit, because they serve the purpose of rendering their recipients docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in their lives, helping them to grow in holiness and making them fit for heaven…” The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
I hope that most readers are aware that, as we speak of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Church also identifies 12 “fruits” of the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church names the gifts in articles 1830-31, fruits of the Holy Spirit in article 1832: “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. the tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.” [ See: The Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit.]
Father Mike Schmitz offers a very good (19-minute) summary of the gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit in a chapter/episode of his Catechism in a Year podcast that can be found on YouTube here.
One way to meditate and reflect on the importance of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is to just slowly read the list of those 12 virtues or character-traits and ask how needed (and valued?) they are in our world and culture today. We might also review the list and choose to reflect on one or two each day as we move toward the celebration of the Ascension and Pentecost, or choose one, two, or three of the fruits that you may want to “practice” or live out in your life and relationships?
With each Confirmation Mass I celebrate, and each time I pray that beautiful Prayer after Communion, I am more convinced that each of us should be asking for the grace to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit, day by day, so that we may “produce” and share the fruits of the Holy Spirit. So that, “with all trials overcome, (we) may gladden (the) Church by (our) holiness and, by (our) works and charity foster her growth in the world.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
– “Accompany with your Blessing from this day forward O Lord those who have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Sacrament of your Son. So that, with all trials overcome, they may gladden your Church by their holiness and, by their works and their charity foster her growth in the world. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen. — Prayer after Communion, Ritual Mass of Confirmation BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY The Prayer cited above has become one of my favorite prayers. Often, as I say that prayer after Communion at a Mass when I have celebrated confirmation, I am
Cardinal Blase Cupich said Father Jose Molina was accused of “improper communications” and was barred from ministering in Chicago.
The Vatican’s message for Vesak calls Buddhists and Christians to promote an “unarmed and disarming” peace rooted in truth, compassion, and mutual trust.
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 16:22-34
The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas,
and the magistrates had them stripped
and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After inflicting many blows on them,
they threw them into prison
and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.
When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell
and secured their feet to a stake.
About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
"Do no harm to yourself; we are all here."
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you and your household will be saved."
So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds;
then he and all his family were baptized at once.
He brought them up into his house and provided a meal
and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.
From the Gospel according to John
16:5-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned."
The Gospel passage takes us today to the Upper Room where, after the Last Supper, a sense of loss has saddened the Apostles. This is due to the fact that Jesus’ words arouse disturbing questions: He spoke of the world’s hatred of him and of his own, he spoke of his mysterious departure; and there were still many other things to be said, but for the time being the Apostles were not able to bear the weight (cf. Jn 16: 12). To console them, he explains the meaning of his departure: he will go, but he will return; meanwhile, he will not abandon them, will not leave them orphans. He will send the Consoler, the Spirit of the Father, and the Spirit will enable them to understand that Christ’s work is a work of love: love of the One who gave himself, love of the Father who has given him. (…) The Holy Spirit illuminates the human spirit and, by revealing Christ Crucified and Risen, indicates the way to become more like him, that is, to be "the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ" (Deus Caritas Est, n. 33). (Benedict XVI, Homily on the Solemnity of Pentecost, 4 June 2006)
Read More
Caritas Chamber Chorale presents ‘A Heart at Peace’ to benefit Adorno Fathers’ African mission #Catholic – 
The Caritas Chamber Chorale will present a series of three a cappella choral concerts titled A Heart at Peace on June 12, 13, and 14 at three locations in northern N.J. The program seeks to find mercy and peace through music, and there will be a freewill offering to benefit the Adorno Fathers’ African Mission.
The concerts will include works ranging from 16th-century English motets to early American sacred music and choral works by living composers.
Featured works include local composer Mark A. Miller’s “Dona Nobis Pacem,” Caritas Composer in Residence Wayne Dietterick’s “The Peace-Pipe” on a Longfellow poem, and an original three-part work on the peace of one’s later years by Caritas charter member Chris Rath, “Let in the Grace.” Also included will be Martin Åsander’s “Peace,” Lucy Walker’s “Give Me Your Stars,” and Dan Forrest’s “Good Night Dear Heart,” among many others.
A Heart at Peace will be presented on:
- Friday, June 12, 7:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648;
- Saturday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Vincent DePaul Church, 250 Bebout Ave., Stirling (Long Hill Township), NJ 07980;
- Sunday, June 14, at 4 p.m. at Mount St. Mary’s Academy Chapel, 1645 Rt. 22 W., Watchung, NJ 07069. This concert will feature a women’s ensemble from Mount St. Mary’s Academy.
The concerts are free and open to the public. The entirety of the freewill offering will benefit the Pierluigi Fabbiani Nursery School, the Gianni Diurni Primary School, and the Foyer de l’Enfance Paolo Di Nardo Orphanage, run by the Adorno Fathers’ St. Francis Caracciolo Mission in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.
Caritas Chamber Chorale, founded in 2005, is a community choir of approximately 20 singers who are dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor through the art of sacred music. Caritas’ audiences have supported the Adorno Fathers’ St. Francis Caracciolo Mission in DRC, Africa, through freewill offerings.
The Chorale is directed by Barbara Sanderman and assisted by Wayne Dietterick.
For more information, visit them on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify, at www.caritaschamberchorale.org, or contact director@caritaschamberchorale.org.
– The Caritas Chamber Chorale will present a series of three a cappella choral concerts titled A Heart at Peace on June 12, 13, and 14 at three locations in northern N.J. The program seeks to find mercy and peace through music, and there will be a freewill offering to benefit the Adorno Fathers’ African Mission. The concerts will include works ranging from 16th-century English motets to early American sacred music and choral works by living composers. Featured works include local composer Mark A. Miller’s “Dona Nobis Pacem,” Caritas Composer in Residence Wayne Dietterick’s “The Peace-Pipe” on a Longfellow poem, and
![Jay Wright shares proven leadership lessons for Church renewal #Catholic - By all rights, Jalen Brunson, a star point guard for Villanova men’s basketball, could have played with swagger in the Wildcats’ final game of the NCAA national championships in 2018. He had just collected most of the major awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, the day before facing Michigan on April 2.
Instead, Brunson let his teammates shine, making it easier for them to score and passing the ball rather than taking shots himself. The Wildcats beat Michigan 79-62 for their second championship since 2016. Brunson scored only nine points — well below his 16-point season average.
Jay Wright, Villanova men’s basketball head coach for 21 seasons, illustrated the success and generosity of Brunson and other former players both on and off the court during his May 6 talk, “Winning and Losing as Disciples and as a Team.” He used their examples to foster teamwork as life lessons — what he called “attitude” — as he addressed parish leaders, coaches, young adults, and others seeking to live their faith with courage and purpose in the packed auditorium at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J.
“Jalen had the opportunity to be the star during that championship game. Instead, he showed his teammates he would stay true to the team’s core values. He said, ‘It’s not about me. It’s about the team,’” said Wright, who retired in 2022 as the William B. Finneran Endowed Head Coach of Villanova, a Catholic institution. Brunson is now a guard for the N.Y. Nicks in the NBA. “We want our leaders to be the most selfless and lead a team by example. Success isn’t just wins and losses. It’s about living together and treating each other well,” Wright said.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Wright encouraged audience members to apply those core values — which he and his team summarized in the buzzword “attitude” — when building teams in their parishes or dioceses or revitalizing the Church. He said that people with “attitude” focus on teamwork, mission, dedication, work ethic, and supporting one another. Wright illustrated these principles with examples from games during his distinguished career.
“You will succeed if it’s God’s plan, but all you can control is your attitude and faith,” said Wright, who now gives motivational talks.
In addition to notching NCAA national championships in 2016 and 2018, Wright’s Villanova teams made four appearances in the NCAA Final Four.
Among his many accolades, he became the first man in BIG EAST history to be selected as the league’s Coach of the Year six times in 2018-19 and was named Associated Press men’s college basketball Coach of the Decade in 2020.
Wright and his wife, Patricia Reilly, received the St. Augustine Medal in 2017. Wright’s 2017 book, “Attitude,” was a New York Times bestseller.
Father Paddy O’Donovan, retired priest and former pastor in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., invited his friend Wright to speak at St. Paul’s. Father O’Donovan said publicly that Wright’s wisdom helped him understand leadership amid Church renewal and evangelization while leading parishes.
Wright “lives the reality” practicing the faith and evangelizing “in a very public way but also a deeply religious and personal way,” said Father O’Donovan, adding he is devoted to his wife and three children. “Jay is deeply committed to the life and mission of the Church,” Father O’Donovan said.
Villanova alumni filled St. Paul’s auditorium and posed many questions to Wright during a Q&A session after his talk. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, a sports fan, then offered a prayer.
“We have such a great team in the diocese. Tonight, as we give thanks to God for the witness [of Wright], we also pray that we have that attitude, which is Christ: to love as he loves,” Bishop Sweeney said.
Afterwards, Paul Pomykala, head coach of Passaic High School’s men’s basketball team and parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Boonton, N.J., said Wright focused on the “bigger picture.”
“Success comes when people share a mission, form a bond, and play for the team, not their own glory. It’s also about what God has in store,” Pomykala said.
Noah Anderson, a third-grader at St. Patrick School in Chatham, N.J., who plays baseball and runs track, said Wright emphasized a “positive attitude.”
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/jay-wright-shares-proven-leadership-lessons-for-church-renewal-catholic-by-all-rights-jalen-brunson-a-star-point-guard-for-villanova-mens-basketball-could-have-played-with-swagger-in-th.jpg)
Jay Wright shares proven leadership lessons for Church renewal #Catholic – 
By all rights, Jalen Brunson, a star point guard for Villanova men’s basketball, could have played with swagger in the Wildcats’ final game of the NCAA national championships in 2018. He had just collected most of the major awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, the day before facing Michigan on April 2.
Instead, Brunson let his teammates shine, making it easier for them to score and passing the ball rather than taking shots himself. The Wildcats beat Michigan 79-62 for their second championship since 2016. Brunson scored only nine points — well below his 16-point season average.
Jay Wright, Villanova men’s basketball head coach for 21 seasons, illustrated the success and generosity of Brunson and other former players both on and off the court during his May 6 talk, “Winning and Losing as Disciples and as a Team.” He used their examples to foster teamwork as life lessons — what he called “attitude” — as he addressed parish leaders, coaches, young adults, and others seeking to live their faith with courage and purpose in the packed auditorium at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J.
“Jalen had the opportunity to be the star during that championship game. Instead, he showed his teammates he would stay true to the team’s core values. He said, ‘It’s not about me. It’s about the team,’” said Wright, who retired in 2022 as the William B. Finneran Endowed Head Coach of Villanova, a Catholic institution. Brunson is now a guard for the N.Y. Nicks in the NBA. “We want our leaders to be the most selfless and lead a team by example. Success isn’t just wins and losses. It’s about living together and treating each other well,” Wright said.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Wright encouraged audience members to apply those core values — which he and his team summarized in the buzzword “attitude” — when building teams in their parishes or dioceses or revitalizing the Church. He said that people with “attitude” focus on teamwork, mission, dedication, work ethic, and supporting one another. Wright illustrated these principles with examples from games during his distinguished career.
“You will succeed if it’s God’s plan, but all you can control is your attitude and faith,” said Wright, who now gives motivational talks.
In addition to notching NCAA national championships in 2016 and 2018, Wright’s Villanova teams made four appearances in the NCAA Final Four.
Among his many accolades, he became the first man in BIG EAST history to be selected as the league’s Coach of the Year six times in 2018-19 and was named Associated Press men’s college basketball Coach of the Decade in 2020.
Wright and his wife, Patricia Reilly, received the St. Augustine Medal in 2017. Wright’s 2017 book, “Attitude,” was a New York Times bestseller.
Father Paddy O’Donovan, retired priest and former pastor in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., invited his friend Wright to speak at St. Paul’s. Father O’Donovan said publicly that Wright’s wisdom helped him understand leadership amid Church renewal and evangelization while leading parishes.
Wright “lives the reality” practicing the faith and evangelizing “in a very public way but also a deeply religious and personal way,” said Father O’Donovan, adding he is devoted to his wife and three children. “Jay is deeply committed to the life and mission of the Church,” Father O’Donovan said.
Villanova alumni filled St. Paul’s auditorium and posed many questions to Wright during a Q&A session after his talk. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, a sports fan, then offered a prayer.
“We have such a great team in the diocese. Tonight, as we give thanks to God for the witness [of Wright], we also pray that we have that attitude, which is Christ: to love as he loves,” Bishop Sweeney said.
Afterwards, Paul Pomykala, head coach of Passaic High School’s men’s basketball team and parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Boonton, N.J., said Wright focused on the “bigger picture.”
“Success comes when people share a mission, form a bond, and play for the team, not their own glory. It’s also about what God has in store,” Pomykala said.
Noah Anderson, a third-grader at St. Patrick School in Chatham, N.J., who plays baseball and runs track, said Wright emphasized a “positive attitude.”
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– By all rights, Jalen Brunson, a star point guard for Villanova men’s basketball, could have played with swagger in the Wildcats’ final game of the NCAA national championships in 2018. He had just collected most of the major awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, the day before facing Michigan on April 2. Instead, Brunson let his teammates shine, making it easier for them to score and passing the ball rather than taking shots himself. The Wildcats beat Michigan 79-62 for their second championship since 2016. Brunson scored only nine points — well below his 16-point season
The new embassy of Haiti to the Holy See, inaugurated Sunday near the Vatican walls, marks a deepening of diplomatic ties amid ongoing political crisis in the Caribbean nation.
St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, is bursting at the seams. Now, on May 24, it will break ground on its long-awaited new church.
Local volunteers help feed the hungry in Manhattan #Catholic – 
A group of volunteers woke up early on a rainy Saturday morning, April 25, and while it was still dark headed out to New York City to feed the hungry. A long running tradition of the youth/young adult ministries at St. John Vianney Parish in the Stockholm neighborhood of Hardyston, N.J. and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., the group collaborates with the volunteer organization Midnight Run to participate in their Breakfast Run program in lower Manhattan. Midnight Run coordinates more than a thousand relief missions every year in which volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups distribute food, clothing, blankets and personal care items to the homeless poor.
Local volunteer participants included an eighth-grader, high school sophomores, young adult alumni of the parishes’ shared youth ministry program, parents, and other parishioners. Additional volunteers gathered at St. John Vianney’s Madonna Hall at 6 a.m. to assist in preparing breakfast, which included French toast sticks, sausage, tater tots, and scrambled eggs. In addition to a hot breakfast, the group kept warm on the drive into the city with coolers and hot bricks. Volunteers made to-go options like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sliced oranges, and hygiene kits.
The group gathered for prayer in Madonna Hall before their caravan of cars left Stockholm for their destination, 28th street. They served more than 75 meals and handed out basics like socks, tees, and underwear in addition to breakfast.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
– A group of volunteers woke up early on a rainy Saturday morning, April 25, and while it was still dark headed out to New York City to feed the hungry. A long running tradition of the youth/young adult ministries at St. John Vianney Parish in the Stockholm neighborhood of Hardyston, N.J. and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson Township, N.J., the group collaborates with the volunteer organization Midnight Run to participate in their Breakfast Run program in lower Manhattan. Midnight Run coordinates more than a thousand relief missions every year in which volunteers from
Diaconal Wives Community hosts day of reflection at Cedar Knolls parish #Catholic – 
The newly formed Diaconal Wives Community at Notre Dame Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., hosted an initial day of reflection titled “Walking the Journey Together, A Morning of Reflection for Deacons’ Wives” on April 25. Jean Mindingall, catechetical minister at Resurrection Parish in Randolph, N.J., led a discussion about the call of a deacon’s wife and a Scriptural reflection. The event ended with daily Mass. There was time to reflect, share stories, meet new wives, nurture current, and renew relationships. The group hopes to host additional events in the future.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
– The newly formed Diaconal Wives Community at Notre Dame Parish in the Cedar Knolls neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., hosted an initial day of reflection titled “Walking the Journey Together, A Morning of Reflection for Deacons’ Wives” on April 25. Jean Mindingall, catechetical minister at Resurrection Parish in Randolph, N.J., led a discussion about the call of a deacon’s wife and a Scriptural reflection. The event ended with daily Mass. There was time to reflect, share stories, meet new wives, nurture current, and renew relationships. The group hopes to host additional events in the future. Click here to subscribe to
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 16:11-15
We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.
From the Gospel according to John
15:26—16:4a
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
“When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father…” (Jn 15:26). With these words, Jesus promises to send his disciples the Holy Spirit, the ultimate gift, the gift of gifts. (…) Look at the apostles: they were alone that morning, alone and bewildered, cowering behind closed doors, living in fear and overwhelmed by their weaknesses, failings and their sins, for they had denied Christ. The years they had spent with Jesus had not changed them: they were no different than they had been. Then, they received the Spirit and everything changed: the problems and failings remained, yet they were no longer afraid of them, nor of any who would be hostile to them. They sensed comfort within and they wanted to overflow with the comfort of God. Before, they were fearful; now their only fear was that of not testifying to the love they had received. Jesus had foretold this: “[The Spirit] will testify on my behalf; you also are to testify” (Jn 15:26-27). (…) We too are called to testify in the Holy Spirit, to become paracletes, comforters. The Spirit is asking us to embody the comfort he brings. How can we do this? Not by making great speeches, but by drawing near to others. Not with trite words, but with prayer and closeness. (Pope Francis, Homily on the Solemnity of Pentecost , 23 May 2021)
Read More![After stillbirth loss, mother of 7 returns to school to help others heal #Catholic After experiencing an unimaginable loss, Kelly Helsel felt called to begin a new chapter. Following 17 years as a stay-at-home mother, she returned to school to pursue her dream of becoming a counselor — hoping to offer others the same compassionate support and Catholic guidance that helped bring healing to her own life.In 2023 Helsel’s daughter, Mary Catherine, was stillborn. The experience and grief was ultimately “a huge catalyst to me going back to school,” Helsel told EWTN News.“I think death has an interesting way of snapping your priorities in line,” she said. “And through the death of our daughter, I understood that tomorrow was not promised. And I had been holding this dream very closely for 17 years, just trusting,” she said.“Much of my healing process after the stillbirth of our daughter was helped along by solid Catholic counseling,” she said. “So I just felt a whisper at first, and then I felt like, ‘I can turn around and be this for someone else in need.’ And so I did.”Path back to schoolA native of Arizona, Helsel met her now-husband, Doug, in high school. She then attended Northern Arizona University to receive a bachelorʼs degree in psychology with the hopes of becoming a counselor, but motherhood ultimately became her first priority.“My firstborn … was born during finals week of my bachelorʼs degree,” Helsel said. “I actually had a positive pregnancy test the day before I was scheduled to take the GRE [Graduate Record Examination].”“I just knew that motherhood was the priority and that Godʼs timing would take care of things. So I stayed at home,” she said.Helsel decided to put her plans of working as a counselor on the side and focus on her growing family. She and her husband had seven children over the next 17 years, but after the loss of their sixth child she felt called to switch her plans and return to school. “We just started taking one step in front of the other,” she said. Helsel started by applying to the University of Mary’s master’s program for counseling about six months after her daughter’s passing but was thrown an unexpected “curveball” during the process.“On the feast of the Annunciation, I got in. But then I also had a positive pregnancy test with my daughter, Isabel, on the very same day.”“I remember standing in the bathroom with my husband with my phone in one hand with an acceptance letter, and on the counter was a positive pregnancy test with our seventh baby.”Motherhood provided ‘the skills to be a fantastic student’Despite navigating grief, welcoming a new baby, and continuing to care for the rest of her family, Helsel not only decided to return to school but also opted for a five-semester accelerated program.She graduated on April 25 with a 4.0 GPA and her whole family by her side. It was all possible not in spite of her 17 years as a stay-at-home mom but because of the experience.
Kelly Helsel, her husband Doug Helsel, and their children at her graduation a the University of Mary on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Kelly Helsel
“I actually think that motherhood, 17 years of motherhood, gave me the skills to be a fantastic student,” she said. “I learned time management. I learned prioritization. I learned how to ask for help. I learned all kinds of things in the trenches of motherhood that gave me the opportunity to really thrive at UMary.” “I guess the loss of my daughter really showed me that like all things are ‘figure-out-able,’” she said. “When youʼve gone through something like that, it makes you unafraid to do really big things.”“I knew that I could just cannonball into the deep end and we could do this. And my husband was an amazing support throughout the program. But, Isabel was the curveball of all curveballs,” she said.“She was born during Christmas break and I just jumped back in in January. I didnʼt take any time off,” she said. "I would be in a rocking chair breastfeeding her, and my laptop is sitting next to me and Iʼm listening to a lecture.”“I became a pro at using the dictation tool on Microsoft Word” so “I could hold my baby and dictate a paper,” she said. “It was just a really wild time. I learned to be extremely flexible and gentle with myself ... But I just knew God was like, ‘go, go right now.’”“It was super bumpy at some points,“ she said. ”But I chose the University of Mary because I feel like [University of Mary president] Monsignor [James] Shea and the university really put their money where their mouth is in terms of supporting nontraditional students — especially mothers.”“All of my professors were extremely accommodating with extensions if I needed one. A few professors gave me early finals because Isabel was born right at the end of that first semester,” she said. “So the University of Mary was really crucial to my success because everyone was behind me.” Helsel noted that her professors, especially counseling professor Olivia Wedel, and other facility members and students were champions in cheering her “all the way to the finish line.”Waddell “would always remind me that ‘Iʼm surrounded by support,’” Helsel said. “When youʼre super tired and youʼre on your fourth Crock-Pot meal of the week and you donʼt have anymore bandwidth left, I just thought, ‘I am surrounded by support.’”“Jesus is real and his promises are too,” Helsel said. “I just remember really having to trust the Lord in a new way and also having to be very open to my dream not looking exactly like I wanted.”“So yes, I went back to school and I got a masterʼs degree, but it looked absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to, but it was also better, just like he had promised me.”“Your dreams matter to him,“ she said. ”Trust him, and especially Our Lady, with your dreams. Because he wants both. He wants your motherhood and your dreams.”Catholic counseling offers ‘the keys to real human flourishing’Officially a licensed counselor, Helsel is ready to jump in headfirst to help others in need by utilizing the guidance offered by the Catholic Church.“I believe very deeply that the Catholic Church has the keys to real human flourishing,” she said. “So I knew I wanted to become a mental health professional with those guardrails in place, because I benefited so much from Catholic counseling.”“I want to turn back around and help the next woman or couple or … anyone in line that needs to hear the good news, coupled with solid mental health formation. Like St. Thomas Aquinas says, ‘faith and reason.’ We need both.”With her “perinatal mental health training,” Helsel hopes to primarily work in the womenʼs health category “to support other women, pregnant women, postpartum women,” she said. “And obviously I have a love for people who may have lost a child in a particular way.”Helsel is interested in helping those discerning vocations, as her oldest son plans to apply to the priesthood. She is also hoping to support the vocation of marriage as it is “under a particular attack at this time.”To accomplish all of this, Helsel has already started her own private practice called Concordia Counseling.“I chose Concordia because Mary Catherine had a congenital heart condition,” she said. “Concordia means heart to heart or to bring two hearts into harmony. I wanted to honor my baby in heaven and Our Lord with my work. And so I started Concordia Counseling.”“Iʼm just getting it started. I have a caseload of about 10 clients, but Iʼm hoping to accept more,“ Helsel said. ”I know that the work I want to do most of all involves not just mental health but the teachings of the Catholic Church.”“I just think the framework needs to be formed properly, and that is the Catholic understanding of the whole person. And from there we can jump off anywhere,” she said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/after-stillbirth-loss-mother-of-7-returns-to-school-to-help-others-heal-catholic-after-experiencing-an-unimaginable-loss-kelly-helsel-felt-called-to-begin-a-new-chapter-following-17-years-as-a-sta-scaled.jpg)
After navigating loss and grief, Kelly Helsel is officially now a licensed counselor thanks to the guidance given to her by the Catholic Church and her desire to use her experience to help others.
At the Regina Caeli, the pope also thanked the Canary Islands for welcoming a cruise ship with passengers sick with hantavirus.
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,
they sent them Peter and John,
who went down and prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
for it had not yet fallen upon any of them;
they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid hands on them
and they received the Holy Spirit.
A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter
3:15-18
Beloved:
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence,
keeping your conscience clear,
so that, when you are maligned,
those who defame your good conduct in Christ
may themselves be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good,
if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
From the Gospel according to John
14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
The Lord Jesus said to his disciples: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever" (Jn 14: 15-16). Here the praying heart of Jesus is revealed to us, his filial and fraternal heart. This prayer reaches its apex and its fulfilment on the Cross, where Christ’s invocation is one with the total gift that he makes of himself, and thus his prayer becomes, so to speak, the very seal of his self-gift out of love of the Father and humanity. Invocation and donation of the Holy Spirit meet, they permeate each other, they become one reality. "And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever". In reality, Jesus’ prayers that of the Last Supper and that on the Cross form a single prayer that continues even in heaven, where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus, in fact, always lives his intercessional priesthood on behalf of the people of God and humanity and so prays for all of us, asking the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, on the Solemnity of Pentecost, 23 May 2010)
Read More![Catholics weigh in as Supreme Court faces deadline on telemedicine abortion ruling #Catholic The U.S. Supreme Court’s stay on the 5th Circuit’s ruling restricting access to telemedicine abortions is set to expire May 11, a deadline that could bring an extension, allow the restrictions to take effect, or prompt the justices to take up the case in full.Michael New, assistant professor of social research at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, told “EWTN News Nightly” on May 8: “The Supreme Court may extend the stay if they need more time to deliberate; they may simply uphold the 5th Circuit Courtʼs decision that bans tele-abortion, and the ban will go into effect; or they may want to do a full hearing [and] conduct oral arguments.”The Supreme Court on May 4 temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring in‑person dispensing of mifepristone after two manufacturers asked the justices to intervene, prompting Justice Samuel Alito to issue an administrative stay that restores mail‑order access until May 11 at 5 p.m. ET while the court weighs the request.Although Alito instructed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the state of Louisiana to respond by 5 p.m. ET on May 7, the Justice Department failed to do so.New described the development as “odd,” saying the failure by the Justice Department, which represents the FDA, to meet the filing deadline could be that “they don’t want to defend the FDA’s position any longer” or that it may signal a policy change.“Sometimes when people think theyʼre going to lose a case, they change public policy because theyʼd rather change policy than, you know, lose a court case,” New said. “Itʼs really hard to say at this point.”Ultimately, New said the Supreme Court should “absolutely” reinstate in-person requirements to obtain abortion pills, saying: “Thereʼs some real serious public health issues at play here.”Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino gave context for the latest developments in a May 7 interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” noting that the FDAʼs ongoing approval of nationwide mail-order abortion effectively circumvents Louisiana law protecting unborn human life. “The court should decide hopefully by the 11th, because thatʼs when the stay expires,” she said. “If they donʼt make any decision, then the 5th Circuit ruling goes back into effect and the FDA will have to disallow mailing of these pills, at least during the pendency of litigation,” said Severino, who is also a former Supreme Court clerk.U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the FDA to carry out a review of the abortion drug in May 2025, which is still ongoing.Ultimately, Severino said, the Supreme Court will not be ruling on “what the FDA needs to do at the end of the day” but on whether abortion drugs will be allowed to be mailed into Louisiana or not.“Eventually, you know, then itʼs going to go back and the district court and the 5th Circuit are going to have to reconsider it,” she said. “It could well return to the Supreme Court ultimately, but thatʼs going to be a ways down the litigation.”The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has spoken out against the dangers of mail-order abortion drugs for women and urged the FDA to restore in-person visits to screen for life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies as well as abuse and human trafficking.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/catholics-weigh-in-as-supreme-court-faces-deadline-on-telemedicine-abortion-ruling-catholic-the-u-s-supreme-courts-stay-on-the-5th-circuits-ruling-restricting-access-to-telemedicin-scaled.jpg "Catholics weigh in as Supreme Court faces deadline on telemedicine abortion ruling #Catholic The U.S. Supreme Court’s stay on the 5th Circuit’s ruling restricting access to telemedicine abortions is set to expire May 11, a deadline that could bring an extension, allow the restrictions to take effect, or prompt the justices to take up the case in full.Michael New, assistant professor of social research at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, told “EWTN News Nightly” on May 8: “The Supreme Court may extend the stay if they need more time to deliberate; they may simply uphold the 5th Circuit Courtʼs decision that bans tele-abortion, and the ban will go into effect; or they may want to do a full hearing [and] conduct oral arguments.”The Supreme Court on May 4 temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring in‑person dispensing of mifepristone after two manufacturers asked the justices to intervene, prompting Justice Samuel Alito to issue an administrative stay that restores mail‑order access until May 11 at 5 p.m. ET while the court weighs the request.Although Alito instructed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the state of Louisiana to respond by 5 p.m. ET on May 7, the Justice Department failed to do so.New described the development as “odd,” saying the failure by the Justice Department, which represents the FDA, to meet the filing deadline could be that “they don’t want to defend the FDA’s position any longer” or that it may signal a policy change.“Sometimes when people think theyʼre going to lose a case, they change public policy because theyʼd rather change policy than, you know, lose a court case,” New said. “Itʼs really hard to say at this point.”Ultimately, New said the Supreme Court should “absolutely” reinstate in-person requirements to obtain abortion pills, saying: “Thereʼs some real serious public health issues at play here.”Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino gave context for the latest developments in a May 7 interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” noting that the FDAʼs ongoing approval of nationwide mail-order abortion effectively circumvents Louisiana law protecting unborn human life. “The court should decide hopefully by the 11th, because thatʼs when the stay expires,” she said. “If they donʼt make any decision, then the 5th Circuit ruling goes back into effect and the FDA will have to disallow mailing of these pills, at least during the pendency of litigation,” said Severino, who is also a former Supreme Court clerk.U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the FDA to carry out a review of the abortion drug in May 2025, which is still ongoing.Ultimately, Severino said, the Supreme Court will not be ruling on “what the FDA needs to do at the end of the day” but on whether abortion drugs will be allowed to be mailed into Louisiana or not.“Eventually, you know, then itʼs going to go back and the district court and the 5th Circuit are going to have to reconsider it,” she said. “It could well return to the Supreme Court ultimately, but thatʼs going to be a ways down the litigation.”The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has spoken out against the dangers of mail-order abortion drugs for women and urged the FDA to restore in-person visits to screen for life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies as well as abuse and human trafficking.")
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered a review of the abortion drug mifipristone in May 2025, which is ongoing.
![U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to press China’s president on Jimmy Lai case #Catholic More than 100 U.S. lawmakers sent President Donald Trump a letter asking him to address Jimmy Lai’s case when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14–15.Lai, founder and publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9 over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations. The sentencing followed Lai’s conviction, which ended what Lai’s defenders described as a politically motivated show trial.In October 2025, Trump spoke with Xi Jinping about Lai. In the letter sent to the White House on May 8, lawmakers urged Trump to advocate for Lai again by asking for his humanitarian release.Catholic Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, both longtime advocates of Laiʼs, circulated the bipartisan letter that was signed by 105 other members of Congress.“We know the president wants to do this,” Smith said in a May 8 interview with “EWTN News Nightly." “We want him to know — President Trump — that weʼre solidly behind him about what he might be able to accomplish.”“And he could use that, frankly, more effectively, with Xi Jinping, and say, ‘Look, donʼt just do it for the executive branch. The legislative branch is asking you, as well, from a humanitarian point of view,’” Smith said.The president has “an ability to persuade” like “no other president Iʼve ever known,” Smith said. “And I hope he can persuade Xi Jinping to let this great man go.”The letter notes that Trump’s “direct engagement is critical to securing Mr. Laiʼs immediate release on humanitarian parole” and the case for his freedom “is urgent and undeniable.”“He is a devout Catholic and successful entrepreneur who has already spent five years in detention, much of it in solitary confinement,” lawmakers wrote.“His family, his friends, and supporters have indicated that if he is released, he will leave Hong Kong and withdraw from public life,” they wrote. “It is a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy — and an enduring symbol of repression that will echo far beyond Hong Kong.”Lai’s ‘deteriorating health’The group is calling for a humanitarian release due to Lai’s “deteriorating health condition.” They wrote: “His health has declined in custody, and prolonged isolation and inadequate prison conditions only increase the risk of permanent harm.”“From a humanitarian point of view, weʼre hoping the president will look Xi Jinping in the eyes and say, ‘Let this guy go. Do it now. Itʼs a good gesture. It means a lot to us as Americans,’” Smith said.“Jimmy Lai spoke truth to power. He did it with grace, eloquence,” Smith said. “His newspaper … was just a beacon of hope and [truth], and for that, heʼs got a life sentence — 20 years. Heʼs 78. Itʼs probably a life sentence, and heʼs very sick.”“Iʼm very concerned,” Smith said. “Weʼve known for decades that when somebody is a political prisoner, and thatʼs what Jimmy Lai is, or religious prisoner, and you get sick, they let you die. They do not attend to your needs.”Lai “has a number of very serious ailments,” Smith said. “Type 2 diabetes is just one of them. Heʼs got a lot of other problems, and they all are compounding, cascading. He needs good medical attention, and he needs it now.”“Otherwise itʼll be a blight on the Chinese Communist Party added to the other blights that theyʼve accumulated over the years. But break that mold of letting people just die in prison through neglect,” Smith said.“No one can do it better than Trump, and I think he will,” Smith said. “And if it does fail, it wonʼt be on Trumpʼs back. Itʼll be, sadly, that Xi Jinping again has decided to stay with being cruel.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/u-s-lawmakers-urge-trump-to-press-chinas-president-on-jimmy-lai-case-catholic-more-than-100-u-s-lawmakers-sent-president-donald-trump-a-letter-asking-him-to-address-jimmy-lais-cas.jpg "U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to press China’s president on Jimmy Lai case #Catholic More than 100 U.S. lawmakers sent President Donald Trump a letter asking him to address Jimmy Lai’s case when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14–15.Lai, founder and publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9 over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations. The sentencing followed Lai’s conviction, which ended what Lai’s defenders described as a politically motivated show trial.In October 2025, Trump spoke with Xi Jinping about Lai. In the letter sent to the White House on May 8, lawmakers urged Trump to advocate for Lai again by asking for his humanitarian release.Catholic Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, both longtime advocates of Laiʼs, circulated the bipartisan letter that was signed by 105 other members of Congress.“We know the president wants to do this,” Smith said in a May 8 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.\" “We want him to know — President Trump — that weʼre solidly behind him about what he might be able to accomplish.”“And he could use that, frankly, more effectively, with Xi Jinping, and say, ‘Look, donʼt just do it for the executive branch. The legislative branch is asking you, as well, from a humanitarian point of view,’” Smith said.The president has “an ability to persuade” like “no other president Iʼve ever known,” Smith said. “And I hope he can persuade Xi Jinping to let this great man go.”The letter notes that Trump’s “direct engagement is critical to securing Mr. Laiʼs immediate release on humanitarian parole” and the case for his freedom “is urgent and undeniable.”“He is a devout Catholic and successful entrepreneur who has already spent five years in detention, much of it in solitary confinement,” lawmakers wrote.“His family, his friends, and supporters have indicated that if he is released, he will leave Hong Kong and withdraw from public life,” they wrote. “It is a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy — and an enduring symbol of repression that will echo far beyond Hong Kong.”Lai’s ‘deteriorating health’The group is calling for a humanitarian release due to Lai’s “deteriorating health condition.” They wrote: “His health has declined in custody, and prolonged isolation and inadequate prison conditions only increase the risk of permanent harm.”“From a humanitarian point of view, weʼre hoping the president will look Xi Jinping in the eyes and say, ‘Let this guy go. Do it now. Itʼs a good gesture. It means a lot to us as Americans,’” Smith said.“Jimmy Lai spoke truth to power. He did it with grace, eloquence,” Smith said. “His newspaper … was just a beacon of hope and [truth], and for that, heʼs got a life sentence — 20 years. Heʼs 78. Itʼs probably a life sentence, and heʼs very sick.”“Iʼm very concerned,” Smith said. “Weʼve known for decades that when somebody is a political prisoner, and thatʼs what Jimmy Lai is, or religious prisoner, and you get sick, they let you die. They do not attend to your needs.”Lai “has a number of very serious ailments,” Smith said. “Type 2 diabetes is just one of them. Heʼs got a lot of other problems, and they all are compounding, cascading. He needs good medical attention, and he needs it now.”“Otherwise itʼll be a blight on the Chinese Communist Party added to the other blights that theyʼve accumulated over the years. But break that mold of letting people just die in prison through neglect,” Smith said.“No one can do it better than Trump, and I think he will,” Smith said. “And if it does fail, it wonʼt be on Trumpʼs back. Itʼll be, sadly, that Xi Jinping again has decided to stay with being cruel.”")
Chinese officials sentenced Lai, founder and publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9.
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 16:1-10
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra
where there was a disciple named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city,
they handed on to the people for observance the decisions
reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith
and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
"Come over to Macedonia and help us."
When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once,
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.
From the Gospel according to John
15:18-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me."
Especially while He was bidding farewell to the Apostles, Jesus, spoke of the world many times (see Jn 15:18-21). And here He says: “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before you” (v. 18). He speaks clearly of the hatred that the world had with Jesus and will have with us. And in the prayer that He says at table with the disciples during the Last Supper, He asks the Father not to take His disciples out of the world, but to defend them from the spirit of the world (see 17:15). I think we can ask ourselves: What is the spirit of the world? What is this worldliness that is capable of hating, of destroying Jesus and His disciples, and more, of corrupting them and of corrupting the Church? (…) Worldliness is a culture. It is a culture of the transitory, a culture of appearances, of maquillage, a culture of “today yes, tomorrow no; tomorrow yes and today no”. It has superficial values. A culture that does not know fidelity, because it always changes according to circumstances, everything is negotiable. This is the worldly culture, the culture of worldliness. And Jesus insists on defending us from this and He prays that the Father might defend us from this culture of worldliness. (Pope Francis, Homily Santa Marta, 16 May 2020)
Read More![Leo XIV makes Marian pilgrimage on 1-year anniversary as pope #Catholic POMPEI, Italy — Pope Leo XIV placed his pontificate under the protection of Mary during a visit to two cities in southern Italy on Friday — the first anniversary of his election to the papacy on May 8, 2025.Leo celebrated Mass for an estimated 20,000 people outside the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei, whose feast day is May 8, during the day trip to Pompei and Naples.“Exactly one year ago,” the pope said in his homily, amid thunderous applause from the assembled faithful, “when the ministry of successor of Peter was entrusted to me, it was precisely the day of the Supplication to the Virgin, this beautiful day of the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompei! I therefore had to come here, to place my service under the protection of the Holy Virgin.”“Having then chosen the name Leo places me in the footsteps of Leo XIII, who, among his many merits, also developed a rich magisterium on the holy rosary. Added to all of this is the recent canonization of St. Bartolo Longo, apostle of the rosary,” Leo added.Before Mass, the pope — who flew about 150 miles from Rome to Pompei by helicopter early on May 8 — visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei. Despite forecasts of rain, thousands of people filled Bartolo Longo Square from the first light of dawn.At the shrine, the Holy Father met the “Temple of Charity,” an organization that welcomes and assists people coming from situations of hardship.
Pope Leo XIV meets the “Temple of Charity,” an organization that welcomes and assists people coming from situations of hardship, during a pastoral visit to Pompei, Italy, on May 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
“Good morning, Pompei! Our Mother Mary — our mom — is always with us,” the pope said, informally greeting the faithful who were waiting for Mass. Before the Eucharistic celebration, Leo also greeted the sick and people with disabilities inside the shrine.The pope’s homily at the outdoor Mass focused on the power of the rosary.“The Hail Mary repeated in the holy rosary is an act of love,” he said. “Generations of believers have been shaped and safeguarded by this prayer — simple and popular, yet at the same time capable of mystical heights and a treasure chest of the most essential Christian theology.”He also called the Hail Mary prayer “an invitation to joy.”“It tells Mary, and in her all of us, that upon the ruins of our humanity, tried by sin and therefore always inclined to abuses, oppression, and war, the caress of God has come — the caress of mercy, which in Jesus takes on a human face. Mary thus becomes the mother of mercy.”“When St. John Paul II proclaimed the Year of the Rosary [2002–2003], he wished to place it in a special way under the gaze of the Virgin of Pompei,” Leo XIV continued. “Times have not improved since then. The wars still being fought in so many regions of the world call for renewed commitment, not only economic and political, but also spiritual and religious.”“Peace is born within the heart,” he added. “We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news presents to us every day. St. Bartolo Longo, reflecting on Mary’s faith, called her ‘omnipotent by grace.’ Through her intercession, may an abundant outpouring of mercy come from the God of peace — touching hearts, calming resentments and fratricidal hatred, and enlightening those who bear special responsibilities of governance. No earthly power will save the world, but only the divine power of love.”At the conclusion of Mass, Pope Leo prayed together with the faithful the traditional Supplication to Our Lady of Pompei.The Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary of Pompei was written in 1883 by St. Bartolo Longo. It is solemnly recited twice a year, at noon on May 8 and on the first Sunday of October. The supplication was composed in response to the invitation that Pope Leo XIII addressed to Catholics in his first encyclical on the rosary, Supremi Apostolatus Officio, calling for a spiritual commitment to confront the evils of society.
Pope Leo XIV prays at the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary in Naples, Italy, on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Visit to NaplesAfter lunch in private, Pope Leo took a helicopter about 16 miles northwest to Naples, the capital city of the Campania region of Italy, where he met with priests and religious brothers and sisters in the Naples cathedral.During his visit to the cathedral, Leo stopped in the Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius, where the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius had taken place on May 3. The pope kissed the relic and with it blessed those in the packed cathedral.After some time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the pope addressed the Catholic community: “What I therefore ask of you is this: Listen to one another, walk together, create a symphony of charisms and ministries, and in this way find ways to move from a pastoral ministry of maintenance to a missionary pastoral ministry, capable of engaging with the concrete lives of people.”“In a city marked by inequality, youth unemployment, school dropout rates, and fragile family situations, the proclamation of the Gospel cannot be separated from a concrete and supportive presence that involves everyone — priests, religious, and laypeople alike,” he added.Pope Leo XIV then arrived in the popemobile to Piazza del Plebiscito, the main square of Naples, where authorities estimate about 50,000 people were present.The pope’s address focused on peace and justice: a peace that “begins in the human heart, passes through relationships, takes root in neighborhoods and on the outskirts, and expands to embrace the entire city and the world.” A peace that needs justice “to be authentic” and that “can never be separated from charity.”Leo also spoke about the “Neapolitan paradox:” on the one hand, the significant increase in tourism, which however struggles to correspond to “economic dynamism capable of truly involving the entire social community.” He described a city “marked by a social divide that no longer separates the center from the outskirts but is even evident within every area, with existential peripheries nested even in the heart of the historic center.” Faced with these disparities, Pope Leo XIV recalled the presence of the state as “more necessary than ever, to provide security and confidence to citizens and to take space away from organized crime.”He then encouraged moving forward with the projects of hope taking shape in the city: “Gather your strength, work together, walk united — institutions, Church, and civil society — to connect the city, protect your children from the snares of hardship and evil, and restore to Naples its vocation to be a capital of humanity and hope.”This story was first published in multiple parts by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/leo-xiv-makes-marian-pilgrimage-on-1-year-anniversary-as-pope-catholic-pompei-italy-pope-leo-xiv-placed-his-pontificate-under-the-protection-of-mary-during-a-visit-to-two-cities-in-souther-scaled.jpg)
Pope Leo XIV traveled around 150 miles south of Rome to the Italian cities of Pompei and Naples on the first anniversary of his election.
An archdiocesan investigation in 2018 claimed Bishop Michael Bransfield engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and financial malfeasance of diocesan funds.
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 15:22-31
The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’“
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
From the Gospel according to John
15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
In his long farewell discourse to his disciples, Jesus says this: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (Jn 15:15-16). But this is a blank cheque: “whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will give to you”! God is a friend, an ally, a spouse. In prayer one can establish an intimate relationship with him, so much so that in the “Our Father” Jesus taught us to address to him a series of questions. We can ask God everything, everything; explain everything, recount everything. It does not matter if we feel flawed in our relationship with God: we are not good friends, we are not grateful children, we are not faithful spouses. He continues to love us. (…) God is always close to our heart’s door and he waits for us to open it to him. And sometimes he knocks on the heart, but he is not intrusive: he waits. God’s patience with us is the patience of a father, of one who loves us dearly. I would say it is the combined patience of a father and a mother. Always close to our heart, and when he knocks he does so with tenderness and with much love. (Pope Francis, General audience, 13 May 2020)
Read More
Obituary: Father Peter Andrew Oddo, served Sussex County parishes, 90 #Catholic – 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, May 9, at noon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) Church in the Swartswood neighborhood of Newton, N.J., for Father Peter Andrew Oddo, a retired priest of the Newark Archdiocese and U.S. Navy veteran, who died on May 4, at Merry Heart in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J. He was 90.
After retiring, Father Oddo served in Sussex County parishes of the Paterson Diocese, including Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Branchville, N.J., and OLMC as a weekend associate. These roles followed his service in the Newark Archdiocese and his Navy career.
Father Oddo was born and grew up in Lodi, N.J. He was the son of Andrew and Angelina Oddo. He graduated from Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic, N.J. He earned a bachelor’s degree in classical languages and a master’s in psychology from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., and a master’s in theology from Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Darlington, N.J.
Father Oddo was ordained to the priesthood for the Newark Archdiocese on May 27, 1961. He first served in parish assignments and then ministered to individuals with alcohol and drug addiction before beginning his service in the U.S. Navy.
Following these assignments, Father Oddo joined the U.S. Navy, where he served for 24 years and achieved the rank of captain.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
During his service, Father Oddo traveled widely on the U.S.S. Carl Vinson (CVN-70), a U.S. Navy supercarrier and flagship for Carrier Strike Group 1. He served in the Persian Gulf War and earned the Navy Commendation Medal, two Navy Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Southwest Asia Service Medal.
After retiring from the Navy, Father Oddo made his home in Swartswood in Newton. He served Our Lady Queen of Peace and OLMC. He was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, spending time in nature, and was a member of local hunting clubs.
Father Oddo is survived by his brother, Rosario Oddo, and his wife, Angela, and his sister-in-law, Mary Anne Oddo, the wife of his late brother Andrew M. Oddo. His nieces and nephews are Mary Anne Montelbano and her husband, Keith; Carole Anne Cavanagh and her husband, Brian; Andrew P. Oddo and his wife, Meg; and Jessica Carlin and her husband, John. He is also survived by five great-nieces, seven great-nephews, and many cousins and extended family members.
Visitation for Father Oddo will be held on Friday, May 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Newton. His Mass of Christian Burial will follow at noon on Saturday, May 9, at OLMC.
Please keep Father Oddo, his family and friends, and the priests of the Newark Archdiocese and Paterson Diocese in your prayers.
– A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, May 9, at noon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) Church in the Swartswood neighborhood of Newton, N.J., for Father Peter Andrew Oddo, a retired priest of the Newark Archdiocese and U.S. Navy veteran, who died on May 4, at Merry Heart in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J. He was 90. After retiring, Father Oddo served in Sussex County parishes of the Paterson Diocese, including Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Branchville, N.J., and OLMC as a weekend associate. These roles followed his service in the
![Beatification candidate Fulton Sheen forged strong ties in Paterson #Catholic - Sometime in 1974, Lo Anne Mayer, formerly of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township, N.J., received a surprise phone call. On the other end was Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the world-renowned Catholic radio and TV evangelist. They met briefly after a talk he gave at another parish in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and here he was asking her, “What do you think about St. Joseph?” — the topic of an upcoming presentation.
“I realized that Archbishop Sheen called people to get their views on particular topics — the Blessed Mother or St. Joseph — to make his talks more relevant to his audience. I was impressed; I didn’t know any priest who did that,” said Mayer, who first heard him speak at Christ the King Church in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., in 1974. “I saw Christ in Archbishop Sheen. His total dedication to the Lord was part of his persona. I felt as if I were in the presence of a saint,” she said.
So it was no surprise when Mayer, 85, now living in Manchester, N.J., heard the news on March 25 that Archbishop Sheen — now Venerable Fulton J. Sheen — is getting a step closer to sainthood. With joy, she plans to attend with her family the Mass of his beatification, where he will be designated as “blessed.” This will take place on Thursday, Sept. 24, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo.
That first conversation in 1974 blossomed into a close family friendship. Venerable Sheen often spoke with Mayer at length on the phone and visited their home for dinner. Through Mayer, he became reacquainted with the Discalced Carmelites of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Morristown, N.J. He also baptized her and her husband Raymond’s youngest child, Michael, at Corpus Christi in 1975.
“I couldn’t be happier about Archbishop Sheen’s beatification,” said Mayer, who had started helping promote his cause before his home diocese in Peoria, Ill., opened it in 2002. “I know Archbishop Sheen would not have wanted this [beatification], but he needs to be recognized. People around the globe know him for his powerful preaching and are still interested in him,” she said.
Mayer will discuss Venerable Sheen and his beatification this Friday, May 8, his birthday, while recording an episode of the Beyond the Beacon podcast with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish. The episode will be available on all major podcast platforms on March 14, 2026.
Venerable Sheen earned worldwide renown as one of the 20th century’s leading English-speaking Catholic preachers. He used books, radio, and TV to reach a broad audience. Decades later, his program, “Life Is Worth Living,” resonates with younger Catholics through EWTN reruns. In 1979, Sheen died in New York at age 84.
“Archbishop Sheen was down to earth, speaking simply from the heart for everybody to understand,” said Mayer. She recalled how he spoke to her children before dinner, mesmerizing them with his message and presence. “As a young mother, Archbishop Sheen helped my faith. He was understanding and kind,” she said.
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI declared Archbishop Sheen “venerable” for his heroic virtue. In 2019, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Sheen, paving the way for beatification. The Vatican, however, paused the process to investigate — and ultimately cleared him of — allegations from Sheen’s tenure as bishop of Rochester, N.Y. Mayer remains optimistic that a second miracle will be recognized to advance him to sainthood.
In 1984, Mayer participated in the first national gathering of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation at the Madison Hotel in Madison, N.J. She later chaired the organization and now serves on its advisory board. Mayer traveled to Peoria to witness the sealing of roughly 500 pages of documents for the cause for review in Rome.
Over the years, Mayer heard Venerable Sheen speak at other local parishes. She also invited him to the Carmelite monastery in Morristown, where he delivered the homily at the dedication Mass of the chapel in 1941. He quickly became friends with the community and made subsequent visits. “He made the Carmelites happy,” Mayer said.
Previously, Venerable Sheen had another diocesan connection: Yolanda Holliger of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne, N.J. He married her to his cousin, Tom, baptized their six children, and remained close to their family. Both Holligers testified in his cause and have since died.
“Archbishop Sheen had a saintly aura,” Holliger told The Beacon in a 2008 interview. “With him, you felt you were in heaven — perfect happiness.”
Mayer encourages local faithful to watch Venerable Sheen’s beatification Mass on EWTN on Sept. 24, starting at 3 p.m. EST.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/beatification-candidate-fulton-sheen-forged-strong-ties-in-paterson-catholic-sometime-in-1974-lo-anne-mayer-formerly-of-corpus-christi-parish-in-chatham-township-n-j-received-a-surprise-phone.jpg)
Beatification candidate Fulton Sheen forged strong ties in Paterson #Catholic – 
Sometime in 1974, Lo Anne Mayer, formerly of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township, N.J., received a surprise phone call. On the other end was Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the world-renowned Catholic radio and TV evangelist. They met briefly after a talk he gave at another parish in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and here he was asking her, “What do you think about St. Joseph?” — the topic of an upcoming presentation.
“I realized that Archbishop Sheen called people to get their views on particular topics — the Blessed Mother or St. Joseph — to make his talks more relevant to his audience. I was impressed; I didn’t know any priest who did that,” said Mayer, who first heard him speak at Christ the King Church in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., in 1974. “I saw Christ in Archbishop Sheen. His total dedication to the Lord was part of his persona. I felt as if I were in the presence of a saint,” she said.
So it was no surprise when Mayer, 85, now living in Manchester, N.J., heard the news on March 25 that Archbishop Sheen — now Venerable Fulton J. Sheen — is getting a step closer to sainthood. With joy, she plans to attend with her family the Mass of his beatification, where he will be designated as “blessed.” This will take place on Thursday, Sept. 24, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo.
That first conversation in 1974 blossomed into a close family friendship. Venerable Sheen often spoke with Mayer at length on the phone and visited their home for dinner. Through Mayer, he became reacquainted with the Discalced Carmelites of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Morristown, N.J. He also baptized her and her husband Raymond’s youngest child, Michael, at Corpus Christi in 1975.
“I couldn’t be happier about Archbishop Sheen’s beatification,” said Mayer, who had started helping promote his cause before his home diocese in Peoria, Ill., opened it in 2002. “I know Archbishop Sheen would not have wanted this [beatification], but he needs to be recognized. People around the globe know him for his powerful preaching and are still interested in him,” she said.
Mayer will discuss Venerable Sheen and his beatification this Friday, May 8, his birthday, while recording an episode of the Beyond the Beacon podcast with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish. The episode will be available on all major podcast platforms on March 14, 2026.
Venerable Sheen earned worldwide renown as one of the 20th century’s leading English-speaking Catholic preachers. He used books, radio, and TV to reach a broad audience. Decades later, his program, “Life Is Worth Living,” resonates with younger Catholics through EWTN reruns. In 1979, Sheen died in New York at age 84.
“Archbishop Sheen was down to earth, speaking simply from the heart for everybody to understand,” said Mayer. She recalled how he spoke to her children before dinner, mesmerizing them with his message and presence. “As a young mother, Archbishop Sheen helped my faith. He was understanding and kind,” she said.
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI declared Archbishop Sheen “venerable” for his heroic virtue. In 2019, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Sheen, paving the way for beatification. The Vatican, however, paused the process to investigate — and ultimately cleared him of — allegations from Sheen’s tenure as bishop of Rochester, N.Y. Mayer remains optimistic that a second miracle will be recognized to advance him to sainthood.
In 1984, Mayer participated in the first national gathering of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation at the Madison Hotel in Madison, N.J. She later chaired the organization and now serves on its advisory board. Mayer traveled to Peoria to witness the sealing of roughly 500 pages of documents for the cause for review in Rome.
Over the years, Mayer heard Venerable Sheen speak at other local parishes. She also invited him to the Carmelite monastery in Morristown, where he delivered the homily at the dedication Mass of the chapel in 1941. He quickly became friends with the community and made subsequent visits. “He made the Carmelites happy,” Mayer said.
Previously, Venerable Sheen had another diocesan connection: Yolanda Holliger of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne, N.J. He married her to his cousin, Tom, baptized their six children, and remained close to their family. Both Holligers testified in his cause and have since died.
“Archbishop Sheen had a saintly aura,” Holliger told The Beacon in a 2008 interview. “With him, you felt you were in heaven — perfect happiness.”
Mayer encourages local faithful to watch Venerable Sheen’s beatification Mass on EWTN on Sept. 24, starting at 3 p.m. EST.
– Sometime in 1974, Lo Anne Mayer, formerly of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township, N.J., received a surprise phone call. On the other end was Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the world-renowned Catholic radio and TV evangelist. They met briefly after a talk he gave at another parish in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and here he was asking her, “What do you think about St. Joseph?” — the topic of an upcoming presentation. “I realized that Archbishop Sheen called people to get their views on particular topics — the Blessed Mother or St. Joseph — to make his talks more relevant
Recent excavations at the site match the account of an eighth-century Bavarian bishop who wrote about a church in Bethsaida that was built over the home of Sts. Peter and Andrew.
![Inspiring toe-picking guitarist amps up hope at Dover concert #Catholic - On May 1, Tony Meléndez, a renowned toe-picking Catholic guitarist born without arms, delivered the message, “Don’t be afraid with our good Lord,” through inspiring music and personal stories of faith during a joyful bilingual concert at Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary Parish in Dover, N.J.
Meléndez has played at 11 World Youth Days, sharing the stage with St. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. He has visited all 50 U.S. states and more than 44 foreign countries. Recognized as an ambassador of hope and resilience, Meléndez appeals to all generations.
At the May 1 concert, Meléndez, originally from Rivas, Nicaragua, sang and played a mix of original and popular religious songs, with occasional secular tunes such as “La Bamba,” throughout the evening.
In both English and Spanish, Meléndez told the audience that he was born without arms and a clubbed foot due to the drug Thalidomide, which his mother was prescribed for morning sickness. His family later immigrated to the United States so he could undergo seven corrective surgeries on his left foot to enable him to walk.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
These challenges shaped his journey, as Meléndez learned to do almost everything with his feet. When he was 16, he taught himself to play the guitar with his toes and, over time, became proficient as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
“I would pray with my music when I first started to play guitar, with whatever came out of my voice—my heart,” said Meléndez, who is married with two children. “God blessed me to be able to play guitar with my toes. I thank him with all my heart.”
Meléndez’s inspirational career reached a turning point when he performed for St. Pope John Paul II during a major youth teleconference at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1987, as part of the pontiff’s 10-day U.S. tour.
That Friday evening began with Father Leonardo López, pastor of Sacred Heart/Holy Rosary, introducing the concert, with support from Father Cerilo Javinez and Father Edgar Rivera, the parish’s parochial vicars, who set a welcoming tone for the event. Father Rivera booked and organized the concert.
Adding a personal touch, Meléndez’s older brother, Jose, who serves as his manager and ministry partner, also spoke about the featured performer’s life during the event.
Meléndez will be featured on Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Beyond The Beacon podcast later this month.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/inspiring-toe-picking-guitarist-amps-up-hope-at-dover-concert-catholic-on-may-1-tony-melendez-a-renowned-toe-picking-catholic-guitarist-born-without-arms-delivered-the-message-don.jpg)
Inspiring toe-picking guitarist amps up hope at Dover concert #Catholic – 
On May 1, Tony Meléndez, a renowned toe-picking Catholic guitarist born without arms, delivered the message, “Don’t be afraid with our good Lord,” through inspiring music and personal stories of faith during a joyful bilingual concert at Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary Parish in Dover, N.J.
Meléndez has played at 11 World Youth Days, sharing the stage with St. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. He has visited all 50 U.S. states and more than 44 foreign countries. Recognized as an ambassador of hope and resilience, Meléndez appeals to all generations.
At the May 1 concert, Meléndez, originally from Rivas, Nicaragua, sang and played a mix of original and popular religious songs, with occasional secular tunes such as “La Bamba,” throughout the evening.
In both English and Spanish, Meléndez told the audience that he was born without arms and a clubbed foot due to the drug Thalidomide, which his mother was prescribed for morning sickness. His family later immigrated to the United States so he could undergo seven corrective surgeries on his left foot to enable him to walk.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
These challenges shaped his journey, as Meléndez learned to do almost everything with his feet. When he was 16, he taught himself to play the guitar with his toes and, over time, became proficient as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
“I would pray with my music when I first started to play guitar, with whatever came out of my voice—my heart,” said Meléndez, who is married with two children. “God blessed me to be able to play guitar with my toes. I thank him with all my heart.”
Meléndez’s inspirational career reached a turning point when he performed for St. Pope John Paul II during a major youth teleconference at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1987, as part of the pontiff’s 10-day U.S. tour.
That Friday evening began with Father Leonardo López, pastor of Sacred Heart/Holy Rosary, introducing the concert, with support from Father Cerilo Javinez and Father Edgar Rivera, the parish’s parochial vicars, who set a welcoming tone for the event. Father Rivera booked and organized the concert.
Adding a personal touch, Meléndez’s older brother, Jose, who serves as his manager and ministry partner, also spoke about the featured performer’s life during the event.
Meléndez will be featured on Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Beyond The Beacon podcast later this month.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– On May 1, Tony Meléndez, a renowned toe-picking Catholic guitarist born without arms, delivered the message, “Don’t be afraid with our good Lord,” through inspiring music and personal stories of faith during a joyful bilingual concert at Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary Parish in Dover, N.J. Meléndez has played at 11 World Youth Days, sharing the stage with St. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. He has visited all 50 U.S. states and more than 44 foreign countries. Recognized as an ambassador of hope and resilience, Meléndez appeals to all generations. At the May 1 concert,
Pope to lead Corpus Christi procession in Madrid, Vatican says as it releases Spain schedule #Catholic – 
(OSV News) — The Vatican released the official schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic visit to Spain, a seven-day trip that will take the pontiff to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands for meetings with Spain’s royal family and political leaders, as well as migrants, prisoners, young people and Catholic communities across the country.
The packed June 6-12 itinerary also included public Masses, a Corpus Christi procession in Madrid, an encounter with volunteers, a visit to Barcelona’s Basilica of the Holy Family, known as Sagrada Família, and stops at migrant reception centers in the Canary Islands.
Coinciding with the Vatican’s release of the pope’s schedule, the Spanish bishops’ conference hosted a press briefing with the bishops of Madrid, Barcelona, the Canary Islands and Tenerife.
At the briefing, Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, president of the Spanish bishops’ conference, said the papal visit comes at a moment when Pope Leo has emerged as a “reference point in the current situation of the world.”
“For this reason, his words — undoubtedly words of dialogue, encounter, communion and peace — will help all of us,” Archbishop Argüello said.
Madrid
According to the official schedule, upon his arrival June 6, the pope will meet with Spanish King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia, followed by meetings with government authorities and the country’s diplomatic corps.
Noting the country’s climate of political and social tensions, Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid said the pope’s meetings with political and government leaders during his stop in the Spanish capital were highly anticipated.
“There was a hunger for a visit of this kind at a special moment in our political, social and economic life, because there is also a hunger for reference points, and I believe the pope can be a reference point to give light and direction to many who are searching,” Cardinal Cobo said.
In the evening, the pope will visit an emergency homeless shelter operated by Caritas Madrid, before a meeting with young people at the Plaza de Lima, where St. John Paul II celebrated Mass during his 1982 visit to the country.
Cardinal Cobo said the meeting will serve as a “platform” for the pope to “speak with the youth of the entire world.”
The following day, the pope will celebrate Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi at Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, a celebration Cardinal Cobo confirmed would include a procession reflecting the city’s local traditions.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
“The Corpus Christi procession will be beautiful,” he said. “A great many people are involved: those preparing floral carpets, those carrying the platforms, numerous associations. It will not be excessively long for reasons of time and space because we are expecting an enormous crowd.”
After the Mass, the pope will meet privately with members of the Augustinian order, followed by a meeting at Movistar Arena with representatives of the “world of culture, art, economy and sport,” the Vatican said.
On his final day in Madrid June 8, Pope Leo will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, followed by a highly anticipated address to members of the Spanish Parliament.
When asked if he was concerned that the pope’s address to parliamentarians “could be politically or ideologically manipulated,” Archbishop Argüello said that “while it can always happen,” it was important to note that the decision to invite the pope to speak was “unanimous.”
“Over the years, popes have spoken in academic and political institutions throughout the world. Any later interpretations are beyond our control,” he said.
Adding that the pope would prepare “the speeches as he sees fit,” Archbishop Argüello told journalists that the church was awaiting “a possible new encyclical that seems likely to emphasize the centrality of the human person, human dignity, the common good, dialogue and encounter.”
The president of the Spanish bishops’ conference did not indicate if the encyclical would be released before the visit.
Barcelona
Pope Leo will depart for Barcelona June 9 where he will preside over midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia and in the evening will take part in a prayer vigil at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.
For Cardinal Juan José Omella of Barcelona, there is “enormous expectation” for the pontiff’s visit and that Pope Leo’s “words and gestures are reaching people very deeply.”
“The classical thinkers said that God has three attributes: ‘bonum, verum et pulchrum’ (the good, the true and the beautiful),” the cardinal said. “I believe that in some way we are expressing this through the Pope’s visit — the communion of a diverse Church. And we see it every day: diverse, yet united around the universal shepherd, who is the pope. I think this unity will become visible.”
Pope Leo will begin his first full day in Barcelona with a visit to the Brians 1 Penitentiary Center, followed by a visit to the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, where he will pray the rosary and have lunch with the Benedictine community.
Cardinal Omella said the penitentiary represented “the world of sorrow, the deprivation of freedom and everything connected to prison ministry, which is something very present in the life of the Church,” and that the pope “wants to make himself present there.”
Additionally, the abbey, he continued, represented all the monasteries in Spain and “the world of contemplatives, which is the praying Church.”
The cardinal also said anticipation was high for the pope’s evening Mass June 10 at one of the world’s most iconic churches, the Sagrada Família, where he will inaugurate the tower of Jesus Christ. At more than 564 feet tall, the tower makes the basilica the tallest Catholic church in the world.
The pope’s visit to the basilica coincides with the 100th anniversary of the death of the basilica’s architect, Antoni Gaudí. While there were hopes for a beatification ceremony at the Mass, the official schedule did not include it.
Cardinal Omella told journalists that a miracle attributed to Gaudí’s intercession was being studied and “in a very advanced phase in Rome, but there is nothing further yet.”
Canary Islands
On June 11, Pope Leo will depart for the Canary Islands, a trip that his predecessor, Pope Francis, had wanted to make.
The archipelago, geographically located in Africa, is the destination every year for thousands of sub-Saharan migrants seeking a better future. They arrive in precarious and fragile boats called “cayucos,” and many die on the way.
According to the schedule, the pope will meet with organizations working with migrants at the port of Arguineguín, followed by a meeting with bishops, clergy and religious men and women at the Cathedral of St. Anne. In the evening, he will celebrate Mass at the Gran Canaria Stadium.
Noting the rarity of a pontiff visiting the islands, which are geographically distant from mainland Spain, Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez of the Canary Islands said the pope’s visit was “a blessing from God.”
“People are absolutely delighted,” the bishop said. “I especially want to emphasize the joy and excitement. For example, I go to the market to buy something and people immediately come up to me saying, ‘The pope is coming, the pope is coming!’”
Noting that the pope’s visit will place “greater emphasis on the reality of migration,” Bishop Mazuelos also noted anticipation for the pope’s meeting with clergy and religious “who are working tirelessly and who are eager to embark upon new paths of evangelization.”
“There is a strong secularization in the Canary Islands. There are many people who have left the Church,” he said. “But there are also many people who have deep needs and a thirst for encountering the Gospel and the Lord. And the pope comes to strengthen us, encourage us and help us continue fighting — never giving up, but rather winning hearts through the proclamation of the Gospel.”
On the pope’s final day in Spain June 12, he will depart for Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, where he will meet with migrants living at the “Las Raices Center” followed by a meeting with organizations helping to integrate migrants.
Bishop Eloy Alberto Santiago of Tenerife told journalists that at one point, the center had housed 4,000 migrants who came “from the deadly Atlantic route as well as from Latin America.”
Before departing for Rome, Pope Leo will also preside over an outdoor Mass at the port of Santa Cruz, which the bishop noted was “the ideal place because of its closeness to the sea, where so many people arrive.”
“This closeness to the sea also allows us to enter into communion and harmony with the migratory reality and with the ecclesial reality,” he said.
Bishop Santiago noted that while the pope will visit the island for “five or six very intense hours,” he was joyful that his diocese will be the final place Pope Leo will visit.
“Our Diocese of Tenerife is a diocese that welcomes many migrants, and in this case, it will also warmly bid farewell to the Holy Father after his first visit to Spain,” he said.
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.
– (OSV News) — The Vatican released the official schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic visit to Spain, a seven-day trip that will take the pontiff to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands for meetings with Spain’s royal family and political leaders, as well as migrants, prisoners, young people and Catholic communities across the country. The packed June 6-12 itinerary also included public Masses, a Corpus Christi procession in Madrid, an encounter with volunteers, a visit to Barcelona’s Basilica of the Holy Family, known as Sagrada Família, and stops at migrant reception centers in the Canary Islands. Coinciding with the
The Church must speak clearly, decisively against all evil, pope says #Catholic – 
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church is the guardian of hope, whose members are called to speak clearly against all evil and in defense of human life, Pope Leo XIV said.
The Church, as “the pilgrim people of God on earth,” he said during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square May 6, “reads and interprets the dynamics of history through the Gospel, denouncing evil in all its forms and proclaiming, in word and deed, the salvation that Christ wishes to bring about for all humanity and his kingdom of justice, love and peace.”
“As the guardian of a hope that enlightens the path,” he added, the Church is “invested with the mission of speaking clearly to reject everything that mortifies life and prevents its development, and to take a position in favor of the poor, the exploited, the victims of violence and war, and all those who suffer in body and in spirit.”
The pope’s remarks were part of his continuing series of reflections on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, specifically, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “Lumen Gentium.” His May 6 catechesis was dedicated to the Church’s eschatological dimension, that is, the transcendent, transtemporal and transhistorical nature of the kingdom of God.
“This is an essential dimension which, however, we often overlook or downplay, because we are too focused on what is immediately visible and on the more concrete dynamics of the life of the Christian community,” the pope said.
“The Church is God’s people journeying through history, which has the kingdom of God as the purpose of all her action,” he said. “We are therefore called to consider the community and cosmic dimension of salvation in Christ and to turn our eyes to this final horizon, to measure and evaluate everything from this perspective.”
The Catholic Church lives in human history at the service of the coming of the kingdom of God in the world, he said. “She proclaims the words of this promise to all and always.”
That means the Church is not proclaiming herself, he said. “On the contrary, everything within her must point to salvation in Christ.”
Despite being at the service of the kingdom of God, “the Church is called to recognize humbly the human fragility and transience of her own institutions,” which can never be treated as “absolute,” he said.
“Indeed, since they exist within history and time, they are called to continual conversion, to the renewal of forms and the reform of structures, to the continual regeneration of relationships, so that they may truly fulfil their mission,” Pope Leo said.
As members of the same body, he said in a summary of his remarks in English, “we too are called to renewal. We do this by remaining in communion with Christ and one another. The entire Church is most closely united in our praise of God in the liturgy.”
The Church “does not identify perfectly with the Kingdom of God, but is its seed and beginning, for its fulfilment will be granted to humanity and the cosmos only at the end,” he said in his main catechesis.
Those who believe in Christ can walk this pilgrimage on earth, marked by injustices and suffering, without being either deluded or despairing, he said, as “they live guided by the promise received from the One who will ‘make all things new.’”
That is why the church, as a guardian of hope, urges her members to clearly reject evil and promote God’s kingdom of justice, love and peace, he said.
– VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church is the guardian of hope, whose members are called to speak clearly against all evil and in defense of human life, Pope Leo XIV said. The Church, as “the pilgrim people of God on earth,” he said during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square May 6, “reads and interprets the dynamics of history through the Gospel, denouncing evil in all its forms and proclaiming, in word and deed, the salvation that Christ wishes to bring about for all humanity and his kingdom of justice, love and peace.” “As the guardian of a
New sign on a street corner in Brooklyn, N.Y., honors legacy of Dorothy Day #Catholic – 
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (OSV News) — Dorothy Day’s extraordinary life began in Brooklyn, and now a street corner near her birthplace has been named after the legendary co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.
The intersection of Pineapple and Henry streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood is now officially called “Dorothy Day Way” in honor of the “Servant of God,” who was born nearby at 71 Pineapple St. in 1897.
On May 2, Martha Hennessy, Day’s granddaughter, and members of the Dorothy Day Guild, the organization promoting her cause for sainthood, joined clergy for the ceremony to unveil the street sign.
Hennessy and Councilman Lincoln Restler, who sponsored legislation in the City Council to name the street corner, did the honors of pulling the string to remove a covering and reveal the street sign.
Hennessy, who like her grandmother is a Catholic peace activist, called the ceremony “a beautiful moment.”
The street naming marked the second time New York City has paid tribute to Day.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
In 2021, the city commissioned a Staten Island ferry in her name, and the Dorothy Day had its inaugural voyage in 2023.
Day (1897-1980) was a journalist and social activist who lived a wild, bohemian youth before becoming a Catholic in 1927. She fed and clothed the poor, advocated for civil rights and protested all wars.
On May 1, 1933, she co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement with Peter Maurin. It is a faith-based organization that urges members to perform the corporal works of mercy and work for peace and justice. At the same time, Day also began publishing a newspaper, The Catholic Worker, which is still published today.
Day’s life of faith inspired others, said Father Anthony Andreassi, administrative vicar for the Brooklyn Oratory Parishes in Brooklyn Heights.
“She was a convert to Catholicism, a woman of incredible faith and committed to the poor,” he told The Tablet, newspaper of the Brooklyn Diocese. “I know many people who have been attracted to the church because of Dorothy Day and have come to accept baptism.”
New York Cardinal John J. O’Connor officially opened Day’s sainthood cause in 2000, granting her the title of “Servant of God.”
Twenty-one years later, following the conclusion of the diocesan phase of the investigation into her life and her fitness for sainthood, her case was submitted to the Vatican for review by New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
Kevin Ahern, board chairman of the Dorothy Day Guild, said he sees the street corner naming as an opportunity to promote her good works.
“And maybe by learning about her,” Ahern said, “they can be inspired by her to live their life a little … and make the world a better place.”
Alex Avitabile, a guild board member, spearheaded the drive to have the street corner named for Day, whom he met in 1970. He asked Restler to sponsor legislation.
Avitabile recalled walking up to her after a talk she had given at the Catholic Worker House in Rochester and telling her how much he admired her. Even back then, he said he felt he was in the presence of a saintly person.
“I knew,” Avitabile recalled. “She had a way about her — her eyes. There are a few people I’ve met who are saintly people. And I could just see that.”
The Catholic Worker Movement, which celebrated its 93rd anniversary on May 1, is still going strong today, according to guild members.
Hennessy said she is pleased to see that people are still inspired by her grandmother, even 46 years after her death.
“It’s pretty astounding, the place she holds in their hearts and in their minds,” she told The Tablet. “It’s only expanding, and I truly believe that she will bring so much good to the Catholic Church and bring people back to the church.”
Paula Katinas is senior reporter at The Tablet, newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn. This story was first published in The Tablet and distributed in partnership with OSV News.
– BROOKLYN, N.Y. (OSV News) — Dorothy Day’s extraordinary life began in Brooklyn, and now a street corner near her birthplace has been named after the legendary co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. The intersection of Pineapple and Henry streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood is now officially called “Dorothy Day Way” in honor of the “Servant of God,” who was born nearby at 71 Pineapple St. in 1897. On May 2, Martha Hennessy, Day’s granddaughter, and members of the Dorothy Day Guild, the organization promoting her cause for sainthood, joined clergy for the ceremony to unveil the street sign. Hennessy
El diplomático de Dios: el Papa León XIV y su estrategia para llevar el Evangelio a los poderosos #Catholic – 
(OSV News) — Aproximadamente dos meses antes de cumplir un año en el trono de Pedro, el Papa León XIV se convirtió en uno de los líderes mundiales más citados del planeta.
De repente, la diplomacia papal se puso de moda. Ya sea por el giro mediático obsesionado con el presidente Donald Trump o por los ángulos occidentales de las redacciones de todo el mundo, para quienes lo conocen bien, hablar de Dios a los poderosos no es nada nuevo en la estrategia pastoral del Papa León XIV.
Cuando era el joven padre Robert Prevost en Perú y luego obispo en Chiclayo, hizo lo mismo, aunque a una escala menor que la del escenario mundial.
“El Papa es un hombre de profunda oración y contemplación de la realidad, un amante del Evangelio”, dijo Armando Jesús Lovera Vásquez, quien vivió con el padre Prevost en una casa de formación agustiniana en Perú durante siete años. “Desde esta perspectiva, no me sorprendió que nos llamara a buscar la paz y a denunciar todo lo que la amenaza”.
Según el peruano, autor del libro “De Roberto a León”, el pontífice es una persona “a quien Dios ha ido moldeando a través de su ministerio, y creo que es el Papa para estos tiempos, por la gracia de Dios. Es un hijo de San Agustín, que se deja mover por el Espíritu”.
Lovera conoció al entonces padre Prevost, quien llegó por primera vez a Perú como misionero durante la convulsa década de los noventa. El joven sacerdote, recuerda su amigo, no se amedrentó ante los graves desafíos que enfrentaba el país en aquella época.
A finales de la década de 1980 y principios de la de 1990, Perú se enfrentaba a una guerra interna contra grupos insurgentes. El ejército adquirió una gran influencia mientras los gobiernos civiles luchaban por controlar la violencia. La declaración de zonas de emergencia y la concesión de mayores poderes a las fuerzas armadas, especialmente en las zonas rurales, dieron lugar a violaciones de los derechos humanos.
El principal motor de la inestabilidad fue el grupo guerrillero maoísta Sendero Luminoso, que lanzó una violenta insurgencia a partir de 1980 con el objetivo de derrocar al Estado. Sus tácticas incluían atentados con coches bomba, asesinatos y ataques a la infraestructura.
Para suscribirse a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal, haga click aquí.
Ninguna parte del país quedó al margen del conflicto, pero la peor violencia se concentró en las tierras altas andinas, particularmente en la región de Ayacucho, donde la guerrilla y las fuerzas gubernamentales competían por controlar a la población indígena mediante el terror.
En 1990, Alberto Fujimori fue elegido presidente como un “outsider” político, prometiendo resolver la profunda crisis económica de Perú y la violencia creciente. El 5 de abril de 1992, llevó a cabo un autogolpe, disolviendo el Congreso, suspendiendo la Constitución y tomando el control del poder judicial con el respaldo de los militares. Fujimori justificó estas medidas extraordinarias como necesarias para derrotar al terrorismo y estabilizar la economía, aprovechando en última instancia este clima de crisis para legitimar un giro hacia un régimen autoritario.
Tras otros breves períodos de trabajo misionero en Perú, el entonces padre Prevost comenzó a servir a la Arquidiócesis de Trujillo durante nueve años como vicario judicial en 1989; en ese momento también era profesor de derecho canónico, patrístico y moral en el Seminario Mayor de San Carlos y San Marcelo.
“(El padre Prevost) defendía la democracia y los derechos humanos, y más tarde, como obispo, cuando regresó a Chiclayo, tuvo que mediar entre los campesinos y las empresas mineras”, dijo Lovera. “Tiene una trayectoria bien establecida en la defensa de los derechos humanos y la justicia, y por eso no sorprende escuchar su llamado, que no es otra cosa que un énfasis en el anuncio del Evangelio: ‘Bienaventurados los que trabajan por la paz’”.
Hablando a bordo del avión Papal en el trayecto de Roma a Argel, el Papa dijo que había visto la reciente publicación de Trump en las redes sociales en la que lo arremetía la noche anterior al viaje Papal. A medida que las tensiones se intensificaban en el Medio Oriente y tras más de un mes de llamamientos a la paz por parte del Papa León, Trump arremetió contra el Papa el 12 de abril, calificándolo de “débil ante el crimen” y “terrible en política exterior”.
“No le tengo miedo a la administración de Trump, ni de hablar en voz alta del mensaje del Evangelio” por el que trabaja la Iglesia, dijo el Papa durante el vuelo en un video grabado por OSV News. “Creo que es a lo que estoy llamado, y a lo que la Iglesia está llamada”.
Hablando antes de la publicación presidencial de última hora en Truth Social, Janina Sesa, quien trabajó de cerca con el entonces obispo Prevost como directora de Cáritas en la Diócesis de Chiclayo, coincidió con Lovera: “Siempre defiende la justicia y la paz. No se queda en silencio”.
En Chiclayo, una diócesis costera marcada por la pobreza, la migración y los desastres naturales periódicos, el liderazgo del obispo Prevost fue puesto a prueba no en teoría, sino en medio de la crisis.
Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, cuando la escasez de oxígeno se volvió mortal, traspasó los límites tradicionales del liderazgo eclesial para movilizar a la comunidad en general.
“Podría haberse quedado en lo que le correspondía a la Iglesia –el apoyo espiritual”, dijo Sesa. “Pero actuó”.
Para quienes lo presenciaron, el episodio reveló un patrón que se ha trasladado a su pontificado: un líder que primero escucha, pero que no duda en actuar –o en hablar– cuando está en juego la dignidad humana.
Ese mismo instinto se hizo patente más allá de la pandemia.
El padre Jorge Millán Cotrina, rector de la catedral de Chiclayo, recordó cómo el obispo Prevost se dirigía a las autoridades locales durante situaciones de emergencia, como las inundaciones provocadas por El Niño, centrándose siempre no en la política, sino en las personas.
“En su mente están Cristo y la persona humana”, dijo el sacerdote. “Eso es lo que defiende”.
Para el padre Millán, ese marco explica las intervenciones actuales del Papa sobre los conflictos globales.
“No está hablando como un político”, dijo. “Está hablando desde el Evangelio”.
Lovera, quien habló con OSV News dos veces –antes y después del último intercambio entre el sucesor de Pedro y el presidente–, definió a León como alguien respetuoso, “pero valiente”, insistiendo en que en Perú el pontífice “vivió muchas situaciones en las que tuvo que tomar postura”.
Al mismo tiempo, quienes lo conocen de cerca enfatizan que su disposición a hablar no proviene de la impulsividad.
“No es alguien que reaccione rápidamente”, añadió Lovera. “Escucha, reflexiona y luego actúa”.
Ese proceso, en el que coinciden los sacerdotes que trabajaron con él en Chiclayo, ayuda a explicar el tono que ha marcado sus primeros pasos como pontífice: mesurado, pero firme.
Esa distinción –entre reacción y convicción– es clave para entender el reciente intercambio del Papa con Trump, dicen quienes lo conocen.
“No habla para confrontar”, dijo Sesa. “Habla cuando algo toca la dignidad de las personas”.
El propio Papa lo ha insistido, diciendo a los periodistas que sus llamados a la paz “no pretenden ser ataques contra nadie”, sino más bien parte de la misión de la Iglesia en un mundo marcado por el sufrimiento y el conflicto.
Para el padre Millán, esa claridad no es nueva, solo más evidente.
“Ahora todo el mundo lo ve”, dijo días antes de que el presidente de Estados Unidos atacara abiertamente al Papa León, pero el pontífice ya había advertido contra “la idolatría de uno mismo y del dinero … ¡Basta ya de la exhibición de la fuerza! ¡Basta ya de la guerra!!” durante la vigilia de oración del 11 de abril en el Vaticano.
El padre Millán señaló un patrón constante: cuando el obispo Prevost asumía una responsabilidad, lo hacía plenamente, sin dividir su atención.
“Cuando era obispo de Chiclayo, era completamente para Chiclayo”, dijo el sacerdote. “Ahora es completamente para la Iglesia”.
Ese compromiso total, sugirió, requiere una cierta libertad –incluida la libertad de hablar cuando sea necesario, independientemente de la audiencia.
Para quienes lo conocieron antes de Roma, el momento actual es menos una desviación que una revelación.
El hombre que alguna vez recorrió caminos polvorientos para llegar a comunidades remotas, que discretamente se inscribió en clases de idiomas para servir mejor a los fieles indígenas y que movilizó a una ciudad para enfrentar una pandemia, ahora se dirige a una audiencia global –con las mismas prioridades.
“Está guiado por el Evangelio”, dijo Sesa. “Eso no ha cambiado”.
Y si eso significa adentrarse en un terreno incómodo, dicen quienes mejor lo conocen, no dudará.
“No tiene miedo”, dijo Lovera. “Pero tampoco busca el conflicto”.
En cambio, dicen, el Papa León XIV está haciendo lo que siempre ha hecho, solo que ahora en un escenario más amplio: escuchar, discernir y, cuando es necesario, hablar con claridad.
“Cree que alguien tiene que decir que hay un camino mejor”, dijo Sesa.
Inés San Martin escribe para OSV News desde Rosario, Argentina. Es la editora de Mission Magazine, una publicación de las Obras Misionales Pontificias de los Estados Unidos.
– (OSV News) — Aproximadamente dos meses antes de cumplir un año en el trono de Pedro, el Papa León XIV se convirtió en uno de los líderes mundiales más citados del planeta. De repente, la diplomacia papal se puso de moda. Ya sea por el giro mediático obsesionado con el presidente Donald Trump o por los ángulos occidentales de las redacciones de todo el mundo, para quienes lo conocen bien, hablar de Dios a los poderosos no es nada nuevo en la estrategia pastoral del Papa León XIV. Cuando era el joven padre Robert Prevost en Perú y luego obispo
![Paterson medical center commends nurses delivering outstanding patient care #Catholic - Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., in celebrating National Nurses Week during a special Mass in the medical center’s chapel on May 4. Many St. Joseph’s staff attended and participated in the liturgy.
St. Joseph’s Health further acknowledged National Nurses Week on social media, honoring its nursing staff.
“From first breaths to critical recoveries, our nurses show up every day with skill, compassion, and a deep commitment to their patients and each other,” St. Joseph’s Health posted. “To our nurses: We are grateful for all that you do and for the critical role you play in patient care.”
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/paterson-medical-center-commends-nurses-delivering-outstanding-patient-care-catholic-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-joined-st-josephs-university-medical-center-in-paterson-n-j-in-celebrating.jpg)
Paterson medical center commends nurses delivering outstanding patient care #Catholic – 
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., in celebrating National Nurses Week during a special Mass in the medical center’s chapel on May 4. Many St. Joseph’s staff attended and participated in the liturgy.
St. Joseph’s Health further acknowledged National Nurses Week on social media, honoring its nursing staff.
“From first breaths to critical recoveries, our nurses show up every day with skill, compassion, and a deep commitment to their patients and each other,” St. Joseph’s Health posted. “To our nurses: We are grateful for all that you do and for the critical role you play in patient care.”
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
– Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., in celebrating National Nurses Week during a special Mass in the medical center’s chapel on May 4. Many St. Joseph’s staff attended and participated in the liturgy. St. Joseph’s Health further acknowledged National Nurses Week on social media, honoring its nursing staff. “From first breaths to critical recoveries, our nurses show up every day with skill, compassion, and a deep commitment to their patients and each other,” St. Joseph’s Health posted. “To our nurses: We are grateful for all that you do and for the critical role
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 15:7-21
After much debate had taken place,
Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters,
“My brothers, you are well aware that from early days
God made his choice among you that through my mouth
the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart,
bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit
just as he did us.
He made no distinction between us and them,
for by faith he purified their hearts.
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test
by placing on the shoulders of the disciples
a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.”
The whole assembly fell silent,
and they listened
while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders
God had worked among the Gentiles through them.
After they had fallen silent, James responded,
“My brothers, listen to me.
Symeon has described how God first concerned himself
with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:
After this I shall return
and rebuild the fallen hut of David;
from its ruins I shall rebuild it
and raise it up again,
so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord,
even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked.
Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
known from of old.
It is my judgment, therefore,
that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols,
unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
For Moses, for generations now,
has had those who proclaim him in every town,
as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”
From the Gospel according to John
15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you” (Jn 15:9). The love Jesus gives us is the same with which the Father loves him: pure unconditional love, freely given love. It cannot be bought, it is free. By giving it to us, Jesus treats us like friends — with this love —, letting us know the Father; and he involves us in his same mission for the life of the world. And then, we can ask ourselves the question, how do we abide in this love? Jesus says: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” (v. 10). (…) Dear brothers and sisters, where does this abiding in the Lord’s love lead? Where does it lead us? Jesus told us: “That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (v. 11). And the Lord wants that the joy he possesses, because he is in complete communion with the Father, also be in us insofar as we are united to him. The joy of knowing we are loved by God despite our infidelities enables us to face the trials of life confidently, makes us live through crises so as to emerge from them better. Our being true witnesses consists in living this joy, because joy is the distinctive sign of a true Christian. (Pope Francis, General Audience, 9 May 2021)
Read More
“The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity,” researchers wrote.
![India’s state elections deliver split verdict for Christian community #Catholic The results of staggered elections in four key Indian states held in April have drawn diverse reactions from the Christian community following the May 4 counting of the votes.While the poll outcomes from the two southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been soothing for Christians, the results from West Bengal and Assam in eastern and northeastern India have come as frustrating for Christian communities.Kerala: A ‘clear verdict’ against propagandaIn the southern Christian heartland of Kerala, the ruling communist alliance was decimated to 35 seats while the opposition Congress-led alliance won 102 seats in the 140-member assembly of Kerala, a state of 35 million people, 18% of whom are Christian.“The result has shown that the people cannot be misled by propaganda and they have given a clear verdict against it,” Father Thomas Tharayil, deputy secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, told EWTN News on May 6.The remark came against the backdrop of anti-Christian propaganda by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with prominent Christians in the BJP even attacking Church leaders for the Churchʼs protest against the draconian amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.Christians in Kerala were relieved after four prominent Christians who had allied with the BJP lost the polls despite making much noise against church leadership: P.C. George, a seven-time Kerala legislator; his son Shone George; federal Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian; and Anoop Antony, son of veteran Congress party leader and former Kerala chief minister A.K. Antony.Half a dozen other Christian candidates the BJP fielded in Christian pockets under its lotus symbol also lost, while the party won just three seats with its Hindu candidates.Tamil Nadu: A ‘genuinely historic’ TVK upsetIn neighboring Tamil Nadu, with a population of 77 million, the new political party TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam — Victory Party of Tamil Nadu), founded by Catholic actor Joseph Vijay, stunned the Dravidian parties that had held power for nearly six decades between them.Under Vijayʼs leadership, the TVK he founded in 2024 won 108 of the 234 seats in the state legislature, with the ruling DMK reduced to 73 and the opposition AIADMK left with 53 seats.Describing the TVK victory that stunned even poll forecasts as “genuinely historic,” Father Charles Antony, editor of the Catholic fortnightly New Leader based in Chennai, told EWTN News: “Vijayʼs victory is real, consequential, and disruptive [of the] bipolar politics” in the state, which has more than 5 million Christians.“He visited churches, temples, and mosques alike during the campaign, successfully projecting himself as a leader for all communities. This secular messaging helped his party distance itself from identity-based polarization,” he added.While Vijay is “Catholic,” Antony emphasized that “his Christian identity is incidental to his politics. Attacks from the BJP [on his Christian identity] with ‘minority’ tag against him, paradoxically, may have helped consolidate minority votes.”West Bengal: ‘A terrible result many had feared’The likely outcome in West Bengal — the state bordering Bangladesh — had been the subject of much conjecture even before voting, due to the controversial, hurried action of the Election Commission of India that disenfranchised more than 9 million, or 12%, of its 76 million voters under a Special Intensive Revision of the voter list.The Trinamool Congress, which had ruled the state since 2011 across three consecutive terms, lost the election badly — as many had feared — winning a mere 80 seats while the BJP captured power in the state for the first time, with 205 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.“This is a terrible result many had feared,” Sunil Lucas, former president of Signis India, told EWTN News, while prominent Church leaders declined to comment on the results that bring the Hindu nationalist BJP to power in West Bengal — with Kolkata as its capital — for the first time.“Decoding BJPʼs Bengal sweep: 77 seats won in 2021 retained, 129 wrested from TMC,” Indian Express summed up the results, which were flayed by the ruling party and the opposition parties other than the BJP.On May 5, the national news channel NDTV carried a similar report with graphic details on how the ruling Trinamool Congress party “performed in seats with high voter deletions.” In constituencies where more than 25,000 voters had been disenfranchised, the BJP had won 95 of 147 seats, the report pointed out.Assam: ‘Democracy becomes a failure’In Assam state in the northeast, the BJP improved its tally with allies to 102 of the stateʼs 126 seats, securing a third consecutive term.“When the ruling party with over two-thirds majority has no member of the minorities in the legislature, democracy becomes a failure,” Allen Brooks, a Catholic and spokesperson for the ecumenical Assam Christian Forum, told EWTN News.While none of the 82 BJP winners are from the Muslim community, which accounts for 34% of Assamʼs population, Brooks also lamented that “there is not a single Christian in the Assam Assembly now, though Christians account for 3.7%” of the stateʼs 31 million people.Commenting on the election results, Cardinal Anthony Poola, president of the Catholic Bishops' conference of India, in a May 6 statement said: “The true measure of a vibrant democracy lies not just in the successful conduct of elections but in the steadfast commitment of elected leaders to serve the most vulnerable. We urge the new governments to work hand-in-hand with all institutions to build a more just, inclusive, and equitable India.”This story was updated at 12:29 p.m. ET on May 6, 2026, to include Cardinal Anthony Poolaʼs statement.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/indias-state-elections-deliver-split-verdict-for-christian-community-catholic-the-results-of-staggered-elections-in-four-key-indian-states-held-in-april-have-drawn-diverse-reactions-from-the.jpg "India’s state elections deliver split verdict for Christian community #Catholic The results of staggered elections in four key Indian states held in April have drawn diverse reactions from the Christian community following the May 4 counting of the votes.While the poll outcomes from the two southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been soothing for Christians, the results from West Bengal and Assam in eastern and northeastern India have come as frustrating for Christian communities.Kerala: A ‘clear verdict’ against propagandaIn the southern Christian heartland of Kerala, the ruling communist alliance was decimated to 35 seats while the opposition Congress-led alliance won 102 seats in the 140-member assembly of Kerala, a state of 35 million people, 18% of whom are Christian.“The result has shown that the people cannot be misled by propaganda and they have given a clear verdict against it,” Father Thomas Tharayil, deputy secretary of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council, told EWTN News on May 6.The remark came against the backdrop of anti-Christian propaganda by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with prominent Christians in the BJP even attacking Church leaders for the Churchʼs protest against the draconian amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.Christians in Kerala were relieved after four prominent Christians who had allied with the BJP lost the polls despite making much noise against church leadership: P.C. George, a seven-time Kerala legislator; his son Shone George; federal Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurian; and Anoop Antony, son of veteran Congress party leader and former Kerala chief minister A.K. Antony.Half a dozen other Christian candidates the BJP fielded in Christian pockets under its lotus symbol also lost, while the party won just three seats with its Hindu candidates.Tamil Nadu: A ‘genuinely historic’ TVK upsetIn neighboring Tamil Nadu, with a population of 77 million, the new political party TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam — Victory Party of Tamil Nadu), founded by Catholic actor Joseph Vijay, stunned the Dravidian parties that had held power for nearly six decades between them.Under Vijayʼs leadership, the TVK he founded in 2024 won 108 of the 234 seats in the state legislature, with the ruling DMK reduced to 73 and the opposition AIADMK left with 53 seats.Describing the TVK victory that stunned even poll forecasts as “genuinely historic,” Father Charles Antony, editor of the Catholic fortnightly New Leader based in Chennai, told EWTN News: “Vijayʼs victory is real, consequential, and disruptive [of the] bipolar politics” in the state, which has more than 5 million Christians.“He visited churches, temples, and mosques alike during the campaign, successfully projecting himself as a leader for all communities. This secular messaging helped his party distance itself from identity-based polarization,” he added.While Vijay is “Catholic,” Antony emphasized that “his Christian identity is incidental to his politics. Attacks from the BJP [on his Christian identity] with ‘minority’ tag against him, paradoxically, may have helped consolidate minority votes.”West Bengal: ‘A terrible result many had feared’The likely outcome in West Bengal — the state bordering Bangladesh — had been the subject of much conjecture even before voting, due to the controversial, hurried action of the Election Commission of India that disenfranchised more than 9 million, or 12%, of its 76 million voters under a Special Intensive Revision of the voter list.The Trinamool Congress, which had ruled the state since 2011 across three consecutive terms, lost the election badly — as many had feared — winning a mere 80 seats while the BJP captured power in the state for the first time, with 205 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.“This is a terrible result many had feared,” Sunil Lucas, former president of Signis India, told EWTN News, while prominent Church leaders declined to comment on the results that bring the Hindu nationalist BJP to power in West Bengal — with Kolkata as its capital — for the first time.“Decoding BJPʼs Bengal sweep: 77 seats won in 2021 retained, 129 wrested from TMC,” Indian Express summed up the results, which were flayed by the ruling party and the opposition parties other than the BJP.On May 5, the national news channel NDTV carried a similar report with graphic details on how the ruling Trinamool Congress party “performed in seats with high voter deletions.” In constituencies where more than 25,000 voters had been disenfranchised, the BJP had won 95 of 147 seats, the report pointed out.Assam: ‘Democracy becomes a failure’In Assam state in the northeast, the BJP improved its tally with allies to 102 of the stateʼs 126 seats, securing a third consecutive term.“When the ruling party with over two-thirds majority has no member of the minorities in the legislature, democracy becomes a failure,” Allen Brooks, a Catholic and spokesperson for the ecumenical Assam Christian Forum, told EWTN News.While none of the 82 BJP winners are from the Muslim community, which accounts for 34% of Assamʼs population, Brooks also lamented that “there is not a single Christian in the Assam Assembly now, though Christians account for 3.7%” of the stateʼs 31 million people.Commenting on the election results, Cardinal Anthony Poola, president of the Catholic Bishops' conference of India, in a May 6 statement said: “The true measure of a vibrant democracy lies not just in the successful conduct of elections but in the steadfast commitment of elected leaders to serve the most vulnerable. We urge the new governments to work hand-in-hand with all institutions to build a more just, inclusive, and equitable India.”This story was updated at 12:29 p.m. ET on May 6, 2026, to include Cardinal Anthony Poolaʼs statement.")
Christian leaders welcomed the Kerala and Tamil Nadu outcomes but voiced alarm at the BJP’s historic sweep of West Bengal and a third-term win in Assam.
![Joy abounds in Harding as 16 youth are confirmed #Catholic - On April 28, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Christ the King Parish in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J. to celebrate a Mass. He also confirmed 16 parish youth. Brian Sullivan, pastor of Christ the King, concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/joy-abounds-in-harding-as-16-youth-are-confirmed-catholic-on-april-28-bishop-kevin-j-sweeney-visited-christ-the-king-parish-in-the-new-vernon-neighborhood-of-harding-township-n-j-to-celebrate-a.jpg)
Joy abounds in Harding as 16 youth are confirmed #Catholic – 
On April 28, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Christ the King Parish in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J. to celebrate a Mass. He also confirmed 16 parish youth. Brian Sullivan, pastor of Christ the King, concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– On April 28, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited Christ the King Parish in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J. to celebrate a Mass. He also confirmed 16 parish youth. Brian Sullivan, pastor of Christ the King, concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 15:1-6
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters
about this question.
They were sent on their journey by the Church,
and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria
telling of the conversion of the Gentiles,
and brought great joy to all the brethren.
When they arrived in Jerusalem,
they were welcomed by the Church,
as well as by the Apostles and the presbyters,
and they reported what God had done with them.
But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers
stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them
and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.”
The Apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.
From the Gospel according to John
15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Today the Gospel offers us the moment in which Jesus introduces himself as the true vine and invites us to abide in him so as to bear much fruit (cf. Jn 15:1-8). The vine is a plant whose branches form the whole; and the branches are only fruitful insofar as they are joined with the vine. This relationship is the secret of Christian life and John the Evangelist expresses this with the word ‘abide’, which is repeated seven times in today’s passage. “Abide in me”, says the Lord; abide in the Lord. It means abiding in the Lord in order to find the courage to step outside of ourselves, from our comfort zone, from our limited and protected spaces, in order to cast ourselves into the open sea of the needs of others and to give a wide range to our Christian witness in the world. This courage to step outside ourselves and to advance the needs of others is born from faith in the Risen Lord and from the certainty that his Spirit accompanies our history. One of the ripest fruits that springs from communion with Christ is, in fact, the commitment to charity for our neighbour, loving brothers and sisters with self-sacrifice, to the point of the final consequences, as Jesus loved us. (Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 29 April 2018)
Read More
Hezbollah supporters have reportedly used AI-generated manipulated images to attack Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.
The mayor of Yaroun, a village in southern Lebanon, and the Melkite Greek Catholic bishops have reacted to the alleged demolition of a monastery and school by Israeli forces.
![The first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV #Catholic - ‘In Illo uno unum’ – ‘In the one Christ we are one’
“In a 2023 interview with Vatican News’ Tiziana Campisi, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost spoke about the significance of this motto: ‘As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking,’ he said. ‘I believe it is very important to promote communion in the Church, and we know well that communion, participation, and mission are the three key words of the Synod. So, as an Augustinian, for me, promoting unity and communion is fundamental.’”
Pope Leo XIV’s motto and coat of arms
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on May 8, 2025? Do you remember when you heard that “there’s white smoke,” that a new Pope had been elected? Do you remember when they announced his name (in Latin), “Cardinal Robert Prevost”? An AMERICAN Pope!! Could it be? Do you remember hearing that he had chosen the name “Leo XIV”?
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
Do you remember his first words (to the Church and to the World): “Peace be with all of you!
Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock.
I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, and all people, wherever they are, all of the people, all over the earth. Peace be with you! Transcript of Cardinal Robert Prevost’s first speech as Pope Leo XIV
I was in my office at the Diocesan Center. Someone had the coverage on a screen in the Conference Room, and employees were going in and out, waiting for the announcement. “An American Pope (from Chicago)!!” There was great joy as we heard the news and when he (finally) came out on the balcony.
I felt blessed and grateful that I would be able to share the joy and excitement at two Masses that afternoon and evening. I concelebrated Mass with Bishop Elias Lorenzo, of the Archdiocese of Newark, at St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Summit, “… to mark the start of renovations to Several Sources Shelters’ original home for pregnant women in Ramsey. The facility has been renamed Kathy’s House, after Kathy DiFiore, Several Sources’ founder.”
Providentially, on the evening of May 8, 2025, I was scheduled to celebrate Confirmation at the Parish of St. Peter, the Apostle in Parsippany – what a joy to be able to celebrate Mass and the Sacrament of Confirmation at a parish dedicated to the “first Pope” just a few hours after the Church and the world received the 267th Pope, in the line of St. Peter.
As we look forward to the first Anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election and we look back at the first year of his Pontificate, there is so much that we can discuss, reflect upon, and for which we can be grateful.
In my own prayer and reflection, I wonder if we have given sufficient thought and consideration to his motto and his choice of name? As I wrote this column, I was happy to find the article and quote (cited above), which recounts Cardinal Prevost commenting on his “episcopal motto” – the motto he chose when he was named as a bishop (and which he kept when elected as Pope). We have seen and heard Pope Leo XIV striving to promote unity, peace, and communion.
In a world which seems to be more and more divided and in our Church that struggles to find and live the unity that Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” Jn. 17:20-21, I believe that the Holy Spirit has given us a Holy Father who will do all that he can to bring unity to the Church and to the human family. I believe that we have been blessed by his efforts, words, and ministry during this past year, especially as he calls us to pray and work for peace and unity. He continually invites us to reflect on the words and message of his motto, “In the one Christ, we are one.”
I would like to take a slightly different approach in offering my thoughts on the Holy Father’s choice of a name, Leo XIV. When I searched online to find Pope Leo’s comments on why he chose the name, I found it interesting that the first entry I found was a Vatican post on “X” (formerly known as Twitter):
Pope Leo XIV explains his choice of name: “… I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.” https://x.com/VaticanNews/status/1921186921838997935
Since the Holy Father mentions “the field of artificial intelligence…”, I thought I would go to that “field” and see how Google’s AI would “respond” to the request for: “A 2-page summary of the highlights and significant moments of the first year of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.”
Here’s the response I received:
• • •
The first year of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV (elected Robert Francis Prevost on May 8, 2025) has been defined by his status as the first American-born pope and a pastoral style rooted in his decades of missionary work in Peru. His initial year focused on unity, Marian devotion, and addressing modern social challenges like artificial intelligence and migration. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Election and Immediate Impact
A Historic “First”: Elected on May 8, 2025, after four rounds of voting, Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its first North American pontiff.
The Choice of Name: He chose the name Leo XIV to honor Pope Leo XIII, specifically referencing the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. This choice signaled a focus on Catholic social teaching in the face of a “new industrial revolution” driven by AI.
Inaugural Message: From the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, his first public words were “Peace be with all of you!” He emphasized a “Jesus-centric” approach, focusing on Christ’s identity rather than papal authority. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Key Pastoral and Diplomatic Moments
International Travels:
Turkey (November 2025): His first international trip included a visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, marking a significant moment for interreligious dialogue.
Lebanon: He visited Beirut to console families affected by the 2020 explosion and celebrated Mass for roughly 150,000 people, urging the nation to be a “prophetic sign of peace”.
Advocacy for Peace and Dignity:
Ukraine and Gaza: Leo XIV has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Ukraine—meeting with President Zelenskyy three times—and offered public prayers for those suffering in Gaza.
Migration: Drawing on his missionary background, he has advocated for the humane treatment of immigrants and criticized economic systems that marginalize the poor.
First Priestly Ordination: On May 11, 2025, he performed his first ordinations, emphasizing that priests must be “credible” witnesses to rebuild a “wounded Church”. [1, 2, 3]
Vision for the Church
Synodality and Reform: Observers noted continuity with Pope Francis’s emphasis on synodality (walking together) while detecting a more centrist doctrinal tone.
Engagement with Modernity: In his Wednesday General Audiences, he began a new series of catechises dedicated to rereading the documents of the Second Vatican Council to ensure their content is understood directly rather than through interpretations.
Social Justice: He has maintained a strong pro-life stance while backing death penalty abolitionists and condemning war and aggressive nationalism. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Would you like to explore specific encyclicals he has released or more details on his appointments to the Vatican’s central administration?
• • •
Not bad!! In some sense, this is a good summary of the highlights and significant moments of the first year of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. One danger of AI may be the temptation to think that this summary even begins to truly describe the meaning, significance, and impact of who Pope Leo XIV is as the “Vicar of Christ” on earth. Let us again consider his words describing why he chose “Leo XIV”: In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.”
Let us continue to pray for Pope Leo XIV as he leads the Church in “offering everyone the treasury of her social teaching… (and in) the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/the-first-anniversary-of-the-election-of-pope-leo-xiv-catholic-in-illo-uno-unum-in-the-one-christ-we-are-onein-a-2023-interview-with-vatican.jpg)
The first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV #Catholic – 
‘In Illo uno unum’ – ‘In the one Christ we are one’
“In a 2023 interview with Vatican News’ Tiziana Campisi, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost spoke about the significance of this motto: ‘As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking,’ he said. ‘I believe it is very important to promote communion in the Church, and we know well that communion, participation, and mission are the three key words of the Synod. So, as an Augustinian, for me, promoting unity and communion is fundamental.’”
Pope Leo XIV’s motto and coat of arms
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing on May 8, 2025? Do you remember when you heard that “there’s white smoke,” that a new Pope had been elected? Do you remember when they announced his name (in Latin), “Cardinal Robert Prevost”? An AMERICAN Pope!! Could it be? Do you remember hearing that he had chosen the name “Leo XIV”?
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
Do you remember his first words (to the Church and to the World): “Peace be with all of you!
Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock.
I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, and all people, wherever they are, all of the people, all over the earth. Peace be with you! Transcript of Cardinal Robert Prevost’s first speech as Pope Leo XIV
I was in my office at the Diocesan Center. Someone had the coverage on a screen in the Conference Room, and employees were going in and out, waiting for the announcement. “An American Pope (from Chicago)!!” There was great joy as we heard the news and when he (finally) came out on the balcony.
I felt blessed and grateful that I would be able to share the joy and excitement at two Masses that afternoon and evening. I concelebrated Mass with Bishop Elias Lorenzo, of the Archdiocese of Newark, at St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Summit, “… to mark the start of renovations to Several Sources Shelters’ original home for pregnant women in Ramsey. The facility has been renamed Kathy’s House, after Kathy DiFiore, Several Sources’ founder.”
Providentially, on the evening of May 8, 2025, I was scheduled to celebrate Confirmation at the Parish of St. Peter, the Apostle in Parsippany – what a joy to be able to celebrate Mass and the Sacrament of Confirmation at a parish dedicated to the “first Pope” just a few hours after the Church and the world received the 267th Pope, in the line of St. Peter.
As we look forward to the first Anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election and we look back at the first year of his Pontificate, there is so much that we can discuss, reflect upon, and for which we can be grateful.
In my own prayer and reflection, I wonder if we have given sufficient thought and consideration to his motto and his choice of name? As I wrote this column, I was happy to find the article and quote (cited above), which recounts Cardinal Prevost commenting on his “episcopal motto” – the motto he chose when he was named as a bishop (and which he kept when elected as Pope). We have seen and heard Pope Leo XIV striving to promote unity, peace, and communion.
In a world which seems to be more and more divided and in our Church that struggles to find and live the unity that Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” Jn. 17:20-21, I believe that the Holy Spirit has given us a Holy Father who will do all that he can to bring unity to the Church and to the human family. I believe that we have been blessed by his efforts, words, and ministry during this past year, especially as he calls us to pray and work for peace and unity. He continually invites us to reflect on the words and message of his motto, “In the one Christ, we are one.”
I would like to take a slightly different approach in offering my thoughts on the Holy Father’s choice of a name, Leo XIV. When I searched online to find Pope Leo’s comments on why he chose the name, I found it interesting that the first entry I found was a Vatican post on “X” (formerly known as Twitter):
Pope Leo XIV explains his choice of name: “… I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.” https://x.com/VaticanNews/status/1921186921838997935
Since the Holy Father mentions “the field of artificial intelligence…”, I thought I would go to that “field” and see how Google’s AI would “respond” to the request for: “A 2-page summary of the highlights and significant moments of the first year of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.”
Here’s the response I received:
• • •
The first year of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV (elected Robert Francis Prevost on May 8, 2025) has been defined by his status as the first American-born pope and a pastoral style rooted in his decades of missionary work in Peru. His initial year focused on unity, Marian devotion, and addressing modern social challenges like artificial intelligence and migration. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Election and Immediate Impact
- A Historic “First”: Elected on May 8, 2025, after four rounds of voting, Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its first North American pontiff.
- The Choice of Name: He chose the name Leo XIV to honor Pope Leo XIII, specifically referencing the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. This choice signaled a focus on Catholic social teaching in the face of a “new industrial revolution” driven by AI.
- Inaugural Message: From the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, his first public words were “Peace be with all of you!” He emphasized a “Jesus-centric” approach, focusing on Christ’s identity rather than papal authority. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Key Pastoral and Diplomatic Moments
- International Travels:
- Turkey (November 2025): His first international trip included a visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, marking a significant moment for interreligious dialogue.
- Lebanon: He visited Beirut to console families affected by the 2020 explosion and celebrated Mass for roughly 150,000 people, urging the nation to be a “prophetic sign of peace”.
- Advocacy for Peace and Dignity:
- Ukraine and Gaza: Leo XIV has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Ukraine—meeting with President Zelenskyy three times—and offered public prayers for those suffering in Gaza.
- Migration: Drawing on his missionary background, he has advocated for the humane treatment of immigrants and criticized economic systems that marginalize the poor.
- First Priestly Ordination: On May 11, 2025, he performed his first ordinations, emphasizing that priests must be “credible” witnesses to rebuild a “wounded Church”. [1, 2, 3]
Vision for the Church
- Synodality and Reform: Observers noted continuity with Pope Francis’s emphasis on synodality (walking together) while detecting a more centrist doctrinal tone.
- Engagement with Modernity: In his Wednesday General Audiences, he began a new series of catechises dedicated to rereading the documents of the Second Vatican Council to ensure their content is understood directly rather than through interpretations.
- Social Justice: He has maintained a strong pro-life stance while backing death penalty abolitionists and condemning war and aggressive nationalism. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Would you like to explore specific encyclicals he has released or more details on his appointments to the Vatican’s central administration?
• • •
Not bad!! In some sense, this is a good summary of the highlights and significant moments of the first year of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. One danger of AI may be the temptation to think that this summary even begins to truly describe the meaning, significance, and impact of who Pope Leo XIV is as the “Vicar of Christ” on earth. Let us again consider his words describing why he chose “Leo XIV”: In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.”
Let us continue to pray for Pope Leo XIV as he leads the Church in “offering everyone the treasury of her social teaching… (and in) the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”
– ‘In Illo uno unum’ – ‘In the one Christ we are one’ “In a 2023 interview with Vatican News’ Tiziana Campisi, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost spoke about the significance of this motto: ‘As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking,’ he said. ‘I believe it is very important to promote communion in the Church, and we know well that communion, participation, and mission are the three key words of the Synod. So, as an Augustinian, for
![Guardian Mass honors first responders who made ‘ultimate sacrifice’ #Catholic - First responders are “guardian angels in uniforms, who lead us to safety, protect us, and are willing to sacrifice to keep us safe,” Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney proclaimed during the inaugural Guardian Mass on May 2 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. The bishop celebrated the Mass and led churchgoers in honoring, praying for, and thanking all first responders, their families, and guardians who lost their lives in the past year.
The first Guardian Mass was held last Saturday, establishing a new tradition in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. The 25th and final Blue Mass took place last May, honoring law enforcement and their families. The Guardian Mass now includes fire, EMS, emergency communications, management, and their families, as well as law enforcement.
During the Mass, the congregation also remembered the lives lost in or as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This year, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of those tragic events.
The Mass honored guardians who died last year, including Lt. Peter E. Bruncati, SFC, William A. Casey, Sgt. Lee E. Hendrickson, SPC, Steven C. Tiboni, SFC, and Sean W. Acker of the New Jersey State Police, and Firefighter Howard Bennett of the Camden Fire Department.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney thanked first responders for their “patience, professionalism, training, and dedication, each day.”
“We thank and honor you today. We admire your courage and your willingness to sacrifice, placing yourself in the line of fire” — and often in harm’s way — during domestic disputes, shootings, and fires, Bishop Sweeney said. “Our Lord Jesus said, ‘There’s no greater love than this: to lay down your life for your friends.’ You do this not only for friends but for anyone in need,” he said.
In addition, Bishop Sweeney thanked the commitment and sacrifices made by the spouses, parents, children, and other family members of first responders.
An honor guard consisting of first responders carried American flags into St. John’s during the Mass’s opening procession. First responders, families of fallen officers, and chaplains also joined the liturgy. Later, bagpipers played “Amazing Grace” in remembrance of the fallen officers.
At the end of Mass, Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of St. John’s and diocesan vicar for special projects, thanked everyone who helped plan and assist with the Guardian Mass. He was also a member of the planning committee and a concelebrating priest. Msgr. Sylva also serves as a chaplain for first responders.
In his remarks, Msgr. Geno also thanked first responders, especially in Paterson, “for being heroes to us.”
“You make things better. You’ve done this by saying ‘yes’ to us, to people, and to the common good,” Msgr. Sylva said. “At times, in your daily lives, maybe what you signed up for is not what you expected. But it’s important for us to remember that our God is not found in expectations. He is found when we face reality in faith, hope, and love,” the priest said.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/guardian-mass-honors-first-responders-who-made-ultimate-sacrifice-catholic-first-responders-are-guardian-angels-in-uniforms-who-lead-us-to-safety-protect-us-and-are-wi.jpg)
Guardian Mass honors first responders who made ‘ultimate sacrifice’ #Catholic – 
First responders are “guardian angels in uniforms, who lead us to safety, protect us, and are willing to sacrifice to keep us safe,” Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney proclaimed during the inaugural Guardian Mass on May 2 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. The bishop celebrated the Mass and led churchgoers in honoring, praying for, and thanking all first responders, their families, and guardians who lost their lives in the past year.
The first Guardian Mass was held last Saturday, establishing a new tradition in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. The 25th and final Blue Mass took place last May, honoring law enforcement and their families. The Guardian Mass now includes fire, EMS, emergency communications, management, and their families, as well as law enforcement.
During the Mass, the congregation also remembered the lives lost in or as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This year, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of those tragic events.
The Mass honored guardians who died last year, including Lt. Peter E. Bruncati, SFC, William A. Casey, Sgt. Lee E. Hendrickson, SPC, Steven C. Tiboni, SFC, and Sean W. Acker of the New Jersey State Police, and Firefighter Howard Bennett of the Camden Fire Department.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney thanked first responders for their “patience, professionalism, training, and dedication, each day.”
“We thank and honor you today. We admire your courage and your willingness to sacrifice, placing yourself in the line of fire” — and often in harm’s way — during domestic disputes, shootings, and fires, Bishop Sweeney said. “Our Lord Jesus said, ‘There’s no greater love than this: to lay down your life for your friends.’ You do this not only for friends but for anyone in need,” he said.
In addition, Bishop Sweeney thanked the commitment and sacrifices made by the spouses, parents, children, and other family members of first responders.
An honor guard consisting of first responders carried American flags into St. John’s during the Mass’s opening procession. First responders, families of fallen officers, and chaplains also joined the liturgy. Later, bagpipers played “Amazing Grace” in remembrance of the fallen officers.
At the end of Mass, Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of St. John’s and diocesan vicar for special projects, thanked everyone who helped plan and assist with the Guardian Mass. He was also a member of the planning committee and a concelebrating priest. Msgr. Sylva also serves as a chaplain for first responders.
In his remarks, Msgr. Geno also thanked first responders, especially in Paterson, “for being heroes to us.”
“You make things better. You’ve done this by saying ‘yes’ to us, to people, and to the common good,” Msgr. Sylva said. “At times, in your daily lives, maybe what you signed up for is not what you expected. But it’s important for us to remember that our God is not found in expectations. He is found when we face reality in faith, hope, and love,” the priest said.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
– First responders are “guardian angels in uniforms, who lead us to safety, protect us, and are willing to sacrifice to keep us safe,” Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney proclaimed during the inaugural Guardian Mass on May 2 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J. The bishop celebrated the Mass and led churchgoers in honoring, praying for, and thanking all first responders, their families, and guardians who lost their lives in the past year. The first Guardian Mass was held last Saturday, establishing a new tradition in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. The 25th and final Blue Mass
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 14:19-28
In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God."
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.
From the Gospel according to John
14:27-31a
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me."
The peace Jesus gives to us at Easter is not the peace that follows the strategies of the world, which believes it can obtain it through force, by conquest and with various forms of imposition. This peace, in reality, is only an interval between wars: we are well aware of this. The peace of the Lord follows the way of meekness and mildness: it is taking responsibility for others. Indeed, Christ took on himself our evil, sin and our death. He took all of this upon himself. In this way he freed us. He paid for us. His peace is not the fruit of some compromise, but rather is born of self-giving. This meek and courageous peace, though, is difficult to accept. (…) Before his final Passover, Jesus says to his disciples: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Yes, because while worldly power leaves only destruction and death in its wake (…), his peace builds up history, starting from the heart of every person who welcomes it. Easter is therefore the true feast of God and humanity, because the peace that Christ gained on the cross in giving himself is distributed to us. Therefore, the Risen Christ, on Easter Day, appears to the disciples, and how does he greet them? “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19-21). This is the greeting of Christ victorious, the Risen Christ. (Pope Francis, General audience, 13 April 2022)
Read More![St. Philip Prep holds May Crowning on May 1 #Catholic - St. Philip Preparatory School in Clifton, N.J. held its May Crowning at its First Friday Mass on Friday, May 1, which also marked the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Father Emerson Francisco, parochial vicar of St. Philip the Apostle Parish, was main celebrant of the Mass. Two second grade students crowned the statue of the Blessed Mother assisted by Father David Monteleone, pastor of St. Philip.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
PHOTOS | CECILE PAGLIARULO
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/st-philip-prep-holds-may-crowning-on-may-1-catholic-st-philip-preparatory-school-in-clifton-n-j-held-its-may-crowning-at-its-first-friday-mass-on-friday-may-1-which-also-marked-the-feast-of-s.jpg)
St. Philip Prep holds May Crowning on May 1 #Catholic – 
St. Philip Preparatory School in Clifton, N.J. held its May Crowning at its First Friday Mass on Friday, May 1, which also marked the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Father Emerson Francisco, parochial vicar of St. Philip the Apostle Parish, was main celebrant of the Mass. Two second grade students crowned the statue of the Blessed Mother assisted by Father David Monteleone, pastor of St. Philip.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
PHOTOS | CECILE PAGLIARULO
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org] – St. Philip Preparatory School in Clifton, N.J. held its May Crowning at its First Friday Mass on Friday, May 1, which also marked the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. Father Emerson Francisco, parochial vicar of St. Philip the Apostle Parish, was main celebrant of the Mass. Two second grade students crowned the statue of the Blessed Mother assisted by Father David Monteleone, pastor of St. Philip. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. PHOTOS | CECILE PAGLIARULO
The bishop of the Pemba Diocese in northern Mozambique has expressed sadness and solidarity with victims of violence in a region where Islamist insurgency has persisted for nearly nine years.
![Canadian priest offered euthanasia twice while recovering from hip fracture #Catholic A priest from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, recovering from a hip fracture at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) said he was twice offered assisted death by healthcare staff who knew he was a priest and opposed to euthanasia — a practice critics say is growing as medical professionals are increasingly encouraged to initiate such conversations.“There are some things you just don’t talk about to some people,” said Father Larry Holland, who has completed studies in healthcare chaplaincy in addition to serving at numerous parishes in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.He described his reaction when a doctor brought up the option of medical aid in dying (MAID) should his condition deteriorate. “I think I was very shocked,” he said. “It is such a sensitive subject.”Holland, 79, is currently convalescing at VGH after suffering a hip fracture from a fall in his bathroom on Christmas Day. He spoke to The B.C. Catholic about the offers of MAID from two healthcare professionals, despite their knowing he was a Catholic priest.Holland said he wasn’t dying then or now and that the doctor’s mention of MAID left him “kind of silent” for a moment. The doctor then raised the subject again, saying it’s “something they have to discuss with someone who’s been given a terminal diagnosis.”Holland recalled telling the doctor he was morally opposed to euthanasia. The doctor explained that “he just wanted to make sure that, if a [terminal] diagnosis came up or not … I knew of the different services I had access to.”Weeks later, a second offer of MAID came from a nurse who the priest said seemed uncomfortable raising the topic and was likely doing so out of compassion because of the pain he was enduring.“It’s a false compassion, really,” he said.A spokesman for Vancouver Coastal Health, which operates VGH, told The B.C. Catholic in an email that “staff may consider bringing up MAID based on their clinical judgment, provided they possess the necessary knowledge and skills to do so.”Staff are also “responsible for answering questions when patients bring up the topic of MAID,” the spokesman said.The two incidents arise as Canada approaches 100,000 assisted dying deaths.Father Larry Lynn, the archdiocese’s pro-life chaplain, said he was shocked to hear about Holland’s case.“This must surely be among the most appalling examples of Canada’s coercive and insensitive euthanasia regime,” Lynn said in an interview.He said it’s disturbing that a healthcare provider suggests euthanasia with any patient, and particularly when the patient is a consecrated religious known to be morally opposed. “It places the medical practitioner into the role of the devil, tempting a vulnerable person into mortal sin.”He’s equally troubled that Canadian euthanasia providers aren’t ruling out initiating discussions with Roman Catholics about MAID. In a document titled “Bringing up Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) as a Clinical Care Option,” the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers recommends against assuming patients oppose MAID because of their faith.The document says: “Healthcare professionals may draw incorrect assumptions about a person’s views on MAID; e.g., they may assume that a patient objects to MAID because she is a Roman Catholic nun, and yet Roman Catholic nuns and others dedicated to a faith-based way of life have requested MAID.” The booklet does not provide a source for the information.An updated version published in March removes the Catholic reference but gives the same advice regarding people of a “faith community” and even those of “strong faith.”Lynn called it “diabolical” to use a nun as an example for overcoming a patient’s moral objections.The booklet reflects a recent trend of encouraging healthcare personnel to initiate MAID discussions with patients. In November 2025, The B.C. Catholic reported on a little-known 2023 Health Canada document urging health authorities and professional bodies to adopt “practice standards” requiring doctors and nurse practitioners to raise MAID with certain patients.The MAID assessors and providers document similarly says physicians and nurse practitioners involved in care planning and consent processes “have a professional obligation to initiate a discussion about MAID if a patient might be eligible for MAID.” However, Health Canada does not have the authority to require provinces or health authorities to adopt such guidelines and The B.C. Catholic found no evidence of any public agency or professional body in British Columbia doing so.Amanda Achtman, creator of the anti-euthanasia project Dying to Meet You and ethics director of Canadian Physicians for Life, said initiating MAID discussions in a medical setting is a form of coercion that attacks patients’ deepest convictions when they’re vulnerable. To “torment” someone who has deeply held beliefs with an offer of MAID is “an attack on their identity,” Achtman said.Holland admitted he was in so much pain that he could “feel the temptation” to accept MAID. “It’s a human reaction. We always look for the easy way out.”Conservative member of Parliament Garnett Genuis has introduced Bill C-260, An Act to Prevent Coercion of Persons Not Seeking Medical Assistance in Dying, which would prohibit federal employees from proactively offering or recommending MAID. The bill resulted from incidents of bureaucrats such as veterans counselors trying to steer vulnerable people toward assisted dying.The Alberta government introduced legislation in March that would restrict regulated health professionals from providing information about MAID to their patients unless the patient brings it up. The Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act would also restrict the public display of MAID information, such as posters, within healthcare facilities.The bill is worth supporting, said Achtman, who lives in Calgary. “Simply being offered euthanasia already kills the person, because it defeats and deflates their sense of self-worth and value.”The unwanted initiation of MAID discussions in Canada made international headlines in March after Achtman shared the story of an 84-year-old woman, Miriam Lancaster, who went to VGH last year for severe back pain. She said the first doctor she spoke with in the emergency room raised MAID before any diagnostic work had been done. Lancaster’s daughter was present and confirmed the incident, adding her mother eventually responded to rehabilitation and rest.The Catholic chaplain at VGH, Father Ronald Sequeira, said it’s a constant struggle to help suffering patients not lose hope. He said he tries to offer them “some kind of encouragement and comfort,” but many give up.“The moment you lose hope, the devil comes in, in different personalities, and says, ‘Do you want MAID? I don’t want people to suffer.’”Patients often don’t realize that suffering is redemptive, he said. “God makes us more pure, more strong, through the suffering when we offer it up,” Sequeira said. “So we give hope — help them not to lose hope.”Holland said turning down an offer of death opens one to new experiences. Even enduring pain “can encourage growth,” he said. “It can motivate you, it can open up new worlds, new vistas, new opportunities,” including enriched relationships.He said he is sharing his story in the hope it will help others. “I went through it; you can go through it, too.”This story was first published in The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission and adaptations.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/canadian-priest-offered-euthanasia-twice-while-recovering-from-hip-fracture-catholic-a-priest-from-vancouver-british-columbia-canada-recovering-from-a-hip-fracture-at-vancouver-general-hospital-v.png "Canadian priest offered euthanasia twice while recovering from hip fracture #Catholic A priest from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, recovering from a hip fracture at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) said he was twice offered assisted death by healthcare staff who knew he was a priest and opposed to euthanasia — a practice critics say is growing as medical professionals are increasingly encouraged to initiate such conversations.“There are some things you just don’t talk about to some people,” said Father Larry Holland, who has completed studies in healthcare chaplaincy in addition to serving at numerous parishes in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.He described his reaction when a doctor brought up the option of medical aid in dying (MAID) should his condition deteriorate. “I think I was very shocked,” he said. “It is such a sensitive subject.”Holland, 79, is currently convalescing at VGH after suffering a hip fracture from a fall in his bathroom on Christmas Day. He spoke to The B.C. Catholic about the offers of MAID from two healthcare professionals, despite their knowing he was a Catholic priest.Holland said he wasn’t dying then or now and that the doctor’s mention of MAID left him “kind of silent” for a moment. The doctor then raised the subject again, saying it’s “something they have to discuss with someone who’s been given a terminal diagnosis.”Holland recalled telling the doctor he was morally opposed to euthanasia. The doctor explained that “he just wanted to make sure that, if a [terminal] diagnosis came up or not … I knew of the different services I had access to.”Weeks later, a second offer of MAID came from a nurse who the priest said seemed uncomfortable raising the topic and was likely doing so out of compassion because of the pain he was enduring.“It’s a false compassion, really,” he said.A spokesman for Vancouver Coastal Health, which operates VGH, told The B.C. Catholic in an email that “staff may consider bringing up MAID based on their clinical judgment, provided they possess the necessary knowledge and skills to do so.”Staff are also “responsible for answering questions when patients bring up the topic of MAID,” the spokesman said.The two incidents arise as Canada approaches 100,000 assisted dying deaths.Father Larry Lynn, the archdiocese’s pro-life chaplain, said he was shocked to hear about Holland’s case.“This must surely be among the most appalling examples of Canada’s coercive and insensitive euthanasia regime,” Lynn said in an interview.He said it’s disturbing that a healthcare provider suggests euthanasia with any patient, and particularly when the patient is a consecrated religious known to be morally opposed. “It places the medical practitioner into the role of the devil, tempting a vulnerable person into mortal sin.”He’s equally troubled that Canadian euthanasia providers aren’t ruling out initiating discussions with Roman Catholics about MAID. In a document titled “Bringing up Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) as a Clinical Care Option,” the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers recommends against assuming patients oppose MAID because of their faith.The document says: “Healthcare professionals may draw incorrect assumptions about a person’s views on MAID; e.g., they may assume that a patient objects to MAID because she is a Roman Catholic nun, and yet Roman Catholic nuns and others dedicated to a faith-based way of life have requested MAID.” The booklet does not provide a source for the information.An updated version published in March removes the Catholic reference but gives the same advice regarding people of a “faith community” and even those of “strong faith.”Lynn called it “diabolical” to use a nun as an example for overcoming a patient’s moral objections.The booklet reflects a recent trend of encouraging healthcare personnel to initiate MAID discussions with patients. In November 2025, The B.C. Catholic reported on a little-known 2023 Health Canada document urging health authorities and professional bodies to adopt “practice standards” requiring doctors and nurse practitioners to raise MAID with certain patients.The MAID assessors and providers document similarly says physicians and nurse practitioners involved in care planning and consent processes “have a professional obligation to initiate a discussion about MAID if a patient might be eligible for MAID.” However, Health Canada does not have the authority to require provinces or health authorities to adopt such guidelines and The B.C. Catholic found no evidence of any public agency or professional body in British Columbia doing so.Amanda Achtman, creator of the anti-euthanasia project Dying to Meet You and ethics director of Canadian Physicians for Life, said initiating MAID discussions in a medical setting is a form of coercion that attacks patients’ deepest convictions when they’re vulnerable. To “torment” someone who has deeply held beliefs with an offer of MAID is “an attack on their identity,” Achtman said.Holland admitted he was in so much pain that he could “feel the temptation” to accept MAID. “It’s a human reaction. We always look for the easy way out.”Conservative member of Parliament Garnett Genuis has introduced Bill C-260, An Act to Prevent Coercion of Persons Not Seeking Medical Assistance in Dying, which would prohibit federal employees from proactively offering or recommending MAID. The bill resulted from incidents of bureaucrats such as veterans counselors trying to steer vulnerable people toward assisted dying.The Alberta government introduced legislation in March that would restrict regulated health professionals from providing information about MAID to their patients unless the patient brings it up. The Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act would also restrict the public display of MAID information, such as posters, within healthcare facilities.The bill is worth supporting, said Achtman, who lives in Calgary. “Simply being offered euthanasia already kills the person, because it defeats and deflates their sense of self-worth and value.”The unwanted initiation of MAID discussions in Canada made international headlines in March after Achtman shared the story of an 84-year-old woman, Miriam Lancaster, who went to VGH last year for severe back pain. She said the first doctor she spoke with in the emergency room raised MAID before any diagnostic work had been done. Lancaster’s daughter was present and confirmed the incident, adding her mother eventually responded to rehabilitation and rest.The Catholic chaplain at VGH, Father Ronald Sequeira, said it’s a constant struggle to help suffering patients not lose hope. He said he tries to offer them “some kind of encouragement and comfort,” but many give up.“The moment you lose hope, the devil comes in, in different personalities, and says, ‘Do you want MAID? I don’t want people to suffer.’”Patients often don’t realize that suffering is redemptive, he said. “God makes us more pure, more strong, through the suffering when we offer it up,” Sequeira said. “So we give hope — help them not to lose hope.”Holland said turning down an offer of death opens one to new experiences. Even enduring pain “can encourage growth,” he said. “It can motivate you, it can open up new worlds, new vistas, new opportunities,” including enriched relationships.He said he is sharing his story in the hope it will help others. “I went through it; you can go through it, too.”This story was first published in The B.C. Catholic and is reprinted here with permission and adaptations.")
A Vancouver priest says he was twice offered assisted death by hospital medical staff who knew he was a priest and opposed to euthanasia — a practice critics say is growing.
Paterson hits record, sending letters to seminarians through Knights #Catholic – 
Seminarian John Peter Zappe sometimes feels discouraged by challenging classes and assignments, asking himself, “Why am I doing this?”
Recently, Zappe, a seminarian of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., received several faith-filled letters and cards of encouragement in his studies from local Catholic children. Among these, Nina L., of the religious education program at Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Parish in Wayne, N.J., wrote one of these moving and inspiring letter.
“Congratulations as you begin this sacred journey into the priesthood,” Nina wrote to Zappe, 27. He is finishing his second year of theology studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J. She continued, “Becoming a priest takes great courage, trust, and compassion. I hope that you will be filled with strength, comfort in prayer, and joy that your work will be making a difference in other people’s lives. May God bless you always.”
In March, as part of this ongoing support, Zappe and the diocese’s nine other seminarians received stacks of children’s letters of support, prayers, and appreciation, including from Nina A., courtesy of the Seminarian Letter Project, an annual initiative of the N.J. State Council of the Knights of Columbus.
“These days, it’s nice to get physical letters from students who write that they are praying for you, a man who is studying in seminary and is planning to go into the priesthood. The answer to ‘Why am I doing this?” is them: these young people of God, who are waiting for me to serve them in the future,” said Zappe, who emphasized that he also finds encouragement from other sources, especially from God in prayer. Additionally, he noted, “It’s also great to see that by writing these letters, the children are thinking about their own vocations.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
This year, the Paterson Diocese set a record by sending more letters and cards to seminarians than ever before. Students in religious-education programs from four parishes provided over 100 pieces of encouragement. Statewide, Catholic school students also participated, according to John Tirado, the council’s faith director who has overseen the Project for 25 years.
In one letter, Linda, also of the Paterson Diocese, sought to motivate the seminarians by writing, “You got this and God’s got you.” Younger children drew cartoon crosses and angels on their cards.
Participating from the Paterson Diocese were: Father Joseph A. Cassidy, Council 6100 in the Budd Lake neighborhood of Mount Olive, N.J.; St. John Vianney Council 12649 in the Stockholm neighborhood of Hardyston, N.J.; John Fitzgerald Kennedy Council 5486 in Lincoln Park, N.J.; and IHM Council 10206 in Wayne. These councils will be recognized at the State Knights’ convention in Wildwood, N.J., in May, Tirado said.
Throughout the state, local Knights’ council Project chairmen coordinate the letter-writing efforts with their Catholic schools and religious education programs. Tirado collects them and forwards them to each diocese. For the Paterson Diocese seminarians, the letters were delivered from the Vocations Office at the annual Chrism Mass on March 31 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J.
“The letters are fresh, inspiring, thoughtful, and honest. They are surprising in their depth, and the children’s thinking about the church and vocations. It’s a spiritual gift the seminarians respond to. You don’t get that with Artificial Intelligence,” said Tirado. He noted that their insights get deeper with each successive grade level. “They are also thinking about the men who will be there for them and their families when they get older,” he said.
This year marked the first time the Hardyston and Mount Olive councils participated. The St. John Vianney Council serves St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in the Oak Ridge neighborhood of Jefferson, N.J., and St. John Vianney Parish in Hardyston.
Summing up the project’s impact, Joseph Tarallo, St. John Vianney’s grand knight and Project chairman, said, “The letters brighten the seminarians’ day. If we don’t encourage our seminarians, we won’t have priests. Writing a letter to them is easy to do. The kids enjoy it,” he said.
– Seminarian John Peter Zappe sometimes feels discouraged by challenging classes and assignments, asking himself, “Why am I doing this?” Recently, Zappe, a seminarian of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., received several faith-filled letters and cards of encouragement in his studies from local Catholic children. Among these, Nina L., of the religious education program at Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Parish in Wayne, N.J., wrote one of these moving and inspiring letter. “Congratulations as you begin this sacred journey into the priesthood,” Nina wrote to Zappe, 27. He is finishing his second year of theology studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 14:5-18
There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.”
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
“The gods have come down to us in human form.”
They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes,”
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.
The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
“Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.”
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.
From the Gospel according to John
14:21-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
“Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name —
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (v. 21). So, love introduces us to the knowledge of Jesus, thanks to the action of this “Advocate” that Jesus sent, that is, the Holy Spirit. Love for God and neighbour is the greatest commandment of the Gospel. The Lord today calls us to respond generously to the Gospel’s call to love, placing God at the centre of our lives and dedicating ourselves to the service of our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need of support and consolation. If ever there is an attitude that is never easy, even for a Christian community, it is precisely how to love oneself, to love after the Lord’s example and with his grace. (…) We have to learn the art of loving every day. Listen to this: every day we must learn the art of loving; every day we must patiently follow the school of Christ. Every day we must forgive and look to Jesus, and do this with the help of this “Advocate”, of this Counsellor whom Jesus has sent to us that is the Holy Spirit. (Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 21 May 2017)
Read More
Obituary: Deacon David S. McCaffrey Jr., former Paterson Diocesan permanent deacon, 83 #Catholic – 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 4, at 10 a.m., at St. Michael Church in Annandale, Va., for Deacon David S. McCaffrey Jr., who died at home on April 27, surrounded by his family. He was 83.
Deacon McCaffrey was a permanent deacon at St. Michael Church in Annandale until his death. He previously served as a deacon at St. Mary Parish in Denville, N.J., in the Paterson Diocese.
Born in 1942 to David and Marie McCaffrey, Deacon McCaffrey was raised in Bloomfield, N.J. He attended St. Thomas the Apostle School in Bloomfield and St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, N.J.
Then, from 1960 to 1967, Deacon McCaffrey attended the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind., where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science and a doctorate in chemical engineering.
During his time at Notre Dame, Deacon McCaffrey served in the Navy ROTC, which led to two years of service in the U.S. Navy after graduation. While in the Navy, he taught chemistry at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Following his time in the Navy, Deacon McCaffrey spent 36 years as a chemical engineer with Esso (now ExxonMobil), specializing in synthetic fuels, environmental protection, and technology sales and licensing.
In 1967, Deacon McCaffrey married his wife, Carol. Over the next 58 years, they shared a faith-filled marriage. Together, they also raised their four children in Denville.
On June 10, 1989, Deacon McCaffrey was ordained a permanent deacon of the Paterson Diocese. He served St. Mary Parish in Denville from his ordination until 2000.
Deacon McCaffrey and his wife then moved to northern Virginia, where he served as a deacon at St. Michael Church until his death. There, he led the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and, with Carol, assisted local Teams of Our Lady groups, an international ministry devoted to strengthening Christian marriages.
Deacon McCaffrey is survived by his wife, Carol; his sister, Mary Rose; his children, Marie (David), Eileen, Theresa (Greg), and David (Kim); and 10 grandchildren: Maia, Judson, Brent, Corey, Toby, Bria, Peter, Clara, Daniel, and Matthew.
Visitation for Deacon McCaffrey will be held Sunday, May 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home in Fairfax, Va., followed by his Mass of Christian Burial on Monday, May 4, at 10 a.m. at St. Michael Church in Annandale, Va.
– A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 4, at 10 a.m., at St. Michael Church in Annandale, Va., for Deacon David S. McCaffrey Jr., who died at home on April 27, surrounded by his family. He was 83. Deacon McCaffrey was a permanent deacon at St. Michael Church in Annandale until his death. He previously served as a deacon at St. Mary Parish in Denville, N.J., in the Paterson Diocese. Born in 1942 to David and Marie McCaffrey, Deacon McCaffrey was raised in Bloomfield, N.J. He attended St. Thomas the Apostle School in Bloomfield and St.