generations

Archdiocese of Baltimore proposes nearly 0 million settlement for abuse victims #Catholic The Archdiocese of Baltimore is proposing nearly 0 million in compensation for abuse victims amid its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings there.A May 15 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court revealed that the archdiocese would contribute just under million to an abuse settlement for survivors, while “settling insurers” would pay a total of 5 million into the fund.The insurance amount represents a 25% increase from an earlier proposed contribution of 0 million.In a statement on the filing, the archdiocese said the overall plan “seeks to provide equitable compensation to survivors while sustaining the Church’s mission and ministries.”The proposal “reflects a commitment to transparency and a realistic assessment of available resources,” it said. The archdiocese noted that “no final agreement has yet been achieved.” The proposal would also establish a “Survivor Compensation Trust” to “evaluate claims and distribute compensation to survivors.”The archdiocese “will continue to listen, to learn, and to seek a resolution that honors the dignity of survivors and strengthens the mission of the Church for generations to come,” the statement said. In 2024 the Baltimore Archdiocese sued multiple insurers over what it claimed was a failure to pay abuse claims for which the insurers were contractually obligated.U.S. dioceses in recent years have frequently turned to insurers to help cover major abuse settlements, though insurers have at times challenged claims from dioceses on the grounds that their insurance policies did not cover instances of sex abuse. Marie Reilly, a professor of law at Penn State University and an expert in bankruptcy litigation, including Catholic diocesan bankruptcy proceedings, told EWTN News in 2025 that starting in the 1990s, insurance companies mostly changed how they cover sexual abuse.“Up until about the mid-’90s, a general liability policy used to include coverages for employee liability,” she said. “It would cover sex abuse claims against the diocese stemming from an employee’s abuse.”“After 1996, insurance policies issued under new revised standards just don’t provide that coverage anymore,” she said.
Read More

Archdiocese of Baltimore proposes nearly $170 million settlement for abuse victims #Catholic The Archdiocese of Baltimore is proposing nearly $170 million in compensation for abuse victims amid its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings there.A May 15 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court revealed that the archdiocese would contribute just under $44 million to an abuse settlement for survivors, while “settling insurers” would pay a total of $125 million into the fund.The insurance amount represents a 25% increase from an earlier proposed contribution of $100 million.In a statement on the filing, the archdiocese said the overall plan “seeks to provide equitable compensation to survivors while sustaining the Church’s mission and ministries.”The proposal “reflects a commitment to transparency and a realistic assessment of available resources,” it said. The archdiocese noted that “no final agreement has yet been achieved.” The proposal would also establish a “Survivor Compensation Trust” to “evaluate claims and distribute compensation to survivors.”The archdiocese “will continue to listen, to learn, and to seek a resolution that honors the dignity of survivors and strengthens the mission of the Church for generations to come,” the statement said. In 2024 the Baltimore Archdiocese sued multiple insurers over what it claimed was a failure to pay abuse claims for which the insurers were contractually obligated.U.S. dioceses in recent years have frequently turned to insurers to help cover major abuse settlements, though insurers have at times challenged claims from dioceses on the grounds that their insurance policies did not cover instances of sex abuse. Marie Reilly, a professor of law at Penn State University and an expert in bankruptcy litigation, including Catholic diocesan bankruptcy proceedings, told EWTN News in 2025 that starting in the 1990s, insurance companies mostly changed how they cover sexual abuse.“Up until about the mid-’90s, a general liability policy used to include coverages for employee liability,” she said. “It would cover sex abuse claims against the diocese stemming from an employee’s abuse.”“After 1996, insurance policies issued under new revised standards just don’t provide that coverage anymore,” she said.

unitedyam

The vast majority of the settlement would come from insurance contributions, according to a filing from the archdiocese.

Read More
From Budapest to Princeton, Catholic scholars mobilize to reconnect faith and political life #Catholic Catholic political and social thought, one of the foundational intellectual traditions of Western civilization, is poised for renewal as a new international initiative seeks to bring it back into conversation with new generations and decision-makers of tomorrow.CatholicPOST, the Association for the Renewal of Catholic Political and Social Thought, was born from the conviction — shared by a group of European scholars during the COVID-19 lockdowns — that the health crisis had exposed not only the fragility of modern Western societies but also a deeper anthropological confusion threatening their social foundations.That vision took concrete form at the inaugural conference of the association, titled “The Renaissance of Catholic Social Teaching,” held March 9–10 at the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest and attended by international academics and Vatican and Hungarian Catholic Church officials.“COVID was a tragic moment in contemporary history, and it required thinking back again on the basics of social life,” Professor Ferenc Hörcher — a Hungarian professor of political philosophy, historian of ideas, and the association’s president — told EWTN News. “And that is something you can do best on the grounds of the Catholic tradition, pointing back to Aristotle and forward to the social teaching of the Church.”For Hörcher — also director of the Research Institute for Politics and Government at Ludovika — the timing has only gained relevance with the election of Pope Leo XIV, whose choice of name evokes Pope Leo XIII, author of the landmark 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, widely regarded as the founding text of modern Catholic social teaching.Neglected intellectual inheritanceOne of CatholicPOST’s most urgent tasks is to restore Catholic social doctrine to its rightful place in intellectual life and academic discussion — a place it has progressively lost over the past century.Secularization, according to the association’s founders, has pushed Catholic intellectual traditions to the margins of public discourse. Even conservative academic circles, in their view, have often drawn more from Anglo-Saxon traditions with Protestant roots than from Catholic social thought.“Catholicism finds itself in the second row,” Hörcher said, “despite the fact that our modern and postmodern civilization is essentially built on it.”The association presents itself as a scholarly, nonpartisan platform, open not only to Catholics but also to thinkers willing to engage seriously with the tradition.“The Church cannot enter directly into political debate — that is not its mission,” Hörcher said. “But we, as Catholic intellectuals and practitioners in our own professions, can take that on.”Deeper stakesThe initiative of the group, consisting of, among others, American, Swedish, Maltese, and Hungarian scholars, emerges at a moment of mounting polarization across Western societies, as clashes over gender identity, family, bioethics, and the very understanding of the human person grow increasingly confrontational — and, at times, violent.For Hörcher, this is precisely why a recovery of serious Catholic political and social thought matters. CatholicPOST, he said, aims to reconnect contemporary debates with an intellectual tradition capable of addressing questions of philosophical anthropology that go far beyond basic politics.That ambition also helps explain the caliber of thinkers already orbiting the initiative, from French political philosopher Pierre Manent, a leading contemporary thinker on natural law and the moral foundations of political life, to scholars at the University of Notre Dame, home to the natural law tradition developed by John Finnis, and Princeton’s James Madison Program, led by natural law theorist Robert George — a circle Hörcher is set to join for a year as a visiting scholar to Princeton’s Department of Politics.The initiative has also attracted attention in Rome. In his keynote speech at the Budapest conference, Father Avelino Chico, head of office at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presented Catholic social teaching as a living intellectual tradition still evolving in response to the “new things” of each age — from industrial modernity in the time of Rerum Novarum to contemporary social challenges such as artificial intelligence, migration, ecological crisis, and widening inequality.Chico portrayed Pope Leo XIV as continuing that trajectory, seeking to integrate the legacy of Leo XIII and Pope Francis through the lens of integral human development — an approach that takes seriously not only economic realities but also the spiritual, cultural, and political dimensions of human life.Supporting new generationsThe association is already planning a second conference in Kraków, a deliberate choice honoring Poland’s enduring Catholic intellectual tradition and the legacy of St. John Paul II.Registration in the U.S. is also underway, as CatholicPOST has roots in American educational institutions like Christendom College, as a result of its aim to strengthen its international footprint and deepen transatlantic academic ties.For Hörcher, however, the deeper hope is not merely institutional growth but helping provide intellectual substance to what he sees as a broader spiritual movement among younger Westerners rediscovering Christianity. “We hope to give munition,” he said, “intellectual support for those young people.”He sees CatholicPOST as part of a recurring pattern in Catholic history. “Each century brought a revival of Catholic political thought,” he said, citing the neo-scholastic revival of 16th- to 17th-century Spain, the Holy Alliance of the post-Napoleonic Age, the social teaching inaugurated by Leo XIII, and the contribution of Catholic thinkers such as Jacques Maritain to the postwar rise of the human rights framework.“These historical precedents help us envision what a new renaissance might look like — and why it is needed now."
Read More

From Budapest to Princeton, Catholic scholars mobilize to reconnect faith and political life #Catholic Catholic political and social thought, one of the foundational intellectual traditions of Western civilization, is poised for renewal as a new international initiative seeks to bring it back into conversation with new generations and decision-makers of tomorrow.CatholicPOST, the Association for the Renewal of Catholic Political and Social Thought, was born from the conviction — shared by a group of European scholars during the COVID-19 lockdowns — that the health crisis had exposed not only the fragility of modern Western societies but also a deeper anthropological confusion threatening their social foundations.That vision took concrete form at the inaugural conference of the association, titled “The Renaissance of Catholic Social Teaching,” held March 9–10 at the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest and attended by international academics and Vatican and Hungarian Catholic Church officials.“COVID was a tragic moment in contemporary history, and it required thinking back again on the basics of social life,” Professor Ferenc Hörcher — a Hungarian professor of political philosophy, historian of ideas, and the association’s president — told EWTN News. “And that is something you can do best on the grounds of the Catholic tradition, pointing back to Aristotle and forward to the social teaching of the Church.”For Hörcher — also director of the Research Institute for Politics and Government at Ludovika — the timing has only gained relevance with the election of Pope Leo XIV, whose choice of name evokes Pope Leo XIII, author of the landmark 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, widely regarded as the founding text of modern Catholic social teaching.Neglected intellectual inheritanceOne of CatholicPOST’s most urgent tasks is to restore Catholic social doctrine to its rightful place in intellectual life and academic discussion — a place it has progressively lost over the past century.Secularization, according to the association’s founders, has pushed Catholic intellectual traditions to the margins of public discourse. Even conservative academic circles, in their view, have often drawn more from Anglo-Saxon traditions with Protestant roots than from Catholic social thought.“Catholicism finds itself in the second row,” Hörcher said, “despite the fact that our modern and postmodern civilization is essentially built on it.”The association presents itself as a scholarly, nonpartisan platform, open not only to Catholics but also to thinkers willing to engage seriously with the tradition.“The Church cannot enter directly into political debate — that is not its mission,” Hörcher said. “But we, as Catholic intellectuals and practitioners in our own professions, can take that on.”Deeper stakesThe initiative of the group, consisting of, among others, American, Swedish, Maltese, and Hungarian scholars, emerges at a moment of mounting polarization across Western societies, as clashes over gender identity, family, bioethics, and the very understanding of the human person grow increasingly confrontational — and, at times, violent.For Hörcher, this is precisely why a recovery of serious Catholic political and social thought matters. CatholicPOST, he said, aims to reconnect contemporary debates with an intellectual tradition capable of addressing questions of philosophical anthropology that go far beyond basic politics.That ambition also helps explain the caliber of thinkers already orbiting the initiative, from French political philosopher Pierre Manent, a leading contemporary thinker on natural law and the moral foundations of political life, to scholars at the University of Notre Dame, home to the natural law tradition developed by John Finnis, and Princeton’s James Madison Program, led by natural law theorist Robert George — a circle Hörcher is set to join for a year as a visiting scholar to Princeton’s Department of Politics.The initiative has also attracted attention in Rome. In his keynote speech at the Budapest conference, Father Avelino Chico, head of office at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presented Catholic social teaching as a living intellectual tradition still evolving in response to the “new things” of each age — from industrial modernity in the time of Rerum Novarum to contemporary social challenges such as artificial intelligence, migration, ecological crisis, and widening inequality.Chico portrayed Pope Leo XIV as continuing that trajectory, seeking to integrate the legacy of Leo XIII and Pope Francis through the lens of integral human development — an approach that takes seriously not only economic realities but also the spiritual, cultural, and political dimensions of human life.Supporting new generationsThe association is already planning a second conference in Kraków, a deliberate choice honoring Poland’s enduring Catholic intellectual tradition and the legacy of St. John Paul II.Registration in the U.S. is also underway, as CatholicPOST has roots in American educational institutions like Christendom College, as a result of its aim to strengthen its international footprint and deepen transatlantic academic ties.For Hörcher, however, the deeper hope is not merely institutional growth but helping provide intellectual substance to what he sees as a broader spiritual movement among younger Westerners rediscovering Christianity. “We hope to give munition,” he said, “intellectual support for those young people.”He sees CatholicPOST as part of a recurring pattern in Catholic history. “Each century brought a revival of Catholic political thought,” he said, citing the neo-scholastic revival of 16th- to 17th-century Spain, the Holy Alliance of the post-Napoleonic Age, the social teaching inaugurated by Leo XIII, and the contribution of Catholic thinkers such as Jacques Maritain to the postwar rise of the human rights framework.“These historical precedents help us envision what a new renaissance might look like — and why it is needed now."

unitedyam

CatholicPOST seeks to restore Catholic social doctrine to its rightful place in intellectual life and academic discussion.

Read More
Centennial honors historic Michigan church built amid KKK threats and strikes #Catholic A richly diverse Catholic community in southern Michigan is preparing to mark a milestone: the centennial of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Jackson, where the beauty of sacred space, reverent liturgy, and a vibrant musical tradition continue to shape the lives of the faithful. The church has thrived through historic events and turbulent times, even as it was being rebuilt. In 1924, one of the largest Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rallies ever recorded saw 100,000 participants tramp through Jacksonʼs streets, and parish tradition holds that the Knights of Columbus kept vigil at the construction site to protect it from KKK vandalism. St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Timothy Nelson As he prepares to wrap up his 15-year tenure as pastor of the parish, Father Timothy Nelson reflected on the churchʼs enduring vitality: “Our church is not a relic but a dynamic part of the present, enriched by a legacy of faith.”Located west of Detroit, Jackson has long been a railroad hub with ties to the automobile industry. St. Mary’s is one of three current parishes, following a consolidation of several others. Following decades of a strong Polish-American presence, demographic changes have included the growing influx of Hispanic families. Children of the latter now make up about a quarter of the enrollment at St. Mary School.St. Mary’s three spires dominate the skyline, reaching up 180 feet in an imposing Romanesque style. Long regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in Michigan, it features magnificent stained-glass windows fashioned in Innsbruck, Austria, an apse mosaic of Our Lady Star of the Sea, murals of the apostles, and Carrara marble altars and Communion rail. The latter embellishments were donated by George Washington Hill, president of the American Tobacco Co., as a memorial to his young wife, Aquinas Heiler Hill, who died in 1925. The green and red colors in the mosaics around the high altar repeat the original colors used on packs of Lucky Strike cigarettes. A mosaic of the Crucifixion at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Timothy Nelson The present structure replaced an earlier church, with its cornerstone laid on Sept. 23, 1923. Construction faced delays because of a prolonged labor strike at limestone quarries. The era was also marred with social unrest, including the Ku Klux Klan and its virulent anti-Catholicism and racism. Construction was not completed until May 31, 1926, at a cost of 5,000. Then-Auxiliary Bishop Joseph C. Plagens came from Detroit to officiate the dedicatory Mass.Among its treasures is a unique stained-glass rose window memorializing the fallen of the first world war, including nuns who tended the wounded. “The window shows not only the American soldiers and sailors of the war, but even their enemies who reach out to Jesus rising above them,” Nelson said as he gave a tour of the magnificent church. Restoration of the windows cost million and was made possible through the generosity of parishioners and benefactors, including the Eisele Family Foundation. St. Mary’s is depicted in “Buildings of Michigan” by Kathryn Bishop Eckert as one of the most notable in the Mitten State. Stained-glass window at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Kathryn Mietelka Now 74, Nelson will step down as pastor this summer. A former cardiologist, he will continue his ministry as chaplain of the St. Pio Medical Center in nearby Howell, which is part of a Vatican-authorized healthcare network inspired by St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio). He will be succeeded by Father John Vinton, who will continue offering Traditional Latin Masses and Spanish-language Masses.St. Mary’s serves about 1,086 families, including the active Sacred Heart of Jesus Hispanic Community.Nelson said: “The school is necessary for parish life” and is the most diverse parochial school in the area.The parish’s liturgical life shows both continuity and renewal. The Traditional Latin Mass, celebrated every Sunday, is accompanied by Gregorian chant and organ led by Aine Schroeder, a student at nearby Hillsdale College. Schroeder said the Gregorian schola will chant the “Ave Maria” and “Salve Regina” at the centennial concert. Dispelling concerns that the Latin liturgy is stuck in the past, Nelson said: “I agree with Pope Benedict XVI that the past continues to be lived in the present. We are bringing it into the future.” Inside St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Timothy Nelson For longtime parishioner Mary Belknap, a fourth-generation member who serves on the parish guild, St. Mary’s is a spiritual home and a place of encounter. “It’s one of the hallmark parishes in the state. People come from all over to see us and our beautiful church,” she said. Bridging the gaps between communities came easily to educator Belknap, who said that, having been raised in poverty as a child, she has experienced life on the margins, and “I personally reach out to embrace the goodness of other people.”The parishʼs centennial observance will commence with a concert on May 29 and culminate in a solemn Mass on May 31 — exactly 100 years after its first Mass — to be celebrated by Bishop Earl Boyea. Mary Malewitz, parish music director since 1981, is organizing the opening concert, which will feature adult and school choirs, a Hispanic choir, and a Gregorian schola. Between each performance, parishioners will sing their favorite hymns. “St. Mary’s has brought glory to Michigan for generations,” she told EWTN News.
Read More

Centennial honors historic Michigan church built amid KKK threats and strikes #Catholic A richly diverse Catholic community in southern Michigan is preparing to mark a milestone: the centennial of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Jackson, where the beauty of sacred space, reverent liturgy, and a vibrant musical tradition continue to shape the lives of the faithful. The church has thrived through historic events and turbulent times, even as it was being rebuilt. In 1924, one of the largest Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rallies ever recorded saw 100,000 participants tramp through Jacksonʼs streets, and parish tradition holds that the Knights of Columbus kept vigil at the construction site to protect it from KKK vandalism. St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Timothy Nelson As he prepares to wrap up his 15-year tenure as pastor of the parish, Father Timothy Nelson reflected on the churchʼs enduring vitality: “Our church is not a relic but a dynamic part of the present, enriched by a legacy of faith.”Located west of Detroit, Jackson has long been a railroad hub with ties to the automobile industry. St. Mary’s is one of three current parishes, following a consolidation of several others. Following decades of a strong Polish-American presence, demographic changes have included the growing influx of Hispanic families. Children of the latter now make up about a quarter of the enrollment at St. Mary School.St. Mary’s three spires dominate the skyline, reaching up 180 feet in an imposing Romanesque style. Long regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in Michigan, it features magnificent stained-glass windows fashioned in Innsbruck, Austria, an apse mosaic of Our Lady Star of the Sea, murals of the apostles, and Carrara marble altars and Communion rail. The latter embellishments were donated by George Washington Hill, president of the American Tobacco Co., as a memorial to his young wife, Aquinas Heiler Hill, who died in 1925. The green and red colors in the mosaics around the high altar repeat the original colors used on packs of Lucky Strike cigarettes. A mosaic of the Crucifixion at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Timothy Nelson The present structure replaced an earlier church, with its cornerstone laid on Sept. 23, 1923. Construction faced delays because of a prolonged labor strike at limestone quarries. The era was also marred with social unrest, including the Ku Klux Klan and its virulent anti-Catholicism and racism. Construction was not completed until May 31, 1926, at a cost of $375,000. Then-Auxiliary Bishop Joseph C. Plagens came from Detroit to officiate the dedicatory Mass.Among its treasures is a unique stained-glass rose window memorializing the fallen of the first world war, including nuns who tended the wounded. “The window shows not only the American soldiers and sailors of the war, but even their enemies who reach out to Jesus rising above them,” Nelson said as he gave a tour of the magnificent church. Restoration of the windows cost $1 million and was made possible through the generosity of parishioners and benefactors, including the Eisele Family Foundation. St. Mary’s is depicted in “Buildings of Michigan” by Kathryn Bishop Eckert as one of the most notable in the Mitten State. Stained-glass window at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Kathryn Mietelka Now 74, Nelson will step down as pastor this summer. A former cardiologist, he will continue his ministry as chaplain of the St. Pio Medical Center in nearby Howell, which is part of a Vatican-authorized healthcare network inspired by St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio). He will be succeeded by Father John Vinton, who will continue offering Traditional Latin Masses and Spanish-language Masses.St. Mary’s serves about 1,086 families, including the active Sacred Heart of Jesus Hispanic Community.Nelson said: “The school is necessary for parish life” and is the most diverse parochial school in the area.The parish’s liturgical life shows both continuity and renewal. The Traditional Latin Mass, celebrated every Sunday, is accompanied by Gregorian chant and organ led by Aine Schroeder, a student at nearby Hillsdale College. Schroeder said the Gregorian schola will chant the “Ave Maria” and “Salve Regina” at the centennial concert. Dispelling concerns that the Latin liturgy is stuck in the past, Nelson said: “I agree with Pope Benedict XVI that the past continues to be lived in the present. We are bringing it into the future.” Inside St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Jackson, Michigan. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Timothy Nelson For longtime parishioner Mary Belknap, a fourth-generation member who serves on the parish guild, St. Mary’s is a spiritual home and a place of encounter. “It’s one of the hallmark parishes in the state. People come from all over to see us and our beautiful church,” she said. Bridging the gaps between communities came easily to educator Belknap, who said that, having been raised in poverty as a child, she has experienced life on the margins, and “I personally reach out to embrace the goodness of other people.”The parishʼs centennial observance will commence with a concert on May 29 and culminate in a solemn Mass on May 31 — exactly 100 years after its first Mass — to be celebrated by Bishop Earl Boyea. Mary Malewitz, parish music director since 1981, is organizing the opening concert, which will feature adult and school choirs, a Hispanic choir, and a Gregorian schola. Between each performance, parishioners will sing their favorite hymns. “St. Mary’s has brought glory to Michigan for generations,” she told EWTN News.

unitedyam

Founded amid hardship and change, the centennial of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Jackson, Michigan, brings together generations to honor a diverse parish that continues to thrive.

Read More
Historic parish in Toronto Archdiocese to finally break ground on new church #Catholic After well over a decade of prayer, planning, and perseverance, a historic parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario,  Canada, will officially break ground on its new church May 24.For many, the project’s next — and most important — step marks a joyous continuation of a dream long held by generations of parishioners and clergy alike.Celebrations will take place on Pentecost Sunday with Mass at the current St. Patrick’s Church, followed by a procession to the new site located at 150 Martin Byrne Dr. for the formal blessing and groundbreaking ceremony. There, Toronto Auxiliary Bishop Ivan Camilleri will preside, joined by parishioners, major donors, local mayors, and councillors. The day will conclude with a festive barbecue, live music, games, and family activities back at St. Patrick’s.Monsignor Owen Keenan, pastor of St. Patrick’s, the archdiocese’s second-oldest parish, said the long-awaited moment is deeply meaningful for all. He spoke to Canadaʼs The Catholic Register about the parish communityʼs vision for a larger church, dating back to the 1980s, with planning truly intensifying in 2015 under the late Father Vito Marziliano. Unfortunately, misfortune befell the project even in its earliest stages.“ First, our architect Renzo Pianon died at 47, and then COVID hit us hard with the drop in attendance and various fundraising challenges before Father Vito left us far too young,” Keenan said. “There were moments of asking what is next? How much more can the community endure?”Still, the community persisted through Marziliano’s Loaves and Fishes Campaign — a project solely dedicated to St. Patrick’s mission of building a new, larger church property to serve a growing local population. A rendering of the front of the new St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Construction on the new church is scheduled to begin May 24, 2026. | Credit: Screenshot from St. Patrick promo video Speaking to The Catholic Register in October 2025, Keenan revealed that the City of Brampton, Region of Peel, and the City of Caledon anticipated an increase of between 50,000 to 60,000 people within the confines of the parish in the next 15 to 20 years. He also shared the growing interest from parishioners — and pledges of million to be paid upon the start of construction and an additional million in bequests from an anonymous parishioner and an area business, respectively.While the community has continued to rally behind the cause — including a promising showing and fundraising efforts at last year’s gala in October —Keenan concedes that a sense of restlessness has been creeping in.“ Weʼve managed to maintain and reestablish a good level of fundraising after COVID, but weʼve run out of runway — people are only going to throw money at a question mark for so long. Thus far, we have around 0,000 worth of new donations already, with more expected as we go and as we break ground,” he said.In total, the project has amassed several million dollars for the project.Despite the impressive figures, Keenan reiterated that rising prices have played a role in the project’s delay. Even as the market shows itʼs a good time to build, a 32,000-square-foot project in 2018 was estimated to cost .9 million, but by 2024, a reduced 28,000-square-foot building was estimated to cost as much as .5 million, leading the parish to scale its operation back from wants to needs.Still, the new church itself is set to be Marziliano’s swan song and become something truly unique as his original vision promised.“He was quite an artist, and so the design for the new church will be based on a 19th-century reconstruction of a sixth-century church in the Holy Land, specifically the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha, Israel,” Keenan said.The extensive project involves building a bigger version that remains faithful to the original design, complete with a traditional Romanesque style, rounded apse, cruciform shape, and pillars up the aisles.Now, the project that required a true test of the communityʼs resiliency, patience, and faith will reach its most defining moment with May 24’s first dig.Looking back on the multigenerational effort, Keenan is grateful for the patience and steadfast support of parishioners who have sacrificed for this new church over a decade.“ We are all very excited, and I canʼt say enough about the good people of this parish who have been wanting this for so long. There are lots of good people for whom weʼre enormously grateful,” he said.“We want a place for families who are stressed to be able to come together to appeal to the Lord. Letʼs find our identity in Christ, as St. Paul says, and letʼs truly rejoice together.”This story was first published in Canadaʼs The Catholic Register and has been adapted by EWTN News. It is reprinted here with permission.
Read More

Historic parish in Toronto Archdiocese to finally break ground on new church #Catholic After well over a decade of prayer, planning, and perseverance, a historic parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario,  Canada, will officially break ground on its new church May 24.For many, the project’s next — and most important — step marks a joyous continuation of a dream long held by generations of parishioners and clergy alike.Celebrations will take place on Pentecost Sunday with Mass at the current St. Patrick’s Church, followed by a procession to the new site located at 150 Martin Byrne Dr. for the formal blessing and groundbreaking ceremony. There, Toronto Auxiliary Bishop Ivan Camilleri will preside, joined by parishioners, major donors, local mayors, and councillors. The day will conclude with a festive barbecue, live music, games, and family activities back at St. Patrick’s.Monsignor Owen Keenan, pastor of St. Patrick’s, the archdiocese’s second-oldest parish, said the long-awaited moment is deeply meaningful for all. He spoke to Canadaʼs The Catholic Register about the parish communityʼs vision for a larger church, dating back to the 1980s, with planning truly intensifying in 2015 under the late Father Vito Marziliano. Unfortunately, misfortune befell the project even in its earliest stages.“ First, our architect Renzo Pianon died at 47, and then COVID hit us hard with the drop in attendance and various fundraising challenges before Father Vito left us far too young,” Keenan said. “There were moments of asking what is next? How much more can the community endure?”Still, the community persisted through Marziliano’s Loaves and Fishes Campaign — a project solely dedicated to St. Patrick’s mission of building a new, larger church property to serve a growing local population. A rendering of the front of the new St. Patrick’s Parish in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Construction on the new church is scheduled to begin May 24, 2026. | Credit: Screenshot from St. Patrick promo video Speaking to The Catholic Register in October 2025, Keenan revealed that the City of Brampton, Region of Peel, and the City of Caledon anticipated an increase of between 50,000 to 60,000 people within the confines of the parish in the next 15 to 20 years. He also shared the growing interest from parishioners — and pledges of $1 million to be paid upon the start of construction and an additional $1 million in bequests from an anonymous parishioner and an area business, respectively.While the community has continued to rally behind the cause — including a promising showing and fundraising efforts at last year’s gala in October —Keenan concedes that a sense of restlessness has been creeping in.“ Weʼve managed to maintain and reestablish a good level of fundraising after COVID, but weʼve run out of runway — people are only going to throw money at a question mark for so long. Thus far, we have around $350,000 worth of new donations already, with more expected as we go and as we break ground,” he said.In total, the project has amassed several million dollars for the project.Despite the impressive figures, Keenan reiterated that rising prices have played a role in the project’s delay. Even as the market shows itʼs a good time to build, a 32,000-square-foot project in 2018 was estimated to cost $12.9 million, but by 2024, a reduced 28,000-square-foot building was estimated to cost as much as $26.5 million, leading the parish to scale its operation back from wants to needs.Still, the new church itself is set to be Marziliano’s swan song and become something truly unique as his original vision promised.“He was quite an artist, and so the design for the new church will be based on a 19th-century reconstruction of a sixth-century church in the Holy Land, specifically the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha, Israel,” Keenan said.The extensive project involves building a bigger version that remains faithful to the original design, complete with a traditional Romanesque style, rounded apse, cruciform shape, and pillars up the aisles.Now, the project that required a true test of the communityʼs resiliency, patience, and faith will reach its most defining moment with May 24’s first dig.Looking back on the multigenerational effort, Keenan is grateful for the patience and steadfast support of parishioners who have sacrificed for this new church over a decade.“ We are all very excited, and I canʼt say enough about the good people of this parish who have been wanting this for so long. There are lots of good people for whom weʼre enormously grateful,” he said.“We want a place for families who are stressed to be able to come together to appeal to the Lord. Letʼs find our identity in Christ, as St. Paul says, and letʼs truly rejoice together.”This story was first published in Canadaʼs The Catholic Register and has been adapted by EWTN News. It is reprinted here with permission.

unitedyam

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.

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.
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.

unitedyam

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.

Read More
Here are the patron saints of World Youth Day Seoul 2027 #Catholic The Local Organizing Committee for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 has officially announced the patron saints who will spiritually accompany the next major international gathering of young Catholics, which will take place in the South Korean capital Aug. 3–8, 2027.According to a statement from organizers, the five patron saints of WYD Seoul 2027 are St. John Paul II, founder of World Youth Day; St. Andrew Kim Taegon and his companion martyrs; St. Frances Xavier Cabrini; St. Josephine Bakhita; and St. Carlo Acutis.St. John Paul II (1920–2005) is remembered for centering much of his pastoral teaching on young people, the family, and the defense of the dignity of human life. St. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821–1846), the first Korean Catholic priest, together with his companion martyrs, represents a powerful witness of faith and courage, sealed by martyrdom at a young age.St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917) was a tireless missionary, known especially for her work on behalf of migrants and the poor. St. Josephine Bakhita (1869–1947), a former slave who became a religious sister, is a witness of hope, freedom, and faith transformed through suffering. St. Carlo Acutis (1991–2006), meanwhile, embodies the witness of holiness in the digital age and remains a model of evangelization for young people today.As is customary for each World Youth Day, the patron saints are presented as models and guides of faith for young people through the witness of their lives and spirituality. For WYD Seoul 2027, the choices were made in light of the event’s major spiritual themes: truth, love, and peace.The selection process began at the end of 2024 and included a nationwide survey of young people, youth ministry leaders, and formators. Following that consultation, the Local Organizing Committee reviewed the candidates and made the final selection.After the announcement, a group of young volunteers spent two months studying the lives and spirituality of the five patron saints. Through prayer, dialogue, and shared reflection, they prepared a special prayer and a representative symbol for each saint to express the particular witness they offer to new generations.Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, emphasized the importance of the selection, saying the patron saints “play a fundamental role in the preparation of each World Youth Day.” He said these models of holiness invite young people to reflect on God’s call and encourage them to respond with generosity and courage in following Christ.“May the witness of these patron saints inspire young people throughout the world, especially in contexts marked by difficulty and persecution,” Farrell said.Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the Local Organizing Committee, noted that the chosen saints represent different continents and generations.“Each one of them offers a concrete path for living the faith amid the realities that young people face today,” Chung said, expressing his hope that participants will form a deep spiritual bond with the saints during the journey of preparation for WYD.The Local Organizing Committee will continue presenting the lives and spirituality of the patron saints through the official WYD Seoul 2027 website and social media channels, while also developing new content and formation programs.Along with the announcement, the committee also launched an interactive section titled “Meet Your Patron Saint!” Inspired by personality tests and digital quizzes, the feature asks young people a series of questions to help them discover which of the five saints most closely resembles their own personality. The goal is to help young people encounter the saints not only as historical figures but also as companions who can illuminate the questions and hopes of today.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Here are the patron saints of World Youth Day Seoul 2027 #Catholic The Local Organizing Committee for World Youth Day Seoul 2027 has officially announced the patron saints who will spiritually accompany the next major international gathering of young Catholics, which will take place in the South Korean capital Aug. 3–8, 2027.According to a statement from organizers, the five patron saints of WYD Seoul 2027 are St. John Paul II, founder of World Youth Day; St. Andrew Kim Taegon and his companion martyrs; St. Frances Xavier Cabrini; St. Josephine Bakhita; and St. Carlo Acutis.St. John Paul II (1920–2005) is remembered for centering much of his pastoral teaching on young people, the family, and the defense of the dignity of human life. St. Andrew Kim Taegon (1821–1846), the first Korean Catholic priest, together with his companion martyrs, represents a powerful witness of faith and courage, sealed by martyrdom at a young age.St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917) was a tireless missionary, known especially for her work on behalf of migrants and the poor. St. Josephine Bakhita (1869–1947), a former slave who became a religious sister, is a witness of hope, freedom, and faith transformed through suffering. St. Carlo Acutis (1991–2006), meanwhile, embodies the witness of holiness in the digital age and remains a model of evangelization for young people today.As is customary for each World Youth Day, the patron saints are presented as models and guides of faith for young people through the witness of their lives and spirituality. For WYD Seoul 2027, the choices were made in light of the event’s major spiritual themes: truth, love, and peace.The selection process began at the end of 2024 and included a nationwide survey of young people, youth ministry leaders, and formators. Following that consultation, the Local Organizing Committee reviewed the candidates and made the final selection.After the announcement, a group of young volunteers spent two months studying the lives and spirituality of the five patron saints. Through prayer, dialogue, and shared reflection, they prepared a special prayer and a representative symbol for each saint to express the particular witness they offer to new generations.Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life, emphasized the importance of the selection, saying the patron saints “play a fundamental role in the preparation of each World Youth Day.” He said these models of holiness invite young people to reflect on God’s call and encourage them to respond with generosity and courage in following Christ.“May the witness of these patron saints inspire young people throughout the world, especially in contexts marked by difficulty and persecution,” Farrell said.Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul, president of the Local Organizing Committee, noted that the chosen saints represent different continents and generations.“Each one of them offers a concrete path for living the faith amid the realities that young people face today,” Chung said, expressing his hope that participants will form a deep spiritual bond with the saints during the journey of preparation for WYD.The Local Organizing Committee will continue presenting the lives and spirituality of the patron saints through the official WYD Seoul 2027 website and social media channels, while also developing new content and formation programs.Along with the announcement, the committee also launched an interactive section titled “Meet Your Patron Saint!” Inspired by personality tests and digital quizzes, the feature asks young people a series of questions to help them discover which of the five saints most closely resembles their own personality. The goal is to help young people encounter the saints not only as historical figures but also as companions who can illuminate the questions and hopes of today.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

The five saints chosen for the international youth gathering reflect the event’s spiritual themes of truth, love, and peace.

Read More
March for Life in Warsaw commemorates 1,060 years of Christianity in Poland #Catholic Thousands of people gathered in Poland’s capital on April 19 for the National March for Life, a large public demonstration organized under the slogan “Faith and Fidelity 1966–2026,” commemorating the 1,060th anniversary of the Christianization of Poland. The event combined religious observance, civic participation, and pro-life advocacy, drawing families, clergy, activists, and public figures to central Warsaw. The day began with Mass celebrated in two of the cityʼs major churches. Mass is celebrated at the Archcathedral Basilica of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw, Poland, on April 19, 2026. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris In the Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Bishop Piotr Jarecki presided over the liturgy, while Bishop Tomasz Sztajerwald celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian in Warsaw-Praga.Participants later gathered at Castle Square, where the march officially began. Organizers described the event as a public expression of support for life and family, rooted in Poland’s Christian tradition. Metropolitan Archbishop Adrian Galbas of Warsaw encouraged participation ahead of the event, framing it as a testimony to human dignity. “We want to testify that we are lovers of life. Bring your family along! Life triumphs over every death,” he declared. Church leaders join Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki and other dignitaries at the March for Life in Warsaw on April 19, 2026. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo lures March through Warsaw highlights pro-life messageThe procession moved through central Warsaw streets under the historic slogan marking Poland’s Christian heritage. As participants approached the Presidential Palace, Polish President Karol Nawrocki spoke, linking the march to broader social concerns.“I support initiatives that serve Poland, and this initiative certainly serves Poland,” he said. “It is also a response to the deep demographic crisis. Today, the answer to many Polish problems lies precisely in Polish families, in our identity, in remembering where we come from and where we are going.”Organizers said the march was intended not only as a demonstration of pro-life conviction but also as a broader reflection on national identity and social cohesion.A prominent symbol carried during the march was a copy of the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, which has been traveling internationally for 14 years as part of the From Ocean to Ocean pilgrimage in defense of life. The icon has traveled more than 220,000 kilometers (almost 137,000 miles) and visited 32 countries across five continents. Participants carry an icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Shifting abortion attitudes among younger PolesThe National March for Life is organized by the St. Benedict Foundation alongside dozens of pro-life groups from across Poland and takes place under the honorary patronage of the Polish Episcopal Conference.Patrycja Michońska-Dynek, director of the Press Center of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, told EWTN News that there are shifting public attitudes toward abortion in Poland, including growing societal acceptance and increased calls for liberalization, attributing these changes to secularization, cultural pressures, and differing interpretations of freedom.Michońska-Dynek also observed that while pro-life values remain important in Polish society, younger generations often approach the issue with more nuanced perspectives, particularly in complex or exceptional situations. Fostering a “culture of life” must include practical support for families, such as assistance for single mothers and couples in crisis, Michońska-Dynek said. Lidia, a participant at the National March for Life. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Not a single-issue agendaLidia Sankowska-Grabczuk, one of the organizers of the National March for Life, told EWTN News that the pro-life movement in Poland extends beyond a single-issue focus on abortion.“In a nutshell, the pro-life movement is [often] the anti-abortion movement. In our view… it’s a bit different. We don’t reduce it to a single-issue agenda,” she said, warning that such a narrow framing “strips it of its true meaning.” While protecting unborn life remains central, she described it as part of a broader vision rooted in what she called “the public voice of Polish Christianity.”She outlined three core pillars underpinning the movement. The first is “respect for life,” encompassing not only the unborn but also solidarity with the elderly, families, and those in need. The second is the family as society’s foundation, grounded in the traditional understanding of marriage and its role in Poland’s social stability. The third pillar is “a state serving the common good,” reflecting a view of politics as service and a call for greater social solidarity. March for Life in Warsaw commemorates 1,060 years of Christianity in Poland. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Sankowska-Grabczuk also discussed the importance of Poland’s historical and Christian identity in shaping the movement. She noted that recent marches have intentionally marked major national milestones, including the 1,000th anniversary of Poland’s first royal coronation in 2025.These commemorations, she said, highlight how the movement sees its mission as inseparable from Poland’s historical development, where Christianity has long informed both national identity and social values.Pro-life voices and public participationAmong international participants was Tonio Borg, president of the European Federation One of Us. He urged participants to remain steadfast in their convictions despite criticism or public pressure. “Do not be afraid of being slandered and ridiculed because you seek to protect life from the moment of conception,” he said, encouraging continued public engagement and advocacy. He also called on supporters to make their voices heard in the public sphere, stressing the importance of influencing lawmakers and demonstrating that “the unborn child is one of us.” Paula, a participant at the National March for Life in Poland. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Marcin Perłowski, director of the Centre for Life and Family, said participants gathered at the march out of a shared conviction that “human life begins at conception” and must be defended. He stated that the National March for Life serves as a public demonstration of that belief, describing it as a stand “against all those who raise a hand against unborn children.”Pro-life activist Emilia Mędrzecka told EWTN News that her position is grounded in a belief in universal human dignity. “Children in the womb are as human as we are… they are more dependent and need time to grow,” she said while adding that the march reflected a strong presence of families, young people, and older generations united in support of life. Polish president Karol Nawrocki walks among participants at the National March for Life in Poland. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris While official attendance figures have not been released, estimates provided to EWTN News suggested more than 10,000 people participated, with organizers placing peak attendance between 25,000 and 30,000.
Read More

March for Life in Warsaw commemorates 1,060 years of Christianity in Poland #Catholic Thousands of people gathered in Poland’s capital on April 19 for the National March for Life, a large public demonstration organized under the slogan “Faith and Fidelity 1966–2026,” commemorating the 1,060th anniversary of the Christianization of Poland. The event combined religious observance, civic participation, and pro-life advocacy, drawing families, clergy, activists, and public figures to central Warsaw. The day began with Mass celebrated in two of the cityʼs major churches. Mass is celebrated at the Archcathedral Basilica of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw, Poland, on April 19, 2026. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris In the Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Bishop Piotr Jarecki presided over the liturgy, while Bishop Tomasz Sztajerwald celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian in Warsaw-Praga.Participants later gathered at Castle Square, where the march officially began. Organizers described the event as a public expression of support for life and family, rooted in Poland’s Christian tradition. Metropolitan Archbishop Adrian Galbas of Warsaw encouraged participation ahead of the event, framing it as a testimony to human dignity. “We want to testify that we are lovers of life. Bring your family along! Life triumphs over every death,” he declared. Church leaders join Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki and other dignitaries at the March for Life in Warsaw on April 19, 2026. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo lures March through Warsaw highlights pro-life messageThe procession moved through central Warsaw streets under the historic slogan marking Poland’s Christian heritage. As participants approached the Presidential Palace, Polish President Karol Nawrocki spoke, linking the march to broader social concerns.“I support initiatives that serve Poland, and this initiative certainly serves Poland,” he said. “It is also a response to the deep demographic crisis. Today, the answer to many Polish problems lies precisely in Polish families, in our identity, in remembering where we come from and where we are going.”Organizers said the march was intended not only as a demonstration of pro-life conviction but also as a broader reflection on national identity and social cohesion.A prominent symbol carried during the march was a copy of the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, which has been traveling internationally for 14 years as part of the From Ocean to Ocean pilgrimage in defense of life. The icon has traveled more than 220,000 kilometers (almost 137,000 miles) and visited 32 countries across five continents. Participants carry an icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Shifting abortion attitudes among younger PolesThe National March for Life is organized by the St. Benedict Foundation alongside dozens of pro-life groups from across Poland and takes place under the honorary patronage of the Polish Episcopal Conference.Patrycja Michońska-Dynek, director of the Press Center of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, told EWTN News that there are shifting public attitudes toward abortion in Poland, including growing societal acceptance and increased calls for liberalization, attributing these changes to secularization, cultural pressures, and differing interpretations of freedom.Michońska-Dynek also observed that while pro-life values remain important in Polish society, younger generations often approach the issue with more nuanced perspectives, particularly in complex or exceptional situations. Fostering a “culture of life” must include practical support for families, such as assistance for single mothers and couples in crisis, Michońska-Dynek said. Lidia, a participant at the National March for Life. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Not a single-issue agendaLidia Sankowska-Grabczuk, one of the organizers of the National March for Life, told EWTN News that the pro-life movement in Poland extends beyond a single-issue focus on abortion.“In a nutshell, the pro-life movement is [often] the anti-abortion movement. In our view… it’s a bit different. We don’t reduce it to a single-issue agenda,” she said, warning that such a narrow framing “strips it of its true meaning.” While protecting unborn life remains central, she described it as part of a broader vision rooted in what she called “the public voice of Polish Christianity.”She outlined three core pillars underpinning the movement. The first is “respect for life,” encompassing not only the unborn but also solidarity with the elderly, families, and those in need. The second is the family as society’s foundation, grounded in the traditional understanding of marriage and its role in Poland’s social stability. The third pillar is “a state serving the common good,” reflecting a view of politics as service and a call for greater social solidarity. March for Life in Warsaw commemorates 1,060 years of Christianity in Poland. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Sankowska-Grabczuk also discussed the importance of Poland’s historical and Christian identity in shaping the movement. She noted that recent marches have intentionally marked major national milestones, including the 1,000th anniversary of Poland’s first royal coronation in 2025.These commemorations, she said, highlight how the movement sees its mission as inseparable from Poland’s historical development, where Christianity has long informed both national identity and social values.Pro-life voices and public participationAmong international participants was Tonio Borg, president of the European Federation One of Us. He urged participants to remain steadfast in their convictions despite criticism or public pressure. “Do not be afraid of being slandered and ridiculed because you seek to protect life from the moment of conception,” he said, encouraging continued public engagement and advocacy. He also called on supporters to make their voices heard in the public sphere, stressing the importance of influencing lawmakers and demonstrating that “the unborn child is one of us.” Paula, a participant at the National March for Life in Poland. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris Marcin Perłowski, director of the Centre for Life and Family, said participants gathered at the march out of a shared conviction that “human life begins at conception” and must be defended. He stated that the National March for Life serves as a public demonstration of that belief, describing it as a stand “against all those who raise a hand against unborn children.”Pro-life activist Emilia Mędrzecka told EWTN News that her position is grounded in a belief in universal human dignity. “Children in the womb are as human as we are… they are more dependent and need time to grow,” she said while adding that the march reflected a strong presence of families, young people, and older generations united in support of life. Polish president Karol Nawrocki walks among participants at the National March for Life in Poland. | Credit: Tomasz Daniluk/Ordo Iuris While official attendance figures have not been released, estimates provided to EWTN News suggested more than 10,000 people participated, with organizers placing peak attendance between 25,000 and 30,000.

unitedyam

Recent marches in Poland have intentionally marked major national milestones, including the 1,000th anniversary of Poland’s first royal coronation in 2025.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV: Universities must seek truth and form the whole person #Catholic MALABO, Equatorial Guinea — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said the inauguration of a new university campus in Equatorial Guinea is “an act of trust in human beings,” praising investment in the education of young people during the final stop of his Africa trip.Speaking at the opening of the Pope Leo XIV University Campus in Basupú, part of the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE), the pontiff said the new institution represents more than new buildings.“This inauguration is an act of trust in human beings, an affirmation of the fact that it is worth the effort to continue wagering on the formation of new generations and on the task, so demanding and yet so noble, of seeking the truth and putting knowledge at the service of the common good,” Leo said.The new campus, in the northern part of Bioko Island, is the country’s largest academic facility. The government chose to dedicate it to the pope in conjunction with his visit. Founded in 1995, the National University of Equatorial Guinea was established to help form national leaders and align academic and professional training with the country’s development needs.Leo was welcomed by Rector Filiberto Ntutumu Nguema Nchama and the archbishop of Malabo, Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang May. A bust of the pope was unveiled before he met with students and professors gathered in the square outside the main entrance.Students appealed to the pope for encouragement in becoming “a generation characterized by discipline, respect, responsibility, and commitment to the common good,” one aimed not only at personal success but also at contributing to the development of Equatorial Guinea.Faculty members, for their part, pledged themselves to academic excellence, innovation, and the integral formation of students. University officials also stressed that science and technology are powerful tools whose value depends on how they are used and that Christian moral tradition offers essential guidance in that task.In his address, Leo turned to an image deeply resonant in Equatorial Guinea: the ceiba, the country’s national tree.“For the people of Equatorial Guinea, the ceiba, the national tree, has a great symbolic meaning,” he said. “A tree puts forth deep roots and ascends slowly with patience and strength to the heights, embodying in itself a fruitfulness that does not exist for itself.”The pope said the tree offers “a parable of that which a university is called to be”: an institution rooted in serious study, living memory, and the persevering search for truth.Leo then drew on biblical imagery to reflect on the relationship between faith, reason, and knowledge. Referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis, he said the biblical account is not a rejection of human intelligence.“It should be emphasized that this story is not about a condemnation of knowledge as such, as if faith was afraid of intelligence or looked with suspicion upon the desire for knowledge,” he said.Instead, he warned against knowledge detached from truth and goodness and reduced to self-interest or domination.“The problem, therefore, does not rest with knowledge but in its deviation towards an intelligence that no longer seeks to correspond to reality but rather to twist it for its own purposes,” he said.Leo said Christian tradition points to another tree — the cross — as the redemption, not the negation, of human intelligence.“Christian tradition contemplates another tree, that of the cross, not as a denial of human intelligence but as a sign of its redemption,” he said.“At the cross, human beings are invited to allow their desire for knowledge to be healed: to rediscover that truth is not fabricated, not manipulated nor possessed like a trophy but welcomed, sought with humility, and served with responsibility.”For that reason, he said, Christ is not an escape from intellectual effort.“From a Christian perspective, Christ does not appear as a religious escape in the face of intellectual endeavors, as if faith began where reason ended,” Leo said. “On the contrary, in him the profound harmony between truth, reason, and freedom are manifested.”The pope said the Church’s concern in education is that young people be formed integrally, “rather than giving the mere appearance of success.”He added that the university should be judged less by its size or number of graduates than by the quality of the people it forms for society.“Here on this campus, the ceiba of Equatorial Guinea is called to bear fruits of progress rooted in solidarity and of a knowledge that ennobles and develops the human being in an integral way,” he said. “It is called to offer the fruits of intelligence and uprightness, of competence and wisdom, of excellence and service.”“If generations of men and women are profoundly shaped in this place by truth and are capable of transforming their own existence into a gift for others, then the ceiba will remain an eloquent symbol rooted in the best things of this land, elevated by wisdom and abounding in fruits that pay tribute to Equatorial Guinea and enrich the entire human family.”Before the university event, the pope also made a brief visit to St. Elizabeth of Hungary Cathedral in Malabo, built in 1897.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV: Universities must seek truth and form the whole person #Catholic MALABO, Equatorial Guinea — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday said the inauguration of a new university campus in Equatorial Guinea is “an act of trust in human beings,” praising investment in the education of young people during the final stop of his Africa trip.Speaking at the opening of the Pope Leo XIV University Campus in Basupú, part of the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE), the pontiff said the new institution represents more than new buildings.“This inauguration is an act of trust in human beings, an affirmation of the fact that it is worth the effort to continue wagering on the formation of new generations and on the task, so demanding and yet so noble, of seeking the truth and putting knowledge at the service of the common good,” Leo said.The new campus, in the northern part of Bioko Island, is the country’s largest academic facility. The government chose to dedicate it to the pope in conjunction with his visit. Founded in 1995, the National University of Equatorial Guinea was established to help form national leaders and align academic and professional training with the country’s development needs.Leo was welcomed by Rector Filiberto Ntutumu Nguema Nchama and the archbishop of Malabo, Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang May. A bust of the pope was unveiled before he met with students and professors gathered in the square outside the main entrance.Students appealed to the pope for encouragement in becoming “a generation characterized by discipline, respect, responsibility, and commitment to the common good,” one aimed not only at personal success but also at contributing to the development of Equatorial Guinea.Faculty members, for their part, pledged themselves to academic excellence, innovation, and the integral formation of students. University officials also stressed that science and technology are powerful tools whose value depends on how they are used and that Christian moral tradition offers essential guidance in that task.In his address, Leo turned to an image deeply resonant in Equatorial Guinea: the ceiba, the country’s national tree.“For the people of Equatorial Guinea, the ceiba, the national tree, has a great symbolic meaning,” he said. “A tree puts forth deep roots and ascends slowly with patience and strength to the heights, embodying in itself a fruitfulness that does not exist for itself.”The pope said the tree offers “a parable of that which a university is called to be”: an institution rooted in serious study, living memory, and the persevering search for truth.Leo then drew on biblical imagery to reflect on the relationship between faith, reason, and knowledge. Referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis, he said the biblical account is not a rejection of human intelligence.“It should be emphasized that this story is not about a condemnation of knowledge as such, as if faith was afraid of intelligence or looked with suspicion upon the desire for knowledge,” he said.Instead, he warned against knowledge detached from truth and goodness and reduced to self-interest or domination.“The problem, therefore, does not rest with knowledge but in its deviation towards an intelligence that no longer seeks to correspond to reality but rather to twist it for its own purposes,” he said.Leo said Christian tradition points to another tree — the cross — as the redemption, not the negation, of human intelligence.“Christian tradition contemplates another tree, that of the cross, not as a denial of human intelligence but as a sign of its redemption,” he said.“At the cross, human beings are invited to allow their desire for knowledge to be healed: to rediscover that truth is not fabricated, not manipulated nor possessed like a trophy but welcomed, sought with humility, and served with responsibility.”For that reason, he said, Christ is not an escape from intellectual effort.“From a Christian perspective, Christ does not appear as a religious escape in the face of intellectual endeavors, as if faith began where reason ended,” Leo said. “On the contrary, in him the profound harmony between truth, reason, and freedom are manifested.”The pope said the Church’s concern in education is that young people be formed integrally, “rather than giving the mere appearance of success.”He added that the university should be judged less by its size or number of graduates than by the quality of the people it forms for society.“Here on this campus, the ceiba of Equatorial Guinea is called to bear fruits of progress rooted in solidarity and of a knowledge that ennobles and develops the human being in an integral way,” he said. “It is called to offer the fruits of intelligence and uprightness, of competence and wisdom, of excellence and service.”“If generations of men and women are profoundly shaped in this place by truth and are capable of transforming their own existence into a gift for others, then the ceiba will remain an eloquent symbol rooted in the best things of this land, elevated by wisdom and abounding in fruits that pay tribute to Equatorial Guinea and enrich the entire human family.”Before the university event, the pope also made a brief visit to St. Elizabeth of Hungary Cathedral in Malabo, built in 1897.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

At the inauguration of a new campus named in his honor in Equatorial Guinea, the pope urged the education of young people in truth, responsibility, and service to the common good.

Read More
8,645 candles light Finland’s Parliament in pro-life vigil for unborn #Catholic HELSINKI — Thousands of candles illuminated the steps of Finlandʼs Parliament in Helsinki on March 21 as pro-life advocates held a public vigil commemorating children lost to abortion.Organized by the Finnish pro-life group Oikeus elämään ry, the “Muistamme” (“In remembrance”) event featured 8,645 candles, one for each abortion performed in Finland in 2024. Johannes Laitinen, one of the eventʼs organizers, said approximately 100 preselected participants were invited to light the candles, chosen because of their personal connection to the loss of children through abortion. Members of the public were also given the opportunity to take part in the candle lighting during the vigil. Johannes Laitinen, one of the organizers of the “Muistamme” pro-life vigil held outside Finland’s Parliament in Helsinki on March 21, 2026. | Credit: Miika Soininen After the candles were lit, participants observed a minute of silence, while volunteers remained through the night as the display continued glowing in central Helsinki.A public witness in the heart of HelsinkiSpeaking to EWTN News, Kirsi Morgan-MacKay, chairman of Finlandʼs Right to Life Association, said the vigil sought both to honor the unborn and to confront the public with the scale of abortion in the country. “The event created a visual that touched peopleʼs hearts and perhaps made them stop and think about how many children are actually lost every year through abortion,” she said.Morgan-MacKay added that the vigil also aimed to acknowledge the often-unspoken grief experienced by women and families affected by abortion. The full display of 8,645 candles glows on the steps of Finland’s Parliament in Helsinki on the night of March 21, 2026. | Credit: Jaakko Haapanen She noted that leaders from multiple Christian denominations attended the event, which organizers viewed as an encouraging sign of broader ecclesial engagement. “We have always hoped that churches would come together to defend the lives of unborn children,” she said, explaining that abortion is not merely political but “a spiritual, ethical, and moral issue.”A prayer gathering was also held in connection with the vigil at Luther Church in Helsinki, where clergy from Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Catholic communities offered prayers. Representing the Catholic Church, Jean Claude Kabeza, vicar general of the Diocese of Helsinki, conveyed greetings from Bishop Raimo Goyarrola.Finlandʼs welfare state and the limits of social supportWhile happy about Finlandʼs reputation for its strong social welfare system, Morgan-MacKay noted that many women facing crisis pregnancies still experience profound isolation. “Many women and families are still left alone in the midst of a crisis,” she said, adding that loneliness and lack of support often persist even within families.She also observed that in Finland, the lives of unborn children often go unvalued when a pregnancy is unwanted. She pointed out that women confronted with an unplanned pregnancy, sometimes in shock, may see abortion as an “easy” way out, particularly since medical abortion is frequently presented as a simple “procedure.” Pro-life advocates carry the “Muistamme” banner through central Helsinki during the candlelit vigil on March 21, 2026. | Credit: Miika Soininen Morgan-MacKay also drew attention to Finlandʼs liberalized abortion framework, particularly the increased accessibility of medical abortion, arguing that women may be pressured into rushed decisions without adequate counseling.“Sometimes the health care system offers abortion as the only option,” she said. “Many times, these women need space to pause, think everything through, and receive real support.”She added that while Finlandʼs pro-life movement remains relatively small, it is gradually growing, with increased awareness of abortionʼs broader social and personal consequences. She expressed particular encouragement at the involvement of younger supporters, especially young men, saying she believes “God is raising up a new generation of pro-lifers” as more Finns begin speaking openly about the issue.A bishopʼs medical perspective on abortionEWTN News also spoke with Goyarrola, who said he remains hopeful that Finland can become more receptive to pro-life values, despite abortion remaining a sensitive and often taboo topic in public life.Goyarrolaʼs comments carry added weight in Finlandʼs abortion debates because of his medical background. Before entering the priesthood, he trained as a physician, graduating with a degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Navarra in Spain in 1992, and has pursued doctoral research in palliative care at the University of Eastern Finland since 2022. Spanish Opus Dei priest announced as new Helsinki bishop Drawing on his medical knowledge, he has also written extensively on social issues for general audiences, authoring “Ihmiselämää äidin kohdussa” (“Human Life in the Womb”), on abortion, and “Arvokas kuolema” (“A Dignified Death”), on euthanasia. Both books were widely praised for making complex bioethical questions accessible to ordinary readers.Reflecting on his experience, Goyarrola said that with regard to discussing abortion, conversations require clarity and compassion rather than confrontation.“I believe that positive language is what truly reaches people and opens hearts to reflection,” he said. “The Church speaks in defense of life by offering real solutions to real problems and proposing ways to prevent abortion.”“No one celebrates abortion as a joyful experience,” he added.Signs of change among younger FinnsAssessing the broader cultural climate, Goyarrola said abortion has historically remained difficult to discuss openly in Finnish society. “Abortion has long been a taboo subject in Finland, and to a large extent it still is,” he said, noting that public discourse is often narrowly framed around “the womanʼs right to her own body.”Yet the bishop said younger generations appear increasingly willing to engage the issue more thoughtfully. “Among young people, the topic is beginning to be discussed more openly, and with many serious questions,” he noted. Participants light some of the 8,645 candles on the steps of Finlandʼs Parliament in Helsinki on March 21, 2026, one for each abortion performed in Finland in 2024. | Credit: Jaakko Haapanen Goyarrola explained that because over 90% of abortions in Finland are carried out for social rather than medical reasons, the underlying causes must be addressed socially as well. He called for “better education, access to information, healthier lifestyles, and more personal responsibility and support for marriage and family life.”He added that the Church must continue promoting a concrete vision of family and human dignity, saying: “We aim to promote a culture that values life, family, and hope.” He also noted that the Catholic Church in Finland tries to speak about the “need for more children in society,” not for economic or labor-related reasons but rather for the future of Finnish society itself.“I hope that we can speak about abortion and about life in the motherʼs womb without prejudice, in a rational and thoughtful way,” Goyarrola added. “Only through open and respectful conversation can we better understand the complexity of the issue and seek humane and responsible solutions.”
Read More

8,645 candles light Finland’s Parliament in pro-life vigil for unborn #Catholic HELSINKI — Thousands of candles illuminated the steps of Finlandʼs Parliament in Helsinki on March 21 as pro-life advocates held a public vigil commemorating children lost to abortion.Organized by the Finnish pro-life group Oikeus elämään ry, the “Muistamme” (“In remembrance”) event featured 8,645 candles, one for each abortion performed in Finland in 2024. Johannes Laitinen, one of the eventʼs organizers, said approximately 100 preselected participants were invited to light the candles, chosen because of their personal connection to the loss of children through abortion. Members of the public were also given the opportunity to take part in the candle lighting during the vigil. Johannes Laitinen, one of the organizers of the “Muistamme” pro-life vigil held outside Finland’s Parliament in Helsinki on March 21, 2026. | Credit: Miika Soininen After the candles were lit, participants observed a minute of silence, while volunteers remained through the night as the display continued glowing in central Helsinki.A public witness in the heart of HelsinkiSpeaking to EWTN News, Kirsi Morgan-MacKay, chairman of Finlandʼs Right to Life Association, said the vigil sought both to honor the unborn and to confront the public with the scale of abortion in the country. “The event created a visual that touched peopleʼs hearts and perhaps made them stop and think about how many children are actually lost every year through abortion,” she said.Morgan-MacKay added that the vigil also aimed to acknowledge the often-unspoken grief experienced by women and families affected by abortion. The full display of 8,645 candles glows on the steps of Finland’s Parliament in Helsinki on the night of March 21, 2026. | Credit: Jaakko Haapanen She noted that leaders from multiple Christian denominations attended the event, which organizers viewed as an encouraging sign of broader ecclesial engagement. “We have always hoped that churches would come together to defend the lives of unborn children,” she said, explaining that abortion is not merely political but “a spiritual, ethical, and moral issue.”A prayer gathering was also held in connection with the vigil at Luther Church in Helsinki, where clergy from Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Catholic communities offered prayers. Representing the Catholic Church, Jean Claude Kabeza, vicar general of the Diocese of Helsinki, conveyed greetings from Bishop Raimo Goyarrola.Finlandʼs welfare state and the limits of social supportWhile happy about Finlandʼs reputation for its strong social welfare system, Morgan-MacKay noted that many women facing crisis pregnancies still experience profound isolation. “Many women and families are still left alone in the midst of a crisis,” she said, adding that loneliness and lack of support often persist even within families.She also observed that in Finland, the lives of unborn children often go unvalued when a pregnancy is unwanted. She pointed out that women confronted with an unplanned pregnancy, sometimes in shock, may see abortion as an “easy” way out, particularly since medical abortion is frequently presented as a simple “procedure.” Pro-life advocates carry the “Muistamme” banner through central Helsinki during the candlelit vigil on March 21, 2026. | Credit: Miika Soininen Morgan-MacKay also drew attention to Finlandʼs liberalized abortion framework, particularly the increased accessibility of medical abortion, arguing that women may be pressured into rushed decisions without adequate counseling.“Sometimes the health care system offers abortion as the only option,” she said. “Many times, these women need space to pause, think everything through, and receive real support.”She added that while Finlandʼs pro-life movement remains relatively small, it is gradually growing, with increased awareness of abortionʼs broader social and personal consequences. She expressed particular encouragement at the involvement of younger supporters, especially young men, saying she believes “God is raising up a new generation of pro-lifers” as more Finns begin speaking openly about the issue.A bishopʼs medical perspective on abortionEWTN News also spoke with Goyarrola, who said he remains hopeful that Finland can become more receptive to pro-life values, despite abortion remaining a sensitive and often taboo topic in public life.Goyarrolaʼs comments carry added weight in Finlandʼs abortion debates because of his medical background. Before entering the priesthood, he trained as a physician, graduating with a degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Navarra in Spain in 1992, and has pursued doctoral research in palliative care at the University of Eastern Finland since 2022. Spanish Opus Dei priest announced as new Helsinki bishop Drawing on his medical knowledge, he has also written extensively on social issues for general audiences, authoring “Ihmiselämää äidin kohdussa” (“Human Life in the Womb”), on abortion, and “Arvokas kuolema” (“A Dignified Death”), on euthanasia. Both books were widely praised for making complex bioethical questions accessible to ordinary readers.Reflecting on his experience, Goyarrola said that with regard to discussing abortion, conversations require clarity and compassion rather than confrontation.“I believe that positive language is what truly reaches people and opens hearts to reflection,” he said. “The Church speaks in defense of life by offering real solutions to real problems and proposing ways to prevent abortion.”“No one celebrates abortion as a joyful experience,” he added.Signs of change among younger FinnsAssessing the broader cultural climate, Goyarrola said abortion has historically remained difficult to discuss openly in Finnish society. “Abortion has long been a taboo subject in Finland, and to a large extent it still is,” he said, noting that public discourse is often narrowly framed around “the womanʼs right to her own body.”Yet the bishop said younger generations appear increasingly willing to engage the issue more thoughtfully. “Among young people, the topic is beginning to be discussed more openly, and with many serious questions,” he noted. Participants light some of the 8,645 candles on the steps of Finlandʼs Parliament in Helsinki on March 21, 2026, one for each abortion performed in Finland in 2024. | Credit: Jaakko Haapanen Goyarrola explained that because over 90% of abortions in Finland are carried out for social rather than medical reasons, the underlying causes must be addressed socially as well. He called for “better education, access to information, healthier lifestyles, and more personal responsibility and support for marriage and family life.”He added that the Church must continue promoting a concrete vision of family and human dignity, saying: “We aim to promote a culture that values life, family, and hope.” He also noted that the Catholic Church in Finland tries to speak about the “need for more children in society,” not for economic or labor-related reasons but rather for the future of Finnish society itself.“I hope that we can speak about abortion and about life in the motherʼs womb without prejudice, in a rational and thoughtful way,” Goyarrola added. “Only through open and respectful conversation can we better understand the complexity of the issue and seek humane and responsible solutions.”

unitedyam

Organizers of the “Muistamme” vigil lit one candle for each of the 8,645 abortions performed in Finland in 2024, drawing Catholic, Lutheran, and Presbyterian clergy together in central Helsinki.

Read More