Love

Pope Leo urges Vatican police to guard their hearts as they protect others #Catholic Pope Leo XIV urged members of the Vatican Gendarmerie on Oct. 3 to nurture their faith as they protect others, telling them that their service requires hearts guarded by the Lord.The pope celebrated Mass at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens in honor of the force’s patron, St. Michael the Archangel.He described the gendarmes’ work as “a way of being laborers in the Lord’s vineyard,” stressing that their responsibilities extend beyond safeguarding buildings, grounds, and entrances to caring for people.“One quality that stands out when we meet you is precisely this care: It is beautiful to see how you regard others not as problems to be solved but as people to be respected and protected,” he said.Reflecting on the parable of the wicked tenants in Matthew 21:33-43, the pope said the gendarmes should understand that “what we receive is a responsibility to be safeguarded with humility and dedication, to be carried out with discretion and a sense of duty.”“You know well that authority, in the light of the Gospel, is expressed above all in the ability to protect, listen, and accompany, with balance, firmness, and respect,” he added.Just as the vineyard owner’s son stands at the center of the parable, Leo urged the gendarmes to place Jesus at the center of their lives.“Before being gendarmes, you are men called to follow him. From him we learn strength that knows how to become gentleness, vigilance born of trust, authority that walks alongside humility, and the courage to intervene with a merciful heart,” he said.The pope also reflected on the second reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which urges believers to bring their needs to God in prayer rather than give in to anxiety.The gendarmes’ work, he said, would bring “quiet days and difficult days,” moments requiring quick decisions, and situations that cause fatigue and worry.But prayer offers a way to bear those burdens.“A gendarme does not carry everything alone: He prays, knows how to entrust himself to God, and knows how to find again in God the peace that allows him to act with clarity and a serene heart,” Leo said.Those who protect others need hearts and minds “formed in goodness,” he said, because they “must first safeguard within themselves truth, justice, goodness, and respect. Protecting others requires a heart guarded by the Lord.”“Your work certainly requires you to be vigilant, but today’s word invites you to something even deeper: to watch carefully over yourselves as well,” the pope added.He urged the gendarmes to guard their hearts against becoming hardened, keeping them “always docile to God and attentive to others.”He also called on them to safeguard their consciences and their bonds of fraternity. A group becomes a community, he said, when “its members care for one another and learn to walk together, supporting one another with simplicity and love.”Leo concluded by thanking the gendarmes’ families for the sacrifices that make their service possible.“This year, too, I conclude with a thought of affection and gratitude for your families. To parents, wives, children, and fiancées: Thank you! You know the sacrifices, the absences, the schedules, the worries, and also the burden of a service that is not always seen,” he said.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.
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Pope Leo urges Vatican police to guard their hearts as they protect others #Catholic Pope Leo XIV urged members of the Vatican Gendarmerie on Oct. 3 to nurture their faith as they protect others, telling them that their service requires hearts guarded by the Lord.The pope celebrated Mass at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens in honor of the force’s patron, St. Michael the Archangel.He described the gendarmes’ work as “a way of being laborers in the Lord’s vineyard,” stressing that their responsibilities extend beyond safeguarding buildings, grounds, and entrances to caring for people.“One quality that stands out when we meet you is precisely this care: It is beautiful to see how you regard others not as problems to be solved but as people to be respected and protected,” he said.Reflecting on the parable of the wicked tenants in Matthew 21:33-43, the pope said the gendarmes should understand that “what we receive is a responsibility to be safeguarded with humility and dedication, to be carried out with discretion and a sense of duty.”“You know well that authority, in the light of the Gospel, is expressed above all in the ability to protect, listen, and accompany, with balance, firmness, and respect,” he added.Just as the vineyard owner’s son stands at the center of the parable, Leo urged the gendarmes to place Jesus at the center of their lives.“Before being gendarmes, you are men called to follow him. From him we learn strength that knows how to become gentleness, vigilance born of trust, authority that walks alongside humility, and the courage to intervene with a merciful heart,” he said.The pope also reflected on the second reading, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which urges believers to bring their needs to God in prayer rather than give in to anxiety.The gendarmes’ work, he said, would bring “quiet days and difficult days,” moments requiring quick decisions, and situations that cause fatigue and worry.But prayer offers a way to bear those burdens.“A gendarme does not carry everything alone: He prays, knows how to entrust himself to God, and knows how to find again in God the peace that allows him to act with clarity and a serene heart,” Leo said.Those who protect others need hearts and minds “formed in goodness,” he said, because they “must first safeguard within themselves truth, justice, goodness, and respect. Protecting others requires a heart guarded by the Lord.”“Your work certainly requires you to be vigilant, but today’s word invites you to something even deeper: to watch carefully over yourselves as well,” the pope added.He urged the gendarmes to guard their hearts against becoming hardened, keeping them “always docile to God and attentive to others.”He also called on them to safeguard their consciences and their bonds of fraternity. A group becomes a community, he said, when “its members care for one another and learn to walk together, supporting one another with simplicity and love.”Leo concluded by thanking the gendarmes’ families for the sacrifices that make their service possible.“This year, too, I conclude with a thought of affection and gratitude for your families. To parents, wives, children, and fiancées: Thank you! You know the sacrifices, the absences, the schedules, the worries, and also the burden of a service that is not always seen,” he said.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.

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At a Mass honoring their patron, St. Michael the Archangel, the pontiff called on gendarmes to exercise authority with humility and compassion.

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Inaugural edition of Sheen Awards honors Mother Angelica #Catholic On Sept. 25, one day after the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, members of the media and entertainment world as well as the Church at large gathered in Peoria, Illinois — the hometown of now-Blessed Fulton Sheen — for the inaugural Sheen Awards.Among the notable figures in attendance were Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria; Bishop John Barres of the Diocese Rockville Centre, New York; Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in “The Chosen”; David Henrie, host of EWTN’s travel series “Seeking Beauty”; and Siobhan Fallon Hogan, host of the EWTN podcast “Catholics and Cappuccinos.” Seven awards were presented including the Radio and Podcast Impact Award, the Evangelization Impact Award, the Mission and Humanitarian Impact Award, the Innovation Impact Award, the Digital Creator Impact Award, the Television and Streaming Impact Award, and the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Lifetime Achievement Award.Mother Angelica, EWTN’s foundress, posthumously received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was bestowed on Mother Angelica in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Church and her pioneering use of television to proclaim the Gospel through the Eternal Word Television Network. EWTN Studios President Peter Gagnon accepted the award on her behalf.“On behalf of Michael Warsaw, CEO, and myself, we want to thank Bishop Tylka and the Archbishop Sheen Foundation for honoring Mother Angelica with this award,” Gagnon said in his acceptance speech. Gagnon worked with Mother Angelica for many years and pointed out that “one of her favorite expressions was to say, ‘This is awesome!’”He said: “When there would be a papal event, she would say, ‘Wasnʼt that awesome?’ … I think tonight she would say, ‘This is awesome.’”A little over one year after the death of Sheen — on Dec. 12, 1980 — EWTN was officially incorporated by Mother Angelica. Reflecting on this, Gagnon said: “I donʼt think itʼs a coincidence.”“Mother Angelica took the torch from Archbishop Sheen because she saw the power of reaching people through the media, through television,” he said. “She, like Archbishop Sheen, could reach through that camera lens and talk to you. And when she was talking to you, she was talking to you directly.”Gagnon added: “Also like him [Sheen], she had just an incredible love for the Church and a zeal for souls. I never knew anyone who loved Our Lord as much as Mother Angelica did. Her impact on many throughout the world is truly humbling and amazing.”EWTN has aired “Life Is Worth Living,” Sheen’s popular television show, for over 20 years. Gagnon emphasized that the network is “proud to share his words and message throughout the world.”In an additional statement commenting on the significance of the award, Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, noted: “Among the great Catholic evangelists of the 20th century, Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and our own Mother Angelica, stand out for the extraordinary ways they embraced media to proclaim the Gospel, defend the dignity of the human person and speak the truth to a world desperately in need of Jesus Christ.” “It is especially meaningful to see Mother Angelica honored in the name of Archbishop Sheen, whose pioneering use of radio and television demonstrated the power of media in service of the Gospel,” Warsaw pointed out. He said the recognition is “particularly poignant as we mark the 10th anniversary of Mother Angelica’s passing.” EWTN Studios President Peter Gagnon accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Mother Angelica at the Sheen Awards on Sept. 25, 2026. | Credit: Nellie Gould, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation “She would have been deeply honored to be recognized at the inaugural Sheen Awards and counted among the innovators and communicators carrying forward Archbishop Sheen’s legacy,” Warsaw added.Broaching the topic of Mother Angelica’s own potential cause for canonization, Warsaw indicated: “While I remain mindful of the Church’s careful discernment regarding any potential cause for sainthood, I can say personally that I pray and hope that one day Mother Angelica might be numbered among the saints of the Church she loved and served so faithfully.”Warsaw concluded: “On behalf of the entire EWTN family, I am profoundly grateful for this recognition of Mother Angelica and, more importantly, for the opportunity to remember what animated both Mother Angelica and Blessed Fulton Sheen: the desire to bring souls to Jesus Christ. May their example inspire us all to use the gifts God has given us to proclaim the Gospel with courage, creativity and joy.”Additional Sheen Award recipients included Katie McGrady, who received the Radio and Podcast Impact Award; Roumie, who received the Television and Streaming Impact Award; and Barron, who received the Evangelization Impact Award.The Mission and Humanitarian Impact Award went to the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, while Hallow received the Innovation Impact Award. Paul J. Kim was awarded the Digital Creator Impact Award.Watch EWTN’s livestream of the red carpet at the Sheen Awards here.
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Inaugural edition of Sheen Awards honors Mother Angelica #Catholic On Sept. 25, one day after the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, members of the media and entertainment world as well as the Church at large gathered in Peoria, Illinois — the hometown of now-Blessed Fulton Sheen — for the inaugural Sheen Awards.Among the notable figures in attendance were Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria; Bishop John Barres of the Diocese Rockville Centre, New York; Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota; Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in “The Chosen”; David Henrie, host of EWTN’s travel series “Seeking Beauty”; and Siobhan Fallon Hogan, host of the EWTN podcast “Catholics and Cappuccinos.” Seven awards were presented including the Radio and Podcast Impact Award, the Evangelization Impact Award, the Mission and Humanitarian Impact Award, the Innovation Impact Award, the Digital Creator Impact Award, the Television and Streaming Impact Award, and the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Lifetime Achievement Award.Mother Angelica, EWTN’s foundress, posthumously received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was bestowed on Mother Angelica in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Church and her pioneering use of television to proclaim the Gospel through the Eternal Word Television Network. EWTN Studios President Peter Gagnon accepted the award on her behalf.“On behalf of Michael Warsaw, CEO, and myself, we want to thank Bishop Tylka and the Archbishop Sheen Foundation for honoring Mother Angelica with this award,” Gagnon said in his acceptance speech. Gagnon worked with Mother Angelica for many years and pointed out that “one of her favorite expressions was to say, ‘This is awesome!’”He said: “When there would be a papal event, she would say, ‘Wasnʼt that awesome?’ … I think tonight she would say, ‘This is awesome.’”A little over one year after the death of Sheen — on Dec. 12, 1980 — EWTN was officially incorporated by Mother Angelica. Reflecting on this, Gagnon said: “I donʼt think itʼs a coincidence.”“Mother Angelica took the torch from Archbishop Sheen because she saw the power of reaching people through the media, through television,” he said. “She, like Archbishop Sheen, could reach through that camera lens and talk to you. And when she was talking to you, she was talking to you directly.”Gagnon added: “Also like him [Sheen], she had just an incredible love for the Church and a zeal for souls. I never knew anyone who loved Our Lord as much as Mother Angelica did. Her impact on many throughout the world is truly humbling and amazing.”EWTN has aired “Life Is Worth Living,” Sheen’s popular television show, for over 20 years. Gagnon emphasized that the network is “proud to share his words and message throughout the world.”In an additional statement commenting on the significance of the award, Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, noted: “Among the great Catholic evangelists of the 20th century, Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and our own Mother Angelica, stand out for the extraordinary ways they embraced media to proclaim the Gospel, defend the dignity of the human person and speak the truth to a world desperately in need of Jesus Christ.” “It is especially meaningful to see Mother Angelica honored in the name of Archbishop Sheen, whose pioneering use of radio and television demonstrated the power of media in service of the Gospel,” Warsaw pointed out. He said the recognition is “particularly poignant as we mark the 10th anniversary of Mother Angelica’s passing.” EWTN Studios President Peter Gagnon accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Mother Angelica at the Sheen Awards on Sept. 25, 2026. | Credit: Nellie Gould, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation “She would have been deeply honored to be recognized at the inaugural Sheen Awards and counted among the innovators and communicators carrying forward Archbishop Sheen’s legacy,” Warsaw added.Broaching the topic of Mother Angelica’s own potential cause for canonization, Warsaw indicated: “While I remain mindful of the Church’s careful discernment regarding any potential cause for sainthood, I can say personally that I pray and hope that one day Mother Angelica might be numbered among the saints of the Church she loved and served so faithfully.”Warsaw concluded: “On behalf of the entire EWTN family, I am profoundly grateful for this recognition of Mother Angelica and, more importantly, for the opportunity to remember what animated both Mother Angelica and Blessed Fulton Sheen: the desire to bring souls to Jesus Christ. May their example inspire us all to use the gifts God has given us to proclaim the Gospel with courage, creativity and joy.”Additional Sheen Award recipients included Katie McGrady, who received the Radio and Podcast Impact Award; Roumie, who received the Television and Streaming Impact Award; and Barron, who received the Evangelization Impact Award.The Mission and Humanitarian Impact Award went to the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, while Hallow received the Innovation Impact Award. Paul J. Kim was awarded the Digital Creator Impact Award.Watch EWTN’s livestream of the red carpet at the Sheen Awards here.

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EWTN’s foundress was the posthumous recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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New film depicts the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration #Catholic A new movie is bringing the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration to the big screen. “Adore Him: He Is Here” uses firsthand accounts of real encounters and transformation and depictions of salvation history to portray the powerful love of God that is found in the Blessed Sacrament.The docudrama features several prominent Catholic figures including Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; Archbishop José Gómez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Father Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception; Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS; evangelist Chris Stefanick; and many more.The film will be in theaters across the United States Oct. 4–8.The inspiration for the film came as a response to the docudrama “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” which was released in theaters in 2024. Created by the same filmmakers as “Adore Him,” “Jesus Thirsts” was made in response to a poll that showed that roughly 70% of Catholics don’t believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.“We wanted to demonstrate that Jesus is real in the Eucharist,” Deacon Steve Greco, the filmmaker behind both films, told EWTN News in an interview. “So the people who saw that movie, many of them were inspired to say, ‘OK, now that Jesus is real, I have to do something different. My life has to be different.’ And in changing your life and your world, it really comes down to ‘I need to really be connected with him.’”He added: “So “Adore Him: He Is Here” is really meant to be a continuation, almost like a sequel, to the very first movie in which in order to activate Jesus, to activate the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we need to understand how to worship him. And Eucharistic adoration changes our entire life.”Greco also believes this film is necessary for today because “the Church is really being led back to Eucharist in a way like never before.” Deacon Steve Greco in the new film “Adore Him: He Is Here.” | Credit: Spirit Filled Hearts “We have this great activation going on in which people are really desiring the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist and going before the Blessed Sacrament in a way like never before,” he said. “We see more and more churches going to 24/7 adoration. Theyʼre expanding their hours of adoration. More and more people are going before the Blessed Sacrament to really be energized and to receive graces.”For those who are feeling called to go to Eucharistic adoration, potentially for the first time, Greco would advise them to “start with 10 minutes and just talk to the Lord. Just have a conversation like with your best friend and just be quiet.”Then those 10 minutes can turn into 20, then half an hour, and finally a full hour. But, the most important thing you need to do, he said, is to “open up your heart to his love.”“You will find that when you go before the Blessed Sacrament, if you open your heart and youʼre silent before the Lord and youʼre listening before the Lord, … God will come to you in a powerful way and show you that you are his beloved,” Greco added.With this in mind, he said he hopes viewers of the film will take away “that first of all, Jesus is real; the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist is real. The Blessed Sacrament is there for us to allow us to get to really experience his love in a way like never before. We hope that people go to the Blessed Sacrament, to the chapel.”“When they see this movie [we hope] they just start going and believing and get into the habit of going a few times a week if not every day and just let God love you and that will transform their life. That will give them hope and joy.”
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New film depicts the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration #Catholic A new movie is bringing the transformative power of Eucharistic adoration to the big screen. “Adore Him: He Is Here” uses firsthand accounts of real encounters and transformation and depictions of salvation history to portray the powerful love of God that is found in the Blessed Sacrament.The docudrama features several prominent Catholic figures including Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City; Archbishop José Gómez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; Father Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception; Curtis Martin, the founder of FOCUS; evangelist Chris Stefanick; and many more.The film will be in theaters across the United States Oct. 4–8.The inspiration for the film came as a response to the docudrama “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” which was released in theaters in 2024. Created by the same filmmakers as “Adore Him,” “Jesus Thirsts” was made in response to a poll that showed that roughly 70% of Catholics don’t believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.“We wanted to demonstrate that Jesus is real in the Eucharist,” Deacon Steve Greco, the filmmaker behind both films, told EWTN News in an interview. “So the people who saw that movie, many of them were inspired to say, ‘OK, now that Jesus is real, I have to do something different. My life has to be different.’ And in changing your life and your world, it really comes down to ‘I need to really be connected with him.’”He added: “So “Adore Him: He Is Here” is really meant to be a continuation, almost like a sequel, to the very first movie in which in order to activate Jesus, to activate the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we need to understand how to worship him. And Eucharistic adoration changes our entire life.”Greco also believes this film is necessary for today because “the Church is really being led back to Eucharist in a way like never before.” Deacon Steve Greco in the new film “Adore Him: He Is Here.” | Credit: Spirit Filled Hearts “We have this great activation going on in which people are really desiring the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist and going before the Blessed Sacrament in a way like never before,” he said. “We see more and more churches going to 24/7 adoration. Theyʼre expanding their hours of adoration. More and more people are going before the Blessed Sacrament to really be energized and to receive graces.”For those who are feeling called to go to Eucharistic adoration, potentially for the first time, Greco would advise them to “start with 10 minutes and just talk to the Lord. Just have a conversation like with your best friend and just be quiet.”Then those 10 minutes can turn into 20, then half an hour, and finally a full hour. But, the most important thing you need to do, he said, is to “open up your heart to his love.”“You will find that when you go before the Blessed Sacrament, if you open your heart and youʼre silent before the Lord and youʼre listening before the Lord, … God will come to you in a powerful way and show you that you are his beloved,” Greco added.With this in mind, he said he hopes viewers of the film will take away “that first of all, Jesus is real; the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist is real. The Blessed Sacrament is there for us to allow us to get to really experience his love in a way like never before. We hope that people go to the Blessed Sacrament, to the chapel.”“When they see this movie [we hope] they just start going and believing and get into the habit of going a few times a week if not every day and just let God love you and that will transform their life. That will give them hope and joy.”

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“Adore Him: He Is Here” will be in theaters Oct. 4–8.

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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October is for the mental health ministry.“Melancholy, bad character, confusion of senses — today, we understand that behind these old labels lies a deep, silent suffering not only of those affected by mental disorders but also of their loved ones and their communities,” Pope Leo said in a video released Oct. 1 on X.He added: “We live in a world full of tensions, and even as solutions grow so does the number of people in crisis. This October, let us pray for the mental health ministry — an urgent and ever more needed service in our Church and in the world.”In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:“God of life,You know the innermost depths of our hearts — the light and shadows within us,the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.Today we bring before you our brothers and sisterswho struggle with challenges to their mental health,who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.You call them by name, with tenderness,and in you they find dignity and hope.Forgive us for the times we have looked the other way,feeding the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.May your Church be an open house,a safe space where everyone has a place — a community that accompanies and never excludes,that listens without judging and draws near without fear.We pray to you, Lord, for those who care:professionals, family members, volunteers — men and women who, with patience and love,build bridges of understanding and comfort.Give them strength and compassion to sustain others.Send your Spirit upon us,that we may learn to welcome and integrate care for mental healthinto the life and ministry of our communities and of the whole Church,and thus become a living sign of your mercy,which never abandons and always restores.Amen.”“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.
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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of October is for the mental health ministry.“Melancholy, bad character, confusion of senses — today, we understand that behind these old labels lies a deep, silent suffering not only of those affected by mental disorders but also of their loved ones and their communities,” Pope Leo said in a video released Oct. 1 on X.He added: “We live in a world full of tensions, and even as solutions grow so does the number of people in crisis. This October, let us pray for the mental health ministry — an urgent and ever more needed service in our Church and in the world.”In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention:“God of life,You know the innermost depths of our hearts — the light and shadows within us,the silent wounds that sometimes no one sees.Today we bring before you our brothers and sisterswho struggle with challenges to their mental health,who suffer in solitude with anxiety, depression, or any other mental illness.You call them by name, with tenderness,and in you they find dignity and hope.Forgive us for the times we have looked the other way,feeding the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses.May your Church be an open house,a safe space where everyone has a place — a community that accompanies and never excludes,that listens without judging and draws near without fear.We pray to you, Lord, for those who care:professionals, family members, volunteers — men and women who, with patience and love,build bridges of understanding and comfort.Give them strength and compassion to sustain others.Send your Spirit upon us,that we may learn to welcome and integrate care for mental healthinto the life and ministry of our communities and of the whole Church,and thus become a living sign of your mercy,which never abandons and always restores.Amen.”“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.

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Pope Leo’s prayer intention for the month of October is for the mental health ministry.

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Pope prays the rosary with children: ‘50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — More than 700 children from schools and parishes in Rome joined Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican Gardens on Thursday to pray the rosary for peace in the world.The Oct. 1 event marked the beginning of a week of prayer for the initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” promoted by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.The Holy Father greeted the children at the beginning. He thanked them and encouraged them to be good at home, in their families, at school, in catechism classes, and in sports, because peace also grows in this way.“I am truly happy to be with you! And you, children, tell me: Are you happy to have come? Good, that makes me happy too. Above all, because this evening we have gathered together to be with the two people who love us more than anyone else. Who are they? The Lord Jesus and his mother, Mary, who never leave us alone and who are always close to us,” Pope Leo said in his address before the rosary. An estimated more than 700 children join in praying the rosary for peace with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 1, 2026, in the Vatican Gardens. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool “We love them too, don’t we?” he added. “Shall we tell them? Let’s try. Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary.’ Yes, we love you, Jesus and Mary, and this evening we ask you for a special gift: peace for all the children of the world, especially those who live where there is war, in so many countries across the earth.”“We do this through the prayer of the holy rosary, which is a simple prayer that everyone can pray,” the pope affectionately emphasized to the children.He noted that “in a little while we will light candles, and we will reflect on Jesus in some important moments of his life … These are moments in which he gave us wonderful gifts that we must never forget, and for this we want to thank him.Calling on the children to repeat with him, he said: “Let us do that together as well, once again. Let us all say: ‘Thank you, Jesus!’ And let us ask him with confidence, all united: ‘Give us peace!’”For the pope, the children’s rosary initiative represents “50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven from every corner of the world and in every language on earth, asking for peace, and joining together like one immense rosary garland, embracing and drawing together all the continents, races, and nations of the planet.” Pope Leo XIV brings flowers to Mary at a replica of the grotto of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes during a rosary prayed with children in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 1, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Upon his arrival for the rosary, the pope also presented a small bouquet of flowers to Our Lady. It was a simple gesture carried out together with a child at the replica grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens.For the first time this year, the prayer campaign will take place over the course of an entire week, from Oct. 1–7, allowing dioceses, parishes, schools, communities, and families across different continents to participate in the prayer for peace and unity.Similar initiatives are already being prepared in other countries, such as Bolivia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many other places marked by war, poverty, or instability.The 2026 campaign is inspired by the message of Fátima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”The rosary was led by the children through readings, songs, and brief reflections on countries affected by war. The Hail Mary was also recited in several languages.In this year’s invitation to participants, Cardinal Kurt Koch, international president of Aid to the Church in Need and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled that Mary’s Immaculate Heart represents a life completely open to the Holy Spirit and presents Mary as a model of faith, love, and prayer.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.
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Pope prays the rosary with children: ‘50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — More than 700 children from schools and parishes in Rome joined Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican Gardens on Thursday to pray the rosary for peace in the world.The Oct. 1 event marked the beginning of a week of prayer for the initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” promoted by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.The Holy Father greeted the children at the beginning. He thanked them and encouraged them to be good at home, in their families, at school, in catechism classes, and in sports, because peace also grows in this way.“I am truly happy to be with you! And you, children, tell me: Are you happy to have come? Good, that makes me happy too. Above all, because this evening we have gathered together to be with the two people who love us more than anyone else. Who are they? The Lord Jesus and his mother, Mary, who never leave us alone and who are always close to us,” Pope Leo said in his address before the rosary. An estimated more than 700 children join in praying the rosary for peace with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 1, 2026, in the Vatican Gardens. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool “We love them too, don’t we?” he added. “Shall we tell them? Let’s try. Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary.’ Yes, we love you, Jesus and Mary, and this evening we ask you for a special gift: peace for all the children of the world, especially those who live where there is war, in so many countries across the earth.”“We do this through the prayer of the holy rosary, which is a simple prayer that everyone can pray,” the pope affectionately emphasized to the children.He noted that “in a little while we will light candles, and we will reflect on Jesus in some important moments of his life … These are moments in which he gave us wonderful gifts that we must never forget, and for this we want to thank him.Calling on the children to repeat with him, he said: “Let us do that together as well, once again. Let us all say: ‘Thank you, Jesus!’ And let us ask him with confidence, all united: ‘Give us peace!’”For the pope, the children’s rosary initiative represents “50 million Hail Marys rising to heaven from every corner of the world and in every language on earth, asking for peace, and joining together like one immense rosary garland, embracing and drawing together all the continents, races, and nations of the planet.” Pope Leo XIV brings flowers to Mary at a replica of the grotto of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes during a rosary prayed with children in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 1, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Upon his arrival for the rosary, the pope also presented a small bouquet of flowers to Our Lady. It was a simple gesture carried out together with a child at the replica grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens.For the first time this year, the prayer campaign will take place over the course of an entire week, from Oct. 1–7, allowing dioceses, parishes, schools, communities, and families across different continents to participate in the prayer for peace and unity.Similar initiatives are already being prepared in other countries, such as Bolivia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many other places marked by war, poverty, or instability.The 2026 campaign is inspired by the message of Fátima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”The rosary was led by the children through readings, songs, and brief reflections on countries affected by war. The Hail Mary was also recited in several languages.In this year’s invitation to participants, Cardinal Kurt Koch, international president of Aid to the Church in Need and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, recalled that Mary’s Immaculate Heart represents a life completely open to the Holy Spirit and presents Mary as a model of faith, love, and prayer.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.

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“Let us repeat together: ‘I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary,’” the pontiff said in his remarks before the rosary in the Vatican Gardens.

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The enduring appeal of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of France’s most beloved saints #Catholic During the First World War, before being proclaimed a saint, devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux became particularly widespread in France. Soldiers carried medals and images of her, and many French Catholics saw her as a spiritual companion and intercessor.The Carmelite nun, patron saint of missions, and the youngest doctor of the Church died at the age of 24 and was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She was declared the second patron saint of France in 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, by Pope Pius XII.The town of Lisieux, a 90-minute train ride from Paris, is where Thérèse spent her entire religious life. It is the second most visited pilgrimage destination in France, after Lourdes, with over 2 million pilgrims every year.Last year, in Pope Leo XIV’s message on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, he called the faithful to “put Jesus at the centre of your families, your activities, and your choices. Help your children discover His boundless love and tenderness, and strive to make them love Him in return as He deserves: this is the great lesson that Louis and Zélie teach us today, and which the Church and the world so urgently need. How could Thérèse have loved Jesus and Mary so much — and then passed on such a beautiful doctrine to us — if she had not learned it from her saintly parents from an early age?”Thérèse lost her mother when she was just 4 years old and endured periods of illness and intense emotional sensitivity as a child. At 14, however, she experienced a moment of spiritual transformation where she received a special grace from God. In France, young children left their shoes by the hearth at Christmas, and parents would fill them with gifts. But her sister Celine didnʼt want Thérèse to grow up, so they continued to place gifts in “baby” Thérèseʼs shoes. As she and Celine climbed the stairs to take off their hats their fatherʼs voice rose from the parlor below. Standing over the shoes, he said: “Thank goodness thatʼs the last time we shall have this kind of thing!” Thérèse froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly, knowing that in a few minutes she would be in tears over what their father had said. But the tantrum never came. A special grace came over Thérèse as Jesus had done what she could not do herself. She swallowed her tears, walked slowly down the stairs, and went over the gifts in the shoes, as if she had never heard a word her father said. In her autobiography, “Story of Soul,” she referred to that Christmas as her “conversion.”From childish to childlikeIn his book “The Way of Trust and Love,” French priest Jacques Philippe explores St. Thérèse of Lisieuxʼs “Little Way” to holiness. He recalls that “through seemingly insignificant events, God can heal us deeply. Sometimes we feel a call from the Lord to step outside ourselves, to take a step forward, to become more mature, more free. There are times in life when we dwell on our immaturity, our complaints, our laments, our dependencies, and then suddenly one day we are given grace, a gift from God, but one that also calls upon our freedom. There is a choice to be made; it is both healing and conversion: freedom must choose to perform an act of courage.”He then later proposes: “Let us then ask God this question: What is the ‘yes’ you are asking of me today? What is the small act of courage and trust you are asking me to do today?”For St. Thérèse, it was about overcoming her emotional sensitivity. For others, it might be learning to control their tongue, be more optimistic, or manage their temper.A ‘Little Way’ for everyoneFrom the very beginning of her life, Thérèse desired to be a saint; still, when she entered the convent, she also thought how inaccessible and unrealizable it was when she compared herself to others.And here, perhaps, is where we can learn one of her most powerful teachings: never lose courage.She goes on: “Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new … It is your arms, Jesus, which are the lift to carry me to heaven, and so there is no need for me to grow up. In fact, just the opposite: I must stay little and become less and less.”But by “little,” Thérèse does not suggest we think of ourselves as of small value; instead, she reminds us of an unchanging truth: We are children of God.As St. John Paul II on his apostolic trip to France in June 1980 recalled: “There is something unique about it, a characteristic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In it, one finds both the confirmation and the renewal of the most fundamental and universal truth. What truth in the Gospel message is more fundamental and universal than this: God is our Father, and we are his children?”And like children who trust, even if thrown into the air, in the safety of returning to their parents' arms, we must trust in the providence of our Father, with a deep knowledge of his unlimited and unconditional love for us: “In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).A missionary without ever leaving homeProclaimed the patron saint of missionaries for her support of the missions through constant prayer and sacrifice despite being a cloistered nun who never left her convent, she said: “My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.”To many, even in the convent, she seemed like an average, ordinary person. Her greatness showed in the constancy of her love for others in the simplest ways. Perhaps some of the missionary work we are called to do today doesn’t necessarily begin externally but within our hearts. As the saint herself wrote: “A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart.”Thérèse also found strength in Scripture: “But above all it is the Gospels that occupy me during my prayers; in them I find everything that is necessary for my poor little soul. I constantly discover in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings.”Her life was characterized by austerity, far from recognition and noise from the world. She died anonymously in 1897 at the young age of 24, and no more than 30 people attended her funeral.This saint’s life and journal is a legacy for all who want to learn a simple and practical approach toward their relationship with God. Her advice is for everyone: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
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The enduring appeal of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of France’s most beloved saints #Catholic During the First World War, before being proclaimed a saint, devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux became particularly widespread in France. Soldiers carried medals and images of her, and many French Catholics saw her as a spiritual companion and intercessor.The Carmelite nun, patron saint of missions, and the youngest doctor of the Church died at the age of 24 and was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She was declared the second patron saint of France in 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, by Pope Pius XII.The town of Lisieux, a 90-minute train ride from Paris, is where Thérèse spent her entire religious life. It is the second most visited pilgrimage destination in France, after Lourdes, with over 2 million pilgrims every year.Last year, in Pope Leo XIV’s message on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, he called the faithful to “put Jesus at the centre of your families, your activities, and your choices. Help your children discover His boundless love and tenderness, and strive to make them love Him in return as He deserves: this is the great lesson that Louis and Zélie teach us today, and which the Church and the world so urgently need. How could Thérèse have loved Jesus and Mary so much — and then passed on such a beautiful doctrine to us — if she had not learned it from her saintly parents from an early age?”Thérèse lost her mother when she was just 4 years old and endured periods of illness and intense emotional sensitivity as a child. At 14, however, she experienced a moment of spiritual transformation where she received a special grace from God. In France, young children left their shoes by the hearth at Christmas, and parents would fill them with gifts. But her sister Celine didnʼt want Thérèse to grow up, so they continued to place gifts in “baby” Thérèseʼs shoes. As she and Celine climbed the stairs to take off their hats their fatherʼs voice rose from the parlor below. Standing over the shoes, he said: “Thank goodness thatʼs the last time we shall have this kind of thing!” Thérèse froze, and her sister looked at her helplessly, knowing that in a few minutes she would be in tears over what their father had said. But the tantrum never came. A special grace came over Thérèse as Jesus had done what she could not do herself. She swallowed her tears, walked slowly down the stairs, and went over the gifts in the shoes, as if she had never heard a word her father said. In her autobiography, “Story of Soul,” she referred to that Christmas as her “conversion.”From childish to childlikeIn his book “The Way of Trust and Love,” French priest Jacques Philippe explores St. Thérèse of Lisieuxʼs “Little Way” to holiness. He recalls that “through seemingly insignificant events, God can heal us deeply. Sometimes we feel a call from the Lord to step outside ourselves, to take a step forward, to become more mature, more free. There are times in life when we dwell on our immaturity, our complaints, our laments, our dependencies, and then suddenly one day we are given grace, a gift from God, but one that also calls upon our freedom. There is a choice to be made; it is both healing and conversion: freedom must choose to perform an act of courage.”He then later proposes: “Let us then ask God this question: What is the ‘yes’ you are asking of me today? What is the small act of courage and trust you are asking me to do today?”For St. Thérèse, it was about overcoming her emotional sensitivity. For others, it might be learning to control their tongue, be more optimistic, or manage their temper.A ‘Little Way’ for everyoneFrom the very beginning of her life, Thérèse desired to be a saint; still, when she entered the convent, she also thought how inaccessible and unrealizable it was when she compared herself to others.And here, perhaps, is where we can learn one of her most powerful teachings: never lose courage.She goes on: “Instead of being discouraged, I told myself: God would not make me wish for something impossible and so, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to grow bigger, so I put up with myself as I am, with all my countless faults. But I will look for some means of going to heaven by a little way which is very short and very straight, a little way that is quite new … It is your arms, Jesus, which are the lift to carry me to heaven, and so there is no need for me to grow up. In fact, just the opposite: I must stay little and become less and less.”But by “little,” Thérèse does not suggest we think of ourselves as of small value; instead, she reminds us of an unchanging truth: We are children of God.As St. John Paul II on his apostolic trip to France in June 1980 recalled: “There is something unique about it, a characteristic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In it, one finds both the confirmation and the renewal of the most fundamental and universal truth. What truth in the Gospel message is more fundamental and universal than this: God is our Father, and we are his children?”And like children who trust, even if thrown into the air, in the safety of returning to their parents' arms, we must trust in the providence of our Father, with a deep knowledge of his unlimited and unconditional love for us: “In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).A missionary without ever leaving homeProclaimed the patron saint of missionaries for her support of the missions through constant prayer and sacrifice despite being a cloistered nun who never left her convent, she said: “My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.”To many, even in the convent, she seemed like an average, ordinary person. Her greatness showed in the constancy of her love for others in the simplest ways. Perhaps some of the missionary work we are called to do today doesn’t necessarily begin externally but within our hearts. As the saint herself wrote: “A word, a kindly smile, will often suffice to gladden a wounded and sorrowful heart.”Thérèse also found strength in Scripture: “But above all it is the Gospels that occupy me during my prayers; in them I find everything that is necessary for my poor little soul. I constantly discover in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings.”Her life was characterized by austerity, far from recognition and noise from the world. She died anonymously in 1897 at the young age of 24, and no more than 30 people attended her funeral.This saint’s life and journal is a legacy for all who want to learn a simple and practical approach toward their relationship with God. Her advice is for everyone: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”

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The beloved Carmelite nun, patron saint of the missions, and youngest doctor of the Church is celebrated in the universal Church on Oct. 1.

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Pope Leo in Lourdes: The Church must heal her ‘wounds, infidelities, and painful errors’ #Catholic LOURDES, France — Pope Leo XIV issued a firm call to conversion from sin and error in the Church, and invited all to repent and do penance, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sunday.Mary’s call to conversion in her message to St. Bernadette “also concerns the Church herself as she makes her earthly journey. She must have the courage to begin with herself,” he said at Mass on Sept. 27.“In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within her, we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze. Recognizing our own faults is essential to our spiritual growth,” the pontiff said.In 2021, the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) published a nearly 2,500-page final report, estimating that 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons, monks, or nuns in France from 1950 to 2020.TweetLeo is scheduled to meet later on Sunday with seven victims of clerical sexual abuse in France.Lourdes is an evocative backdrop to the private meeting, since it is among the first shrines to cover artwork by the accused sexual abuser Father Marko Rupnik, currently on trial at the Vatican.Rupnik’s mosaics decorating the front of the Basilica of the Rosary were covered ahead of Leo’s visit and will remain covered indefinitely, according to the local bishop.The pope celebrated Mass on a prairie across the river Gave de Pau from the grotto of the apparitions on the third day of his Sept. 25-28 visit to France.Pilgrims from France and around the world gathered on the grassy hill and along the streets of the shrine. Some waved flags or held banners of sacred images. A number of pilgrims arrived in wheelchairs. Around 150,000 people attended the Mass, according to the Vatican.Claire Banks, a nurse from the UK, said she has traveled over 100 times to Lourdes.“It was too good of an opportunity to miss coming here and seeing the pope. I think he’s wonderful,” she told EWTN News. She described an “electric atmosphere” at the shrine since Leo’s arrival.Libby Frank, another Mass attendee, is also from the UK, but has lived in Lourdes for 40 years. She recently retired after working for a charity that brings sick people to the shrine.“I worked for three papal visits and now I’ve come to one papal visit to enjoy it with my family and friends and just be part of the community,” she said, referencing two visits by St. Pope John Paul II in 1983 and 2004, and one by Pope Benedict in 2008.“There’s been a phenomenal amount of excitement locally waiting for Leo to come visit. The town [of Lourdes] has really gotten behind everything that’s happening,” she said.TweetThe Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is among the most popular Catholic shrines in the world, built on the site of Mary’s apparitions to St. Bernadette in 1858. It is particularly visited by the sick, who come to bathe in or drink its healing spring water.In his homily, Pope Leo noted that a “call to conversion, both tender and urgent,” was a central part of the message the Virgin Mary entrusted to Bernadette, and that “it is today, not tomorrow, that we must repent.”He said Jesus is quite direct about the call to repentance: “As St. Luke tells us, ‘Unless you repent, you will all perish.’ But he also extends our horizon beyond this earthly life to the horizon of eternal life.”“Did not the Virgin Mary say to St. Bernadette, ‘I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next’?” Leo said.The pope noted that we can often forget this in an age and society focused on progress and material wellbeing.Eternal life is already won for us by Jesus’ sacrifice, he continued, but “the obstacle to grace and eternal life — the only obstacle to this love — is sin.”The Holy Father called everyone to do penance, an act of love for God and for our brothers and sisters, “who do not heed this call to conversion, and whose sins lead them towards death.”“We want to make amends for the wounds our sins have dealt to [God’s] heart,” he said.Addressing the many sick, elderly, and disabled people present at the Mass, Leo said their suffering, if lived in a “spirit of offering,” can take part “in the redemptive work that the world so greatly needs.”“In this way, you are truly at the heart of the Church, and your role is irreplaceable,” he said.“In the face of current trends that seek to redefine the value of human life in illness, suffering and old age, the grotto of Massabielle stands as a place of Christian hope,” he said. “Here, no one is turned away due to their frailty.”Earlier in the morning, Leo met with France’s bishops at the shrine, where he praised their courage in opposing the recent legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the country.“I encourage you to persevere, together with all people of good will who uphold the same values,” he told the bishops’ conference.At the end of Mass, before praying the Angelus, the pope invited those present to pray the rosary for peace, and to offer concrete acts of penance and mercy.“It was here that the Immaculate Virgin appeared to St. Bernadette with the rosary and, as it were, guided her in prayer,” he said. “For this reason, today I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy rosary throughout the coming month of October, with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.”Elliot Hartley contributed to this report.This story was updated at 7:14 a.m. ET with more information about the Mass and the pope’s meeting with bishops.
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Pope Leo in Lourdes: The Church must heal her ‘wounds, infidelities, and painful errors’ #Catholic LOURDES, France — Pope Leo XIV issued a firm call to conversion from sin and error in the Church, and invited all to repent and do penance, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sunday.Mary’s call to conversion in her message to St. Bernadette “also concerns the Church herself as she makes her earthly journey. She must have the courage to begin with herself,” he said at Mass on Sept. 27.“In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within her, we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze. Recognizing our own faults is essential to our spiritual growth,” the pontiff said.In 2021, the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) published a nearly 2,500-page final report, estimating that 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons, monks, or nuns in France from 1950 to 2020.TweetLeo is scheduled to meet later on Sunday with seven victims of clerical sexual abuse in France.Lourdes is an evocative backdrop to the private meeting, since it is among the first shrines to cover artwork by the accused sexual abuser Father Marko Rupnik, currently on trial at the Vatican.Rupnik’s mosaics decorating the front of the Basilica of the Rosary were covered ahead of Leo’s visit and will remain covered indefinitely, according to the local bishop.The pope celebrated Mass on a prairie across the river Gave de Pau from the grotto of the apparitions on the third day of his Sept. 25-28 visit to France.Pilgrims from France and around the world gathered on the grassy hill and along the streets of the shrine. Some waved flags or held banners of sacred images. A number of pilgrims arrived in wheelchairs. Around 150,000 people attended the Mass, according to the Vatican.Claire Banks, a nurse from the UK, said she has traveled over 100 times to Lourdes.“It was too good of an opportunity to miss coming here and seeing the pope. I think he’s wonderful,” she told EWTN News. She described an “electric atmosphere” at the shrine since Leo’s arrival.Libby Frank, another Mass attendee, is also from the UK, but has lived in Lourdes for 40 years. She recently retired after working for a charity that brings sick people to the shrine.“I worked for three papal visits and now I’ve come to one papal visit to enjoy it with my family and friends and just be part of the community,” she said, referencing two visits by St. Pope John Paul II in 1983 and 2004, and one by Pope Benedict in 2008.“There’s been a phenomenal amount of excitement locally waiting for Leo to come visit. The town [of Lourdes] has really gotten behind everything that’s happening,” she said.TweetThe Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is among the most popular Catholic shrines in the world, built on the site of Mary’s apparitions to St. Bernadette in 1858. It is particularly visited by the sick, who come to bathe in or drink its healing spring water.In his homily, Pope Leo noted that a “call to conversion, both tender and urgent,” was a central part of the message the Virgin Mary entrusted to Bernadette, and that “it is today, not tomorrow, that we must repent.”He said Jesus is quite direct about the call to repentance: “As St. Luke tells us, ‘Unless you repent, you will all perish.’ But he also extends our horizon beyond this earthly life to the horizon of eternal life.”“Did not the Virgin Mary say to St. Bernadette, ‘I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next’?” Leo said.The pope noted that we can often forget this in an age and society focused on progress and material wellbeing.Eternal life is already won for us by Jesus’ sacrifice, he continued, but “the obstacle to grace and eternal life — the only obstacle to this love — is sin.”The Holy Father called everyone to do penance, an act of love for God and for our brothers and sisters, “who do not heed this call to conversion, and whose sins lead them towards death.”“We want to make amends for the wounds our sins have dealt to [God’s] heart,” he said.Addressing the many sick, elderly, and disabled people present at the Mass, Leo said their suffering, if lived in a “spirit of offering,” can take part “in the redemptive work that the world so greatly needs.”“In this way, you are truly at the heart of the Church, and your role is irreplaceable,” he said.“In the face of current trends that seek to redefine the value of human life in illness, suffering and old age, the grotto of Massabielle stands as a place of Christian hope,” he said. “Here, no one is turned away due to their frailty.”Earlier in the morning, Leo met with France’s bishops at the shrine, where he praised their courage in opposing the recent legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the country.“I encourage you to persevere, together with all people of good will who uphold the same values,” he told the bishops’ conference.At the end of Mass, before praying the Angelus, the pope invited those present to pray the rosary for peace, and to offer concrete acts of penance and mercy.“It was here that the Immaculate Virgin appeared to St. Bernadette with the rosary and, as it were, guided her in prayer,” he said. “For this reason, today I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy rosary throughout the coming month of October, with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.”Elliot Hartley contributed to this report.This story was updated at 7:14 a.m. ET with more information about the Mass and the pope’s meeting with bishops.

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The pontiff spoke about the urgency of repentance and conversion at a Mass on the third day of his visit to France.

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Over 150,000 visitors prepare to welcome Pope Leo in Lourdes #Catholic LOURDES, France — As Pope Leo XIV lands in Paris to begin the first official papal visit to France since 2008, pilgrims, organizers, and business owners in Lourdes are preparing for his arrival in the town expected on Saturday night.Patrick Vinuales, owner of Hôtels Vinuales — the largest hotel chain in Lourdes — told EWTN News: “The average number of people who would be staying in Lourdes is roughly 20,000. But for the Sunday Mass, there will be something like 150,000 people. We expect altogether an attendance of nearly a quarter of a million people over the weekend.”“What I think is very important is the enthusiasm of people. A lot of people have been calling us saying even if they couldnʼt come, they were so happy for the pope to come to Lourdes, to reveal more about the message of Our Lady to Bernadette,” he told EWTN News.Tourism is a big business in Lourdes. The town is widely considered to be the area with the highest concentration of hotels in France outside of Paris — rather unusual for a town with a population of 10,000. Hotel owners have been making the most of the increase in numbers.Joseph Tedesco, owner of the Grand Hôtel Moderne, built in 1896 by the nephew of St. Bernadette, told EWTN News: “Everybody increased their prices… We made a huge effort to welcome individuals, because usually itʼs mostly big dioceses… but this event made more individuals come and thatʼs a completely different type of business.”For the major ceremonies, tourists will need to have registered in advance, or they won’t be allowed into the sanctuary. “The biggest challenge is the people who organized the pilgrimage before they knew the pope was coming. There are a lot of people who donʼt have their ticket,” he said. “Our hotel is in the red area, so it wonʼt be accessible [by car].”Pope John Paul II visited Lourdes in 1983 and 2004. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI visited, which Tedesco recalls. “Two months after I bought the hotel 18 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI arrived… We didnʼt have all this security for sure. But thatʼs maybe because we didnʼt have the geopolitical problem that we have today.” Pilgrims gather to pray before Pope Leo arrives in Lourdes, France, during his papal trip to France Sept. 25-28, 2026. | Credit: Elliot Hartley “This visit is, first and foremost, a visit by the Successor of Peter to strengthen his brothers in the faith and to address our society as a whole,” said Monsignor Jean-Marc Micas, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes.During this visit, Pope Leo will pray at the grotto and take part in the torchlight procession, meet with bishops of the French Episcopal Conference, celebrate Holy Mass, and meet the staff and sick community at Accueil Notre Dame, the main hospital for sick pilgrims.He also will meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse in the Church — a major focus for critics who argue the Church hasn’t confronted the problem fully.The visit also marks an increase in the number of attendees on organized pilgrimage groups. Most visitors to Lourdes come as part of an organized group, often with their local diocese.Caroline Trainor, a Lourdes organizer for Joe Walsh Tours, told EWTN News she had seen a huge increase in sign-ups. “When they heard that the pope was visiting, they were signing up to come back to be here over the weekend,” she said. “So thatʼs really positive for the future because it brings Lourdes back into the spotlight… Even coming in this morning, you can kind of feel this little ripple of excitement.”Lourdes’ story can be traced back to 1858, when St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl, had apparitions of Our Lady in a small cave. A shrine was built there, and the Pyrenean town became a pilgrimage site known for its miraculous healings.Paul Eaton, president of Ireland’s national Carmelite pilgrimage, told EWTN News: “It’s just electrifying. You really have to come here to experience it. It’s just something else… weʼre so blessed to have this honor.”“When the news first came out, we thought ‘this is not happening!’ That increased our numbers, which was fantastic… Weʼre very lucky because we have an awful lot of the same people that come with us every year who are actually hooked… They love Lourdes. They really, really do.”Michael Murphy has been coming on pilgrimage to Lourdes for 19 years. He told EWTN News: “Thereʼs a draw that continually brings me back. Itʼs difficult to explain. Itʼs just the serenity and the atmosphere. For the dates and to align with the pope as well, it just made it extra special.”Organized pilgrimages to Lourdes often have two sides. Pilgrims can either join as someone in need of assistance or as a volunteer. Those with learning or physical disabilities spend the week being assisted by volunteers, who help them with their daily needs.Clíona, a first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News: “I heard people describing Lourdes before, but I never expected it just to be like this. Thereʼs something about it. Itʼs like a magical place.”“Itʼs a different experience than Iʼve ever experienced before,” Harry Lynch, another first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News. “I wasnʼt expecting it to be this busy. Everyoneʼs very excited about everything thatʼs about to happen.”Martin has been visiting Lourdes for 20 years from Ireland. He told EWTN News: “Weʼve got more youth coming now than we had years ago, which is great. With the visit of the pope, we’re getting two trips in one! Thereʼs so much excitement, so much talk about it, and itʼs a great thing for everyone. Some people donʼt get the chance to go to Rome, so they’re getting a real run for their money this year.”The visit is expected to provide a huge boost to Lourdes’ economy. Natasha Afonso, a local souvenir shop owner, told EWTN News: “When tourists found out the pope was coming, many delayed their trips to align the dates. So, we lost a lot of business in the middle [of the] season, but now it’s growing again.”“Lourdes is known for its miracles, so it’s good for the publicity, for the young people, and the new generations to come.”
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Over 150,000 visitors prepare to welcome Pope Leo in Lourdes #Catholic LOURDES, France — As Pope Leo XIV lands in Paris to begin the first official papal visit to France since 2008, pilgrims, organizers, and business owners in Lourdes are preparing for his arrival in the town expected on Saturday night.Patrick Vinuales, owner of Hôtels Vinuales — the largest hotel chain in Lourdes — told EWTN News: “The average number of people who would be staying in Lourdes is roughly 20,000. But for the Sunday Mass, there will be something like 150,000 people. We expect altogether an attendance of nearly a quarter of a million people over the weekend.”“What I think is very important is the enthusiasm of people. A lot of people have been calling us saying even if they couldnʼt come, they were so happy for the pope to come to Lourdes, to reveal more about the message of Our Lady to Bernadette,” he told EWTN News.Tourism is a big business in Lourdes. The town is widely considered to be the area with the highest concentration of hotels in France outside of Paris — rather unusual for a town with a population of 10,000. Hotel owners have been making the most of the increase in numbers.Joseph Tedesco, owner of the Grand Hôtel Moderne, built in 1896 by the nephew of St. Bernadette, told EWTN News: “Everybody increased their prices… We made a huge effort to welcome individuals, because usually itʼs mostly big dioceses… but this event made more individuals come and thatʼs a completely different type of business.”For the major ceremonies, tourists will need to have registered in advance, or they won’t be allowed into the sanctuary. “The biggest challenge is the people who organized the pilgrimage before they knew the pope was coming. There are a lot of people who donʼt have their ticket,” he said. “Our hotel is in the red area, so it wonʼt be accessible [by car].”Pope John Paul II visited Lourdes in 1983 and 2004. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI visited, which Tedesco recalls. “Two months after I bought the hotel 18 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI arrived… We didnʼt have all this security for sure. But thatʼs maybe because we didnʼt have the geopolitical problem that we have today.” Pilgrims gather to pray before Pope Leo arrives in Lourdes, France, during his papal trip to France Sept. 25-28, 2026. | Credit: Elliot Hartley “This visit is, first and foremost, a visit by the Successor of Peter to strengthen his brothers in the faith and to address our society as a whole,” said Monsignor Jean-Marc Micas, bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes.During this visit, Pope Leo will pray at the grotto and take part in the torchlight procession, meet with bishops of the French Episcopal Conference, celebrate Holy Mass, and meet the staff and sick community at Accueil Notre Dame, the main hospital for sick pilgrims.He also will meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse in the Church — a major focus for critics who argue the Church hasn’t confronted the problem fully.The visit also marks an increase in the number of attendees on organized pilgrimage groups. Most visitors to Lourdes come as part of an organized group, often with their local diocese.Caroline Trainor, a Lourdes organizer for Joe Walsh Tours, told EWTN News she had seen a huge increase in sign-ups. “When they heard that the pope was visiting, they were signing up to come back to be here over the weekend,” she said. “So thatʼs really positive for the future because it brings Lourdes back into the spotlight… Even coming in this morning, you can kind of feel this little ripple of excitement.”Lourdes’ story can be traced back to 1858, when St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl, had apparitions of Our Lady in a small cave. A shrine was built there, and the Pyrenean town became a pilgrimage site known for its miraculous healings.Paul Eaton, president of Ireland’s national Carmelite pilgrimage, told EWTN News: “It’s just electrifying. You really have to come here to experience it. It’s just something else… weʼre so blessed to have this honor.”“When the news first came out, we thought ‘this is not happening!’ That increased our numbers, which was fantastic… Weʼre very lucky because we have an awful lot of the same people that come with us every year who are actually hooked… They love Lourdes. They really, really do.”Michael Murphy has been coming on pilgrimage to Lourdes for 19 years. He told EWTN News: “Thereʼs a draw that continually brings me back. Itʼs difficult to explain. Itʼs just the serenity and the atmosphere. For the dates and to align with the pope as well, it just made it extra special.”Organized pilgrimages to Lourdes often have two sides. Pilgrims can either join as someone in need of assistance or as a volunteer. Those with learning or physical disabilities spend the week being assisted by volunteers, who help them with their daily needs.Clíona, a first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News: “I heard people describing Lourdes before, but I never expected it just to be like this. Thereʼs something about it. Itʼs like a magical place.”“Itʼs a different experience than Iʼve ever experienced before,” Harry Lynch, another first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News. “I wasnʼt expecting it to be this busy. Everyoneʼs very excited about everything thatʼs about to happen.”Martin has been visiting Lourdes for 20 years from Ireland. He told EWTN News: “Weʼve got more youth coming now than we had years ago, which is great. With the visit of the pope, we’re getting two trips in one! Thereʼs so much excitement, so much talk about it, and itʼs a great thing for everyone. Some people donʼt get the chance to go to Rome, so they’re getting a real run for their money this year.”The visit is expected to provide a huge boost to Lourdes’ economy. Natasha Afonso, a local souvenir shop owner, told EWTN News: “When tourists found out the pope was coming, many delayed their trips to align the dates. So, we lost a lot of business in the middle [of the] season, but now it’s growing again.”“Lourdes is known for its miracles, so it’s good for the publicity, for the young people, and the new generations to come.”

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As Pope Leo XIV makes his way to Lourdes later on Sept. 26 as part of his four-day trip to France, pilgrims, local residents, and business owners in the famous town prepare with excitement.

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As beatification nears, new book explains why Fulton Sheen was ‘America’s Apostle’ #Catholic With the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen approaching, a new book on the life and legacy of the evangelist and television and radio show host explains why he was “America’s Apostle.”Allan Smith, founder and director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Mission Society of Canada, published the book “America’s Apostle” on Sept. 15, just ahead of the archbishop’s beatification on Sept. 24.“I think … the title is a perfect one — ‘Americaʼs Apostle,’ because he really was an apostle to the American people in the great tradition of apostles,” Vice President and Editorial Director of EWTN News Matthew Bunson told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 22.The book was published through EWTN Publishing and Sophia Institute Press.“[Sheen] was a brilliant communicator; he had immense gifts on television, radio, as a writer, as a poet,” Bunson said. “But all of that was geared toward proclaiming Jesus Christ in exactly the same way that a good apostle should.”Sheen began his media career as a priest, hosting an hourlong radio show called “The Catholic Hour” in 1930 until he was consecrated an auxiliary bishop in New York in 1951 and transitioned to television, hosting “Life Is Worth Living.” At its peak, Sheen’s radio show was reaching about 4 million people weekly, and his television show was reaching about 30 million people.“Like a good apostle, he used all the means of communications at his disposal,” Bunson said. “I just mentioned television, radio, you name it. He wanted to use it. So itʼs perfectly appropriate, I think, for him to be called ‘Americaʼs Apostle.’”Sheen also reserved one hour every day for prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, beginning this when he was ordained in 1919 until he died in 1979. He was found dead at the age of 84 in his chapel in front of the Blessed Sacrament.Bunson explained that Sheen “made a promise on the day of his ordination” that he would do a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He also noted Sheen wrote in his autobiography, “Treasure in Clay,” that he prepared for his homilies, his books, and his speeches in front of the Eucharist. The book cover for “America’s Apostle: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen” features a portrait of Sheen. It was released days before Sheen’s beatification set for Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: EWTN “He made the Blessed Sacrament his way of not just preparing, but making himself holy and worthy of the people he was talking to,” Bunson said. “Because thatʼs how seriously he took what he was saying.”“So as a communicator, it wasnʼt just communicating about himself,” he said. “He was always proclaiming a person, and that was Jesus Christ. And he did that by developing and fostering his love for the Eucharist. And he did it in the Holy Hour.”“Fulton Sheen, pray for us,” Bunson concluded.
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As beatification nears, new book explains why Fulton Sheen was ‘America’s Apostle’ #Catholic With the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen approaching, a new book on the life and legacy of the evangelist and television and radio show host explains why he was “America’s Apostle.”Allan Smith, founder and director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Mission Society of Canada, published the book “America’s Apostle” on Sept. 15, just ahead of the archbishop’s beatification on Sept. 24.“I think … the title is a perfect one — ‘Americaʼs Apostle,’ because he really was an apostle to the American people in the great tradition of apostles,” Vice President and Editorial Director of EWTN News Matthew Bunson told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Veronica Dudo on Sept. 22.The book was published through EWTN Publishing and Sophia Institute Press.“[Sheen] was a brilliant communicator; he had immense gifts on television, radio, as a writer, as a poet,” Bunson said. “But all of that was geared toward proclaiming Jesus Christ in exactly the same way that a good apostle should.”Sheen began his media career as a priest, hosting an hourlong radio show called “The Catholic Hour” in 1930 until he was consecrated an auxiliary bishop in New York in 1951 and transitioned to television, hosting “Life Is Worth Living.” At its peak, Sheen’s radio show was reaching about 4 million people weekly, and his television show was reaching about 30 million people.“Like a good apostle, he used all the means of communications at his disposal,” Bunson said. “I just mentioned television, radio, you name it. He wanted to use it. So itʼs perfectly appropriate, I think, for him to be called ‘Americaʼs Apostle.’”Sheen also reserved one hour every day for prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, beginning this when he was ordained in 1919 until he died in 1979. He was found dead at the age of 84 in his chapel in front of the Blessed Sacrament.Bunson explained that Sheen “made a promise on the day of his ordination” that he would do a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He also noted Sheen wrote in his autobiography, “Treasure in Clay,” that he prepared for his homilies, his books, and his speeches in front of the Eucharist. The book cover for “America’s Apostle: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen” features a portrait of Sheen. It was released days before Sheen’s beatification set for Sept. 24, 2026. | Credit: EWTN “He made the Blessed Sacrament his way of not just preparing, but making himself holy and worthy of the people he was talking to,” Bunson said. “Because thatʼs how seriously he took what he was saying.”“So as a communicator, it wasnʼt just communicating about himself,” he said. “He was always proclaiming a person, and that was Jesus Christ. And he did that by developing and fostering his love for the Eucharist. And he did it in the Holy Hour.”“Fulton Sheen, pray for us,” Bunson concluded.

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The book by Allan Smith was published on Sept. 15, about one week before the beatification. EWTN’s Matthew Bunson discusses the book and Sheen’s legacy on “EWTN News Nightly.”

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Archbishop Lori tells women religious: ‘The Church looks to you with hope’ #Catholic Baltimore Archbishop William Lori this week praised an assembly of women religious major superiors for their witness of “evangelical poverty,” with the prelate noting the outsized influence that women religious have had on American society over the past 250 years. “You and those who came before you have taught our children, tended to the sick, welcomed immigrants, accompanied the dying, consoled the brokenhearted, and proclaimed Christ where no one else was willing to go,” the archbishop told the major superiors on Sept. 18 in Florissant, Missouri.“For that, the Church gives thanks. But gratitude alone is not enough. The Church also looks to you with hope,” he said. The archbishop spoke at the 2026 National Assembly of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the theme of which was: “250 Years of Freedom: Daughters of the Church from One Generation to the Next.”The council comprises major superiors and vicars from 112 religious communities around the U.S. The group describes its national assembly as “the springboard for collaboration, participation, and dialogue among members” which “promotes unity among the major superiors that gives witness to the joy of religious life.”Addressing the gathering as the keynote speaker, Lori acknowledged the assembly’s recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The U.S. has been instrumental in advancing religious freedom and human dignity across the world, the archbishop argued. He noted that most histories of the founding of the U.S. focus on the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others. But “the American experiment would have looked very different” without the contributions of “thousands and thousands of women religious,” he said.“Who welcomed wave after wave of immigrants? Who cared for the victims of epidemics when others fled? Who taught generations of children not simply arithmetic and grammar, but honesty, sacrifice, discipline, and love of God?” he said. Women religious “changed the nation because they first allowed Christ to change them,” the archbishop said. He noted the “paradox” in which those who take vows of poverty “enriched countless communities” and those who “renounced worldly ambition” often “exercised the greatest influence upon society.” “The world struggles to understand this paradox,” Lori said. “The Gospel does not.” Women religious have historically both upheld the ideals of America while challenging it when it “falls short of the Gospel,” Lori said. He cited the witness of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s “evangelical poverty” as she carried out the founding of schools, hospitals and orphanages around the world. And he further pointed to the work of Servant of God Sister Mary Thea Bowman, praising her for her “profoundly Catholic way” of confronting racism while evangelizing about the love of Christ. Urging the women religious to pursue “an ever-new embrace of the heart of your vocation,” Lori told the assembly: “The world needs women who have been seized by Christ.”“It needs women whose lives bear unmistakable witness to the truth that God is real, that holiness is possible, that sacrifice is fruitful, and that love poured out in communion with Christ can transform the world,” he said.
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Archbishop Lori tells women religious: ‘The Church looks to you with hope’ #Catholic Baltimore Archbishop William Lori this week praised an assembly of women religious major superiors for their witness of “evangelical poverty,” with the prelate noting the outsized influence that women religious have had on American society over the past 250 years. “You and those who came before you have taught our children, tended to the sick, welcomed immigrants, accompanied the dying, consoled the brokenhearted, and proclaimed Christ where no one else was willing to go,” the archbishop told the major superiors on Sept. 18 in Florissant, Missouri.“For that, the Church gives thanks. But gratitude alone is not enough. The Church also looks to you with hope,” he said. The archbishop spoke at the 2026 National Assembly of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the theme of which was: “250 Years of Freedom: Daughters of the Church from One Generation to the Next.”The council comprises major superiors and vicars from 112 religious communities around the U.S. The group describes its national assembly as “the springboard for collaboration, participation, and dialogue among members” which “promotes unity among the major superiors that gives witness to the joy of religious life.”Addressing the gathering as the keynote speaker, Lori acknowledged the assembly’s recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The U.S. has been instrumental in advancing religious freedom and human dignity across the world, the archbishop argued. He noted that most histories of the founding of the U.S. focus on the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others. But “the American experiment would have looked very different” without the contributions of “thousands and thousands of women religious,” he said.“Who welcomed wave after wave of immigrants? Who cared for the victims of epidemics when others fled? Who taught generations of children not simply arithmetic and grammar, but honesty, sacrifice, discipline, and love of God?” he said. Women religious “changed the nation because they first allowed Christ to change them,” the archbishop said. He noted the “paradox” in which those who take vows of poverty “enriched countless communities” and those who “renounced worldly ambition” often “exercised the greatest influence upon society.” “The world struggles to understand this paradox,” Lori said. “The Gospel does not.” Women religious have historically both upheld the ideals of America while challenging it when it “falls short of the Gospel,” Lori said. He cited the witness of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s “evangelical poverty” as she carried out the founding of schools, hospitals and orphanages around the world. And he further pointed to the work of Servant of God Sister Mary Thea Bowman, praising her for her “profoundly Catholic way” of confronting racism while evangelizing about the love of Christ. Urging the women religious to pursue “an ever-new embrace of the heart of your vocation,” Lori told the assembly: “The world needs women who have been seized by Christ.”“It needs women whose lives bear unmistakable witness to the truth that God is real, that holiness is possible, that sacrifice is fruitful, and that love poured out in communion with Christ can transform the world,” he said.

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The Baltimore archbishop gave the keynote address to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious meeting in Missouri.

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From proselytism to politics: Bishop Barron addresses hot-button issues on EWTN #Catholic In a wide-ranging interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, pushed back against the idea that the Catholic Church’s commitment to interreligious dialogue replaces its primary mission to preach the Gospel.Addressing a new Vatican document commemorating the 60th anniversary of Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate — which discourages “defensive entrenchment” and single-minded proselytism — Barron clarified the distinction between aggressive pushiness and authentic Christian proclamation.“In a way, I wish we would drop the word ‘proselytizing’ because it’s used now in so many different ways,” he said.Recalling a conversation with Pope Francis during an ad limina visit, Barron noted that the pope defined proselytism as “obnoxious evangelization” — a browbeating, overbearing approach.While supporting respectful dialogue, Barron insisted that sharing the faith remains nonnegotiable.“We are really good at stressing how kind, respectful, and tolerant we should be. That’s great, and I’m all in favor of it. But we also announce Jesus — in a friendly way, in a nonthreatening way,” he said.Expressing a desire for Church documents to place greater emphasis on proclamation, he added: “The Church is not a debating society. … We are here to proclaim a word in love. It’s the truth in love. But by God, it’s the truth, and I think that’s obviously worth emphasizing.”Advising the White House on religious freedomThe Word on Fire founder also responded to critics questioning his involvement with the Trump administration following his appointment to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).Clarifying his position, Barron pushed back against claims that his participation represents a political endorsement. “I’m not a member of the Trump administration!” he said. “The president invited me to be around the table to discuss issues about religious liberty so that policy in that regard could be better formulated. Why would I say no to that?” Raymond Arroyo and Bishop Robert Barron discuss several topics in a wide-ranging interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Sept. 17, 2026. | Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot Comparing his role to that of legendary Notre Dame president Father Theodore Hesburgh — who served on numerous presidential commissions across multiple administrations — Barron noted: “If Joe Biden had invited me to be on a commission considering issues of religious liberty, I would have said, ‘Sure!’ … It’s not in any way a compromise or siding with one party.”Advocating for Jimmy Lai and religious liberty in ChinaTurning to international affairs, Barron stressed his long-standing advocacy for imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon and democracy activist Jimmy Lai. While noting he was unsure if his public advocacy influenced his appointment to USCIRF, the bishop made his intentions clear regarding his new watchdog role.“For years now, I’ve been advocating on behalf of Jimmy Lai. I think it’s outrageous the way he’s been treated,” Barron said. “If Jimmy Lai isn’t brought up in the commission, I would certainly bring him up.”When asked about the Vatican’s controversial agreement with Beijing regarding the appointment of bishops, Barron hesitated on the specifics of current Vatican diplomacy while pointing to a proven historical model: “I’m a John Paul II man, and the way he dealt with communism, I think, is the right way to deal with it.”Legacy of Fulton Sheen and resurgence of communismLooking ahead to the upcoming beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen in St. Louis, Barron praised the pioneering Catholic broadcaster as a model for modern evangelists — highlighting both Sheen’s holiness as the “saint of the Holy Hour” and his courage in identifying ideological threats.Barron noted that Sheen’s bold stance against communism in the mid-20th century carries striking relevance for contemporary culture. “The fact that Sheen took on communism back in the 1940s and ’50s, when he correctly discerned it was threat No. 1 … well, it’s back,” the bishop observed. “It’s back in institutional form in different places around the world, but also in our own country.”Explaining why Sheen’s critique remains essential today, Barron added: “What he noticed about communism was its deep antipathy toward God, the things of the spirit and the moral order, and he knew this was deeply disruptive to the values of the West. That’s a message that still needs to be heard.”Modern culture and empathyConcluding the conversation, Barron reflected on a recent article he penned regarding the limitations of empathy when elevated above all other virtues in public and ecclesial life.“Empathy is a good thing — to feel with somebody else. … However, there is a hierarchy of values, and empathy is not at the top. At the top of the hierarchy for a Christian has to be love,” Barron explicated, drawing on St. Thomas Aquinas’ definition of love as “willing the good of the other.” “To love is not to spare the feelings of someone; to love is to will the good of the other. … We don’t say, ‘God is empathy’; we say, ‘God is love.’”Watch the full interview below:This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.
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From proselytism to politics: Bishop Barron addresses hot-button issues on EWTN #Catholic In a wide-ranging interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, pushed back against the idea that the Catholic Church’s commitment to interreligious dialogue replaces its primary mission to preach the Gospel.Addressing a new Vatican document commemorating the 60th anniversary of Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate — which discourages “defensive entrenchment” and single-minded proselytism — Barron clarified the distinction between aggressive pushiness and authentic Christian proclamation.“In a way, I wish we would drop the word ‘proselytizing’ because it’s used now in so many different ways,” he said.Recalling a conversation with Pope Francis during an ad limina visit, Barron noted that the pope defined proselytism as “obnoxious evangelization” — a browbeating, overbearing approach.While supporting respectful dialogue, Barron insisted that sharing the faith remains nonnegotiable.“We are really good at stressing how kind, respectful, and tolerant we should be. That’s great, and I’m all in favor of it. But we also announce Jesus — in a friendly way, in a nonthreatening way,” he said.Expressing a desire for Church documents to place greater emphasis on proclamation, he added: “The Church is not a debating society. … We are here to proclaim a word in love. It’s the truth in love. But by God, it’s the truth, and I think that’s obviously worth emphasizing.”Advising the White House on religious freedomThe Word on Fire founder also responded to critics questioning his involvement with the Trump administration following his appointment to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).Clarifying his position, Barron pushed back against claims that his participation represents a political endorsement. “I’m not a member of the Trump administration!” he said. “The president invited me to be around the table to discuss issues about religious liberty so that policy in that regard could be better formulated. Why would I say no to that?” Raymond Arroyo and Bishop Robert Barron discuss several topics in a wide-ranging interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo” on Sept. 17, 2026. | Credit: “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo”/Screenshot Comparing his role to that of legendary Notre Dame president Father Theodore Hesburgh — who served on numerous presidential commissions across multiple administrations — Barron noted: “If Joe Biden had invited me to be on a commission considering issues of religious liberty, I would have said, ‘Sure!’ … It’s not in any way a compromise or siding with one party.”Advocating for Jimmy Lai and religious liberty in ChinaTurning to international affairs, Barron stressed his long-standing advocacy for imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon and democracy activist Jimmy Lai. While noting he was unsure if his public advocacy influenced his appointment to USCIRF, the bishop made his intentions clear regarding his new watchdog role.“For years now, I’ve been advocating on behalf of Jimmy Lai. I think it’s outrageous the way he’s been treated,” Barron said. “If Jimmy Lai isn’t brought up in the commission, I would certainly bring him up.”When asked about the Vatican’s controversial agreement with Beijing regarding the appointment of bishops, Barron hesitated on the specifics of current Vatican diplomacy while pointing to a proven historical model: “I’m a John Paul II man, and the way he dealt with communism, I think, is the right way to deal with it.”Legacy of Fulton Sheen and resurgence of communismLooking ahead to the upcoming beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen in St. Louis, Barron praised the pioneering Catholic broadcaster as a model for modern evangelists — highlighting both Sheen’s holiness as the “saint of the Holy Hour” and his courage in identifying ideological threats.Barron noted that Sheen’s bold stance against communism in the mid-20th century carries striking relevance for contemporary culture. “The fact that Sheen took on communism back in the 1940s and ’50s, when he correctly discerned it was threat No. 1 … well, it’s back,” the bishop observed. “It’s back in institutional form in different places around the world, but also in our own country.”Explaining why Sheen’s critique remains essential today, Barron added: “What he noticed about communism was its deep antipathy toward God, the things of the spirit and the moral order, and he knew this was deeply disruptive to the values of the West. That’s a message that still needs to be heard.”Modern culture and empathyConcluding the conversation, Barron reflected on a recent article he penned regarding the limitations of empathy when elevated above all other virtues in public and ecclesial life.“Empathy is a good thing — to feel with somebody else. … However, there is a hierarchy of values, and empathy is not at the top. At the top of the hierarchy for a Christian has to be love,” Barron explicated, drawing on St. Thomas Aquinas’ definition of love as “willing the good of the other.” “To love is not to spare the feelings of someone; to love is to will the good of the other. … We don’t say, ‘God is empathy’; we say, ‘God is love.’”Watch the full interview below:This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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The Word on Fire founder clarifies the call to evangelize, defends his nonpartisan advisory role on religious liberty, and warns of resurgent communism.

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Oregon officials back off ‘gender ideology mandate’ for mom seeking to adopt #Catholic Oregon officials have agreed they will not “categorically disqualify” a Christian woman from adopting or fostering children based on her religious beliefs about gender and human sexuality, which settles a three-and-a-half-year legal battle.The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) agreed to a legal settlement with Jessica Bates, who was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). It affirms the department will not consider her religious beliefs when evaluating her application for a certification to adopt children and will not attempt to regulate her speech about gender and sexuality.“Every child deserves a loving home, and children suffer when the government excludes people of faith from foster care because of the state’s own ideological crusade,” ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said in a statement following the Sept. 9 settlement.“Oregon officials turned Jessica away just because of her common-sense belief that parents should help children become comfortable with who they are instead of pushing them down a path of confusion and medicalization,” he said. “We believe this settlement is a win-win that protects constitutional rights and puts children’s interests first.”In September 2022, the ODHS denied Bates’ application because she would not comply with a state policy that requires applicants to agree they will “respect, accept and support the … sexual orientation, gender identity [and] gender expression … of a child or young adult” who is placed in the home, which ADF has characterized as a “gender ideology mandate.”Bates sued ODHS in March 2023, arguing that the policy violated her First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion. The lawsuit stated she told the certification officer she would love any child as her own but would not facilitate a child’s gender transition through hormone therapy, use pronouns inconsistent with a child’s biological sex, or encourage gender expression inconsistent with the child’s biological sex or same-sex attraction.A federal district court initially ruled in favor of ODHS in December 2023, but an appellate panel of judges ruled in July 2025 that ODHS likely violated her constitutional rights and blocked the department from enforcing the rules against her while the lawsuit continued.Legal settlementPer the legal agreement, ODHS will allow Bates to apply for a certification and will not consider her religious views in any way.It states ODHS will not deny the application “because of her religious beliefs that sexual activity should occur only within the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman, and a person should identify and seek to live consistent with his or her biological sex.”The settlement adds that this extends to her “desire to respectfully speak about, live out, parent, and make day-to-day caregiving decisions consistent with these sincerely held religious beliefs.”Under the agreement, ODHS also cannot require her to “agree to use prescribed words or language, including chosen pronouns, to express views about sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression inconsistent with her religious beliefs described above as a condition of certification.”“[The] ODHS may not enforce any per se standard, rule, or policy that precludes Bates from being considered for any particular placement, based in whole or in part based on her religious belief,” the settlement agreement states.It further prohibits ODHS from disqualifying Bates from consideration for any particular child placement based on her religious beliefs.Yet, the settlement does not prevent ODHS from “deciding a child’s placement based on its individualized consideration of the child’s needs and of a foster parent’s concerns or limitations (including where religiously motivated) on their ability or willingness to meet the child’s specific needs, including with regard to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.”The Oregon attorney general’s office referred EWTN News to the Oregon Department of Human Services for comment. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
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Oregon officials back off ‘gender ideology mandate’ for mom seeking to adopt #Catholic Oregon officials have agreed they will not “categorically disqualify” a Christian woman from adopting or fostering children based on her religious beliefs about gender and human sexuality, which settles a three-and-a-half-year legal battle.The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) agreed to a legal settlement with Jessica Bates, who was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). It affirms the department will not consider her religious beliefs when evaluating her application for a certification to adopt children and will not attempt to regulate her speech about gender and sexuality.“Every child deserves a loving home, and children suffer when the government excludes people of faith from foster care because of the state’s own ideological crusade,” ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse said in a statement following the Sept. 9 settlement.“Oregon officials turned Jessica away just because of her common-sense belief that parents should help children become comfortable with who they are instead of pushing them down a path of confusion and medicalization,” he said. “We believe this settlement is a win-win that protects constitutional rights and puts children’s interests first.”In September 2022, the ODHS denied Bates’ application because she would not comply with a state policy that requires applicants to agree they will “respect, accept and support the … sexual orientation, gender identity [and] gender expression … of a child or young adult” who is placed in the home, which ADF has characterized as a “gender ideology mandate.”Bates sued ODHS in March 2023, arguing that the policy violated her First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion. The lawsuit stated she told the certification officer she would love any child as her own but would not facilitate a child’s gender transition through hormone therapy, use pronouns inconsistent with a child’s biological sex, or encourage gender expression inconsistent with the child’s biological sex or same-sex attraction.A federal district court initially ruled in favor of ODHS in December 2023, but an appellate panel of judges ruled in July 2025 that ODHS likely violated her constitutional rights and blocked the department from enforcing the rules against her while the lawsuit continued.Legal settlementPer the legal agreement, ODHS will allow Bates to apply for a certification and will not consider her religious views in any way.It states ODHS will not deny the application “because of her religious beliefs that sexual activity should occur only within the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman, and a person should identify and seek to live consistent with his or her biological sex.”The settlement adds that this extends to her “desire to respectfully speak about, live out, parent, and make day-to-day caregiving decisions consistent with these sincerely held religious beliefs.”Under the agreement, ODHS also cannot require her to “agree to use prescribed words or language, including chosen pronouns, to express views about sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression inconsistent with her religious beliefs described above as a condition of certification.”“[The] ODHS may not enforce any per se standard, rule, or policy that precludes Bates from being considered for any particular placement, based in whole or in part based on her religious belief,” the settlement agreement states.It further prohibits ODHS from disqualifying Bates from consideration for any particular child placement based on her religious beliefs.Yet, the settlement does not prevent ODHS from “deciding a child’s placement based on its individualized consideration of the child’s needs and of a foster parent’s concerns or limitations (including where religiously motivated) on their ability or willingness to meet the child’s specific needs, including with regard to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.”The Oregon attorney general’s office referred EWTN News to the Oregon Department of Human Services for comment. The department did not respond to a request for comment.

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The legal settlement ensures that Jessica Bates’ religious views will not be a factor in determining whether she can adopt children.

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Venezuela: Talks with opposition, oil deal, Delcy Rodríguez in New York, and the Church’s stance #Catholic Sept. 15 marked the start of the second round of negotiations between a Venezuelan opposition delegation and the country’s ruling socialist regime, a process promoted and driven by the U.S. government with an eye toward potential presidential elections in the South American nation.Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation, arrived in Venezuela on Sept. 13 and before national and international media explained that once this weekʼs discussions conclude, the country could expect an announcement regarding the agreements reached.Meanwhile, Jorge Millán, who is also part of the opposition delegation, stated that they would continue “pursuing a Supreme Court of Justice with honorable, independent, and impartial judges capable of providing Venezuela with an upstanding judicial system after so many years. At the end of the cycle [of talks], we will present clear and verifiable objectives.”He also stated that this round of negotiations would also address the status of political parties, political guarantees, and “the dismantling of the repressive apparatus” established by Chavismo (the socialist government established by President Hugo Chávez and continued by President Nicolás Maduro) for over two decades. The state of freedom of expression in Venezuela will also be one of the items on the agenda.“The foundation for achieving a full democracy requires creating the conditions for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. We are laying the groundwork to reach those important areas that will enable all Venezuelans to elect our leaders very soon, with the speed we desire but also allowing for the time this will take,” Millán added.Concerns and proposals from the Catholic ChurchLast week, Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Diego Padrón, together with Bishop Emeritus Ramón Ovidio Pérez Morales, once again spoke out regarding the political and social situation in Venezuela. The prelates had previously raised their voices at the start of negotiations, offering to serve as guarantors of the process.On this occasion, they addressed the state of “indeterminacy, confusion, and uncertainty” prevailing in the country, offering “certain opinions, judgments, and proposals” that seek to “open the way” to help overcome the current crisis and achieve solid institutional stability and the national common good.Following the capture and extradition of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, the prelates noted that “changes have occurred, yet neither the desired and expected change nor a shift toward the structuring and functioning of the country in line with the preamble and fundamental principles of the 1999 Constitution is perceptible.”The cardinals and the bishop cite as examples of this lack of change that there are still political prisoners and a climate of repression as well as a state monopoly on the media and the continued centralization of power. Although these issues have been placed on the negotiating tableʼs agenda, the prelates maintain that these talks “operate within a framework of limited scope and authority.”In this regard, they pointed out that the state is operating on “shaky and legally undefined ground,” while the executive branch is “illegitimate regarding both its origins and its exercise of power.” Consequently, they emphasized the urgent need to call for elections soon.Oil deals with few detailsA few weeks ago, the Trump administration and the Chavista regime signed a massive energy deal granting the United States effective control over approximately one-third of Venezuelan oil, some 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.Beyond the economic aspects, the agreement has sparked particular controversy by including Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López as an intermediary. He has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged corruption, inflated prices in electricity contracts, and money laundering linked to the oil sector.Within Venezuela, Betancourt is singled out as one of the key figures responsible for the serious deterioration of the electrical grid, which has led to daily, hourslong blackouts across the country for years, severely impacting the populationʼs daily lives and even resulting in loss of life due to various causes.While acknowledging they are not experts in the field, Porras, Padrón, and Pérez Morales call for greater transparency in the negotiations and recommend “prudence and a gradual approach regarding commitments.” This, they state, reflects the prevailing sentiment among the Venezuelan people, who are concerned about the fate and use of the “vast sums of money” the state is set to receive.Greater emphasis on the need to call electionsIn light of the foregoing, the cardinals and the bishop underscored the priority of allowing the sovereign people of Venezuela to have a “a defined and clear mandate” regarding the nation’s future, a step that would also offer a sure path toward “encounter, social reconciliation, and peace.”“God has given us this country as a setting in which to build a ‘new society,’ the ideal of the civilization of love. We Venezuelans, through our own efforts and by invoking divine assistance, must keep hope alive and continue working on this compelling task, striving to reap its fruits of peace, freedom, justice, and fraternity,” the prelates stated.Delcy Rodríguez in New York?According to a Sept. 14 Bloomberg report, Venezuelaʼs interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is considering a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place next week.If the trip goes ahead, Rodríguez would be in the same city where Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody. When asked about a possible meeting with the Chavista leader, President Donald Trump simply replied: “Maybe, maybe.”Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that an in-person meeting “probably will happen” if the presence of the interim regimeʼs president is confirmed.Rodríguezʼs presence on U.S. soil would mark a milestone in relations between Washington and Caracas, following more than two decades of tension and discord. Within Venezuela, the growing rapprochement between the U.S. government and the remnants of Chavismo is fueling concern and uncertainty regarding the possibility of real political change.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.
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Venezuela: Talks with opposition, oil deal, Delcy Rodríguez in New York, and the Church’s stance #Catholic Sept. 15 marked the start of the second round of negotiations between a Venezuelan opposition delegation and the country’s ruling socialist regime, a process promoted and driven by the U.S. government with an eye toward potential presidential elections in the South American nation.Dinorah Figuera, who leads the opposition delegation, arrived in Venezuela on Sept. 13 and before national and international media explained that once this weekʼs discussions conclude, the country could expect an announcement regarding the agreements reached.Meanwhile, Jorge Millán, who is also part of the opposition delegation, stated that they would continue “pursuing a Supreme Court of Justice with honorable, independent, and impartial judges capable of providing Venezuela with an upstanding judicial system after so many years. At the end of the cycle [of talks], we will present clear and verifiable objectives.”He also stated that this round of negotiations would also address the status of political parties, political guarantees, and “the dismantling of the repressive apparatus” established by Chavismo (the socialist government established by President Hugo Chávez and continued by President Nicolás Maduro) for over two decades. The state of freedom of expression in Venezuela will also be one of the items on the agenda.“The foundation for achieving a full democracy requires creating the conditions for elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. We are laying the groundwork to reach those important areas that will enable all Venezuelans to elect our leaders very soon, with the speed we desire but also allowing for the time this will take,” Millán added.Concerns and proposals from the Catholic ChurchLast week, Cardinals Baltazar Porras and Diego Padrón, together with Bishop Emeritus Ramón Ovidio Pérez Morales, once again spoke out regarding the political and social situation in Venezuela. The prelates had previously raised their voices at the start of negotiations, offering to serve as guarantors of the process.On this occasion, they addressed the state of “indeterminacy, confusion, and uncertainty” prevailing in the country, offering “certain opinions, judgments, and proposals” that seek to “open the way” to help overcome the current crisis and achieve solid institutional stability and the national common good.Following the capture and extradition of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces on Jan. 3, the prelates noted that “changes have occurred, yet neither the desired and expected change nor a shift toward the structuring and functioning of the country in line with the preamble and fundamental principles of the 1999 Constitution is perceptible.”The cardinals and the bishop cite as examples of this lack of change that there are still political prisoners and a climate of repression as well as a state monopoly on the media and the continued centralization of power. Although these issues have been placed on the negotiating tableʼs agenda, the prelates maintain that these talks “operate within a framework of limited scope and authority.”In this regard, they pointed out that the state is operating on “shaky and legally undefined ground,” while the executive branch is “illegitimate regarding both its origins and its exercise of power.” Consequently, they emphasized the urgent need to call for elections soon.Oil deals with few detailsA few weeks ago, the Trump administration and the Chavista regime signed a massive energy deal granting the United States effective control over approximately one-third of Venezuelan oil, some 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.Beyond the economic aspects, the agreement has sparked particular controversy by including Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López as an intermediary. He has been the subject of several investigations regarding alleged corruption, inflated prices in electricity contracts, and money laundering linked to the oil sector.Within Venezuela, Betancourt is singled out as one of the key figures responsible for the serious deterioration of the electrical grid, which has led to daily, hourslong blackouts across the country for years, severely impacting the populationʼs daily lives and even resulting in loss of life due to various causes.While acknowledging they are not experts in the field, Porras, Padrón, and Pérez Morales call for greater transparency in the negotiations and recommend “prudence and a gradual approach regarding commitments.” This, they state, reflects the prevailing sentiment among the Venezuelan people, who are concerned about the fate and use of the “vast sums of money” the state is set to receive.Greater emphasis on the need to call electionsIn light of the foregoing, the cardinals and the bishop underscored the priority of allowing the sovereign people of Venezuela to have a “a defined and clear mandate” regarding the nation’s future, a step that would also offer a sure path toward “encounter, social reconciliation, and peace.”“God has given us this country as a setting in which to build a ‘new society,’ the ideal of the civilization of love. We Venezuelans, through our own efforts and by invoking divine assistance, must keep hope alive and continue working on this compelling task, striving to reap its fruits of peace, freedom, justice, and fraternity,” the prelates stated.Delcy Rodríguez in New York?According to a Sept. 14 Bloomberg report, Venezuelaʼs interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is considering a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place next week.If the trip goes ahead, Rodríguez would be in the same city where Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody. When asked about a possible meeting with the Chavista leader, President Donald Trump simply replied: “Maybe, maybe.”Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that an in-person meeting “probably will happen” if the presence of the interim regimeʼs president is confirmed.Rodríguezʼs presence on U.S. soil would mark a milestone in relations between Washington and Caracas, following more than two decades of tension and discord. Within Venezuela, the growing rapprochement between the U.S. government and the remnants of Chavismo is fueling concern and uncertainty regarding the possibility of real political change.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.

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Ongoing talks between the socialist regime and the opposition in Venezuela are making some progress while the Church is trying to contribute to the transition to democracy and freedom.

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Cardinal Pizzaballa calls Christians in the Holy Land to make the cross a way of life #Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said the cross is not a sign of defeat or death but an expression of God’s love and the victory of life, urging Christians in the Holy Land to make it a way of life rooted in love and self-giving. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa presides over Mass on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, West Bank, Sept. 13, 2026. | Credit: Emad Diab/ACI MENA Pizzaballa made the remarks while presiding over a Mass on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, a predominantly Christian town in the West Bank.Bishop William Shomali, patriarchal vicar; Father Davide Meli; and Father Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest, concelebrated the Mass.“The cross is our victory, and it is the victory of love,” Pizzaballa said. He added that Christ “chose to enter into the suffering of the cross out of love for us.” The patriarch stressed that Christians are “people of the cross” and that the sign defining their identity should be reflected in the way they live and in their relationships within their families, parishes, and wider communities.“We are called to live according to the logic of the cross,” he said.Pizzaballa noted that Christians do not need to seek out suffering, because they are already surrounded by suffering in many forms. Yet, he said, such experiences can become an opening for God’s presence in their lives.Fawadleh welcomed Pizzaballa to the celebration, telling him: “Your presence today is more than simply taking part in our feast; it is a sign of communion, consolation, and hope.” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa lights the flame at the historic St. George Church, locally known as Al-Khader, Sept. 13, 2026, at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, West Bank. | Credit: Emad Diab/ACI MENA The celebration took place as Taybeh continues to face the repercussions of attacks by Israeli settlers, restrictions on movement and access to essential services (Palestinians living in the West Bank require Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem), declining employment opportunities, and continued emigration — all pressures that have placed additional strain on the town’s residents.Following the Mass, the faithful joined a candlelight procession through the streets of Taybeh to the historic St. George Church, known locally as Al-Khader. There, prayers were offered and pomegranates were blessed and distributed to participants before the traditional feast day flame was lit.This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Cardinal Pizzaballa calls Christians in the Holy Land to make the cross a way of life #Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said the cross is not a sign of defeat or death but an expression of God’s love and the victory of life, urging Christians in the Holy Land to make it a way of life rooted in love and self-giving. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa presides over Mass on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, West Bank, Sept. 13, 2026. | Credit: Emad Diab/ACI MENA Pizzaballa made the remarks while presiding over a Mass on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, a predominantly Christian town in the West Bank.Bishop William Shomali, patriarchal vicar; Father Davide Meli; and Father Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest, concelebrated the Mass.“The cross is our victory, and it is the victory of love,” Pizzaballa said. He added that Christ “chose to enter into the suffering of the cross out of love for us.” The patriarch stressed that Christians are “people of the cross” and that the sign defining their identity should be reflected in the way they live and in their relationships within their families, parishes, and wider communities.“We are called to live according to the logic of the cross,” he said.Pizzaballa noted that Christians do not need to seek out suffering, because they are already surrounded by suffering in many forms. Yet, he said, such experiences can become an opening for God’s presence in their lives.Fawadleh welcomed Pizzaballa to the celebration, telling him: “Your presence today is more than simply taking part in our feast; it is a sign of communion, consolation, and hope.” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa lights the flame at the historic St. George Church, locally known as Al-Khader, Sept. 13, 2026, at Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, West Bank. | Credit: Emad Diab/ACI MENA The celebration took place as Taybeh continues to face the repercussions of attacks by Israeli settlers, restrictions on movement and access to essential services (Palestinians living in the West Bank require Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem), declining employment opportunities, and continued emigration — all pressures that have placed additional strain on the town’s residents.Following the Mass, the faithful joined a candlelight procession through the streets of Taybeh to the historic St. George Church, known locally as Al-Khader. There, prayers were offered and pomegranates were blessed and distributed to participants before the traditional feast day flame was lit.This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The Latin patrarch presided over Mass on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Taybeh, calling on Christians to live the “logic of the cross” through love and self-giving.

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Sainthood cause for Virginia farmer who saved his son moves forward #Catholic The sainthood cause of Tom Vander Woude is moving forward, according to his home diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Vander Woude, a father of seven sons, died saving the life of his youngest son, Joseph, who has Down syndrome.The diocese will begin gathering information — a key initial stage in the Catholic Church’s process of determining sainthood.When Joseph, a teenager at the time, fell into a septic tank, Tom climbed into the tank with him, pushing him up toward the surface, away from the toxic fumes, saving his son’s life. Tom, 66, died on Sept. 8, 2008, in the accident, leaving behind his wife and seven sons. His legacy didn’t end there, however. Because of his self-sacrificial act, a group of Catholics, formally called the Tom Vander Woude Guild, began to advocate for his cause.“His final act of self-sacrificial love was widely regarded as the culmination of a Christian life marked by faith, charity, humility, fortitude, and generous service to others,” read Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge’s edict, also signed by Monsignor Paul deLadurantaye, the chancellor of the diocese.After receiving a formal petition from the cause’s postulator, Waldery Hilgeman, the diocese is asking for all information that could affect the cause to be brought forward. The bishop is also collecting any writings by Vander Woude and any documents about him.“We see in the life and death of Thomas Vander Woude a sincere response to the Christian call to sainthood,” Burbidge said. “As heroic as were the circumstances of Thomas Vander Woude’s death, this husband and father showed in a profound way that sanctity is to be sought first and foremost through personal faithfulness in daily life and to a consistent and sincere yes to God in the circumstances of one’s vocation and responsibilities.”Burbidge spoke about the cause in a podcast on Sept. 10, describing Vander Woude as “a holy, faithful, selfless, sacrificial man who serves as an inspiration for us.”“That’s what saints do,” he continued. “They show us that we, who are ordinary and flawed, can live heroic and holy lives."“When you move forward in this cause, itʼs not just because of that one heroic event, but also the day-to-day faithfulness as a husband, as a father, as a citizen, as a man of God,” Burbidge said. Tom Vander Woude with two of his grandchildren, Michael and Bobby Vander Woude (from left to right). The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is investigating Tom Vander Woude’s cause for sainthood almost two decades after he died saving his son. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild Chris Vander Woude, a son of Tom Vander Woude who is advocating for his cause, expressed his excitement at the progress.“I am grateful to the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Burbidge for taking this step in the investigative process; it is truly exciting and incredibly humbling at the same time,” Chris Vander Woude told EWTN News.“Not a day goes by without missing Dad, but witnessing how his story continues to inspire so many is a consolation,” he said. “I think his commitment to his daily vocation as a husband and father, culminating in his sacrifice for my brother, resonates with all sorts of people — especially parents. We continue to pray that Godʼs will be done in this process.”
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Sainthood cause for Virginia farmer who saved his son moves forward #Catholic The sainthood cause of Tom Vander Woude is moving forward, according to his home diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Vander Woude, a father of seven sons, died saving the life of his youngest son, Joseph, who has Down syndrome.The diocese will begin gathering information — a key initial stage in the Catholic Church’s process of determining sainthood.When Joseph, a teenager at the time, fell into a septic tank, Tom climbed into the tank with him, pushing him up toward the surface, away from the toxic fumes, saving his son’s life. Tom, 66, died on Sept. 8, 2008, in the accident, leaving behind his wife and seven sons. His legacy didn’t end there, however. Because of his self-sacrificial act, a group of Catholics, formally called the Tom Vander Woude Guild, began to advocate for his cause.“His final act of self-sacrificial love was widely regarded as the culmination of a Christian life marked by faith, charity, humility, fortitude, and generous service to others,” read Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge’s edict, also signed by Monsignor Paul deLadurantaye, the chancellor of the diocese.After receiving a formal petition from the cause’s postulator, Waldery Hilgeman, the diocese is asking for all information that could affect the cause to be brought forward. The bishop is also collecting any writings by Vander Woude and any documents about him.“We see in the life and death of Thomas Vander Woude a sincere response to the Christian call to sainthood,” Burbidge said. “As heroic as were the circumstances of Thomas Vander Woude’s death, this husband and father showed in a profound way that sanctity is to be sought first and foremost through personal faithfulness in daily life and to a consistent and sincere yes to God in the circumstances of one’s vocation and responsibilities.”Burbidge spoke about the cause in a podcast on Sept. 10, describing Vander Woude as “a holy, faithful, selfless, sacrificial man who serves as an inspiration for us.”“That’s what saints do,” he continued. “They show us that we, who are ordinary and flawed, can live heroic and holy lives."“When you move forward in this cause, itʼs not just because of that one heroic event, but also the day-to-day faithfulness as a husband, as a father, as a citizen, as a man of God,” Burbidge said. Tom Vander Woude with two of his grandchildren, Michael and Bobby Vander Woude (from left to right). The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is investigating Tom Vander Woude’s cause for sainthood almost two decades after he died saving his son. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Tom Vander Woude Guild Chris Vander Woude, a son of Tom Vander Woude who is advocating for his cause, expressed his excitement at the progress.“I am grateful to the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Burbidge for taking this step in the investigative process; it is truly exciting and incredibly humbling at the same time,” Chris Vander Woude told EWTN News.“Not a day goes by without missing Dad, but witnessing how his story continues to inspire so many is a consolation,” he said. “I think his commitment to his daily vocation as a husband and father, culminating in his sacrifice for my brother, resonates with all sorts of people — especially parents. We continue to pray that Godʼs will be done in this process.”

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The sainthood cause for Tom Vander Woude, a Catholic father of seven who died saving his youngest son, moves to the information gathering stage.

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Catholic professor calls families to reclaim the home in a technological age #Catholic John Cuddeback, a professor of philosophy at Christendom College, says families today don’t often know how to achieve what they desire in their homes and family life. As a remedy, drawing from both ancient and modern thinkers, he has released "The Intentional Household: Living as if People Matter,” a book that outlines eight pillars for reclaiming the home as a place of human flourishing. “Families today are struggling to achieve what they so badly want: to have the kind of relationships we’re made for, beginning in the home, especially between spouses and between parents and children,” Cuddeback said. “They know they want something different, something better, but they feel hamstrung. In a culture that works against them in many ways, they are frustrated because they lack clear vision and examples to pattern themselves after.” “The Intentional Household: Living as if People Matter” by Christendom College professor John Cuddeback. | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/EWTN News Cuddeback, who teaches a course on family and household and is also the author of “True Friendship,” spoke to EWTN News about how he hopes his book conveys that “[a]nyone can choose to be intentional about their household and make real progress with dramatic fruits in the lives of those we love most.” EWTN News: What do you see as the biggest challenge to building and maintaining an intentional home?Cuddebach: It all begins with priorities. As a society we have turned away from the intense focus that our household requires — and this is evident in how we struggle in marriage, raising children, and relating to the elderly. Even many traditionally-minded folks struggle to realize and enact the demanding, even while ordinary, aspects of God’s plan for our homes.Aristotle says that a society tends to produce the kind of people it honors. We do not honor those who prioritize home life — either women or men. This means that many of the structures, practices, and assumptions of our age are at odds with the real good of home life. This is especially evident in our obsession with the latest technologies.This book is a call to all of us to do something radically different and profoundly better — while always recognizing we must be people of our time and place. It calls us to discover that looking first to what our children and our elderly really need is the high road to deeper fulfillment for all of us.How has Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas influenced your thought on how technology should be incorporated in the home?Pope Leo makes clear that we have come to a crisis point. The time is now to be honest, serious, and persistent in examining our use of technology in view of real human flourishing. This must start in the home. No one else is going to do this for us.But as the pope makes clear, right practice must flow from an understanding of who we are and what we’re made for. “The Intentional Household” offers the rich and positive view of daily life in the home that grounds such an examination. It gives the “yes” that strengthens the “nos” we need to say. It gives direction for rising to the challenges of our age, including how to channel technology to true human flourishing.Approaching homelife intentionally — especially attending to the ordinary in good work and true leisure as essential to our relationships — we can take real steps to become those biblical good stewards so honored by the Lord.How does this apply to those across all walks of life, including single people, married couples without children, those who are divorced or separated?The principles of a vibrant home life are both perennial and flexible. Wherever we find ourselves we can discover how the plan that God wrote into human nature is much better than we have realized.Brokenness and suffering today are widespread. God’s plan encompasses these realities. By the grace of God, anyone who is humble and willing to take an intentional approach can affect real, and indeed dramatic change by applying the book’s eight principles. We can all take real steps to make our homes a place of vibrant life, with deep belonging, connection, and presence.One of the thinkers you cite in your book is Wendell Berry. In light of his recent passing can you speak to his influence on your life and thinking?Wendell Berry saw clearly how the loss of activities of work and leisure in the home has led to our experience of disconnection and isolation. Home should be a place of deep connection: between us and loved ones and neighbors, between soul and body, between us and the earth.One of Berry’s pivotal insights is the key role of a certain kind of work in the home. Berry has pointed out that the work of traditional home arts is much more important than we have realized. He argues that as the breakdown of home life came especially through the loss of good work, the renewal will likewise come through a rediscovery of work that connects us to one another as it connects us to our bodies and to the earth, and ultimately to God.Wendell Berry was a prophet of the extraordinary beauty and importance of the ordinary. Making our home an intentional household means rediscovering the power of ordinary things, such as mealtimes with the whole household, shared work in the kitchen and other home arts, and “porch time” and other such leisure times. Attention to these things can transform our marriage, parenting, and other key relationships.
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Catholic professor calls families to reclaim the home in a technological age #Catholic John Cuddeback, a professor of philosophy at Christendom College, says families today don’t often know how to achieve what they desire in their homes and family life. As a remedy, drawing from both ancient and modern thinkers, he has released "The Intentional Household: Living as if People Matter,” a book that outlines eight pillars for reclaiming the home as a place of human flourishing. “Families today are struggling to achieve what they so badly want: to have the kind of relationships we’re made for, beginning in the home, especially between spouses and between parents and children,” Cuddeback said. “They know they want something different, something better, but they feel hamstrung. In a culture that works against them in many ways, they are frustrated because they lack clear vision and examples to pattern themselves after.” “The Intentional Household: Living as if People Matter” by Christendom College professor John Cuddeback. | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/EWTN News Cuddeback, who teaches a course on family and household and is also the author of “True Friendship,” spoke to EWTN News about how he hopes his book conveys that “[a]nyone can choose to be intentional about their household and make real progress with dramatic fruits in the lives of those we love most.” EWTN News: What do you see as the biggest challenge to building and maintaining an intentional home?Cuddebach: It all begins with priorities. As a society we have turned away from the intense focus that our household requires — and this is evident in how we struggle in marriage, raising children, and relating to the elderly. Even many traditionally-minded folks struggle to realize and enact the demanding, even while ordinary, aspects of God’s plan for our homes.Aristotle says that a society tends to produce the kind of people it honors. We do not honor those who prioritize home life — either women or men. This means that many of the structures, practices, and assumptions of our age are at odds with the real good of home life. This is especially evident in our obsession with the latest technologies.This book is a call to all of us to do something radically different and profoundly better — while always recognizing we must be people of our time and place. It calls us to discover that looking first to what our children and our elderly really need is the high road to deeper fulfillment for all of us.How has Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas influenced your thought on how technology should be incorporated in the home?Pope Leo makes clear that we have come to a crisis point. The time is now to be honest, serious, and persistent in examining our use of technology in view of real human flourishing. This must start in the home. No one else is going to do this for us.But as the pope makes clear, right practice must flow from an understanding of who we are and what we’re made for. “The Intentional Household” offers the rich and positive view of daily life in the home that grounds such an examination. It gives the “yes” that strengthens the “nos” we need to say. It gives direction for rising to the challenges of our age, including how to channel technology to true human flourishing.Approaching homelife intentionally — especially attending to the ordinary in good work and true leisure as essential to our relationships — we can take real steps to become those biblical good stewards so honored by the Lord.How does this apply to those across all walks of life, including single people, married couples without children, those who are divorced or separated?The principles of a vibrant home life are both perennial and flexible. Wherever we find ourselves we can discover how the plan that God wrote into human nature is much better than we have realized.Brokenness and suffering today are widespread. God’s plan encompasses these realities. By the grace of God, anyone who is humble and willing to take an intentional approach can affect real, and indeed dramatic change by applying the book’s eight principles. We can all take real steps to make our homes a place of vibrant life, with deep belonging, connection, and presence.One of the thinkers you cite in your book is Wendell Berry. In light of his recent passing can you speak to his influence on your life and thinking?Wendell Berry saw clearly how the loss of activities of work and leisure in the home has led to our experience of disconnection and isolation. Home should be a place of deep connection: between us and loved ones and neighbors, between soul and body, between us and the earth.One of Berry’s pivotal insights is the key role of a certain kind of work in the home. Berry has pointed out that the work of traditional home arts is much more important than we have realized. He argues that as the breakdown of home life came especially through the loss of good work, the renewal will likewise come through a rediscovery of work that connects us to one another as it connects us to our bodies and to the earth, and ultimately to God.Wendell Berry was a prophet of the extraordinary beauty and importance of the ordinary. Making our home an intentional household means rediscovering the power of ordinary things, such as mealtimes with the whole household, shared work in the kitchen and other home arts, and “porch time” and other such leisure times. Attention to these things can transform our marriage, parenting, and other key relationships.

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Christendom College professor John Cuddeback spoke to EWTN News about his new book “The Intentional Household: Living as if People Matter,” and treating our homes as places of human flourishing.

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Pope Leo XIV grants jubilee year for 50th anniversary of new Basilica of Guadalupe #Catholic Pope Leo XIV granted a Guadalupan jubilee year to mark the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and the transfer of the image of the Virgin to the current shrine on Oct. 12, 1976.Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, primate archbishop of Mexico, announced that the grant was issued by the pontiff through the Apostolic Penitentiary.The jubilee year will begin on Oct. 12, 2026, and end on Oct. 12, 2027. Aguiar indicated that this celebration will also coincide with the 131st anniversary of the pontifical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with the Mexican flag. | Credit: David Ramos/ACI Prensa The cardinal invited the faithful to attend the Mass officially marking the start of this “time of jubilee grace,” which will take place on Oct. 12 at noon at the Basilica of Guadalupe.Plenary indulgence during the jubilee yearThe archbishop explained that the plenary indulgence will be granted to the faithful who visit “with devotion and a contrite spirit the aacred house of St. Mary of Guadalupe and participate in a liturgical act or spend time in prayer at the basilica.”To receive it, they must also fulfill the usual conditions established by the Church: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, recitation of the Creed, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.The primate archbishop of Mexico encouraged Catholics to use this period as an opportunity for “spiritual renewal and conversion” under the protection of the Virgin of Guadalupe.“May St. Mary of Guadalupe, mother of the true God through whom we live, help us to make the most of this jubilee and accompany us on this journey of spiritual renewal and conversion,” he said.The ‘new basilica’According to the Nican Mopohua account recording the apparitions of St. Mary of Guadalupe, the Virgin chose St. Juan Diego to convey a request to the first bishop of Mexico, Fray Juan de Zumárraga: the construction of a church “on the plain of Tepeyac.”Following the miraculous appearance on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak), de Zumárraga took the image to his private oratory, but a few days later, he placed it out for the veneration of the Mexican people.By 1695, a simple hermitage had been established; its structure can still be seen today beside the altar of the Old Parish Church of the Indians. The tilma remained there until 1709, when it was moved to what is now called the Expiatory Temple of Christ the King — also known as the Old Basilica of Guadalupe.By the 20th century — as Father Guillermo Schulenburg Prado, the former abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe who championed the construction of the new church, explains in his memoirs — the “inadequacy of the old temple to meet liturgical, pastoral, and administrative needs” was evident. Expiatory Temple of Christ the King, also known as the Old Basilica. | Credit: Diego Grandi/Shutterstock Construction of the new basilica began in 1974, and on Oct. 12, 1976, the image of the Virgin was transferred to its new home.This is how the Guadalupan jubilee year will beginCelebrations will commence on Sunday, Oct. 11. Morning prayer (Lauds) and Mass will be celebrated at 8:30 a.m. local time, while Aguiar will celebrate the Sunday Mass at noon. Vespers for the dedication of the new basilica of Guadalupe will take place at 5 p.m.On Monday, Oct. 12 — the day the jubilee begins — activities will start at 8:30 a.m. with morning prayer and the celebration of Mass.At 11 a.m., a commemorative video regarding the transfer of the image of St. Mary of Guadalupe to the New Basilica and its dedication will be shown.At noon, Aguiar will celebrate the traditional Mass of the roses and the opening of the Holy Door, formally marking the beginning of the Guadalupan jubilee year.The day’s events will continue at 5 p.m. with the archdiocesan rosary; at 6 p.m., a commemorative concert marking the 50th anniversary of the New Basilica will take place; and at 7 p.m., the rosary of Guadalupan love will be held.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.
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Pope Leo XIV grants jubilee year for 50th anniversary of new Basilica of Guadalupe #Catholic Pope Leo XIV granted a Guadalupan jubilee year to mark the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and the transfer of the image of the Virgin to the current shrine on Oct. 12, 1976.Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, primate archbishop of Mexico, announced that the grant was issued by the pontiff through the Apostolic Penitentiary.The jubilee year will begin on Oct. 12, 2026, and end on Oct. 12, 2027. Aguiar indicated that this celebration will also coincide with the 131st anniversary of the pontifical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with the Mexican flag. | Credit: David Ramos/ACI Prensa The cardinal invited the faithful to attend the Mass officially marking the start of this “time of jubilee grace,” which will take place on Oct. 12 at noon at the Basilica of Guadalupe.Plenary indulgence during the jubilee yearThe archbishop explained that the plenary indulgence will be granted to the faithful who visit “with devotion and a contrite spirit the aacred house of St. Mary of Guadalupe and participate in a liturgical act or spend time in prayer at the basilica.”To receive it, they must also fulfill the usual conditions established by the Church: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, recitation of the Creed, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.The primate archbishop of Mexico encouraged Catholics to use this period as an opportunity for “spiritual renewal and conversion” under the protection of the Virgin of Guadalupe.“May St. Mary of Guadalupe, mother of the true God through whom we live, help us to make the most of this jubilee and accompany us on this journey of spiritual renewal and conversion,” he said.The ‘new basilica’According to the Nican Mopohua account recording the apparitions of St. Mary of Guadalupe, the Virgin chose St. Juan Diego to convey a request to the first bishop of Mexico, Fray Juan de Zumárraga: the construction of a church “on the plain of Tepeyac.”Following the miraculous appearance on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak), de Zumárraga took the image to his private oratory, but a few days later, he placed it out for the veneration of the Mexican people.By 1695, a simple hermitage had been established; its structure can still be seen today beside the altar of the Old Parish Church of the Indians. The tilma remained there until 1709, when it was moved to what is now called the Expiatory Temple of Christ the King — also known as the Old Basilica of Guadalupe.By the 20th century — as Father Guillermo Schulenburg Prado, the former abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe who championed the construction of the new church, explains in his memoirs — the “inadequacy of the old temple to meet liturgical, pastoral, and administrative needs” was evident. Expiatory Temple of Christ the King, also known as the Old Basilica. | Credit: Diego Grandi/Shutterstock Construction of the new basilica began in 1974, and on Oct. 12, 1976, the image of the Virgin was transferred to its new home.This is how the Guadalupan jubilee year will beginCelebrations will commence on Sunday, Oct. 11. Morning prayer (Lauds) and Mass will be celebrated at 8:30 a.m. local time, while Aguiar will celebrate the Sunday Mass at noon. Vespers for the dedication of the new basilica of Guadalupe will take place at 5 p.m.On Monday, Oct. 12 — the day the jubilee begins — activities will start at 8:30 a.m. with morning prayer and the celebration of Mass.At 11 a.m., a commemorative video regarding the transfer of the image of St. Mary of Guadalupe to the New Basilica and its dedication will be shown.At noon, Aguiar will celebrate the traditional Mass of the roses and the opening of the Holy Door, formally marking the beginning of the Guadalupan jubilee year.The day’s events will continue at 5 p.m. with the archdiocesan rosary; at 6 p.m., a commemorative concert marking the 50th anniversary of the New Basilica will take place; and at 7 p.m., the rosary of Guadalupan love will be held.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.

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The jubilee year will begin on Oct. 12 and extend until Oct. 12, 2027.

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Controversial ‘Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities’ included at Mass in Brazil #Catholic On Sept. 7, Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil, celebrated Mass as part of a national Cry of the Excluded event. During the Mass, the "Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” (known as CEBs, by their synonym in Portuguese) was read. This creed, developed in 2016, professes belief in “a God/Goddess present in the diverse experiences of the communities: a God who is close, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”Following the distribution of the Eucharist but before the final blessing, the bishop — who chairs the Episcopal Commission for Social-Transformative Action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CEPAST-CNBB, by its Portuguese acronym) — introduced the referenced creed. He called it a “supplication from the youth of Latin America, who stand before God asking him to come to meet us,” and entrusted the creed’s recitation to two young men.“We do not believe in a static, patriarchal, clerical, and hierarchical Church,” stated the text read by the young men at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. “We believe in an inclusive, intergenerational community with a voice of its own. We believe in this Church that struggles, ‘casting its lot with the poor of the earth’ in the face of a dominant capitalist system.”“We believe we are daughters and sons of a ‘Great Homeland’ free from racism and free from rules governing love — embracing all sexual diversity, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, Black people, minorities, and all those at the bottom of the social order.”The Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities is part of a suggested liturgy outline for Masses, worship services, and public gatherings marking the 32nd Cry of the Excluded — a mobilization bringing together pastoral groups, Catholic organizations, and social movements, held annually on Brazil’s Independence Day. CEPAST has called upon dioceses, pastoral groups, and grassroots movements to strengthen this mobilization within their respective jurisdictions this year.In a message released in June regarding the 2026 elections, the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that “the Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or political parties” but affirmed that the Church, “driven by the Gospel and the mission to proclaim it, promotes life and human dignity, and serves the building of the common good.”Elections, the CEB Creed, and prayersDuring the penitential rite, Mass participants asked for forgiveness for “times when we did not take the country’s destiny seriously during elections” and for failing to speak out against “candidacies backed by economic power that will harm the people and potentially even impose authoritarian regimes.”The other parts of the penitential rite address wars, people living on the streets, real estate speculation, housing movements, violence against women, and femicide.During the Prayers of the Faithful, an intention regarding the elections was also included: “For this election season, that we may have the discernment not to vote for anyone who seeks to jeopardize Brazil’s sovereignty or harbors plans for a coup. May we not vote for politicians and parties that wish to turn the public good into an object of profit. Sovereignty is not negotiable.” The assembly’s response was: “Deliver us, Lord, from all those who use politics to betray the Brazilian people!”CEPAST states it did not draft the liturgy guideCEPAST’s communications office told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, that the CNBB commission did not participate in drafting the document. “The ‘Cry of the Excluded’ is a coalition formed by various organizations, and CEPAST did not participate in drafting the liturgy guide,” said Juce Rocha of the commission’s communications team.The National Coordination of the Cry of the Excluded includes among its participants Catholic pastoral groups, organizations, and social movements such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Caritas Brazil, the Workers' Pastoral, the Migrants' Pastoral Service, Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Central of Popular Movements (CMP), and the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE).The national map for this year’s “Cry” documented activities in all regions of the country. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peterʼs Cathedral, where Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa participated in the mobilization. In Santos, São Paulo, the “Cry” was part of the dioceseʼs official agenda and was attended by Bishop Joaquim Giovani Mol Guimarães. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peter’s Cathedral. | Credit: Diocese of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim The same order of service was not followed at all Masses linked to the Cry. At the National Shrine of Aparecida in São Paulo, for instance, the Sept. 7 Mass was celebrated within the context of both the 39th Workers' Pilgrimage and the 32nd Cry of the Excluded. The Mass was celebrated by the archbishop of Aparecida, Mário Antonio da Silva; among the concelebrants was the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, Pará, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission.The Cry was mentioned during the Mass and the homily, but the program used in Brejo was not adopted for the celebration.The Cry of the Excluded first emerged during the evaluation of the second Brazilian Social Week — promoted by the CNBB in 1993 and 1994 — as a way to continue the reflections from that process. The initiative was also inspired by the 1995 Fraternity Campaign, which featured the theme “Fraternity and the Excluded” and the motto “Was it you, Lord?”The first edition took place on Sept. 7, 1995, in 170 locations. In 1996, the CNBB adopted the Cry during its general assembly as part of the Toward the New Millennium Project.Today, the mobilization is led by a National Coordination body comprising the CNBB’s Commission 8, Catholic pastoral groups and organizations, and various social movements and entities — including the CPT, Cáritas Brasileira, the Workers‘ Pastoral, the Migrants’ Pastoral Service, CEBs, the MST, MAB, CMP, and CNTE.According to the event’s organizers, the choice of Sept. 7 is intended to provide a “counterpoint” to the official Independence Day commemoration. The date has also been identified by the event’s organizers as a moment for “political awareness” and the struggle for a “new national and global order.”While the movement’s longtime theme is “Life Comes First!”, the slogan for 2026 is: “In defense of the land, peace, and housing, we raise our voices: Women alive and sovereignty!” National demands include ending the “6×1” (six days of work and one day off) work schedule, ensuring dignified housing, agrarian reform, quality public education, and the defense of the SUS (Unified Health System), as well as combating femicide, racism, and what is termed as “LGBTphobia.”The event’s website states that the choice of Sept. 7 seeks to offer a “counterpoint to the official history of Brazilʼs independence. Contrasting with the civic and military parades that have traditionally marked the day, it calls upon the people — especially the poor and the excluded — to step down from the grandstands, leave passive patriotism behind, and occupy public squares and streets in defense of their rights.”This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Controversial ‘Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities’ included at Mass in Brazil #Catholic On Sept. 7, Bishop José Valdeci Santos Mendes of Brejo, Maranhão, Brazil, celebrated Mass as part of a national Cry of the Excluded event. During the Mass, the "Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” (known as CEBs, by their synonym in Portuguese) was read. This creed, developed in 2016, professes belief in “a God/Goddess present in the diverse experiences of the communities: a God who is close, a liberating and revolutionary God, a God who is a member of the CEBs, who works and struggles just as Jesus of Nazareth did.”Following the distribution of the Eucharist but before the final blessing, the bishop — who chairs the Episcopal Commission for Social-Transformative Action of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CEPAST-CNBB, by its Portuguese acronym) — introduced the referenced creed. He called it a “supplication from the youth of Latin America, who stand before God asking him to come to meet us,” and entrusted the creed’s recitation to two young men.“We do not believe in a static, patriarchal, clerical, and hierarchical Church,” stated the text read by the young men at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. “We believe in an inclusive, intergenerational community with a voice of its own. We believe in this Church that struggles, ‘casting its lot with the poor of the earth’ in the face of a dominant capitalist system.”“We believe we are daughters and sons of a ‘Great Homeland’ free from racism and free from rules governing love — embracing all sexual diversity, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, Black people, minorities, and all those at the bottom of the social order.”The Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities is part of a suggested liturgy outline for Masses, worship services, and public gatherings marking the 32nd Cry of the Excluded — a mobilization bringing together pastoral groups, Catholic organizations, and social movements, held annually on Brazil’s Independence Day. CEPAST has called upon dioceses, pastoral groups, and grassroots movements to strengthen this mobilization within their respective jurisdictions this year.In a message released in June regarding the 2026 elections, the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil) stated that “the Catholic Church does not endorse candidates or political parties” but affirmed that the Church, “driven by the Gospel and the mission to proclaim it, promotes life and human dignity, and serves the building of the common good.”Elections, the CEB Creed, and prayersDuring the penitential rite, Mass participants asked for forgiveness for “times when we did not take the country’s destiny seriously during elections” and for failing to speak out against “candidacies backed by economic power that will harm the people and potentially even impose authoritarian regimes.”The other parts of the penitential rite address wars, people living on the streets, real estate speculation, housing movements, violence against women, and femicide.During the Prayers of the Faithful, an intention regarding the elections was also included: “For this election season, that we may have the discernment not to vote for anyone who seeks to jeopardize Brazil’s sovereignty or harbors plans for a coup. May we not vote for politicians and parties that wish to turn the public good into an object of profit. Sovereignty is not negotiable.” The assembly’s response was: “Deliver us, Lord, from all those who use politics to betray the Brazilian people!”CEPAST states it did not draft the liturgy guideCEPAST’s communications office told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News, that the CNBB commission did not participate in drafting the document. “The ‘Cry of the Excluded’ is a coalition formed by various organizations, and CEPAST did not participate in drafting the liturgy guide,” said Juce Rocha of the commission’s communications team.The National Coordination of the Cry of the Excluded includes among its participants Catholic pastoral groups, organizations, and social movements such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Caritas Brazil, the Workers' Pastoral, the Migrants' Pastoral Service, Base Ecclesial Communities (CEBs), the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Central of Popular Movements (CMP), and the National Confederation of Education Workers (CNTE).The national map for this year’s “Cry” documented activities in all regions of the country. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peterʼs Cathedral, where Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa participated in the mobilization. In Santos, São Paulo, the “Cry” was part of the dioceseʼs official agenda and was attended by Bishop Joaquim Giovani Mol Guimarães. In Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Brazil, a march brought together the faithful, pastoral groups, and representatives of social movements, concluding at St. Peter’s Cathedral. | Credit: Diocese of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim The same order of service was not followed at all Masses linked to the Cry. At the National Shrine of Aparecida in São Paulo, for instance, the Sept. 7 Mass was celebrated within the context of both the 39th Workers' Pilgrimage and the 32nd Cry of the Excluded. The Mass was celebrated by the archbishop of Aparecida, Mário Antonio da Silva; among the concelebrants was the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, Pará, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, president of the Pastoral Land Commission.The Cry was mentioned during the Mass and the homily, but the program used in Brejo was not adopted for the celebration.The Cry of the Excluded first emerged during the evaluation of the second Brazilian Social Week — promoted by the CNBB in 1993 and 1994 — as a way to continue the reflections from that process. The initiative was also inspired by the 1995 Fraternity Campaign, which featured the theme “Fraternity and the Excluded” and the motto “Was it you, Lord?”The first edition took place on Sept. 7, 1995, in 170 locations. In 1996, the CNBB adopted the Cry during its general assembly as part of the Toward the New Millennium Project.Today, the mobilization is led by a National Coordination body comprising the CNBB’s Commission 8, Catholic pastoral groups and organizations, and various social movements and entities — including the CPT, Cáritas Brasileira, the Workers‘ Pastoral, the Migrants’ Pastoral Service, CEBs, the MST, MAB, CMP, and CNTE.According to the event’s organizers, the choice of Sept. 7 is intended to provide a “counterpoint” to the official Independence Day commemoration. The date has also been identified by the event’s organizers as a moment for “political awareness” and the struggle for a “new national and global order.”While the movement’s longtime theme is “Life Comes First!”, the slogan for 2026 is: “In defense of the land, peace, and housing, we raise our voices: Women alive and sovereignty!” National demands include ending the “6×1” (six days of work and one day off) work schedule, ensuring dignified housing, agrarian reform, quality public education, and the defense of the SUS (Unified Health System), as well as combating femicide, racism, and what is termed as “LGBTphobia.”The event’s website states that the choice of Sept. 7 seeks to offer a “counterpoint to the official history of Brazilʼs independence. Contrasting with the civic and military parades that have traditionally marked the day, it calls upon the people — especially the poor and the excluded — to step down from the grandstands, leave passive patriotism behind, and occupy public squares and streets in defense of their rights.”This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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This past Sept. 7, the “Creed of the Ecclesial Base Communities” was included as part of a Mass marking Brazil’s annual “Cry of the Excluded” event.

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Faith on the Hill: Catholic members of Congress share how faith shapes their lives and work #Catholic For many of the 150 Catholics serving in the 119th Congress, faith plays an important role in their lives and work.The current number of Catholic lawmakers on Capitol Hill is slightly higher than the previous Congress, with Catholics accounting for more than 28% of the members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate. Of the Catholic members, 126 serve in the House and 24 in the Senate, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.In this special report, EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic members of Congress about their faith and how they live it in their work.Sen. Eric SchmittSen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, grew up a cradle Catholic and said his parents instilled in him the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ at a young age.“I grew up in St. Louis, which is a very Catholic town and has been referred to as the Rome of the West because per capita, very Catholic,” Schmitt told Rosales.A “conversation back home, it might very easily start … ‘What parish are you at? or ‘What parish did you grow up in?’” Schmitt said.At 17, Schmitt went to a Jesuit retreat house that had a profound impact on him. Later, when his son was born with a rare genetic condition, Schmitt would often return to the Jesuits for prayer.It “was a seed that was planted … when I was confronted with this really kind of difficult situation. I went back there, and it was a profound experience,” he said. “I go back every year. Itʼs a … weekend silent retreat. And that keeps me very rooted.”When working busy days on the Hill, Schmitt said he looks to prayer.“Iʼll listen to a podcast by Bishop [Robert] Barron or Father Michael Schmitz,” he said. “I think technology now too has allowed a different avenue for people to … maintain their faith and grow their faith.”Even “if itʼs five or 10 minutes, it really does help me kind of start the day right,” Schmitt said.Rep. John RutherfordRep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, also spoke about leaning on his faith when working in a hectic position, often by attending Mass and saying the rosary.“In Ephesians 2:10, it says, ‘for we are all Godʼs workmanship, created in the image of Christ Jesus to do good work,’ which he prepared … in advance for us to do,’” Rutherford said. “So heʼs got work out there that heʼs prepared for me to do,” he continued.While Rutherford’s Catholic faith is incorporated into his day-to-day life, he shared that was not always the case. He grew up in the United Methodist Church, but at about 14 years old, “fell away from the church,” he said.After becoming a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida, Rutherford’s perspective on faith changed. Witnessing crimes made him question his own mortality.“So I went back to the Bible, and I read the Bible literally cover to cover, not once but twice,” he said.Rutherford returned to the Methodist Church, while his wife and kids attended Catholic Mass. After reading about the Methodist Churchʼs seven principles, he realized he didnʼt agree with them.“It was a long process, but I finally read a book by Pope John Paul II, ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope,’ and that explained where the authority of the Church is,” Rutherford said. “And how itʼs passed down through the papacy.”After his research, and inspired by the true Church and presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Rutherford entered the Catholic Church.Rep. Mark MessmerRep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, said he has spent his life putting God, family, and community first.It was during his time as a state legislator that a colleague invited Messmer and his wife to attend a Cursillo, a retreat focused on showing Christian laity how to become effective leaders and how to use the Gospel in daily life.“It ignited a passion and a love for Christ, and a love for the Eucharist that I always said I wanted. And then it gives you the tools [for] your prayer life, study life, and evangelization, how to live that out on a daily basis,” he said.Messmer said he stays grounded with daily Mass and his Friday morning prayer group. He and his family also all join together for a weekly group call to catch up and join for “spiritual reinforcement.”Rep. Stephanie BiceRep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma, converted to Catholicism in college after she started going to Mass with her now husband.Bice served six years in the Oklahoma Senate and later ran for U.S. Congress. She joined a number of women who have been elected over the past two cycles.“Not every woman believes that … you should be able to terminate pregnancies up to birth,” Bice said. “So you had a groundswell of women consider running for congressional seats and Senate seats,” she said.While serving on Capitol Hill, Bice said she turns to prayer and the comfort of the Blessed Mother.“I stumbled across a group of staffers that actually pray the rosary on fly-in days in the morning,” she explained. “I said, ‘Hey, can a member come?’ And they were delighted that I would even ask.”One highlight of her congressional career was meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican. The invitation came from Rep. James Langevin, a fellow Catholic and Democrat from Rhode Island.Pope Francis “looked at my husband and I after blessing us both, and he said: ‘Will you pray for me?’ And that was pretty profound,” Bice said.Rep. Robert Onder“Really, my Catholic faith has motivated me my whole life, my whole career, and really motivated in many ways the direction my life has taken,” Rep. Robert Onder, R-Missouri, said.Onder said his faith was present in his work trying to pass a religious liberty bill in the Missouri Senate and through his fight to protect the conscience rights of physicians who are forced to perform abortions.As a medical doctor, Onder detailed the present problem in some states and hospitals, which “want to force physicians to participate in abortions, participate in vitro fertilization or artificial contraception, and, of course, more recently, participate in euthanasia.”Onder said his political service has been motivated by love of God, family, and country. He said he stays rooted in faith by attending daily Mass. He said he also enjoys talking with other lawmakers about their love for Christ.“Speaker [Mike] Johnson is absolutely a brother in the Christian faith and a very, very strong believer,” Onder said. “It does give me a lot hope and a lot of encouragement to serve with other people who really take their faith seriously.”Rep. Riley MooreRep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, said his Catholic faith is “is the most important thing” in his life.“It forms me — every decision I make, everything that I do here on the Hill, it is central to my life. Iʼm always praying to be able to deepen my faith, be a strong family man, and then also my service.”“So itʼs my faith, my family, my service to my state, my country. But faith comes first.”“Canʼt always be easy to discern Godʼs will, particularly in a place that is more about individual will and not Godʼs will,” Moore said. “Iʼm trying to re-center myself towards that. Thatʼs that gravitational pull for me that Iʼm always trying to get back to.”Moore started as a Hill staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, working under the late Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois. One of his priorities is drawing attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Nigeria.While in Nigeria, “I met a woman who had had all five of her children murdered, murdered by Islamic terrorists,” Moore said. “I met another woman who had her two daughters and husband killed right in front of her, and then they killed her unborn child.”“As we know and weʼve heard many times, and itʼs so true that there is salvation through suffering. I think that … their suffering offers us salvation as well by doing something here,” he said.House Majority Whip Tom EmmerMajority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Emmer discussed how his faith was largely inspired by his family, including his father, who attended daily Mass.“The example that they set is, I believe, why I am who I am,” said Emmer, R-Minnesota.Emmer also detailed the trials of his faith, including the loss of his sister Bridget, who died of breast cancer at 38 years old.Emmer said he was angry at the Lord and had doubts about Godʼs will because of his sisterʼs suffering. A conversation with Bridget during her chemotherapy treatment was a pivotal moment for him and his faith.“She looked at me and she said, ‘Tom, would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But Iʼm not going to,’” he explained. His sister added: “I have lived a good life. If God comes and calls me today, so be it.”Emmer said her words brought him away from his own anger with the Lord. Now his message to others is to put God first while living each moment to the fullest.
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Faith on the Hill: Catholic members of Congress share how faith shapes their lives and work #Catholic For many of the 150 Catholics serving in the 119th Congress, faith plays an important role in their lives and work.The current number of Catholic lawmakers on Capitol Hill is slightly higher than the previous Congress, with Catholics accounting for more than 28% of the members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate. Of the Catholic members, 126 serve in the House and 24 in the Senate, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.In this special report, EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic members of Congress about their faith and how they live it in their work.Sen. Eric SchmittSen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, grew up a cradle Catholic and said his parents instilled in him the importance of having a personal relationship with Christ at a young age.“I grew up in St. Louis, which is a very Catholic town and has been referred to as the Rome of the West because per capita, very Catholic,” Schmitt told Rosales.A “conversation back home, it might very easily start … ‘What parish are you at? or ‘What parish did you grow up in?’” Schmitt said.At 17, Schmitt went to a Jesuit retreat house that had a profound impact on him. Later, when his son was born with a rare genetic condition, Schmitt would often return to the Jesuits for prayer.It “was a seed that was planted … when I was confronted with this really kind of difficult situation. I went back there, and it was a profound experience,” he said. “I go back every year. Itʼs a … weekend silent retreat. And that keeps me very rooted.”When working busy days on the Hill, Schmitt said he looks to prayer.“Iʼll listen to a podcast by Bishop [Robert] Barron or Father Michael Schmitz,” he said. “I think technology now too has allowed a different avenue for people to … maintain their faith and grow their faith.”Even “if itʼs five or 10 minutes, it really does help me kind of start the day right,” Schmitt said.Rep. John RutherfordRep. John Rutherford, R-Florida, also spoke about leaning on his faith when working in a hectic position, often by attending Mass and saying the rosary.“In Ephesians 2:10, it says, ‘for we are all Godʼs workmanship, created in the image of Christ Jesus to do good work,’ which he prepared … in advance for us to do,’” Rutherford said. “So heʼs got work out there that heʼs prepared for me to do,” he continued.While Rutherford’s Catholic faith is incorporated into his day-to-day life, he shared that was not always the case. He grew up in the United Methodist Church, but at about 14 years old, “fell away from the church,” he said.After becoming a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida, Rutherford’s perspective on faith changed. Witnessing crimes made him question his own mortality.“So I went back to the Bible, and I read the Bible literally cover to cover, not once but twice,” he said.Rutherford returned to the Methodist Church, while his wife and kids attended Catholic Mass. After reading about the Methodist Churchʼs seven principles, he realized he didnʼt agree with them.“It was a long process, but I finally read a book by Pope John Paul II, ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope,’ and that explained where the authority of the Church is,” Rutherford said. “And how itʼs passed down through the papacy.”After his research, and inspired by the true Church and presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Rutherford entered the Catholic Church.Rep. Mark MessmerRep. Mark Messmer, R-Indiana, said he has spent his life putting God, family, and community first.It was during his time as a state legislator that a colleague invited Messmer and his wife to attend a Cursillo, a retreat focused on showing Christian laity how to become effective leaders and how to use the Gospel in daily life.“It ignited a passion and a love for Christ, and a love for the Eucharist that I always said I wanted. And then it gives you the tools [for] your prayer life, study life, and evangelization, how to live that out on a daily basis,” he said.Messmer said he stays grounded with daily Mass and his Friday morning prayer group. He and his family also all join together for a weekly group call to catch up and join for “spiritual reinforcement.”Rep. Stephanie BiceRep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma, converted to Catholicism in college after she started going to Mass with her now husband.Bice served six years in the Oklahoma Senate and later ran for U.S. Congress. She joined a number of women who have been elected over the past two cycles.“Not every woman believes that … you should be able to terminate pregnancies up to birth,” Bice said. “So you had a groundswell of women consider running for congressional seats and Senate seats,” she said.While serving on Capitol Hill, Bice said she turns to prayer and the comfort of the Blessed Mother.“I stumbled across a group of staffers that actually pray the rosary on fly-in days in the morning,” she explained. “I said, ‘Hey, can a member come?’ And they were delighted that I would even ask.”One highlight of her congressional career was meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican. The invitation came from Rep. James Langevin, a fellow Catholic and Democrat from Rhode Island.Pope Francis “looked at my husband and I after blessing us both, and he said: ‘Will you pray for me?’ And that was pretty profound,” Bice said.Rep. Robert Onder“Really, my Catholic faith has motivated me my whole life, my whole career, and really motivated in many ways the direction my life has taken,” Rep. Robert Onder, R-Missouri, said.Onder said his faith was present in his work trying to pass a religious liberty bill in the Missouri Senate and through his fight to protect the conscience rights of physicians who are forced to perform abortions.As a medical doctor, Onder detailed the present problem in some states and hospitals, which “want to force physicians to participate in abortions, participate in vitro fertilization or artificial contraception, and, of course, more recently, participate in euthanasia.”Onder said his political service has been motivated by love of God, family, and country. He said he stays rooted in faith by attending daily Mass. He said he also enjoys talking with other lawmakers about their love for Christ.“Speaker [Mike] Johnson is absolutely a brother in the Christian faith and a very, very strong believer,” Onder said. “It does give me a lot hope and a lot of encouragement to serve with other people who really take their faith seriously.”Rep. Riley MooreRep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, said his Catholic faith is “is the most important thing” in his life.“It forms me — every decision I make, everything that I do here on the Hill, it is central to my life. Iʼm always praying to be able to deepen my faith, be a strong family man, and then also my service.”“So itʼs my faith, my family, my service to my state, my country. But faith comes first.”“Canʼt always be easy to discern Godʼs will, particularly in a place that is more about individual will and not Godʼs will,” Moore said. “Iʼm trying to re-center myself towards that. Thatʼs that gravitational pull for me that Iʼm always trying to get back to.”Moore started as a Hill staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, working under the late Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Illinois. One of his priorities is drawing attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, especially in Nigeria.While in Nigeria, “I met a woman who had had all five of her children murdered, murdered by Islamic terrorists,” Moore said. “I met another woman who had her two daughters and husband killed right in front of her, and then they killed her unborn child.”“As we know and weʼve heard many times, and itʼs so true that there is salvation through suffering. I think that … their suffering offers us salvation as well by doing something here,” he said.House Majority Whip Tom EmmerMajority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Emmer discussed how his faith was largely inspired by his family, including his father, who attended daily Mass.“The example that they set is, I believe, why I am who I am,” said Emmer, R-Minnesota.Emmer also detailed the trials of his faith, including the loss of his sister Bridget, who died of breast cancer at 38 years old.Emmer said he was angry at the Lord and had doubts about Godʼs will because of his sisterʼs suffering. A conversation with Bridget during her chemotherapy treatment was a pivotal moment for him and his faith.“She looked at me and she said, ‘Tom, would I love to live forever? Absolutely. But Iʼm not going to,’” he explained. His sister added: “I have lived a good life. If God comes and calls me today, so be it.”Emmer said her words brought him away from his own anger with the Lord. Now his message to others is to put God first while living each moment to the fullest.

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EWTN News Capitol Hill correspondent Erik Rosales spoke with various Catholic lawmakers about how their faith intersects with their public service.

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10 lesser-known facts about St. Teresa of Calcutta, 10 years after canonization #Catholic On Sept. 5, Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, popularly known as Mother Teresa, and this year marks 10 years since she was declared a saint by the Catholic Church. The beloved religious sister was known globally for her work among the poorest of poor in India and for founding the Missionaries of Charity.Yet behind the familiar image of the saint there are aspects of her life that may not be as well-known — from her childhood in the Balkans and years as a teacher to her surprising friendships and spiritual struggles.Here are 10 lesser-known facts about the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta as we celebrate her 10 years as a canonized saint:1. She wasn’t born in IndiaMother Teresa was born Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now the capital of North Macedonia. She came from an ethnic Albanian family and was the youngest of five children — two of whom died in infancy.2. She entered religious life at 18At age 12, she felt called to serve the poor and at 18, left home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish order of nuns, with the intention to serve in India. She would never again live with her immediate family.3. She chose the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of LisieuxUpon her arrival at Rathfarnham Abbey in Ireland, she took the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French nun known as the “Little Flower” who was known for her simplicity and doing things in her “Little Way.”4. She was a teacher before she served the poorBefore beginning her work among the poor, Mother Teresa taught in India for nearly two decades. She arrived in Calcutta, India. on Jan. 6, 1929, and after making her first vows in 1931, she was assigned to the Loretto Entally community and taught at St. Mary’s Bengali Medium School for girls. In 1937, Teresa made her final vows as a Loreto nun and then reassumed her duties at the school. In 1944 she became principal of the school.5. She experienced a ‘call within a call’On Sept. 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced what she would refer to as the “call within a call.” Over the following weeks and months, she would receive inspiration from God asking her to establish a religious community that would serve the poorest of the poor.6. She didn’t immediately start the religious orderIn August of 1948, Teresa left the Loreto convent and went to a short medical training with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna. In December of the same year, she returned to Calcutta and stayed temporarily with the Little Sisters of the Poor. During this time, she worked in the slums tending to the sick and dying. On Oct. 7, 1950, the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established.7. She founded branches for men and priests, tooIn order to serve the various physical and spiritual needs of the sick, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963 and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. She also created groups for lay people including Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, which were groups of people who shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, and love for those most in need.8. She received the Nobel Peace Prize — and rejected the traditional banquetWhen Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she asked that the money that would have been spent on the customary banquet instead be given to the poor. She also used her Nobel platform to speak about the dignity of human life and the need for the protection of the unborn.9. She experienced profound spiritual darknessOne of the most surprising aspects of Mother Teresa’s life is that she endured decades of what she described as profound interior darkness. Despite being a woman of deep prayer, her private letters revealed that she sometimes felt distant from God even as she continued serving him.10. Her congregation spread around the worldToday the Missionaries of Charity have 754 homes in 138 countries around the world and a little over 5,000 nuns serving the poorest of the poor.
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10 lesser-known facts about St. Teresa of Calcutta, 10 years after canonization #Catholic On Sept. 5, Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta, popularly known as Mother Teresa, and this year marks 10 years since she was declared a saint by the Catholic Church. The beloved religious sister was known globally for her work among the poorest of poor in India and for founding the Missionaries of Charity.Yet behind the familiar image of the saint there are aspects of her life that may not be as well-known — from her childhood in the Balkans and years as a teacher to her surprising friendships and spiritual struggles.Here are 10 lesser-known facts about the life of St. Teresa of Calcutta as we celebrate her 10 years as a canonized saint:1. She wasn’t born in IndiaMother Teresa was born Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in Skopje, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now the capital of North Macedonia. She came from an ethnic Albanian family and was the youngest of five children — two of whom died in infancy.2. She entered religious life at 18At age 12, she felt called to serve the poor and at 18, left home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish order of nuns, with the intention to serve in India. She would never again live with her immediate family.3. She chose the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of LisieuxUpon her arrival at Rathfarnham Abbey in Ireland, she took the name Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a 19th-century French nun known as the “Little Flower” who was known for her simplicity and doing things in her “Little Way.”4. She was a teacher before she served the poorBefore beginning her work among the poor, Mother Teresa taught in India for nearly two decades. She arrived in Calcutta, India. on Jan. 6, 1929, and after making her first vows in 1931, she was assigned to the Loretto Entally community and taught at St. Mary’s Bengali Medium School for girls. In 1937, Teresa made her final vows as a Loreto nun and then reassumed her duties at the school. In 1944 she became principal of the school.5. She experienced a ‘call within a call’On Sept. 10, 1946, Mother Teresa experienced what she would refer to as the “call within a call.” Over the following weeks and months, she would receive inspiration from God asking her to establish a religious community that would serve the poorest of the poor.6. She didn’t immediately start the religious orderIn August of 1948, Teresa left the Loreto convent and went to a short medical training with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna. In December of the same year, she returned to Calcutta and stayed temporarily with the Little Sisters of the Poor. During this time, she worked in the slums tending to the sick and dying. On Oct. 7, 1950, the congregation of the Missionaries of Charity was officially established.7. She founded branches for men and priests, tooIn order to serve the various physical and spiritual needs of the sick, Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963 and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. She also created groups for lay people including Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, which were groups of people who shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, and love for those most in need.8. She received the Nobel Peace Prize — and rejected the traditional banquetWhen Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she asked that the money that would have been spent on the customary banquet instead be given to the poor. She also used her Nobel platform to speak about the dignity of human life and the need for the protection of the unborn.9. She experienced profound spiritual darknessOne of the most surprising aspects of Mother Teresa’s life is that she endured decades of what she described as profound interior darkness. Despite being a woman of deep prayer, her private letters revealed that she sometimes felt distant from God even as she continued serving him.10. Her congregation spread around the worldToday the Missionaries of Charity have 754 homes in 138 countries around the world and a little over 5,000 nuns serving the poorest of the poor.

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Sept. 5 marks the feast of Mother Teresa and the 10th anniversary of her canonization.

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Guinean youth heading to West African Youth Day encouraged to be missionaries #Catholic CONAKRY, Guinea — The leader of Guinea’s Catholic Archdiocese of Conakry has urged 155 young Catholics from the country sent to represent their peers at the first West African Youth Day in Ghana to embrace the gathering as a missionary experience rather than a tourist trip.The Republic of Guinea is a French-speaking West African nation bordering the Atlantic with a population of about 13.5 million. The Guinean delegation was commissioned at Mass on Sept. 2 at St. Rita Sangoyah Parish of Conakry Archdiocese, ahead of the Sept. 7–11 youth gathering organized by the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa.In his homily, Archbishop François Sylla challenged the young Catholics to recognize their active role in the life and mission of the Church.“You are not merely beneficiaries of pastoral ministry; you are also actors in the mission of the Church,” Sylla said.The archbishop urged the delegates from the five dioceses of Guinea—Conakry, Boké, Kankan, Guéckédou and NʼZérékoré — to return from Accra transformed by their encounter with other young Catholics and ready to become witnesses of peace and hope in their communities.“You will go to Accra as ambassadors of our local Church,” Sylla said, noting that Guinea is currently marking the final phase of the 150th anniversary of evangelization in the country.He encouraged the youth to share with others what they will “see, hear and touch” during the gathering and to translate the experience into concrete service to the Church and society.“Your participation in this ecclesiastical event should not be a tourist journey,” the archbishop said.Instead, he described the encounter as an opportunity for the young people to deepen their faith, grow in conviction, and be educated in values that can foster greater commitment to the Church and society.The first West African Youth Day is being held under the theme “Take courage, young Catholics, actors of peace and hope in West Africa.”The gathering is expected to bring together youth from across the region in what has been described as a historic first for the continent.Sylla urged the delegates to return home sufficiently transformed to become “a stimulant of ecclesiastical and social engagement” for other young people searching for peace.He also challenged the youth. “The Church needs a youth who does not only say, ‘What can the Church do for me?’ But it needs a youth who also asks itself: ‘What can I do for the Church in the next few years? What is my role in the Church?’” he said.According to the archbishop, young people have a particular responsibility in a world increasingly shaped by social media, artificial intelligence, globalization, and rapid social change.He recalled Pope Francis’ appeal to young people in Venice, where the late pontiff emphasized the need for their energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and ability to dream.“The Church must not only speak to the youth today, but must learn to walk with them and to show them responsibility,” Sylla said, adding that “a youth who is responsible becomes a missionary force.”The archbishop described the young delegates as missionaries and encouraged them to see their participation in the youth day as an opportunity to become part of a wider movement of West African youth committed to peace, justice, security and hope.“You are therefore missionaries. The youth is the light of those in a West African country in search of peace, justice, security and hope,” the Catholic archbishop said.He called on the delegates to be witnesses of Christ’s hope and love in their families, communities and nation, while reminding them that they are already missionaries in the present, rather than simply future leaders.“Remind the West African youth that they are not only the leaders of your communities, but already the missionaries of today, in charge of bringing the light of Christ in all sectors of society,” Sylla said.He assured the young pilgrims of his prayers and invoked the protection of the saints as they embarked on their journey to Ghana.“We pray that peace will come and all the saints will accompany you in this pilgrimage,” he said, expressing hope that “the light of Christ will shine on you wherever you are.”This article was first published by ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.
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Guinean youth heading to West African Youth Day encouraged to be missionaries #Catholic CONAKRY, Guinea — The leader of Guinea’s Catholic Archdiocese of Conakry has urged 155 young Catholics from the country sent to represent their peers at the first West African Youth Day in Ghana to embrace the gathering as a missionary experience rather than a tourist trip.The Republic of Guinea is a French-speaking West African nation bordering the Atlantic with a population of about 13.5 million. The Guinean delegation was commissioned at Mass on Sept. 2 at St. Rita Sangoyah Parish of Conakry Archdiocese, ahead of the Sept. 7–11 youth gathering organized by the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa.In his homily, Archbishop François Sylla challenged the young Catholics to recognize their active role in the life and mission of the Church.“You are not merely beneficiaries of pastoral ministry; you are also actors in the mission of the Church,” Sylla said.The archbishop urged the delegates from the five dioceses of Guinea—Conakry, Boké, Kankan, Guéckédou and NʼZérékoré — to return from Accra transformed by their encounter with other young Catholics and ready to become witnesses of peace and hope in their communities.“You will go to Accra as ambassadors of our local Church,” Sylla said, noting that Guinea is currently marking the final phase of the 150th anniversary of evangelization in the country.He encouraged the youth to share with others what they will “see, hear and touch” during the gathering and to translate the experience into concrete service to the Church and society.“Your participation in this ecclesiastical event should not be a tourist journey,” the archbishop said.Instead, he described the encounter as an opportunity for the young people to deepen their faith, grow in conviction, and be educated in values that can foster greater commitment to the Church and society.The first West African Youth Day is being held under the theme “Take courage, young Catholics, actors of peace and hope in West Africa.”The gathering is expected to bring together youth from across the region in what has been described as a historic first for the continent.Sylla urged the delegates to return home sufficiently transformed to become “a stimulant of ecclesiastical and social engagement” for other young people searching for peace.He also challenged the youth. “The Church needs a youth who does not only say, ‘What can the Church do for me?’ But it needs a youth who also asks itself: ‘What can I do for the Church in the next few years? What is my role in the Church?’” he said.According to the archbishop, young people have a particular responsibility in a world increasingly shaped by social media, artificial intelligence, globalization, and rapid social change.He recalled Pope Francis’ appeal to young people in Venice, where the late pontiff emphasized the need for their energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and ability to dream.“The Church must not only speak to the youth today, but must learn to walk with them and to show them responsibility,” Sylla said, adding that “a youth who is responsible becomes a missionary force.”The archbishop described the young delegates as missionaries and encouraged them to see their participation in the youth day as an opportunity to become part of a wider movement of West African youth committed to peace, justice, security and hope.“You are therefore missionaries. The youth is the light of those in a West African country in search of peace, justice, security and hope,” the Catholic archbishop said.He called on the delegates to be witnesses of Christ’s hope and love in their families, communities and nation, while reminding them that they are already missionaries in the present, rather than simply future leaders.“Remind the West African youth that they are not only the leaders of your communities, but already the missionaries of today, in charge of bringing the light of Christ in all sectors of society,” Sylla said.He assured the young pilgrims of his prayers and invoked the protection of the saints as they embarked on their journey to Ghana.“We pray that peace will come and all the saints will accompany you in this pilgrimage,” he said, expressing hope that “the light of Christ will shine on you wherever you are.”This article was first published by ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News English.

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Archbishop François Sylla challenged the youth delegation to see themselves as active members of the Church as they head to the youth celebration in Ghana.

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Cardinal Burke to lead international Rosary Rally in Amsterdam #Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke will preside over Radio Maria’s annual Rosary Rally of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Sept. 5.“Cardinal Burke will be the principal celebrant at Holy Mass in the Church of Our Lady, Keizersgracht 218, Amsterdam. Later that afternoon, he will lead a prayer service and give an inspiring talk at the Vondelpark,” Radio Maria’s website states. The event takes place every year as a fulfillment of the request of Our Lady of Fatima to pray for a spirit of conversion in society. Centenary of first Catholic Mass in Norway celebratedIn celebration of 100 years since the first Catholic Mass in Norway, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim presided over a solemn Mass in Longyearbyen.The Mass took place at Svalbard Church on Aug. 30, and was widely attended by members of the Catholic community, as well as nonprofit organizations and representatives of the Lutheran Church of Norway, according to a Vatican News report on Aug. 31. “For the sake of bringing Jesus’ sacrifice concretely to Svalbard, Bishop Smit came here in 1926 and celebrated the first Catholic Mass on the archipelago,” Varden said during his homily. “In gratitude for the grace God has poured out on Svalbard through a hundred years, we will faithfully take responsibility for that grace.”Scottish sisters to stand trial over historic child abuse chargesIn Scotland, five Sisters of Nazareth nuns aged between 67 and 84 have been indicted to stand trial. They are accused of multiple abuse charges against several children following a preliminary hearing that took place at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.Marie Docherty, 84, Mary Broderick, 83, Margaret McLafferty, 67, Kathleen McLean, 76, and Mary Doyle, 80, were named on an indictment, which contains 108 charges. The indictment includes allegations that children were punched, struck, kicked, force-fed, forced to stand while wearing soiled bedding or clothing. The alleged crimes are said to have taken place mainly at Nazareth House locations in Aberdeen and Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, between 1965 and 1982.The accused have previously entered pleas of not guilty.A further preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2027, and the court has provisionally set aside eight weeks for a trial starting on March 30, 2027, in Glasgow. ‘Safeguarding Sunday’ in Australia to operate under theme ‘Love Protects’Catholics across Australia will observe “Safeguarding Sunday” on Sept. 13 under the theme, “Love Protects” in honor of victims of abuse within the Church.“‘Love Protects’ reminds us that genuine love is demonstrated through action,” Bishop Greg Bennet, chair of the Bishops Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding in Australia, said in a Sept. 4 press release. “Safeguarding is an essential part of our mission and ministry. It calls each of us to be attentive, accountable, and committed to ensuring that every person can participate in the life of the Church safely and with confidence.”New leader for Melkite Catholics in Argentina Lebanese priest Jean Abou Charouche has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to lead the Melkite Greek Catholic community in Argentina as apostolic exarch and has been raised to the rank of bishop, ACI MENA, EWTN News’ Arabic-language sister service, reported on Aug. 31.The Melkite exarchate in Argentina serves about 345,000 faithful.Born near Beirut in 1972, Abou Charouche was ordained a priest in 1998 and has devoted much of his ministry to preparing future priests and religious. He later moved to Argentina, becoming pastor of St. George Cathedral in Córdoba in 2015. Since 2023, he has already been overseeing the countryʼs Melkite Catholic community as apostolic administrator. Pro-life groups protest ‘International Safe Abortion Day’ celebration in BelfastChristian and pro-life groups have called on the Belfast City Council to cancel plans to illuminate the city in observance of “International Safe Abortion Day.”“The strength of this open letter comes from the breadth of organizations standing together. Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, pro-life, pregnancy-support, and Christian community groups have united to send Belfast City Council a clear and respectful message: City Hall is not a billboard for abortion,” Bernadette Smyth, director of the Precious Life, the largest pro-life group in Northern Ireland, said in a press release Sept. 1. The letter came ahead of Belfast City Hall’s 11-3 vote to approve the measure on Sept. 2.Ivory Coast cardinal decries illegal gold mining Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo of the Ivory Coast’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan has denounced the devastating environmental consequences of illegal gold mining, calling for stronger state action to protect the country’s natural resources and its people, ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, reported Sept. 3.In his homily during the Mass of the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the cardinal reflected on the ecological vision of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, warning against the destruction of land and waterways caused by the pursuit of gold.He also challenged what he described as the excessive attachment to money that fuels the exploitation of creation.“Gold that kills is not gold. Illegal gold mining that kills human beings is worse than idolatry. It is beyond words,” Dogbo said, condemning mining activities that “soil the water,” destroy the environment, and transform rivers into “polluted wastelands.”UK government warns against assisted suicide in latest assessmentAn updated assessment from the UK government has found that “poverty, poor care, and abuse” could lead to “disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority people” seeking to end their lives via assisted suicide.The latest assessment, released Aug. 29, comes as the government increased its central estimate of annual assisted deaths from 2,183 to 3,502, according to an Aug. 29 press release from Right To Life UK. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for extensive healthcare reforms to take place before the passage of legislation on assisted dying. “Personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first, and that’s the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” Burnham said on July 29. ”I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.”Patrick J. Passmore contributed to this report.
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Cardinal Burke to lead international Rosary Rally in Amsterdam #Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke will preside over Radio Maria’s annual Rosary Rally of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Sept. 5.“Cardinal Burke will be the principal celebrant at Holy Mass in the Church of Our Lady, Keizersgracht 218, Amsterdam. Later that afternoon, he will lead a prayer service and give an inspiring talk at the Vondelpark,” Radio Maria’s website states. The event takes place every year as a fulfillment of the request of Our Lady of Fatima to pray for a spirit of conversion in society. Centenary of first Catholic Mass in Norway celebratedIn celebration of 100 years since the first Catholic Mass in Norway, Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim presided over a solemn Mass in Longyearbyen.The Mass took place at Svalbard Church on Aug. 30, and was widely attended by members of the Catholic community, as well as nonprofit organizations and representatives of the Lutheran Church of Norway, according to a Vatican News report on Aug. 31. “For the sake of bringing Jesus’ sacrifice concretely to Svalbard, Bishop Smit came here in 1926 and celebrated the first Catholic Mass on the archipelago,” Varden said during his homily. “In gratitude for the grace God has poured out on Svalbard through a hundred years, we will faithfully take responsibility for that grace.”Scottish sisters to stand trial over historic child abuse chargesIn Scotland, five Sisters of Nazareth nuns aged between 67 and 84 have been indicted to stand trial. They are accused of multiple abuse charges against several children following a preliminary hearing that took place at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.Marie Docherty, 84, Mary Broderick, 83, Margaret McLafferty, 67, Kathleen McLean, 76, and Mary Doyle, 80, were named on an indictment, which contains 108 charges. The indictment includes allegations that children were punched, struck, kicked, force-fed, forced to stand while wearing soiled bedding or clothing. The alleged crimes are said to have taken place mainly at Nazareth House locations in Aberdeen and Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, between 1965 and 1982.The accused have previously entered pleas of not guilty.A further preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2027, and the court has provisionally set aside eight weeks for a trial starting on March 30, 2027, in Glasgow. ‘Safeguarding Sunday’ in Australia to operate under theme ‘Love Protects’Catholics across Australia will observe “Safeguarding Sunday” on Sept. 13 under the theme, “Love Protects” in honor of victims of abuse within the Church.“‘Love Protects’ reminds us that genuine love is demonstrated through action,” Bishop Greg Bennet, chair of the Bishops Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding in Australia, said in a Sept. 4 press release. “Safeguarding is an essential part of our mission and ministry. It calls each of us to be attentive, accountable, and committed to ensuring that every person can participate in the life of the Church safely and with confidence.”New leader for Melkite Catholics in Argentina Lebanese priest Jean Abou Charouche has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV to lead the Melkite Greek Catholic community in Argentina as apostolic exarch and has been raised to the rank of bishop, ACI MENA, EWTN News’ Arabic-language sister service, reported on Aug. 31.The Melkite exarchate in Argentina serves about 345,000 faithful.Born near Beirut in 1972, Abou Charouche was ordained a priest in 1998 and has devoted much of his ministry to preparing future priests and religious. He later moved to Argentina, becoming pastor of St. George Cathedral in Córdoba in 2015. Since 2023, he has already been overseeing the countryʼs Melkite Catholic community as apostolic administrator. Pro-life groups protest ‘International Safe Abortion Day’ celebration in BelfastChristian and pro-life groups have called on the Belfast City Council to cancel plans to illuminate the city in observance of “International Safe Abortion Day.”“The strength of this open letter comes from the breadth of organizations standing together. Catholic, Protestant, evangelical, pro-life, pregnancy-support, and Christian community groups have united to send Belfast City Council a clear and respectful message: City Hall is not a billboard for abortion,” Bernadette Smyth, director of the Precious Life, the largest pro-life group in Northern Ireland, said in a press release Sept. 1. The letter came ahead of Belfast City Hall’s 11-3 vote to approve the measure on Sept. 2.Ivory Coast cardinal decries illegal gold mining Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo of the Ivory Coast’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan has denounced the devastating environmental consequences of illegal gold mining, calling for stronger state action to protect the country’s natural resources and its people, ACI Africa, EWTN News’ sister service in Africa, reported Sept. 3.In his homily during the Mass of the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the cardinal reflected on the ecological vision of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’, warning against the destruction of land and waterways caused by the pursuit of gold.He also challenged what he described as the excessive attachment to money that fuels the exploitation of creation.“Gold that kills is not gold. Illegal gold mining that kills human beings is worse than idolatry. It is beyond words,” Dogbo said, condemning mining activities that “soil the water,” destroy the environment, and transform rivers into “polluted wastelands.”UK government warns against assisted suicide in latest assessmentAn updated assessment from the UK government has found that “poverty, poor care, and abuse” could lead to “disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority people” seeking to end their lives via assisted suicide.The latest assessment, released Aug. 29, comes as the government increased its central estimate of annual assisted deaths from 2,183 to 3,502, according to an Aug. 29 press release from Right To Life UK. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for extensive healthcare reforms to take place before the passage of legislation on assisted dying. “Personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first, and that’s the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” Burnham said on July 29. ”I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.”Patrick J. Passmore contributed to this report.

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Catholic cardinal presides over Rosary Rally in Holland, Norway celebrates 100 years since first Mass, Scottish sisters to stand trial for abuse, and more in this week’s world news round up.

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Hope for broken marriages: One couple’s story #Catholic On April 7, 2009, Mariela Villanueva landed in Venezuela convinced that she was going to end her marriage. Five years had passed since her husband, Harold Figueras, had left his family in Peru and rebuilt his life in another country. She carried with her the pain of a long separation and the resolve to sign the divorce papers. He had with him a written list of all the grievances he intended to unleash the moment he saw her.Nothing happened the way either of them had imagined.They arranged to meet on a Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy, at the very spot where they had courted years before. When Mariela appeared, Harold frantically searched for the sheet of paper containing his complaints. It had vanished.“I was expecting a war. She opened her arms to embrace me, and I realized that I was the only one who wanted to fight,” Harold recalled in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. Mariela said she made that gesture because she had already begun a process of conversion and was holding onto one last hope.That embrace did not immediately restore the marriage, however. It would still be nearly a month before he ended the other relationship he was in and decided to return to his family. But on that day, they both attest, Jesus won the first great battle. Harold and Mariela in front of Lima Cathedral. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva A marriage marked by woundednessHarold and Mariela met in 1998 at the Venezuelan College of Engineers. He worked in systems; she was a young lawyer running a legal consultation firm with dozens of professionals under her supervision.While Mariela had grown up in a Catholic family and frequently prayed the rosary, Harold was completely indifferent to the faith.“I used to make fun of priests. For me, getting married in the Church was simply a matter of fulfilling a social formality,” he admitted.They were married in a civil ceremony and on Sept. 2, 2000, received the sacrament at marriage at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Barranco, Peru. However, they acknowledged that they came to the altar without truly understanding the meaning of the vocation of marriage.“We began our life together without God at the center. That was the first major mistake,” Harold explained.Over the years, deep-seated wounds began to surface: abandonment, loneliness, pride, an inability to communicate, and unrealistic expectations about love. Venezuela’s economic crisis further aggravated the situation. Harold traveled constantly between the two countries until, one day, he simply stopped coming back.Mariela was left alone in Lima with her young daughter. Recent photo of Harold and Mariela with their three daughters in Lima, Peru. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva ‘Mom, teach me to pray’Paradoxically, the restoration did not begin when Harold changed. It began when Mariela got down on her knees.Estranged from the Church and filled with resentment, the young mother had abandoned the practice of her faith after being hurt by a bad experience at a parish. Everything changed thanks to an unexpected request from her 7-year-old daughter: “Mom, grandma says you know how to pray. Teach me the rosary.”Mariela agreed, more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. Shortly after that, her daughter insisted on making her first Communion and said something that pierced her mother’s heart: “You know what it’s like to have Jesus in your heart… so why don’t you [go to Communion]?”Those words led Mariela back to the confessional.From then on, she began a routine that would change her life: daily Mass before work, Eucharistic adoration at midday, and the rosary every night with her daughter.“I was looking for God to change my husband. The Lord ended up changing me,” she related. Harold and Mariela with members of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva ‘Look at me’During Eucharistic adoration, an experience occurred that would, years later, give its name to the retreat the couple now leads as part of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.”Mariela was praying, seeing herself as the victim in her story: “Lord, look at me. Look at how good I am. Look at what he did to me.”Then, she raised her eyes toward the monstrance.“I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw Jesus, wounded and bloodied. And he said to me only: ‘Look at me.’”In that moment, she experienced a personal encounter with Jesus. She began to recall her own sins from childhood and realized that, for years, she had been unable to recognize her own wounds.“I realized that God wasn’t going to ask me about Harold’s sins. He was going to ask me how much I loved my husband within the sacrament.”Her prayer changed completely, and she no longer asked for Harold to return. She only prayed: “Lord, bring him back to you.” Mariela Villanueva. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mariela Villanueva The hell of the occultWhile Mariela was deepening her prayer life, Harold was heading down a completely opposite path.Seeking better financial prospects, he began consulting tarot cards. Next came syncretist Santería practices, and finally Palería, a witchcraft practice involving human remains and animal sacrifices.“I entered a dark room containing skeletal remains. I felt an indescribable fear, yet I kept looking for answers where they weren’t to be found,” Harold recalled.Amid that emptiness, he began to notice something strange. Mariela kept calling him, but no longer to get him back. One afternoon, in a mocking tone, he asked her: “What’s wrong? Don’t you need me anymore?”Her answer baffled him.“No. Whatʼs going on is that I have someone here who loves me.”Harold thought she had another romantic partner, but today he knows his wife was speaking of Christ himself. Harold Figueras. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras Welcomed back with loveAfter that encounter with his wife in Venezuela, Harold eventually returned to Peru.He admitted he was terrified of facing Mariela’s family and above all, their daughter. He imagined reproaches, humiliation, and rejection. Yet, he found exactly the opposite.“They all hugged me as if I had just stepped out to buy bread,” he recounted.A few days later, he accompanied Mariela to the Oblate Fathers’ church in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. He had no thought of even going inside. He was standing near the doorway when, as he tells it, he felt an inner impulse that led him straight to the confessional.“I told the priest: ‘Father, I’ve been separated from my wife for five years, and I don’t know why I’ve come back.’”The priest invited him to attend a spiritual retreat. It was there that Harold experienced his own conversion.Before the Blessed Sacrament, after resisting for hours, Harold looked up: “I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw two honey-colored eyes that pierced my heart. I began to weep as I never had in my life.”From that moment on, he abandoned the occult and began a journey of faith that continues to this day.An ongoing miracleMore than 15 years have passed since that reconciliation.Harold and Mariela maintain that the true miracle was not simply living together again but discovering that marriage is a daily path to holiness.“Restoring the marriage takes your whole life. It doesn’t stop when the husband returns. It begins there,” Mariela said. Harold and Mariela today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva That experience gave rise to the “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family” movement, an initiative that supports spouses who are separated or on the verge of divorce. The path they propose begins with oneʼs own conversion rather than an attempt to change oneʼs spouse.Those who come to the mission begin with what’s called “Mary’s Workshop,” a preparation for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that focuses on the sacrament of marriage. There, the aim is for each person to acknowledge his or her own wounds and receive the tools to discern how to handle their issues as a family.However, Harold and Mariela noted that not all journeys end the same way. Some married couples manage to reunite, while others go their separate ways, including through the process of a declaration of nullity. What remains, they maintain, is the call to conversion and to seek God’s will.“The Lord wants us to be holy,” Mariela explained. She said that even when a person goes through a process different from what she or he hoped for, suffering can become an opportunity to draw closer to Christ and offer that pain for the holiness of the Church.Today, when they look back, the couple no longer see themselves as the same people who had separated. Mariela describes Harold as a man more committed to knowing Godʼs love and capable of giving of himself to his family.For his part, he acknowledged that the woman he reunited with after five years was no longer the same one he had left behind. The Figueras Villanueva family today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva For this reason, their testimony does not aim to offer a formula for restoring a lost marriage. It is, above all, the story of two people who discovered that, before asking God to change the other person, they had to allow themselves to be transformed by him.“Many people come saying, ‘I want my husband to come back.’ We tell them: First, let Jesus return to the center of your heart,” Harold explained.Their message to couples in crisis stems from that experience: Don’t hide your wounds, don’t let shame defeat you, and don’t confuse restoration with a simple return to the life you had before.For as they discovered that Wednesday afternoon in 2009, some marital battles are not won by defeating the other person but by allowing oneself to be conquered by God’s merciful love.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.
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Hope for broken marriages: One couple’s story #Catholic On April 7, 2009, Mariela Villanueva landed in Venezuela convinced that she was going to end her marriage. Five years had passed since her husband, Harold Figueras, had left his family in Peru and rebuilt his life in another country. She carried with her the pain of a long separation and the resolve to sign the divorce papers. He had with him a written list of all the grievances he intended to unleash the moment he saw her.Nothing happened the way either of them had imagined.They arranged to meet on a Wednesday at 3 p.m., the Hour of Mercy, at the very spot where they had courted years before. When Mariela appeared, Harold frantically searched for the sheet of paper containing his complaints. It had vanished.“I was expecting a war. She opened her arms to embrace me, and I realized that I was the only one who wanted to fight,” Harold recalled in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. Mariela said she made that gesture because she had already begun a process of conversion and was holding onto one last hope.That embrace did not immediately restore the marriage, however. It would still be nearly a month before he ended the other relationship he was in and decided to return to his family. But on that day, they both attest, Jesus won the first great battle. Harold and Mariela in front of Lima Cathedral. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva A marriage marked by woundednessHarold and Mariela met in 1998 at the Venezuelan College of Engineers. He worked in systems; she was a young lawyer running a legal consultation firm with dozens of professionals under her supervision.While Mariela had grown up in a Catholic family and frequently prayed the rosary, Harold was completely indifferent to the faith.“I used to make fun of priests. For me, getting married in the Church was simply a matter of fulfilling a social formality,” he admitted.They were married in a civil ceremony and on Sept. 2, 2000, received the sacrament at marriage at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Barranco, Peru. However, they acknowledged that they came to the altar without truly understanding the meaning of the vocation of marriage.“We began our life together without God at the center. That was the first major mistake,” Harold explained.Over the years, deep-seated wounds began to surface: abandonment, loneliness, pride, an inability to communicate, and unrealistic expectations about love. Venezuela’s economic crisis further aggravated the situation. Harold traveled constantly between the two countries until, one day, he simply stopped coming back.Mariela was left alone in Lima with her young daughter. Recent photo of Harold and Mariela with their three daughters in Lima, Peru. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva ‘Mom, teach me to pray’Paradoxically, the restoration did not begin when Harold changed. It began when Mariela got down on her knees.Estranged from the Church and filled with resentment, the young mother had abandoned the practice of her faith after being hurt by a bad experience at a parish. Everything changed thanks to an unexpected request from her 7-year-old daughter: “Mom, grandma says you know how to pray. Teach me the rosary.”Mariela agreed, more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. Shortly after that, her daughter insisted on making her first Communion and said something that pierced her mother’s heart: “You know what it’s like to have Jesus in your heart… so why don’t you [go to Communion]?”Those words led Mariela back to the confessional.From then on, she began a routine that would change her life: daily Mass before work, Eucharistic adoration at midday, and the rosary every night with her daughter.“I was looking for God to change my husband. The Lord ended up changing me,” she related. Harold and Mariela with members of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva ‘Look at me’During Eucharistic adoration, an experience occurred that would, years later, give its name to the retreat the couple now leads as part of the Peruvian Catholic movement “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family.”Mariela was praying, seeing herself as the victim in her story: “Lord, look at me. Look at how good I am. Look at what he did to me.”Then, she raised her eyes toward the monstrance.“I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw Jesus, wounded and bloodied. And he said to me only: ‘Look at me.’”In that moment, she experienced a personal encounter with Jesus. She began to recall her own sins from childhood and realized that, for years, she had been unable to recognize her own wounds.“I realized that God wasn’t going to ask me about Harold’s sins. He was going to ask me how much I loved my husband within the sacrament.”Her prayer changed completely, and she no longer asked for Harold to return. She only prayed: “Lord, bring him back to you.” Mariela Villanueva. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mariela Villanueva The hell of the occultWhile Mariela was deepening her prayer life, Harold was heading down a completely opposite path.Seeking better financial prospects, he began consulting tarot cards. Next came syncretist Santería practices, and finally Palería, a witchcraft practice involving human remains and animal sacrifices.“I entered a dark room containing skeletal remains. I felt an indescribable fear, yet I kept looking for answers where they weren’t to be found,” Harold recalled.Amid that emptiness, he began to notice something strange. Mariela kept calling him, but no longer to get him back. One afternoon, in a mocking tone, he asked her: “What’s wrong? Don’t you need me anymore?”Her answer baffled him.“No. Whatʼs going on is that I have someone here who loves me.”Harold thought she had another romantic partner, but today he knows his wife was speaking of Christ himself. Harold Figueras. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras Welcomed back with loveAfter that encounter with his wife in Venezuela, Harold eventually returned to Peru.He admitted he was terrified of facing Mariela’s family and above all, their daughter. He imagined reproaches, humiliation, and rejection. Yet, he found exactly the opposite.“They all hugged me as if I had just stepped out to buy bread,” he recounted.A few days later, he accompanied Mariela to the Oblate Fathers’ church in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima. He had no thought of even going inside. He was standing near the doorway when, as he tells it, he felt an inner impulse that led him straight to the confessional.“I told the priest: ‘Father, I’ve been separated from my wife for five years, and I don’t know why I’ve come back.’”The priest invited him to attend a spiritual retreat. It was there that Harold experienced his own conversion.Before the Blessed Sacrament, after resisting for hours, Harold looked up: “I no longer saw the monstrance. I saw two honey-colored eyes that pierced my heart. I began to weep as I never had in my life.”From that moment on, he abandoned the occult and began a journey of faith that continues to this day.An ongoing miracleMore than 15 years have passed since that reconciliation.Harold and Mariela maintain that the true miracle was not simply living together again but discovering that marriage is a daily path to holiness.“Restoring the marriage takes your whole life. It doesn’t stop when the husband returns. It begins there,” Mariela said. Harold and Mariela today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva That experience gave rise to the “Jesus and Mary Are Restoring My Family” movement, an initiative that supports spouses who are separated or on the verge of divorce. The path they propose begins with oneʼs own conversion rather than an attempt to change oneʼs spouse.Those who come to the mission begin with what’s called “Mary’s Workshop,” a preparation for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that focuses on the sacrament of marriage. There, the aim is for each person to acknowledge his or her own wounds and receive the tools to discern how to handle their issues as a family.However, Harold and Mariela noted that not all journeys end the same way. Some married couples manage to reunite, while others go their separate ways, including through the process of a declaration of nullity. What remains, they maintain, is the call to conversion and to seek God’s will.“The Lord wants us to be holy,” Mariela explained. She said that even when a person goes through a process different from what she or he hoped for, suffering can become an opportunity to draw closer to Christ and offer that pain for the holiness of the Church.Today, when they look back, the couple no longer see themselves as the same people who had separated. Mariela describes Harold as a man more committed to knowing Godʼs love and capable of giving of himself to his family.For his part, he acknowledged that the woman he reunited with after five years was no longer the same one he had left behind. The Figueras Villanueva family today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Harold Figueras and Mariela Villanueva For this reason, their testimony does not aim to offer a formula for restoring a lost marriage. It is, above all, the story of two people who discovered that, before asking God to change the other person, they had to allow themselves to be transformed by him.“Many people come saying, ‘I want my husband to come back.’ We tell them: First, let Jesus return to the center of your heart,” Harold explained.Their message to couples in crisis stems from that experience: Don’t hide your wounds, don’t let shame defeat you, and don’t confuse restoration with a simple return to the life you had before.For as they discovered that Wednesday afternoon in 2009, some marital battles are not won by defeating the other person but by allowing oneself to be conquered by God’s merciful love.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.

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Starting out their marriage without God at the center, the couple became estranged and the husband left, but things began to change when their daughter asked her mom, “Teach me to pray.”

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How the movie ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ inspired a camp for Catholic fathers and sons #Catholic Inspired by the movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” a D.C.-based youth ministry is using a weekendlong camp to build mentors and strengthen the bonds between Catholic fathers and their sons.The annual “Top Gun Father and Son” camping event welcomes dads and sons for a mission to grow closer, strengthen their relationships through challenges and reflections, and partake in faith-filled adventures.Encounters, Convictions, and Your Decisions (ECYD), an international Catholic association of adolescents with the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, hosts the annual weekend at Camp Castleton in Virginia for boys in fifth to eighth grade and their fathers.The event is only one of the fruits of ECYD, which also carries out other youth clubs, camps, leadership trainings, and gatherings.Father Vito Crincoli, LC, the director of the ECYD Leadership Training program in D.C., told EWTN News the ECYD ministry is “based on the spirituality of Jesus calling you to be his friend.”“Itʼs an international movement,” he said. “In Washington, D.C., in particular, weʼve been putting a lot of emphasis on forming dads to be mentors for our clubs.”“One is because we donʼt have as many priests as we would like to run the youth ministry. But also, above all, we want to create vibrant apostles, vibrant laypeople, to run youth work. And because men really want to be mentors.”“Weʼve noticed in these past years of our ministry that thereʼs been such a desire for the men to want to be involved. And we saw that precisely through the father-son weekends we do. It awakens something in them.”Men “want to do more,” Crincoli said. “They want to give more.” A father and his son at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli Finding unexpected inspiration from filmWhile the camp grew out of the desire to minister to Catholic men, it was ultimately a fictional adventure film about U.S. Navy aviators that set the idea into motion.After noticing a “father and son tone” in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Crincoli was inspired to bring together families for the event, which now welcomes anywhere from 20 to 40 fathers and sons.Crincoli was inspired by the relationship between the film’s characters Pete Mitchell and Bradley Bradshaw, better known by their call signs “Maverick” and “Rooster.”While the two Top Gun pilots are not related, Crincoli noticed a bond between them that is unique to a father and his son.In the movie, “Maverick is trying to be the best dad he could be for Rooster. Experiencing his own limitations, but also just trying,” Crincoli explained. “And then Rooster is looking for the type of dad he wants: ‘I need a role model in my life. Someone who can guide me.’”“Weʼre really trying to tell the dads: ‘Be a dad as a mission.’ Itʼs a mission of love. The whole idea of Top Gun Father and Son is that you and your son are a team. Youʼre preparing your son for life.”“Thatʼs what Maverick was doing with Rooster. He was preparing him for battle.”Top Gun Father and SonWhile at the camp, the group has previously been joined by members of the U.S. Naval Academy, including a Catholic former Top Gun pilot who “gave a talk to the dads about learning to fly with your kids — learning to fly with them through life.” Retired Top Gun pilot Lt. Adam Farber speaks to participants at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event held at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli A pivotal part is the “moment where the dads earn their wings,” he said. “We had somebody donate real Navy wings to us.”“Itʼs a ceremony. Weʼll have the wings on the table, the flag, the dads line up and then … the dads become ‘Top Gun dads’” and “they get their wings.” It “begins the mission of the weekend.”To help the participants live out the mission, the dads have “a training camp,” Crincoli said. “In that training camp we have different activities.”The activities include anything from dodgeball and nighttime “missions” to quiet time in prayer. The weekend includes “different dynamics and different adventures” to create fellowship and teamwork between the fathers and sons.During dodgeball, “itʼs the fathers and sons as teams against each other,” Crincoli explained. “But then, if their son gets hit with the ball, the dad has to go and rescue his son.”“Thereʼs even a night mission that the son and the dad have to do together. There was one year that we did a mission where the dads and kids had to crack codes and to find the missing pilot. But they have to do it together — the son and dad.”The event also includes father and sons giving each other their own call signs and explaining why they chose them for each other. Itʼs a “dynamic of ‘How well do you know your son, and how well does your son know you?’” Father Vito Crincoli and Top Gun Father and Son weekend participants hold the Encounters, Convictions, and Your Decisions flag at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli Along with the mission-center games, the group most importantly spends time in prayer throughout the weekend.The “most beautiful” part of the event is when “we have the adoration — father-son adoration together,” Crincoli said. “The dad and his kid, they both come up to receive the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. Itʼs a very intimate moment.”“Then we have the finishing Mass. And after the Mass, the dads and the kids are together,” and “itʼs the award ceremony.”Then, “the dads give their wings to their sons” and “as theyʼre pinning the wings to their son, theyʼre praying over their kids. Theyʼre blessing them. Theyʼre encouraging them.” A father blesses his son at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli The many ‘lights’ that come from the eventThe last day includes “a debriefing with the dads,” Crincoli said. “We sit down with the dads and we start asking them, ‘What has this weekend been for you?’”“The dads begin to express different comments,” Crincoli said. He further reflected on some of the past insights he has heard from fathers.  “The men say, ‘It is great to be with men that believe what I believe.’”“Another, he goes, ‘Itʼs beautiful, itʼs great, to be with men who are strongly Catholic, who are bonded by their sons, and that we could be a community.’ One of the dads said, ‘I really want to be a mentor in this because … this is an extension of my fatherhood.’”After the weekend, “they come back,” Crincoli said. They come back as mentors for ECYD clubs or take part in its other camps.“There are so many different lights that come from this,” he said.The next annual Top Gun Father and Son will be held the weekend of Oct. 17–18. It will include the presence of members of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former Navy Seabee chief who will support the weekend with leadership and inspiration.
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How the movie ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ inspired a camp for Catholic fathers and sons #Catholic Inspired by the movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” a D.C.-based youth ministry is using a weekendlong camp to build mentors and strengthen the bonds between Catholic fathers and their sons.The annual “Top Gun Father and Son” camping event welcomes dads and sons for a mission to grow closer, strengthen their relationships through challenges and reflections, and partake in faith-filled adventures.Encounters, Convictions, and Your Decisions (ECYD), an international Catholic association of adolescents with the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, hosts the annual weekend at Camp Castleton in Virginia for boys in fifth to eighth grade and their fathers.The event is only one of the fruits of ECYD, which also carries out other youth clubs, camps, leadership trainings, and gatherings.Father Vito Crincoli, LC, the director of the ECYD Leadership Training program in D.C., told EWTN News the ECYD ministry is “based on the spirituality of Jesus calling you to be his friend.”“Itʼs an international movement,” he said. “In Washington, D.C., in particular, weʼve been putting a lot of emphasis on forming dads to be mentors for our clubs.”“One is because we donʼt have as many priests as we would like to run the youth ministry. But also, above all, we want to create vibrant apostles, vibrant laypeople, to run youth work. And because men really want to be mentors.”“Weʼve noticed in these past years of our ministry that thereʼs been such a desire for the men to want to be involved. And we saw that precisely through the father-son weekends we do. It awakens something in them.”Men “want to do more,” Crincoli said. “They want to give more.” A father and his son at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli Finding unexpected inspiration from filmWhile the camp grew out of the desire to minister to Catholic men, it was ultimately a fictional adventure film about U.S. Navy aviators that set the idea into motion.After noticing a “father and son tone” in the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Crincoli was inspired to bring together families for the event, which now welcomes anywhere from 20 to 40 fathers and sons.Crincoli was inspired by the relationship between the film’s characters Pete Mitchell and Bradley Bradshaw, better known by their call signs “Maverick” and “Rooster.”While the two Top Gun pilots are not related, Crincoli noticed a bond between them that is unique to a father and his son.In the movie, “Maverick is trying to be the best dad he could be for Rooster. Experiencing his own limitations, but also just trying,” Crincoli explained. “And then Rooster is looking for the type of dad he wants: ‘I need a role model in my life. Someone who can guide me.’”“Weʼre really trying to tell the dads: ‘Be a dad as a mission.’ Itʼs a mission of love. The whole idea of Top Gun Father and Son is that you and your son are a team. Youʼre preparing your son for life.”“Thatʼs what Maverick was doing with Rooster. He was preparing him for battle.”Top Gun Father and SonWhile at the camp, the group has previously been joined by members of the U.S. Naval Academy, including a Catholic former Top Gun pilot who “gave a talk to the dads about learning to fly with your kids — learning to fly with them through life.” Retired Top Gun pilot Lt. Adam Farber speaks to participants at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event held at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli A pivotal part is the “moment where the dads earn their wings,” he said. “We had somebody donate real Navy wings to us.”“Itʼs a ceremony. Weʼll have the wings on the table, the flag, the dads line up and then … the dads become ‘Top Gun dads’” and “they get their wings.” It “begins the mission of the weekend.”To help the participants live out the mission, the dads have “a training camp,” Crincoli said. “In that training camp we have different activities.”The activities include anything from dodgeball and nighttime “missions” to quiet time in prayer. The weekend includes “different dynamics and different adventures” to create fellowship and teamwork between the fathers and sons.During dodgeball, “itʼs the fathers and sons as teams against each other,” Crincoli explained. “But then, if their son gets hit with the ball, the dad has to go and rescue his son.”“Thereʼs even a night mission that the son and the dad have to do together. There was one year that we did a mission where the dads and kids had to crack codes and to find the missing pilot. But they have to do it together — the son and dad.”The event also includes father and sons giving each other their own call signs and explaining why they chose them for each other. Itʼs a “dynamic of ‘How well do you know your son, and how well does your son know you?’” Father Vito Crincoli and Top Gun Father and Son weekend participants hold the Encounters, Convictions, and Your Decisions flag at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli Along with the mission-center games, the group most importantly spends time in prayer throughout the weekend.The “most beautiful” part of the event is when “we have the adoration — father-son adoration together,” Crincoli said. “The dad and his kid, they both come up to receive the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament. Itʼs a very intimate moment.”“Then we have the finishing Mass. And after the Mass, the dads and the kids are together,” and “itʼs the award ceremony.”Then, “the dads give their wings to their sons” and “as theyʼre pinning the wings to their son, theyʼre praying over their kids. Theyʼre blessing them. Theyʼre encouraging them.” A father blesses his son at the 2024 Top Gun Father and Son weekend event at Camp Castleton in Virginia. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Vito Crincoli The many ‘lights’ that come from the eventThe last day includes “a debriefing with the dads,” Crincoli said. “We sit down with the dads and we start asking them, ‘What has this weekend been for you?’”“The dads begin to express different comments,” Crincoli said. He further reflected on some of the past insights he has heard from fathers.  “The men say, ‘It is great to be with men that believe what I believe.’”“Another, he goes, ‘Itʼs beautiful, itʼs great, to be with men who are strongly Catholic, who are bonded by their sons, and that we could be a community.’ One of the dads said, ‘I really want to be a mentor in this because … this is an extension of my fatherhood.’”After the weekend, “they come back,” Crincoli said. They come back as mentors for ECYD clubs or take part in its other camps.“There are so many different lights that come from this,” he said.The next annual Top Gun Father and Son will be held the weekend of Oct. 17–18. It will include the presence of members of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former Navy Seabee chief who will support the weekend with leadership and inspiration.

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The annual camping event welcomes dads and sons for a mission to grow closer, strengthen their relationships through challenges and reflections, and partake in faith-filled adventures.

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Student asks Supreme Court to overturn ruling blocking public aid for religious studies #Catholic Representatives for Liberty University student Bethany Hall have filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a decades-old court decision that has been used to bar Catholic institutions from receiving state funds.The National Legal Foundation, Claybrook LLC, Troutman Pepper Locke, First Liberty Institute, and Alliance Defending Freedom filed the petition on Aug. 11. The filing follows a May 13 ruling by a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that rejected Hall’s attempt to sue Virginia officials for blocking her from using a ,000 Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant for a youth ministries degree, citing the 2004 Supreme Court decision Locke v. Davey.“It is odious to our Constitution for a state to fund a degree in music but refuse to fund a degree in music & worship,” Steven Fitschen of National Legal Foundation said in a press release announcing the petition. “The Free Exercise clause is meant to encourage and even prefer religion. But Virginia’s decision to deny funding based upon religious use is the type of hostility toward religion rejected by the First Amendment.”Diocese of Scranton reopens St. Pius X Seminary after over 20 yearsSt. Pius X Seminary in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has been reestablished 22 years after its closure in 2004 due to a declining number of vocations to the priesthood.Bishop Joseph Bambera presided over the seminary’s official opening on Aug. 23, welcoming four seminarians to the freshly renovated building that was formerly the Cathedral Convent building, according to a press release from the diocese.“As we re-establish the ministry of Saint Pius X Seminary, what an incredible gift this is,” Bambera said during his homily at the seminary’s first Mass, according to the release. Bambera had been a seminarian at St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton 48 years ago.The release noted that the decision to reestablish the seminary came from Bambera’s wish “to make the first stage of priestly formation more closely connected to the Diocese of Scranton and the people the seminarians may one day serve.”“We are excited because it’s going to give these men, as they start seminary, an opportunity to get to know the Diocese better,” Father Alex Roche, diocesan secretary for clergy formation and rector of St. Pius X Seminary, said in the release. “It’s also going to give the people of the Diocese a chance to get to know our seminarians before they go elsewhere to continue their studies in theology.”Justice Barrett to speak at Benedictine College’s library dedicationSupreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett will deliver a speech at the upcoming dedication of Benedictine College’s Independence Hall-inspired library on Sept. 26.“This is an exciting milestone for Benedictine College,” Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis said in a press release on Aug. 25. “The library will not only demonstrate our commitment to academic excellence and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, but it will also be a symbol of our love for this great country of ours.”“The college is pleased to have Justice Barrett as part of the dedication ceremony,” the press release said, noting that the dedication for the Moritz Library in D’Aniello Hall will be free and open to the public.Barrett earned her bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame.Students revive 1982 robotic arm at Catholic University despite lost documentationA group of students from The Catholic University of America have brought to life a robotic space arm built in 1982 after documentation for the piece of technology has been lost for years.Originally developed by Engineering Dean Emeritus and Ordinary Professor Charles Cuong Nguyen, the arm had been part of a pioneering technological effort to build the International Space Station, according to the university’s press release on Aug. 12.The project to revive the arm, which is capable of a wide range of precise movements within a thousandth of an inch, was carried out by three students, including a high school Da Vinci Scholar, and was led by Nguyen. The students included Saliha Kavafogolu, an undergraduate intern from Yale University; Nathan Arega, a high school Da Vinci Scholar; and Ha (Jessica) Ngo-Tang, a biomedical engineering doctoral candidate.California parents ask Supreme Court to overturn ruling excluding them from state programThree California parents have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to exclude them from a state program over the religious materials they chose to home-school their children.“The Ninth Circuit declared the homes of these parents to be ‘public school programs’ in order to justify the state’s religious discrimination,” Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, said in an Aug. 20 press release. “Parents should not be punished for choosing quality religious curriculum meeting the state’s standard that they teach to their own children in their own home just because it’s religious.”The state of California’s tuition-free charter schools allow parents to home-school their children and have access to state funds to purchase curriculum. However, the press release notes, parents “can’t select a religious curriculum, even if they purchase it with their own funds, and their children’s work samples are rejected if they include religious wording or derive from materials created by religious publishers.”The petition states that “California’s policy singles out parents who wish to give their children a faith-based education and excludes them from homeschooling benefits and support extended to other California families.”
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Student asks Supreme Court to overturn ruling blocking public aid for religious studies #Catholic Representatives for Liberty University student Bethany Hall have filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a decades-old court decision that has been used to bar Catholic institutions from receiving state funds.The National Legal Foundation, Claybrook LLC, Troutman Pepper Locke, First Liberty Institute, and Alliance Defending Freedom filed the petition on Aug. 11. The filing follows a May 13 ruling by a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that rejected Hall’s attempt to sue Virginia officials for blocking her from using a $5,000 Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant for a youth ministries degree, citing the 2004 Supreme Court decision Locke v. Davey.“It is odious to our Constitution for a state to fund a degree in music but refuse to fund a degree in music & worship,” Steven Fitschen of National Legal Foundation said in a press release announcing the petition. “The Free Exercise clause is meant to encourage and even prefer religion. But Virginia’s decision to deny funding based upon religious use is the type of hostility toward religion rejected by the First Amendment.”Diocese of Scranton reopens St. Pius X Seminary after over 20 yearsSt. Pius X Seminary in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has been reestablished 22 years after its closure in 2004 due to a declining number of vocations to the priesthood.Bishop Joseph Bambera presided over the seminary’s official opening on Aug. 23, welcoming four seminarians to the freshly renovated building that was formerly the Cathedral Convent building, according to a press release from the diocese.“As we re-establish the ministry of Saint Pius X Seminary, what an incredible gift this is,” Bambera said during his homily at the seminary’s first Mass, according to the release. Bambera had been a seminarian at St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton 48 years ago.The release noted that the decision to reestablish the seminary came from Bambera’s wish “to make the first stage of priestly formation more closely connected to the Diocese of Scranton and the people the seminarians may one day serve.”“We are excited because it’s going to give these men, as they start seminary, an opportunity to get to know the Diocese better,” Father Alex Roche, diocesan secretary for clergy formation and rector of St. Pius X Seminary, said in the release. “It’s also going to give the people of the Diocese a chance to get to know our seminarians before they go elsewhere to continue their studies in theology.”Justice Barrett to speak at Benedictine College’s library dedicationSupreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett will deliver a speech at the upcoming dedication of Benedictine College’s Independence Hall-inspired library on Sept. 26.“This is an exciting milestone for Benedictine College,” Benedictine College President Stephen D. Minnis said in a press release on Aug. 25. “The library will not only demonstrate our commitment to academic excellence and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, but it will also be a symbol of our love for this great country of ours.”“The college is pleased to have Justice Barrett as part of the dedication ceremony,” the press release said, noting that the dedication for the Moritz Library in D’Aniello Hall will be free and open to the public.Barrett earned her bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame.Students revive 1982 robotic arm at Catholic University despite lost documentationA group of students from The Catholic University of America have brought to life a robotic space arm built in 1982 after documentation for the piece of technology has been lost for years.Originally developed by Engineering Dean Emeritus and Ordinary Professor Charles Cuong Nguyen, the arm had been part of a pioneering technological effort to build the International Space Station, according to the university’s press release on Aug. 12.The project to revive the arm, which is capable of a wide range of precise movements within a thousandth of an inch, was carried out by three students, including a high school Da Vinci Scholar, and was led by Nguyen. The students included Saliha Kavafogolu, an undergraduate intern from Yale University; Nathan Arega, a high school Da Vinci Scholar; and Ha (Jessica) Ngo-Tang, a biomedical engineering doctoral candidate.California parents ask Supreme Court to overturn ruling excluding them from state programThree California parents have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to exclude them from a state program over the religious materials they chose to home-school their children.“The Ninth Circuit declared the homes of these parents to be ‘public school programs’ in order to justify the state’s religious discrimination,” Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, said in an Aug. 20 press release. “Parents should not be punished for choosing quality religious curriculum meeting the state’s standard that they teach to their own children in their own home just because it’s religious.”The state of California’s tuition-free charter schools allow parents to home-school their children and have access to state funds to purchase curriculum. However, the press release notes, parents “can’t select a religious curriculum, even if they purchase it with their own funds, and their children’s work samples are rejected if they include religious wording or derive from materials created by religious publishers.”The petition states that “California’s policy singles out parents who wish to give their children a faith-based education and excludes them from homeschooling benefits and support extended to other California families.”

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A student challenges a 2004 Supreme Court decision, the Diocese of Scranton reopens its seminary, and Benedictine College names a speaker for its library dedication in this week’s education roundup.

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Augustinian priests: St. Monica had ‘great interior strength’ #Catholic Since the fourth century, Christians have revered St. Monica, the mother of Church Father St. Augustine, as a woman of unwavering faith in God.In an interview with EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato, two Augustinian priests living in Rome explained why the woman they refer to as their “grandmother” continues to be a source of hope and inspiration, especially for Catholic wives and mothers.Augustinian Father Angelo Di Berardino, who has worked and lived at the Augustinian International College of Santa Monica in Rome for 50 years, said St. Monica had a great interior strength that influenced all members of her family.“Respecting her husband, she was able to convert him,” Di Berardino told EWTN News. “Then, she was a strong woman to educate her three children, especially Augustine.”“I think she was so strong in her life, in her prayer, that she had a great influence on the great theologian Augustine,” he added.According to Augustinian Father Edward Daleng Daniang, vice regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and former general counsellor and procurator general of the Order of St. Augustine, St. Monica is the saint to turn to for spouses who feel alone in their desire to create a Christian family home.“St. Monica did not have it easy with her husband Patrick,” he said. “She tried to win him with her love, with her patience and endurance and tolerance and, above all, bringing her husband to God through prayer.”Describing the ancient saint as a “living example” of a mother who does not give up on her children, Daniang said those struggling with their children can have hope that their prayers, and tears, are never wasted.“St. Monica was struggling with her son St. Augustine who wandered away from home,” he said. “He left Monica, his mother, to come to Italy in those days and Monica did not give up.”“He left the faith which she tried to transmit to him but she did not give up,” he emphasized.Following her son to Italy, Daniang said her main intention of leaving Africa was not to bring her son back home but to lead her son to Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul.“St. Monica stands as someone who led her husband to God, to Christ, and also brought her son St. Augustine to Christ,” he said.“That’s bringing the unity of family together,” he added.This story was first published on Aug. 27, 2025, and has been updated.
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Augustinian priests: St. Monica had ‘great interior strength’ #Catholic Since the fourth century, Christians have revered St. Monica, the mother of Church Father St. Augustine, as a woman of unwavering faith in God.In an interview with EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato, two Augustinian priests living in Rome explained why the woman they refer to as their “grandmother” continues to be a source of hope and inspiration, especially for Catholic wives and mothers.Augustinian Father Angelo Di Berardino, who has worked and lived at the Augustinian International College of Santa Monica in Rome for 50 years, said St. Monica had a great interior strength that influenced all members of her family.“Respecting her husband, she was able to convert him,” Di Berardino told EWTN News. “Then, she was a strong woman to educate her three children, especially Augustine.”“I think she was so strong in her life, in her prayer, that she had a great influence on the great theologian Augustine,” he added.According to Augustinian Father Edward Daleng Daniang, vice regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and former general counsellor and procurator general of the Order of St. Augustine, St. Monica is the saint to turn to for spouses who feel alone in their desire to create a Christian family home.“St. Monica did not have it easy with her husband Patrick,” he said. “She tried to win him with her love, with her patience and endurance and tolerance and, above all, bringing her husband to God through prayer.”Describing the ancient saint as a “living example” of a mother who does not give up on her children, Daniang said those struggling with their children can have hope that their prayers, and tears, are never wasted.“St. Monica was struggling with her son St. Augustine who wandered away from home,” he said. “He left Monica, his mother, to come to Italy in those days and Monica did not give up.”“He left the faith which she tried to transmit to him but she did not give up,” he emphasized.Following her son to Italy, Daniang said her main intention of leaving Africa was not to bring her son back home but to lead her son to Jesus Christ for the salvation of his soul.“St. Monica stands as someone who led her husband to God, to Christ, and also brought her son St. Augustine to Christ,” he said.“That’s bringing the unity of family together,” he added.This story was first published on Aug. 27, 2025, and has been updated.

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Two Augustinian priests living in Rome explain why the woman they refer to as their “grandmother” continues to be a source of hope and inspiration.

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Pope Leo XIV remembers victims of Ebola and mining disaster in Central Africa #Catholic During his Aug. 23 Angelus address at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV remembered the victims of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and of a deadly mining landslide in the Central African Republic.“In my prayers, I often remember the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in light of the spread of the Ebola epidemic, which is sadly claiming many lives. I encourage on the part of the international community a response that also involves local communities in efforts of prevention, so that many human lives may be saved,” Leo said.The recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was first declared in May 2026, claiming the lives of close to 2,500 people, according to an Aug. 21 BBC report. The country is currently distributing a vaccine against the virus, and public health officials have declared it the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history.On Aug. 18, a landslide at a gold mine near Zamboyé in western Central African Republic buried and killed more than 100 workers, according to an Aug. 19 BBC report. Rescue efforts are ongoing for potential survivors, and Pope Leo prayed for all those who lost their lives in the disaster.“I am also close to the people of the Central African Republic, who are mourning the victims of the collapse at a mine in Zamboyé. May the Lord receive those who have lost their lives and sustain efforts to ensure safety and respect for the law at mining sites,” the pope said.‘Who is Jesus for me?’During his Angelus, Leo also preached on the Gospel of the day, in which Jesus asks his disciples about his identity and Peter’s confesses his faith in Jesus as the Son of God.The pope noted that the question of Jesus’ identity is decisive for one’s everyday experience of discipleship.“The question that is put to us each day — who is Jesus for me, and what does his presence mean in my life? — emerges especially in prayer and when we meditate on the Gospel,” Leo explained. The faithful gathered in St. Peterʼs Square for Pope Leo XIVʼs Angelus address on Aug. 23, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media “In our daily lives, in short, we can discover whether the Lord Jesus is for us merely a great figure of history … or the Christ of God, the One sent to bring us into the love of the Father and to transform our lives and the world in which we live,” the pope added.The pope then encouraged the faithful not to be content with their own convictions about Christ, but to “remain open to an authentic relationship with Christ.”“Yet Jesus calls us to give a personal response, to know him more closely and to allow ourselves to be shaped by friendship with him through an ever new encounter. This may also ask us to follow unfamiliar paths and to make choices different from those we had imagined.”
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Pope Leo XIV remembers victims of Ebola and mining disaster in Central Africa #Catholic During his Aug. 23 Angelus address at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV remembered the victims of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and of a deadly mining landslide in the Central African Republic.“In my prayers, I often remember the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in light of the spread of the Ebola epidemic, which is sadly claiming many lives. I encourage on the part of the international community a response that also involves local communities in efforts of prevention, so that many human lives may be saved,” Leo said.The recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was first declared in May 2026, claiming the lives of close to 2,500 people, according to an Aug. 21 BBC report. The country is currently distributing a vaccine against the virus, and public health officials have declared it the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history.On Aug. 18, a landslide at a gold mine near Zamboyé in western Central African Republic buried and killed more than 100 workers, according to an Aug. 19 BBC report. Rescue efforts are ongoing for potential survivors, and Pope Leo prayed for all those who lost their lives in the disaster.“I am also close to the people of the Central African Republic, who are mourning the victims of the collapse at a mine in Zamboyé. May the Lord receive those who have lost their lives and sustain efforts to ensure safety and respect for the law at mining sites,” the pope said.‘Who is Jesus for me?’During his Angelus, Leo also preached on the Gospel of the day, in which Jesus asks his disciples about his identity and Peter’s confesses his faith in Jesus as the Son of God.The pope noted that the question of Jesus’ identity is decisive for one’s everyday experience of discipleship.“The question that is put to us each day — who is Jesus for me, and what does his presence mean in my life? — emerges especially in prayer and when we meditate on the Gospel,” Leo explained. The faithful gathered in St. Peterʼs Square for Pope Leo XIVʼs Angelus address on Aug. 23, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media “In our daily lives, in short, we can discover whether the Lord Jesus is for us merely a great figure of history … or the Christ of God, the One sent to bring us into the love of the Father and to transform our lives and the world in which we live,” the pope added.The pope then encouraged the faithful not to be content with their own convictions about Christ, but to “remain open to an authentic relationship with Christ.”“Yet Jesus calls us to give a personal response, to know him more closely and to allow ourselves to be shaped by friendship with him through an ever new encounter. This may also ask us to follow unfamiliar paths and to make choices different from those we had imagined.”

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During his Angelus on Aug. 23, the pontiff expressed closeness to the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

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Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another – Romans 13:8
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Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another – Romans 13:8

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Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

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