Pope Leo XIV greets young American Catholics from the Vatican during a digital dialogue held between the Holy Father and participants in the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 / Credit: Vatican Media
CNA Staff, Nov 22, 2025 / 07:56 am (CNA).
The 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference features prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers from Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis. Follow CNA’s live coverage of the event below.
Alessandro Allori, “The Presentation of Mary,” 1598. / Credit: Public domain
National Catholic Register, Nov 21, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
It’s easy to conceptualize the presentation of the Lord because we find it in Scripture. Luke’s Gospel tells of the Holy Family’s journey to the Temple when Jesus was 8 days old. According to Jewish custom, Jesus was to be circumcised and Mary purified.
There Mary and Joseph meet the prophets Anna and Simeon, who recognized the child as the Messiah who would bring about the fall and rise of many and become a sign of contradiction and the cause of a sword that would one day pierce Mary’s heart. We celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord annually on Feb. 2.
The presentation of Mary, however, is not found in Scripture. Instead, we learn about Mary’s presentation from accounts that have come to us from apostolic times. What we know is found mainly in Chapter 7 of the “Protoevangelium of James,” which has been dated by historians before the year A.D. 200.
The “Protoevangelium of James” was ostensibly written by the apostle of the same name. It gives a detailed account in which Mary’s father, Joachim, tells his wife, Anna, that he wishes to bring their daughter to the Temple and consecrate her to God. Anna responds that they should wait until Mary is 3 years old so that she will not need her parents as much.
On the agreed day for Mary to be taken to the Temple, Hebrew virgins accompanied the family with burning lamps. The Temple priest received Mary, kissed her, and blessed her. According to James’ writing, the priest then proclaimed: “The Lord has magnified thy name in all generations. In thee, the Lord will manifest his redemption to the sons of Israel.”
After that, Mary was placed on the third step of the Temple and danced with joy. All the House of Israel loved Mary, and she was nurtured from then on in the Temple while her parents returned to their Nazareth home, glorifying God.
The celebration of the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary grew slowly over the years.
On Nov. 21, 543, Emperor Justinian dedicated a church to Mary in the Temple area of Jerusalem. Many of the early Church Fathers celebrated this feast day, such as St. Germanus and St. John Damascene. In 1373, it was formally celebrated in Avignon, France, and in 1472, Pope Sixtus IV extended it to the universal Church. The Byzantine Church considers Mary’s Presentation one of the 12 great feasts of the liturgical year.
In 1974, Pope Paul VI wrote about this feast in his encyclical Marialis Cultus, saying: “Despite its apocryphal content, it presents lofty and exemplary values and carries on the venerable traditions having their origins in the Eastern Churches.”
The memorial of the Presentation of Mary has been noted in the Church since its early years and yet is easily forgotten or misunderstood.
Since it’s classified as a memorial and not a solemnity or holy day of obligation, it doesn’t draw much attention to itself other than a special opening prayer in the Mass. With this memorial, we celebrate the fact that God chose to dwell in Mary in a unique way. In response, she placed her whole self at his service. By our baptism, God invites us, too, into his service.
But there’s more to celebrating the presentation of Mary.
This feast gives us cause for great joy since Mary is truly our mother, given to us by Christ as he hung dying on the cross. Because we are part of her Son’s body, she loves us with as much devotion and tenderness as she loves Jesus. When we celebrate Mary’s presentation, we are giving Mary the honor she deserves and witnessing to her perfect purity as the virgin of Nazareth, the mother of God, and our mother.
Sts. Joachim and Anne surrendered their only daughter to God so that she would be completely free to follow his holy will. Although they loved her dearly, they knew that in the Temple Mary would always be near the Holy of Holies, surrounded by an atmosphere of godliness and grace. She would be instructed in Scripture and the history of the Jewish people. She would be under the guardianship and tutelage of the holy women of the Temple who had given their lives to God. One of them, Scripture scholars believe, was Anna — the woman who prophesied at the presentation of Our Lord. In the Temple, Mary would be completely focused on God and well prepared for becoming the mother of the Savior and mother of the body of Christ.
When we celebrate the presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we remember the tremendous sacrifice Sts. Joachim and Anne made for our sakes. We give honor and respect to the Virgin, who is an example for all of us in our struggle for holiness. It is a privilege and an opportunity to express our gratitude for the gift of a pure, tender, and always-loving mother.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Nov. 21, 2023, and has been adapted and updated by CNA.
A family grieves their lost baby at a funeral at the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in New Orleans. Many friends, relatives, and families attended the funeral that day. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
CNA Staff, Nov 19, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Sandy Schaetz still mourns the baby she never met.
“It was terrifying and traumatic,” she said of her miscarriage. “I was consoled after by the prayers of a deacon, but never named the baby or knew if it was a boy or girl.”
“It was not something I understood at the time and I only wish I had known more of what was happening,” she told CNA.
Now, Schaetz volunteers with Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies (CBIB), an organization that buries babies who died, whether stillborn, miscarried, or aborted.
The group organizes everything for the funerals, which are held at a crypt at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in New Orleans.
A shoebox-sized casket lined with donated white fabric, usually from wedding dresses, is processed through the cemetery, with Knights of Columbus present as the honor guard. A volunteer musician plays at every funeral; a Catholic deacon presides at almost every burial.
Two Knights of Columbus carry the casket of a baby who was murdered. Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
When Schaetz attended her first burial service as a volunteer, it hit her to the core.
“I find it difficult to put into words how it affected me,” Schaetz said. “All God needed me to do that day was to be present, to pray, to honor the life he had created.”
“It opened my eyes to how each life is such a gift, and when that life ends how important it is to show respect and pray for the soul and bury the dead with love,” Schaetz said.
Death and resurrection
Women who lose children through miscarriage often suffer silently, according to Lise Naccari, the founder of CBIB.
“Losing a child is hard. Often women suffer in silence the pain of infant loss and ride that sad emotional roller coaster ride alone,” Naccari told CNA.
One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage — a devastating statistic for many couples.
Naccari herself experienced a miscarriage as well as several challenging pregnancies.
“I feel a special connection with poor mothers who have lost a child. My heart goes out to them,” Naccari said.
Lise Naccari (right) embraces a grieving mother at a burial at the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in New Orleans. Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
Naccari buries the babies who were wanted and loved, but also the babies who were thrown out or mistreated.
“CBIB has buried babies as big as a blueberry and up to 2 years old,” Naccari said. “We buried babies stillborn, miscarried, abandoned, unclaimed, aborted, murdered, and thrown away in the trash — and every situation possible.”
“Many babies were mistreated, abused, and tossed out … these are heartbreaking funerals to go to,” Naccari said.
CBIB dressed and buried seven babies who were left at hospitals labeled “unclaimed and abandoned,” Naccari said. CBIB buried the babies at the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in New Orleans. Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
“Babies are left sometimes because some families can not afford funerals for them but would like one,” Naccari said. “Also, many parents are young, and the grief can be overwhelming and they cannot navigate through funeral arrangements.”
Her life’s work is to bury the dead — and she looks to the Resurrection.
“I consider what I do holy,” Naccari said. “I feel like this is my vocation and I know God orchestrated all of this. I give all honor and glory to him, our loving Father.”
“What I do is not about sorrow and death,” Naccari continued. “What I do is really about joy and life — eternal life.”
A father (right) whose child was murdered carries the casket with the help of others. Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
It’s not an easy job, and Naccari looks to God for strength.
“Lord, I don’t want to do this anymore. It hurts my heart too much,” Naccari remembered praying as she prepared one baby for burial — a baby girl who had been abandoned and tossed out after she was born.
“I felt a still small voice within me say, ‘Lise, don’t think about their bodies, focus on the Resurrection,’” Naccari recalled.
“The sunlight from the stained-glass windows was shining down a warm yellow color on my face, as I looked up in it and I thought, yes, this is what I needed to hear to keep going — focus on the Resurrection,” she continued.
A resource for women in need
Sheena Lewis was in jail when her son, still a baby, passed away. She couldn’t attend the funeral, but Naccari organized the burial for her.
Lewis, now sober and out of jail, visits her son’s crypt often.
“I have solace in the fact he was laid to rest in a beautiful manner when I couldn’t be there for him or myself at the time,” Lewis told CNA.
Many young mothers CBIB helps are often “steeped in poverty” and have no support system. They are often “low income, uneducated, coming from sometimes addiction or problem homes,” Naccari said.
“Often I find at these funerals that the young mothers are alone or they may come with children or other women — but there are no men to help support them,” Naccari said.
“My heart is broken for them, for they are not only battling their poverty, they also have to deal with losing a child,” she said.
A moment to mourn
Funerals help families process their grief — a grief that’s often hidden away due to the nature of miscarriages.
Deacon Ricky Suprean preaches at almost every graveside burial — but after a couple years of volunteering, he realized God had called him to this so he could find healing.
Suprean and his wife, Lynn, experienced two miscarriages.
Suprean struggled to process it at the time, but through his volunteering, he’s found some healing. He still remembers the first CBIB funeral he presided at.
“I felt the power of life that day,” he told CNA. “It was cold. I had no idea I would kneel in front of each little coffin and pray for each child and each family with my hand touching each coffin.”
Volunteers hugged each family member, he recalled.
Deacon Ricky Suprean at the burial of two babies at the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in New Orleans. Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
“God has allowed me to give a proper burial to my own two lost children through CBIB time and time again,” Suprean said.
“God created these children in my wife’s womb, and they will be waiting for us in heaven,” Suprean continued.
Struggling to process grief is common with loss of children, according to Naccari.
“Too often people are hurting so much and don’t want to face a funeral,” Naccari said. “They feel vulnerable and so it is easier to turn away and do nothing.”
“But on the contrary, I have observed that these funerals provide consolation, comfort, solace, and even a healthy way of healing after the loss of a baby,” Naccari said.
“It’s a good grief,” Naccari continued. “Funerals are about love and holding onto friends and family at a time of need. It can be life-changing.”
Some funerals have had as many as 100 people in attendance.
Many volunteers are “faithfully committed” to being present at every funeral.
“It could be freezing cold or blistering hot in the summer, but they just show up and either help set up, greet the parents, or stand tall next to a casket to show the love of Jesus to our families,” Naccari said.
The altar at a burial at the crypt at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in New Orleans. CBIB has buried hundreds of babies at the crypt. Credit: Photo courtesy of Compassionate Burials for Indigent Babies
These funerals “allow parents that special moment to mourn their loss and to remember their little one and ponder the person that little one could have been,” Naccari said.
“CBIB celebrates each life, and we believe that God somehow rights all the wrongs and makes all things new,” Naccari said. “And then we move to the next funeral.”
Organizers of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming digital dialogue with young people Nov. 21 at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis speak to the media at the site of the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 12, 2025. Left to right: Cardinal Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States; Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News; Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Christina Lamas, executive director of National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry; and Archbishop Charles Thompson, Archdiocese of Indianapolis. / Credit: Shannon Mullen/National Catholic Register
Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 17, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Bishops discussed young Catholics’ place in the Church ahead of the National Catholic Youth Conference.
At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, bishops spoke about the young generation as many prepare to attend NCYC. The conference will take place Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis for prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers.
During NCYC, Pope Leo XIV will hold a digital dialogue with teens from across the nation. “When the pope speaks, he speaks to the world, and this will be a wonderful, wonderful moment. This encounter will engage young people in real time,” said Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia.
At a Nov. 12 press conference at the USCCB fall plenary, Pérez said “there is a deep significance to this encounter.” He added: “It reflects the Holy Father’s desire to connect with young people, with our youth, whom his predecessor … Pope Francis, called ‘the now of God.’”
Pérez said during his time as a priest and bishop, he has noticed teenagers “want a place in the Church.” He said: “They want to be seen, heard, and valued, which is so beautiful … They want to be loved by the Church.”
“Even in today’s interconnected world, the Church can seem far away from young people. The Holy Father’s choice to encounter the American youth … is an expression of his closeness to the youth of the world.”
“This moment will mark a powerful opportunity for young people to witness the beauty of the universal Church with our Holy Father and to express their concerns, voices, experience, [and] what’s in their hearts,” Pérez said.
Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York, has attended NCYC more than a dozen times. He told CNA “the energy and the vibrancy of the young people” is why he returns each year.
“It’s not just the local parish or the local diocese, but it’s the national Church and there’s something powerful when we come together,” Espaillat said.
This year’s event is “the first time ever the Holy Father has a live online interview like this,” at NCYC, Espaillat said. “What I love about it is that the Church in the United States is leading right now. The young people being the focus with our Holy Father is going to be great, and it’s going to produce a lot of positive energy in our Church.”
Espaillat encouraged attendees “to be open and allow yourself to be surprised by the Holy Spirit.” He added: “Don’t go in with a preconceived notion. It is a great event in which there are many, many fruits. I’ve seen young people just come to life at the event.”
Youth draw closer to the Church
As thousands of teenagers plan to gather at the national conference, U.S. bishops further explained why so many young Catholics are looking to the Church. A number of bishops highlighted the Catholic presence on social media is helping to draw them in.
Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts, told CNA the exponential growth of young Catholics coming to the Church is “amazing and exciting.” Byrne, who served as chair for the USCCB’s committee on communications, detailed how much its online presence has grown its outreach to the young generation and wider population.
“Beginning with the illness of our beloved Pope Francis, through the funeral, and then the transition to Pope Leo, we’ve actually had a 226% growth in our social media on the four platforms we use — TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube,” he said.
“The amazing thing is, it’s still growing. It means that people are seeing it, sharing it,” Byrne said. He specifically noted it’s the “young people” spreading the message online.
“So we see that we are reaching people,” Byrne said. “But our goal is not to get people locked on their phones. Our goal is to get people locked on Jesus Christ and have the impression be Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church.”
“This is an exciting time. It’s not without its challenges, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity,” Byrne said. “We’re reaching young people who are curious and hungry. It’s so exciting to see the Church continue to speak to the world, because the Church has never lost her relevance.”
The start of the Catholic online presence followed the movement of the new atheists, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said. He told CNA the movement was made up of “people who were really shaping the culture, saying: ‘There’s no purpose of life. We come from nowhere. We go nowhere. There’s no objective moral value.’”
“A lot of people, myself included, began to get on social media with a religious voice,” Barron said. “People who had not heard a religious voice or who were disaffiliated … could find people like me and many others who were actually talking about God and about religion.”
“But I think as a whole generation came of age, they realized what a desperately sad and empty message that is,” Barron said. “There’s this hunger in the heart for God, and so that just reasserts itself. I think a lot of younger people who were raised on this very vapid philosophy began to look to religion.”
As more young Catholics get involved in youth formation whether in their parishes or at larger gatherings like NCYC, Barron said he encourages them to use the opportunities to “build community and build a sense of family with other believers.”
Barron, who is the founder of the Catholic media organization Word on Fire, has gained nearly 3 million YouTube subscribers and millions of other followers across social media platforms. But, he said, “one drawback of social media is that it’s a little private world. It can be a lot of people accessing it, but privately.”
“Maybe through social media an individual finds a path to religion, but then to look around a room and see thousands of other people that are on a similar path — that’s a great thing,” Barron said.
The University of Notre Dame. / Credit: Matt B. via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 16, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:
Notre Dame drops ‘acceptance and support for Catholic mission’ from staff values
The University of Notre Dame has dropped acceptance and support for its Catholic mission from the list of staff values it has held for the past 20 years.
The university’s leadership announced new updates to its staff values at its Fall 2025 Staff Town Halls on Oct. 29 and 30, according to a press release. Human Resources President Heather Christophersen said the new values were “an expression of how we seek to advance Notre Dame’s mission as a global, Catholic research university.”
Prior to the change, Notre Dame’s staff values were as follows:
— Accountability: Takes responsibility and ownership for decisions, actions, and results. Accountable for both how and what is accomplished
— Teamwork: Works cooperatively as a member of a team and is committed to the overall team objectives rather than own interests
— Integrity: Demonstrates honest and ethical behavior that displays a high moral standard. Widely trusted, respectful, and honorable
— Leadership in Excellence: Demonstrates energy and commitment to improving results, takes initiatives often involving calculated risks while considering the common good
— Leadership in Mission: Understands, accepts, and supports the Catholic mission of the university and fosters values consistent with that mission
The new and pared down values and their descriptions are:
— Community: Treat every person with dignity and respect.
— Collaboration: Work together with honesty, kindness, and humility.
— Excellence: Pursue the highest standards with a commitment to truth and service.
— Innovation: Embrace opportunities with creativity and dedication.
According to the Notre Dame Observer, Christophersen said in an email to staff that the former Notre Dame values “had only one value that pointed into mission” and that the decision to remove the “Leadership in Mission” value was motivated by a desire to reframe the school’s Catholic mission as all-encompassing. She said the old values had caused confusion in staff evaluation processes during annual performance reviews and that the school does not monitor religious affiliation for staff in the same way as faculty and students.
Notre Dame did not return multiple requests for comment.
University of St. Francis and Belleville Diocese announce student admission partnership
The University of St. Francis (USF) and the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, have announced a new partnership guaranteeing admission for diocesan high school graduates.
Students from Althoff Catholic High School, Mater Dei Catholic High School, and Gibault Catholic High School will have guaranteed admission at the university as well as the opportunity to earn scholarships of up to $3,000.
“We are so pleased with this partnership and look forward to welcoming students from the Catholic high schools within the Belleville Diocese,” University of St. Francis President Ryan C. Hendrickson said in a press release announcing the partnership.
“In addition to the guaranteed admission, USF plans to host workshops and information sessions for diocese-based school counselors, teachers, parents, and prospective students. USF will also offer campus visitation days, facilitating exploration and engagement with the diocese schools,” the release stated.
Archdiocese of Hartford to open 2 new Catholic schools amid Mass attendance boom
The Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, will open two new Catholic schools next year as Mass attendance and renewed interest in the faith continues to rise.
“A lot of the decisions that are being made in the public-school systems are not decisions that a lot of people find easy to hold, and they’re looking for places where they could just find a little bit less politics,” Archbishop Christopher Coyne said, emphasizing the important role of Catholic schools in this environment, according to a local report. Coyne said elsewhere that the new school openings come amid “a great reversal of the downward trends we experienced before and during COVID.”
One of the schools, Chesterton Academy of St. Francis of Assisi, will accept ninth and 10th grade students in fall 2026. The other school, the Catholic Academy of Hartford, will accept pre-K through second graders starting in the fall, adding a grade each year until it reaches the eighth grade. The school will operate on an income-based tuition model.
St. Anselm College announces reception of $40 million gift
St. Anselm College, a Benedictine liberal arts school in New Hampshire, announced a $40 million gift, the largest donation in the school’s 136-year history.
The gift was from Robert and Beverly Grappone, whose son, Greg, graduated from the college in 2004 and passed away from cancer at the age of 35. “While many colleges and universities are struggling in a challenging higher education environment, St. Anselm is fortunate to have a different story,” the college said in a press release announcing the historic gift. “The college has seen enrollment growth over the last four years, increasing each year since the post-COVID class. This year’s incoming freshmen class set a record with 647 students. The college has a retention rate of 90%.”
The gift includes $11 million designated for the school of business, which will be named the Robert J. Grappone School of Business and Innovation, a $5 million endowment to the Grappone Humanities Institute, and “multimillion dollar renovations” to the school’s residence halls, support for the athletic complex, an endowment for the school’s nursing program, scholarships, and further campus improvements.
Auxiliary Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado attempts to visit detainees at the Broadview, Illinois, immigration facility and was not admitted Nov. 1, 2025. / Credit: Bryan Sebastian, courtesy of Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership
Washington, D.C., Nov 7, 2025 / 18:40 pm (CNA).
The Trump administration this week denounced a Chicago-based federal judge’s ruling that mandated cleanliness and hygiene standards as well as adequate legal representation at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Illinois.
Government lawyers said Nov. 7 they are in compliance or are in the midst of complying with the judge’s conditions. The detainees’ attorneys, however, say they “are doubtful” the government is “actually in compliance” with some of the conditions, “including as to facility cleaning, the provision of food and water, and the provision of prescription medication.”
The detainees’ attorneys asked the court to conduct an inspection with an expert and have the government provide immediate proof of compliance.
Administration officials said an “activist judge” issued the temporary restraining order and based it on hoaxes, while religious and civil-rights advocates pressed for detainees’ access to the Eucharist.
Access to Communion
A group of 19 spiritual leaders including six priests renewed a request to offer pastoral care and Communion at the Broadview facility in a Nov. 6 letter to ICE and asked to discuss “procedures by which our small delegation of religious ministers can be granted access.” The delegation bringing Communion was denied access Nov. 1.
Scene from Nov. 1, 2025, Mass outside the Broadview facility near Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. Credit: Bryan Sebastian, courtesy of Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership
The judge’s temporary restraining order followed an Oct. 30 lawsuit in which detainees claimed they were placed in unsanitary conditions, provided inadequate food and water, and unconstitutionally deprived of access to legal representation and spiritual care. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said ICE’s Broadview facility houses “criminal illegal aliens” whom it described as “some of the worst of the worst.”
“Some of the worst of the worst including pedophiles, gang members, and rapists have been processed through the facility in recent weeks,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant Homeland Security secretary for public affairs, said in a Nov. 5 statement.
The list included Jose Manuel Escobar-Cardona, described by DHS as “a criminal illegal alien” from Honduras who was convicted of multiple charges of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, assault, driving under the influence of liquor, making a false report, illegal reentry, and making a false report.
Also named by DHS was Alfonso Batalla-Garcia, “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of sex assault, kidnapping an adult to sexually assault, and homicide.”
Other detainees named by DHS included migrants who were said to have been convicted of drug trafficking, kidnapping, first-degree murder, and weapons trafficking.
Publicly reported individuals detained by ICE in November also included a day care worker at the Rayito De Sol center, a Chicago preschool where the woman was removed in front of children.
Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 4 said: “Many people who’ve lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now.” Leo invited authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of detainees.
He reminded that “Jesus says very clearly … at the end of the world, we’re going to be asked … how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening.”
A detainee testified he spent six days at the Broadview ICE facility before Judge Robert Gettleman ordered bedding, three meals a day, free water, hygiene products, papers translated into Spanish, a clock in each hold room, and free phone service for detainees to talk to counsel. Gettleman also ordered DHS to list all detainees on the Locator Online Detainee Locator System of ICE.
DHS says facilities such as Broadview are designed to serve only as short-term holding centers, typically for about 12 hours, where individuals are briefly held for processing before being moved to longer-term detention facilities.
“Despite hoaxes spread by criminal illegal aliens, the complicit media, and now an activist judge, the ICE Broadview facility does not have subpar conditions,” McLaughlin said. She said detainees receive three meals a day, access to water, and proper medical care.
Neither McLaughlin’s statement nor the judge’s order addressed the lawsuit’s claims that Broadview detainees have been unconstitutionally denied access to faith leaders and clergy.
McLaughlin wrote on X that “religious organizations have ALWAYS been welcome to provide services to detainees in ICE detention facilities. Religious leaders may request access to facilities through proper channels and have those requests approved.”
McLaughlin also responded to questions from CNA, saying dangerous conditions — including belligerent actions and “attacks,” such as the use of tear gas, by protesters — and Broadview’s status as a short-term “field office” have prevented ICE from accommodating requests by religious organizations seeking access to detainees there.
“ICE staff has repeatedly informed religious organizations that, due to Broadview’s status as a field office and the ongoing threat to civilians, detainees, and officers, they are not able to accommodate these requests at this time,” McLaughlin told CNA. “Even before the attacks on the Broadview facility, it was not within standard operating procedure for religious services to be provided in a field office, as detainees are continuously brought in, processed, and transferred out.”
Chicago faith leaders wrote to ICE Nov. 7: “We understand that in past years ministers were granted access to the Broadview ICE facility for pastoral purposes. We also note public statements by DHS acknowledging detainees’ rights to chaplaincy and religious resources, while noting that requests for entry may require advance approval.”
‘Careful review’
Bishop Robert E. Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who serves on the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission, said on X that senior officials in the U.S. government “assured” him that detainees in immigration custody will have access to Catholic sacraments and that the situation is “under careful review.”
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) said in a email Nov. 7: “CLINIC is disturbed by these instances in which the human and constitutional right to religious practice is being restricted. We hope the administration follows up on its ‘careful review’ by rectifying this and taking further action.”
Pope Leo’s recent exhortation Dilexi Te says: “The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”
Volunteers prepare and distribute food to families coming through the drive-through distribution site at the Catholic Charities Diocese of Galveston-Houston Guadalupe Center, a food pantry near central Houston. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
CNA Staff, Nov 7, 2025 / 17:40 pm (CNA).
As federal food benefits have been frozen during the government shutdown, Catholic dioceses and charities around the country are holding emergency food drives and launching fundraising efforts.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will resume once the government passes a bill to fund the federal government — but, more than a month into the shutdown, there is no set end date in sight.
Two federal district judges at the end of October moved to compel the Trump administration to pay for SNAP benefits, but because Congress has not yet authorized funding for federal government operations, the Trump administration asked an appeals court on Friday to block the orders and continue with partial SNAP payments.
The pause in SNAP benefits is estimated to affect about 42 million Americans.
In St. Louis, food pantries saw an influx of people in need. In response, parishes across the archdiocese are holding emergency food drives for the first two weekends of November.
Nearly 300,000 people in the area could “lose access to vital food benefits,” Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski said in a letter to pastors, whom he asked to “respond with love and generosity to this urgent need.”
“We are called to be people of faith and action,” Rozanski said. “And so, I ask the good people of our archdiocese to come together to help our neighbors who are in danger of going without their ‘daily food.’”
The archdiocese is working with the local Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to ensure that food pantries are full.
Julie Komanetsky, a spokesperson for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in St. Louis, said the food drives are “bringing great results for our food pantries.”
“This is our faith in action,” she told CNA. “Like the story of the good Samaritan who sees the victim and cares for him, Catholics see that people need to be fed and they are responding. They are answering God’s call to be good Samaritans rather than indifferent bystanders!”
So far, the parish food drives have been “very successful and will help keep our pantries stocked and able to support the need,” Komanetsky said.
“Our hope for this effort is to keep all within the boundaries of our archdiocese from going hungry during this difficult time in our country,” she continued. “This is our united Catholic effort to let all people know that we see them, we hear their needs, and we will help.”
“Pope Leo tells us: Faith cannot be separated from love for the poor,” she continued. “This effort is a testament of our faith and our love.”
St. Louis is not the only archdiocese finding creative solutions to the SNAP crisis. In Connecticut, Hartford Archbishop Christopher Coyne has released $500,000 of emergency funding to food banks.
Coyne said the funding is being contributed “in the spirit of Jesus’ command to serve our brothers and sisters in need.”
“The Catholic Church provides relief and hope for God’s children,” Coyne said in a statement. “It’s what we have done for over 2,000 years and what we continue to do today.”
Volunteers load food into a car at a drive-through distribution site in Houston. Credit: Photo courtesy of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Catholic Charities is seeing a similar rise in need. Across its three food pantries Catholic Charities is extending hours and increasing distribution.
“Many families across our service area are struggling, worried about missing paychecks or not being able to put food on the table,” Cynthia Nunes Colbert, who heads the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, told CNA.
The group is also offering emergency rental assistance to federal workers and is reaching out to the wider community for support by encouraging food drives, volunteering, and donations, Catholic Charities told CNA.
“Whether it’s through financial donations, food drives, or volunteering, together we can provide hope and stability during these uncertain times,” Colbert said.
As part of a nationwide effort, Catholic Charities USA launched a fundraising effort in light of the funding cuts. The funds raised will go directly toward buying and sending food to Catholic Charities groups across the country to support ministries such as food pantries and soup kitchens.
For families who rely on food assistance programs, this a “catastrophic moment” said CCUSA President and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson.
The government shutdown “has created incredibly serious, real-life consequences for millions of people, from furloughed federal workers to those living in poverty who will now struggle even more to provide for their families,” Robinson said in a recent statement.
Catholics in the United States will have an opportunity to support more than 21,000 retired priests and men and women religious from various orders during the weekend of Dec. 13–14 with the annual collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious.
According to a statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), this collection, organized by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO), “helps provide critical financial assistance to eligible religious institutes caring for their retired members.”
For decades, consecrated men and women in the U.S. have served in multiple ministries — schools, hospitals, parishes, and social service organizations — often with little or no compensation. Today their communities face a serious imbalance between the rising costs of elder care and limited resources.
In 2024, religious over the age of 70 outnumbered the young by nearly 3 to 1, and only 4% of communities reporting to the NRRO indicated they had sufficient funds for retirement.
Since its creation in 1988, the fund has been “a lifeline for our aging religious leaders, but the need remains urgent,” the USCCB pointed out. Last year, the fund raised $28.1 million, while the annual cost of care exceeded $1 billion.
The average annual cost per person is $56,600, and specialized care costs $96,000. In contrast, the average Social Security benefit for a religious leader is just $9,090, less than half the average benefit for a layperson.
In light of this reality, NRRO Director John Knutsen noted that “for decades, the faithful service of these religious has touched countless lives, including my own.”
“Through your generosity, we can help ensure they are cared for with the dignity they so rightly deserve, while also living out the values of compassion and solidarity that unite us as disciples of Jesus,” he urged.
Knutsen also emphasized the gratitude owed to religious communities for their members: “Supporting our aging religious is a profound opportunity to show gratitude for their lifetime of service, and we hear all throughout the year how deeply thankful they are for that support.”
Since 1988, the fundraising campaign has distributed more than $1 billion to religious institutions across the U.S., sustaining daily care for the elderly, building up retirement funds, and funding educational programs on geriatric care and long-term planning.
The USCCB noted that “every gift makes a difference, providing retired religious with the care and dignity they deserve.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly (right) speaks at the Symposium on Young American Men, a national conversation on restoring purpose, flourishing, and belonging, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, 2025. Looking on is Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma. / Credit: Matthew H. Barrick
CNA Staff, Nov 5, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).
At the Symposium on Young American Men in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 3, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus said that young men are “lost” and need “purpose and mission.”
The symposium highlighted the mental health crisis, social isolation, digital addiction, and other struggles young men face today.
Panelists — including Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma; Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; and other experts — discussed ways to address these challenges by helping young men build community.
“Many young men are lost and disconnected,” Kelly said in an opening statement at the beginning of the symposium. “Many come from broken families with fathers who are not a real part of their life. Many are drowning in the depths of the internet and social media.”
Kelly, who heads the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, pointed to loneliness and isolation as a challenge for young men.
“It’s increasingly clear that millions of men no longer have friends who they can count on and who can spur them on to excellence,” Kelly continued. “More than a quarter of millennials say they have no close friends, and the rise of artificial intelligence has millions of young men looking for friendship in chatbots.”
Ellen Carmichael, founder of The Lafayette Company, the communications group hosting the symposium, said there is an “urgent need” for action.
“Recent incidents of political violence and growing national concern about young men’s social isolation have underscored what we already knew: This conversation cannot wait,” Carmichael stated.
“We are hardwired as men for purpose and mission,” Kelly said, noting that the Knights of Columbus is centered on Christ and service to local communities.
“We are trying to tackle what the surgeon general recently called the epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” Kelly noted. “We’re giving men the kind of community they truly need, and we will continue to help America’s young men find meaning and mission in life.”
“We’ve always known that men need meaning in life and that a man’s ultimate meaning comes from his personal relationship with others and with God,” Kelly said.
“Friendship is the key,” he said. “Christ did his ministry through friendships … he assembled 12 friends, imperfect people.”
In a panel on the role of faith in rebuilding community for men, Kelly said young men “have had enough” of what the culture offers them and “are really yearning for more of an institution and yearning for moorings.”
He noted that the Knights of Columbus have been bringing in a growing number of men over the past few years and that after an era of relativism, there has been a “swing back” among young men toward tradition.
In a change from previous generations, he said, young men are drawn to ritual.
“The areas they’re searching leave them empty,” Kelly said, so “they turn to God.”
The Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary dome fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr in St. Charles’s Church, Austria. / Credit: godongphoto/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Nov 4, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates Nov. 4, was a cardinal and a prominent teacher of the Catholic faith. He generously donated much of his considerable wealth to charity and sacrificed his own health to help plague victims at a time when many other authorities fled.
And, despite what you might have heard, he probably wasn’t obese.
Why does that matter? Well, because Charles is popularly invoked as a patron saint of stomach ailments and also of obesity and dieting. These patronages — and whether or not he was himself obese — are not mentioned in hagiographies of St. Charles, so it’s unclear how this particular association began. Charles was known for helping the poor in times of famine and for practicing self-mortification, and he was certainly not known to indulge in food to excess.
Whether or not his invocation by dieters is appropriate, what is clear is that St. Charles Borromeo had a massive influence on the Church.
Charles was born in 1538 near Milan. He was born wealthy — in fact, he was part of the famously rich and influential Medici family — but sought to use his wealth to benefit the Church rather than himself.
Owing in part to his well-connected family, Charles soon assumed staggering responsibilities, serving as a papal diplomat and supervisor of major religious orders.
Charles was a central figure in the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which among other things served as the Church’s official answer to the Protestant Reformation. Its twofold mission was to clarify Catholic doctrine against Protestant objections and reform the Church internally against many long-standing problems. As a papal representative, Charles participated in the council’s conclusion in 1563, when he was only 25, and was ordained a priest during the council. He also played a leading role in assembling its comprehensive summary, the Catechism of the Council of Trent.
Charles’ uncle, Pope Pius IV, appointed him archbishop of Milan in 1563, and soon after he became a cardinal. He found his diocese in a state of disintegration, after two generations of virtually no local administration or leadership. Charles got straight to work establishing schools, seminaries, and centers for religious life. He constantly directed the work of restoration of ecclesiastical discipline and the education of the young, even down to minute details. He tried as much as possible to live a simple life and give to the poor whenever possible, and he practiced self-mortification.
The clergy during this time were in many cases lax and careless, living scandalous lives, such that the people had grown to be equally negligent and sinful. While bishop of Milan, St. Charles oversaw many dramatic and effective reforms of the clergy, the liturgy, and of religious education. He encountered much opposition to those reforms, so much so that a group of disgruntled monks attempted to kill him, but he was miraculously unharmed when an assassin fired a gun straight at him while kneeling in prayer at an altar.
He was very active in preaching and ministry and was famous for bringing back many lapsed Catholics to the Church. As a result, today he is honored as the patron saint of catechists and catechumens, people who teach and learn the faith. In fact, he was the founder of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, which systematically instructed children in the faith — the forerunner of the modern “Sunday school.”
In 1571, the region where Charles was working suffered a severe famine, during which he worked tirelessly to help the starving, supporting at his own expense as many as 3,000 people daily for three months. At the same time, Charles himself suffered various ailments, including a low fever.
A few years later, a plague struck Milan. Charles was convinced that the plague was sent as a chastisement for sin and sought to give himself all the more to prayer and to service to his people. He paid personal visits to plague-stricken houses to comfort those suffering, and as a spiritual penance, he walked in procession, barefoot, with a rope around his neck and a relic in his hand.
At the end of 1584 Charles suffered a skin infection in one of his legs but still continued to travel to take care of his diocese. He died young at the age of 46 on Nov. 3, 1584, and was canonized 26 years later, in 1610.
This story was first published on Nov. 4, 2022, and has been updated.
St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.
Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:
1. His father refused to acknowledge him.
De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life.
2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13.
De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses.
3. He faced discrimination as a Dominican.
De Porres entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for de Porres because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname “the saint of the broom” for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans’ quarters.
Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. “I cure them, but God heals them,” de Porres would say when curing the sick. He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day’s supply of fruit.
4. He levitated and bilocated.
De Porres was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the crucified cross. De Porres reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances.
5. He refused to eat meat.
De Porres loved animals. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.
6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations.
De Porres was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres’ canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: “These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs.”
7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death.
Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at age 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him “Martin of Charity.”
This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and has been updated.
As Father Emmanuel Nanabanyin Conduah (right) looks on, PennWest University Professor Miguel Olivas-Luján (left) delivers his paper “Retiring for Eternity: Planning Based on Social Science and Catholic Social Thought” during the 2025 annual conference of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. / Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 29, 2025 / 10:08 am (CNA).
“Retiring for Eternity: Planning Based on Social Science and Catholic Social Thought” was among the topics the Society of Catholic Social Scientists examined during its 2025 annual conference, held Oct. 24–25 on the campus of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.
In his presentation on the topic, Miguel Olivas-Luján, a professor of business at PennWest University, called for a transformative vision of retirement, one that “transcends conventional models of successful or active aging.”
“While secular frameworks emphasize health, financial stability, and social engagement, Catholic social teaching invites a deeper reflection on the spiritual dimensions of aging, particularly the preparation for eternal life,” Olivas-Luján pointed out.
Catholic retirement
In Catholic social teaching, Olivas-Luján explained, aging and retirement are not viewed as periods of decline but as opportunities for deepening solidarity within families, communities, and the Church.
Recent developments in Catholic social teaching on aging include the work of Professor Peter Kevern, who in a 2018 paper identified the elderly as bearers of unique charisms — wisdom, memory, and interdependence — that substantially enrich both eccesial and civic communities.
The Catholic view on aging, Olivas-Luján continued, considers the spiritual, relational, and ethical contributions of older adults to be “indispensable to the flourishing of both Church and society.”
Professor Miguel Olivas-Luján noted that the elderly are “bearers of unique charisms — wisdom, memory, and interdependence” that enrich both ecclesial and civic communities. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA
In his presentation, Olivas-Luján explained how the foundational principles of Catholic social thought affirm the inherent worth of older adults and their continued role in society. He cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which affirms the understanding that because of each person’s essential human dignity, for example, as individuals age their value remains constant, rooted in their divine origin and eternal destiny.
Retirement is thus, in Olivas-Luján’s words, “an ideal time to accelerate the pace and intentionality toward this union with God, once work-related preoccupations no longer take the highest priority.”
Practical implications
For many older adults, Olivas-Luján noted, the end of a professional career can lead to feelings of isolation or a loss of direction. Catholic parishes and ministries, however, offer a unique and spiritually enriching environment that help retirees remain engaged, purposeful, and connected to their communities.
Through their ministries, volunteer opportunities, and social events, for example, parishes and organizations like the Knights of Columbus provide retirees with opportunities to continue contributing meaningfully. The Catholic Health Association has also documented how faith communities can help retirees maintain their physical, emotional, and spiritual health through holistic support systems that integrate prayer, service, and fellowship.
In addition, Olivas-Luján cited studies that show that seniors with strong spiritual engagement experience lower rates of depression and anxiety, and register greater life satisfaction and improved physical health.
Nonetheless, the Church’s understanding of suffering in old age also reframes physical decline and existential questioning as pathways to grace and communion with Christ. The PennWest professor pointed out that from a Catholic perspective and specifically when viewed through the lens of redemptive suffering, “human pain, when united with trust in Christ’s redeeming passion, can contribute to personal sanctification and the salvation of others.”
Ultimately, as Olivas-Luján put it, retirement and aging are not problems to be solved but vocations to be lived, “a sacred season rich with opportunities for love, service, and spiritual flourishing.”
A color guard stands at attention as Eliza Monroe Hay’s remains are carried for reinterment at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Payne/CNA
Richmond, Virginia, Oct 23, 2025 / 17:04 pm (CNA).
Nearly two centuries after her death, the daughter of American Founding Father James Monroe has been laid to rest in Richmond, Virginia, joining her family’s historic burial plot in the city’s famed Hollywood Cemetery.
The Diocese of Richmond held Eliza Monroe Hay’s reinterment at the top of Hollywood Cemetery overlooking the James River on Oct. 23. Hay, who died in 1840, converted to Catholicism several years before her death.
Pallbearers prepare the casket of Eliza Monroe Hay during her reinterment at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Payne/CNA
State Sen. Bryce Reeves, who worked with the Eliza Project to repatriate Hay’s remains, said she was “far more than the daughter of a president.”
He described Hay as strong-willed and intelligent. “She served this nation quietly but powerfully in its formative years,” he said.
The historic reinterment came about from a yearslong effort by the Eliza Project to bring Hay’s mortal remains home from the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, a cemetery on the outskirts of Paris.
Father Tony Marques blesses the grave of Eliza Monroe Hay during her reinterment at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Payne/CNA
Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1786, Hay grew up in both the U.S. and Paris, where her father was the American ambassador amid the ongoing French Revolution.
She would later be known for serving as an unofficial First Lady of the White House during James Monroe’s presidency, as her mother Elizabeth’s health regularly kept her away from state functions.
Hay’s husband, Virginia attorney George Hay, died in 1830, as did her mother. James Monroe died in 1831 and was by then one of a dwindling number of prominent U.S. citizens who had led the country through its founding and earliest years.
Hay herself subsequently returned to Paris, where she converted to Catholicism before she died.
A choir from the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart performs during the reinterment of Eliza Monroe Hay at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Payne/CNA
A happy ending
Delivering Hay’s eulogy at the event, Virginia resident Barbara VornDick described Hay as “my friend from the past.”
VornDick said in an Oct. 21 press release that the effort “has been a fascinating, enriching journey in many ways,” though she said the “most amazing aspect was how it enriched my faith.”
She told the Arlington Catholic Herald in August that she spent years researching Hay’s life. She discovered that a popular family legend that Hay became a nun was untrue, but her conversion to Catholicism was confirmed by records at St.-Philippe-du-Roule Church in Paris, where her funeral Mass was held in 1840.
Hay also reportedly received a piece of jewelry from the Vatican — a cameo of the head of Christ — along with a note from Pope Gregory XVI’s secretary of state.
During her years at the White House, Hay gained a reputation as an unpleasant, demanding hostess. Reeves said at the Oct. 23 ceremony that Hay was at one time described by John Quincy Adams as an “obstinate little firebrand.”
The Eliza Project, however, says she had a record of “good deeds and generosity” that history has largely forgotten.
“She gained increasing admiration for her nursing of the sick: for family, for friends, and, during two epidemics, for the people of Washington,” the project said.
She also exhibited “a sense of duty and loyalty, strength of character and fortitude, and compassion for the sick and suffering.”
A color guard stands at attention during the reinterment of Eliza Monroe Hay at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Daniel Payne/CNA
The Diocese of Richmond had earlier held a memorial Mass for Hay at the nearby Cathedral of the Sacred Heart before the interment at Hollywood Cemetery. Father Tony Marques, the rector of the cathedral, presided over the Rite of Committal on Oct. 23. The cathedral’s choir performed at the ceremony.
Describing the yearslong project to repatriate Hay’s remains as a “grassroots effort,” Reeves told the assembled crowd on Tuesday: “The Virginian thing to do was bring Eliza home.”
VornDick told the Herald that the yearslong effort to “bring Eliza home” was motivated by the likelihood that she “never intended to die” in Paris.
“I just wanted to make it right for her,” she said.
At the reinterment, meanwhile, VornDick described Hay as a “daughter, sister, wife, and grandmother,” one who stands out in history for her devotion, service, and forceful personality.
“Today marks the end of the Bring Eliza Home Project,” she said. “But it is a happy ending.”
Father Adam Muda, a chaplain for the U.S. Army, celebrates Mass on the field with soldiers while in Germany. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Adam Muda
CNA Staff, Oct 23, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
During Pastoral Care Week, celebrated Oct. 19–25, a Catholic psychotherapist encouraged a group of Catholic chaplains and ministers to pursue prayer, rest, and self-care in light of burnout — a challenge that often accompanies their unique work.
At an Oct. 22 webinar, “Carrying the Cross Without Burnout: Self-Care for Catholic Chaplains,” Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, encouraged chaplains to make time for spiritual and emotional renewal.
The webinar, organized by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC), a group that educates and supports Catholic chaplains across the country, highlighted the importance of finding rest amid the emotional toll of ministry.
“God doesn’t call us to self-erasure,” Koller told the nearly 100 chaplains who attended the webinar. “He calls us to stewardship of our bodies, our minds, and spirits.”
Adrienne Koller, a Catholic psychotherapist and founder of Strong Self Psychotherapy, leads an Oct. 22, 2025, webinar organized by the NACC on finding renewal amid burnout. Credit: Screenshot of webinar
Koller described self-care as “stewardship” and “caring for the vessel God entrusted to you.”
“One of the most powerful mindset shifts I’ve seen in ministry is this: Self-care is not selfishness; it’s stewardship,” Koller said. “You are the vessel God entrusted with the work he gave you, and taking care of that vessel honors him.”
“You’re not taking away from your calling. You’re strengthening it,” she said. “Renewal isn’t an indulgence — it’s obedience.”
Erica Cohen Moore, executive director of NACC, highlighted the importance of caring for chaplains, both during Pastoral Care Week and throughout the year.
“Our chaplains are often called into spaces where few others are willing or able to go,” Cohen Moore told CNA. “They serve people in some of the most marginalized and challenging situations, where grief and suffering can be profound.”
Pastoral Care Week “gives opportunities for organizations and institutions of all types to recognize the spiritual caregivers in their midst and the ministry that the caregivers provide,” according to the NACC’s website.
Chaplains are often priests, but seminarians, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, and laymen and laywomen can all serve as chaplains, providing professional spiritual and emotional support in a range of areas — often in prisons, hospitals, fire departments, and campuses.
To help prepare and support chaplains, the NACC offers a variety of resources, training, community, and support for chaplains, both Catholic and non-Catholic.
What does burnout look like?
“Over the years, I’ve walked with countless individuals who appear incredibly strong on the outside yet wrestle with exhaustion, doubt, or the feeling that their work has taken more from them than they have time to replenish,” Koller told attendees.
Koller noted that the “emotional weight” of service can lead to burnout.
“That emotional weight, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong; it means you’re human,” she said. “But we do take on that emotional weight, and that can lead, if unchecked, to burnout.”
“Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re weak or we’re incapable,” Koller continued. “It happens because we care deeply, we give fully, and sometimes we forget to refill our own cup.”
To combat the weight of service, Koller encouraged ministers to pray before and after each difficult meeting or encounter, and to offer the weight of those challenges to the Lord. She also led the group in grounding prayer exercises that incorporate breathing into prayer.
Erica Cohen Moore is the executive director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Credit: Photo courtesy of Erica Cohen Moore
Cohen Moore noted that burnout is a “very real concern” that chaplains face — one that her organization works to combat through the resources they provide.
The association educates chaplains with a program called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which is “a process that equips them to manage burnout and care for themselves and one another,” according to Cohen Moore.
The group also offers webinars on topics such as self-care, mental illness and trauma, and mental health, as well as networking groups and in-person gatherings, and publishes a magazine called Works of Hope.
The association plans to launch a learning institute early next year to include a course on “sustaining pastoral ministers and helping them avoid burnout,” Cohen Moore said.
“Burnout is a very real concern in our field, and we take it seriously as we continue exploring new ways to provide care and connection,” Cohen Moore said.
‘I will give you rest’
When Koller speaks with “those in service, especially chaplains and first responders,” she said that one verse “always comes to mind.”
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Koller noted that Christ “doesn’t say: ‘Keep pushing, work harder, work harder, deplete yourself, run yourself into the ground.”
“No — he says, ‘Come to me,’” she said.
“That invitation isn’t to perform,” Koller continued. “It’s to rest, in a way, to surrender the illusion that we have to carry everything alone. That’s where our renewal begins.”
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hosts a USDA all-staff meeting on May 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Rollins announced the termination of household food insecurity reports in September 2025. / Credit: USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 05:20 am (CNA).
The Trump administration’s recent decision to cease publishing an annual U.S. Department of Agriculture report on household food insecurity is being met with strong criticism by the Catholic Health Association of the United States, anti-hunger activists, and academics.
The last USDA food insecurity report, covering 2024 data, is set for release Oct. 22. On Sept. 20, the USDA, led by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, announced the termination of future “Household Food Security Reports,” which were first published in 1995 during the administration of then-President Bill Clinton.
“These redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies do nothing more than fearmonger,” the USDA said in a published statement.
The USDA questioned the legitimacy of the annual reports, saying food insecurity trends have remained virtually unchanged since 1995, “regardless of an over 87% increase in SNAP spending between 2019–2023.”
SNAP is an acronym for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” which according to the USDA “provides food benefits to low-income families to enhance their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being.” SNAP was formerly known as the “Food Stamp Program.”
The Trump administration explained its decision for discontinuing the reports, saying: “For 30 years, this study — initially created by the Clinton administration as a means to support the increase of SNAP eligibility and benefit allotments — failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder.”
Responses to terminating the report
“I don’t think collecting data about food insecurity across the country is ‘liberal fodder,’” said Lisa Smith, vice president of advocacy and public policy for the Catholic Health Association of the United States, which generally aligns with Church teaching but has clashed with the U.S. bishops in the past on health care issues, such as the Affordable Care Act. “When you don’t have the data, it makes it more difficult to know where the keys areas of need are.”
The end of the annual food security report “is going to impact the health of low-income communities,” Smith said. Smith’s concerns were echoed by Colleen Heflin, a professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University and co-author of “Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adult Food Insecurity,” a book published last month along with Madonna Harrington Meyer, a sociology professor at Syracuse.
“Without national data from the Current Population Survey on food insecurity, it will no longer be possible to track year-to-year variation in food insecurity due to changing economic and policy conditions,” Heflin said. “This lack of data will make it harder for Catholic charities and other community-based organizations to effectively address food insecurity without a consistent and comprehensive understanding of how food insecurity is changing for different demographic and geographic communities.”
Like Smith, Heflin dismissed the Trump administration’s claim that the reports were little more than liberal, redundant fearmongering.
“Food insecurity data collection has been a bipartisan issue since the Reagan administration,” since the 1980s, Heflin said. Referring to the Trump administration’s plan to end the annual report, Heflin said she found “both the decision and the justification provided quite shocking and without merit.”
James Ziliak, a professor of microeconomics and founding director of the Center for Poverty Research at the University of Kentucky, told CNA that eliminating the USDA household food security reports could reduce public and policy awareness of hunger needs and hinder private-sector responses, such as those by Catholic health and social service organizations.
“This report was one of the most widely watched barometers of economic well-being among low- and moderate-income households in the U.S. and provided key information for policymakers, charitable organizations, and researchers,” Ziliak said in an email.
Like Smith and Heflin, Ziliak said he did not accept the Trump administration’s explanation for ending publication of the annual report.
“This is absolutely not justified, and the timing is especially harmful to public policy as the economy slows down and major cuts are being implemented in the largest federal food assistance program,” he said, referring to SNAP.
Scene from the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana. / Credit: EWTN News in Depth/Screenshot
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 18, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
Several hymns were temporarily banned last year in the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri after being found “to be insufficient in sound doctrine,” with the action raising questions about what music is allowed at the Holy Mass.
In a special report for the Oct. 17, 2025 edition of “EWTN News In Depth,” correspondent Mark Irons explored the subject. Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who implemented the brief ban, told Irons: “I would hope everybody else learns from my mistake.”
McKnight, who was the bishop of Jefferson City at the time, now serves as the archbishop of Kansas City. The controversial ban in question encompassed 12 songs in total, including the popular hymns “I am the Bread of Life” and “All Are Welcome.”
McKnight said the decree was implemented too quickly and without enough discussion among Catholics in the diocese.
Currently, no particular hymns are excluded in the Diocese of Jefferson City, but parishes are required to evaluate Mass music using guidelines that were provided for archdioceses and dioceses across the nation by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The USCCB’s 2020 “Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church: An Aid for Evaluating Hymn Lyrics” was created to make sure Mass hymns are in conformity with Catholic doctrine. The bishops list a number of specific concerns regarding hymns, including ones with “deficiencies in the presentation of Eucharistic doctrine,” those “with a view of the Church that sees Her as essentially a human construction,” or songs with “an inadequate sense of a distinctively Christian anthropology.”
Kevin Callahan, who serves as the music director at Sacred Heart Parish in Glyndon, Maryland, told Irons: “We believe…the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ is here at the Mass, in the Eucharist. The songs, of course, should reflect that.”
Callhan explained that he understands why the bishops would create the aid. The bishops “want the right thing to be said in Church, they don’t want the wrong idea to get tossed around.” Callahan said he does believe there are certain hymns that could be misleading.
The ‘pride of place” of Gregorian chant
Over time, Callahan said, Gregorian chant has earned pride of place within the liturgy of the Mass.
This was reflected in the Second Vatican Council document Sacrosanctum Concilium, which explains: “The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy.”
Sara Pecknold, a professor of liturgical music at Christendom College, noted that “Gregorian chant, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was developed with and for the liturgy.”
“The Second Vatican council teaches us that the more closely tied the music is to the liturgical action…the more sacred it is,” she pointed out.
Recommendations
If Gregorian chant is unfamiliar to a parish, Pecknold recommends small steps that could be taken. She said: “I would first start with the very simplest chant melodies, for the ordinaries of the Mass.”
Beyond Gregorian chant, the Second Vatican Council decided that the Church approves “of all forms of true art having the needed qualities, and admits them into divine worship.”
Pecknold explained: “Liturgical music should glorify God and it should sanctify and edify all of us who are present at this great sacrifice.”
Welcoming a diversity of styles
Dave Moore, the music director at the 2024 U.S. National Eucharistic Congress, was in charge of bringing together a wide variety of Catholic musicians from across the country for the event.
Moore said the musical goal of the Congress was to create a unity rooted in Christ, through different styles of music.
“I don’t know how you find unity without diversity,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of people who do things differently than we’re used to, but what we’re looking for is the heart, like are you pursuing the heart of God?”
Archbishop McKnight also noted the need for variety.
“Catholicity means there’s a universality to who we are, that we’re not of just one kind or one culture, but there’s a diversity of charisms and a diversity of styles,” he said. “The fact that there are different ways of entering into the mystery of Christ, actually increases the unity we have, otherwise we’re just a church of some, and not the Church of all.”
Music is “often associated with memories and emotions, too,” he said. “That’s a part of our celebration of the Eucharist. It’s not just a thing of the mind. It’s not just a doctrinal assent. It’s also a movement of the heart and ultimately it’s active prayer.”
“Hymns that are liked by the people are a good choice, but it’s also important that they convey the Catholic faith,” McKnight said. “It’s about discernment of the will of God and what the Holy Spirit wants.”
Churches in Jerusalem. / Credit: Amizor via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed:
Jerusalem church leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire
The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem has hailed the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange, describing it as a “first real step toward ending the war,” CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, ACI MENA, reported Oct. 16.
The statement thanked the international community, particularly mediators at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, for helping secure the deal and called for rapid humanitarian access to food, clean water, fuel, and medicine.
The church leaders also voiced alarm over growing violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank, insisting that peace talks must lead to an independent Palestinian state living in safety beside Israel. They praised Christians in Gaza for their steadfast faith, calling the communities of St. Porphyrius Orthodox and Holy Family Catholic churches “a living witness of hope amid suffering.”
Tokyo archbishop calls for end to death penalty
Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo, is calling on Japan to abolish the death penalty and grant clemency to two men charged with murder, according to a report by Crux.
“The Catholic Church in Japan opposes capital punishment, calling for the protection of all life as a gift from the Creator. The Church urges the government to abolish the death penalty and reform the Japanese criminal justice system,” the cardinal said, adding: “I fundamentally believe that if we uphold the value of human life and dignity, we must not employ the same method as the criminals by taking a life away.”
Protests in Cameroon overshadow presidential election despite bishops’ call for peace
Despite repeated appeals by Catholic bishops for peace and transparency ahead of Cameroon’s presidential elections, protests reportedly erupted in some cities in the country, ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, reported Oct. 16.
In the country’s capital of Douala, angry demonstrators accused authorities of electoral fraud in the Oct. 12 vote. This comes after members of the Cameroon bishops’ conference called on authorities to address any electoral insecurities they said could possibly mar the country’s presidential elections.
“Every human life is sacred and must be protected. It is everyone’s duty to ensure that the sanctity of human life is preserved before, during, and after the upcoming elections,” they said, adding: “We call on the competent authorities of the Republic to use their powers to prevent electoral insecurity and ensure a favorable environment, free from fear and intimidation.”
Results for the election are expected by Oct. 26.
Pope Leo XIV meets Jordan’s King Abdullah II: a renewed friendship
Pope Leo XIV welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania to the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City this week, their first meeting since the pope’s election earlier this year, ACI MENA reported Oct. 14.
The encounter reaffirmed the long-standing friendship between the Holy See and the Hashemite Kingdom, centered on interfaith dialogue and shared concern for peace in the Middle East. The visit comes as King Abdullah tours Europe, including Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia, for talks on regional stability.
Observers note that the strong personal rapport once shared between Pope Francis and the Jordanian monarch is likely to continue under Pope Leo, whose pontificate has already signaled continuity in humanitarian outreach and mutual respect.
Korean Catholics call on government to protect workers under new law
Catholic officials are welcoming a change to Korea’s labor laws that will help protect workers by strengthening unions and adding protections for workers in Korea’s segmented labor market, according to an Oct. 15 report from UCA News.
“Nothing is more important than the happiness, well-being, and protection of the lives of workers and their families, so it is natural for the Church to stand on the side of workers,” said Father Alexander Lee Young-hoon, the Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s secretary of labor.
“When the Church speaks out on labor and social issues, many believers perceive it as a political stance,” said John Park Young-ki, attorney and member of the Seoul Archdiocese Labor Ministry Committee. “The path of a Church that stands with the poor and the vulnerable, as Pope Francis has said, is not to follow secular logic but to show concern for the vulnerable.”
Germany names its head of foreign intelligence service as ambassador to Holy See
Pope Leo XIV received Bruno Kahl, Germany’s new ambassador to the Holy See, on Oct. 11, according to a Vatican press bulletin.
Kahl presented Leo with his credential letters during the meeting, marking the official start of his post. The new ambassador has been in Rome for several weeks, according to reports, and previously met with Leo during a private audience with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. During his stint as head of German intelligence, Kahl was in Ukraine when Russia invaded at the start of the war and had to be evacuated by special forces from the country via car, according to several reports.
Residents at a senior care home in the Archdiocese of Denver join together to pray the rosary thanks to the ministry of The Rosary Team. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Teresa Rodriguez
Denver, Colorado, Oct 11, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
After finishing the rosary with her fellow residents and volunteers from The Rosary Team, Martha “Marty” Todd smiled with peaceful joy. Over her lifetime, she has witnessed miracles through prayer — healings in her family, conversions of loved ones, and graces that could only have come from God.
Now, in her later years, she treasures the weekly visits from The Rosary Team, whose volunteers gather to pray with elderly residents in care facilities across the archdiocese. Their presence brings comfort, companionship, and a reminder that no one is ever forgotten in God’s love.
“We all love our mother,” Todd said, her eyes brightening as she spoke of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “Sometimes, when I get uptight about things or worried, praying the rosary brings comfort and kind of eases my whirling mind.”
Martha “Marty” Todd, an independent resident in Denver. Credit: Teresa Rodriguez
A life marked by grace
Todd’s journey to her nursing facility began unexpectedly after a seizure during a family Christmas visit made her realize that she “wasn’t infallible.” What could have been a frightening transition became a blessing, bringing her closer to her children, grandchildren, and extended family.
Her voice caught with emotion as she recalled a miracle that transformed her entire family. One of her closest relatives was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
“We just prayed our heads off,” Todd said.
After surgery and biopsy, the surgeon returned with impossible news: There was no cancer.
“We just know she had a healing,” she continued.
That miracle rippled through her family, drawing more relatives into the Catholic Church as they recognized “the value of Catholic prayer.” Her grandson Andrew, once a quiet and thoughtful boy, began attending daily Mass in high school. Today, he is Brother Francis, serving as assistant to the abbot at Conception Abbey.
“He was always kind of a quiet, pondering kid,” Todd reflected. “We realized he had a call.”
Teresa Rodriguez with her mother, Marian Buchheit. Credit: Paul Buchheit
A husband’s final grace
Perhaps the most unexpected conversion came from Todd’s husband, Richard, who was not Catholic. During a visit to their son Rob in Missouri, Richard was diagnosed with cancer. Their son gently asked him: “Don’t you think it’s time you were baptized?” Richard simply replied: “I guess so.”
A priest baptized him in the hospital, giving him what Marty Todd calls “a direct line to heaven” before he passed away four months later.
These profound experiences of grace and conversion have shaped Todd’s deep appreciation for the spiritual care she now receives at Morningstar, her nursing facility. Having witnessed how powerfully God works in the final moments of life, she knows the vital importance of bringing faith to those approaching their final years.
The Rosary Team’s presence
When volunteers from The Rosary Team arrive, something special happens. Their visits bring “more connection with people,” Todd explained. “They are doing something nice for us.”
The presence of volunteers transforms the experience from routine prayer into relationship. They become bridges to the wider community, especially for those in assisted living or memory care who have limited mobility.
“It’s quite a wake-up call when you move into a facility like this,” Todd said.
Since arriving, she has seen about 20 to 25 people pass away in a single year — some who “seemed really vital and just didn’t wake up one morning.”
That reality shapes how residents think about faith.
“We all realize we’re getting closer to the end of life,” she noted. “I think we ponder a little more about what it will be.”
Among her neighbors are “fallen-away Catholics” she prays for.
“It’s never too late as long as you’re still breathing,” she said.
A legacy of faith
The Rosary Team’s ministry is more than weekly visits. It is a lifeline that shows seniors they are cared for and remembered. Volunteers bring statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, lead familiar prayers and embody Christ’s love for those society too often forgets.
Todd sees the fruit of such faith passed down through her family. Her granddaughter, Alex Martinez, daughter of Rich and Joanie Todd, recently graduated as a pediatric nurse practitioner. Todd attended her graduation in Nashville — a joy she credits to being closer to family since moving to Morningstar.
In Alex’s healing work, like Brother Francis’ monastic vocation, Todd sees how prayer echoes through generations, bearing fruit in both religious and professional service.
Resident Dan Cummings prays the rosary. Credit: Cris Fanelli
Expanding a vital mission
Todd’s story highlights why The Rosary Team’s mission is so crucial. Across the country, nursing facilities house thousands of elderly residents, many of whom suffer spiritual isolation. While activities may include exercise and entertainment, few offer the kind of deep spiritual care needed as residents face mortality.
Requests for The Rosary Team’s presence continue to grow nationwide. The ministry runs entirely on the generosity of donors who believe in supporting the spiritual welfare of the elderly — fulfilling both corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Their gifts make possible the training, coordination, and expansion of this mission of prayer.
The blue tentacle-like arms containing gecko-like adhesive pads, attached to an Astrobee robotic free-flyer, reach out and grapple a “capture cube” inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. The experimental grippers, outfitted on the toaster-sized Astrobee, demonstrated autonomous detection and capture techniques that may be used to remove space debris and service satellites in low Earth orbit.
An excellent view of the Apollo 14 lunar module on the Moon, as photographed during the first Apollo 14 moonwalk on the lunar surface. The astronauts have already deployed the U.S. flag. While astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, descended in the lunar module to explore the Moon, astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot, remained with the command and service modules in lunar orbit.
“I love my country. I love serving my country. I think that was ingrained in me in the military, where I grew to realize how lucky we are to live in America and have the freedoms that we have. When I returned from [my first duty station] in Germany, I separated from the Air Force for about nine months, but I missed it so much, I was like, ‘Well, I guess I could join the reserves.” I did want to get my education. I was ready by then.
“So, I enrolled in school and went into the Reserves, and then 9/11 happened. That will change a person. I called my unit that afternoon and said, “Whatever you need, I’m ready.” I was activated supporting the mission, but I didn’t deploy like my husband. [9/11] is what touched my life more than anything: how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye. That’s what strengthened my respect of the Air Force core values: service before self and integrity, and excellence in all we do.
“Then, when I got pregnant, I thought I might want to be home, so I continued in civil service and just fell in love with my kids. That’s when my relationship with loving the Air Force changed. It evolved. I still value all that time I had and served and the lessons I learned growing up [in the Air Force]. The biggest thing I have and will continue to pass on to my kids is respect for your country, even if you don’t follow the route I did. Respect your country and the people who serve it.” – Tami Wisniewski, Management and Program Analyst, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
![Bishops discuss faith formation before National Catholic Youth Conference #Catholic
Organizers of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming digital dialogue with young people Nov. 21 at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis speak to the media at the site of the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore on Nov. 12, 2025. Left to right: Cardinal Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States; Montse Alvarado, president and COO of EWTN News; Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Christina Lamas, executive director of National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry; and Archbishop Charles Thompson, Archdiocese of Indianapolis. / Credit: Shannon Mullen/National Catholic Register
Baltimore, Maryland, Nov 17, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Bishops discussed young Catholics’ place in the Church ahead of the National Catholic Youth Conference.At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, bishops spoke about the young generation as many prepare to attend NCYC. The conference will take place Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis for prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers.During NCYC, Pope Leo XIV will hold a digital dialogue with teens from across the nation. “When the pope speaks, he speaks to the world, and this will be a wonderful, wonderful moment. This encounter will engage young people in real time,” said Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia. At a Nov. 12 press conference at the USCCB fall plenary, Pérez said “there is a deep significance to this encounter.” He added: “It reflects the Holy Father’s desire to connect with young people, with our youth, whom his predecessor … Pope Francis, called ‘the now of God.’”Pérez said during his time as a priest and bishop, he has noticed teenagers “want a place in the Church.” He said: “They want to be seen, heard, and valued, which is so beautiful ... They want to be loved by the Church.”“Even in today’s interconnected world, the Church can seem far away from young people. The Holy Father’s choice to encounter the American youth ... is an expression of his closeness to the youth of the world.”“This moment will mark a powerful opportunity for young people to witness the beauty of the universal Church with our Holy Father and to express their concerns, voices, experience, [and] what’s in their hearts,” Pérez said.Bishop Joseph Espaillat, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York, has attended NCYC more than a dozen times. He told CNA “the energy and the vibrancy of the young people” is why he returns each year.“It’s not just the local parish or the local diocese, but it’s the national Church and there’s something powerful when we come together,” Espaillat said.This year’s event is “the first time ever the Holy Father has a live online interview like this,” at NCYC, Espaillat said. “What I love about it is that the Church in the United States is leading right now. The young people being the focus with our Holy Father is going to be great, and it’s going to produce a lot of positive energy in our Church.”Espaillat encouraged attendees “to be open and allow yourself to be surprised by the Holy Spirit.” He added: “Don’t go in with a preconceived notion. It is a great event in which there are many, many fruits. I’ve seen young people just come to life at the event.”Youth draw closer to the ChurchAs thousands of teenagers plan to gather at the national conference, U.S. bishops further explained why so many young Catholics are looking to the Church. A number of bishops highlighted the Catholic presence on social media is helping to draw them in.Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts, told CNA the exponential growth of young Catholics coming to the Church is “amazing and exciting.” Byrne, who served as chair for the USCCB’s committee on communications, detailed how much its online presence has grown its outreach to the young generation and wider population. “Beginning with the illness of our beloved Pope Francis, through the funeral, and then the transition to Pope Leo, we’ve actually had a 226% growth in our social media on the four platforms we use — TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube,” he said.“The amazing thing is, it’s still growing. It means that people are seeing it, sharing it,” Byrne said. He specifically noted it’s the “young people” spreading the message online. “So we see that we are reaching people,” Byrne said. “But our goal is not to get people locked on their phones. Our goal is to get people locked on Jesus Christ and have the impression be Jesus Christ and his bride, the Church.”“This is an exciting time. It’s not without its challenges, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity,” Byrne said. “We’re reaching young people who are curious and hungry. It’s so exciting to see the Church continue to speak to the world, because the Church has never lost her relevance.”The start of the Catholic online presence followed the movement of the new atheists, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said. He told CNA the movement was made up of “people who were really shaping the culture, saying: ‘There’s no purpose of life. We come from nowhere. We go nowhere. There’s no objective moral value.’”“A lot of people, myself included, began to get on social media with a religious voice,” Barron said. “People who had not heard a religious voice or who were disaffiliated … could find people like me and many others who were actually talking about God and about religion.”“But I think as a whole generation came of age, they realized what a desperately sad and empty message that is,” Barron said. “There’s this hunger in the heart for God, and so that just reasserts itself. I think a lot of younger people who were raised on this very vapid philosophy began to look to religion.”As more young Catholics get involved in youth formation whether in their parishes or at larger gatherings like NCYC, Barron said he encourages them to use the opportunities to “build community and build a sense of family with other believers.”Barron, who is the founder of the Catholic media organization Word on Fire, has gained nearly 3 million YouTube subscribers and millions of other followers across social media platforms. But, he said, “one drawback of social media is that it’s a little private world. It can be a lot of people accessing it, but privately.”“Maybe through social media an individual finds a path to religion, but then to look around a room and see thousands of other people that are on a similar path — that’s a great thing,” Barron said.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/bishops-discuss-faith-formation-before-national-catholic-youth-conference-catholic-organizers-of-pope-leo-xivs-upcoming-digital-dialogue-with-young-people-nov-21-at-the-national-catholi.webp)
