Small

5 things to know about St. Bridget of Sweden, mystic and mother #Catholic On July 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic of the Middle Ages who was a wife, mother to a large family, lady-in-waiting to a queen, and founder of a religious order that still exists today.1. St. Bridget experienced her first vision at age 10.Bridget, or “Birgitta,” was born to wealthy, devout parents in Sweden in the year 1303. Her mother died early in her life, and she and her siblings were raised by their aunt. At 10 years old, Bridget had a vision of Christ on the cross in his agonizing suffering. In her vision, Bridget saw Christ with his wounds from Good Friday, with the wounds of “The Man of Sorrows” in Isaiah 53. She asked Jesus who hurt him, and he responded: “Those who despise me and refuse my love for them.” She would go on to write about these revelations; her works were published posthumously.2. Bridget served in the royal court of Sweden.Bridget was married in 1316 at the young age of 13 to 18-year-old Ulf Gudmarsson, the Swedish prince of Nericia. The two joined the Third Order of St. Francis and dedicated their resources to building a hospital and caring for the needs of the poor. Ulf served on the council of the king of Sweden, Magnus Eriksson, and the king asked Bridget to be a lady-in-waiting for his wife, Queen Blanche of Namur.3. Bridget was a mother to eight children, and one of them became a saint.Bridget and Ulf raised a large family together while also serving the poor and managing their duties in court. Of Bridget’s eight children, two died in infancy, and another two died in the Crusades. Two of their surviving children were married, and another two joined religious life. One of those two became a saint and was canonized — St. Catherine of Sweden.4. Bridget founded a religious order, the Bridgettines, after her husband died.Bridget and Ulf made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain between 1341 and 1343, but on their return trip, Ulf became ill. The couple stopped in France until Ulf regained his health, but soon after they returned to Sweden, in 1344, he passed away.After his death, Bridget donated her belongings to the poor and devoted her life to Christ, following a call from God to start a new religious order.She founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior, now known as the Brigittines, in 1346, and her congregation was approved by Pope Urban V in 1370. The Brigittines were to be led by an abbess and constitute both nuns and priests. The priests, who lived in a separate section, served as chaplains and confessors for the nuns.King Magnus helped Bridget make the Abbey of Vadstena the home of the Brigittines. He donated a small palace and land for the new monastery.But Bridget would never see her work come to fruition. She had a vision from Christ calling her to return to Rome and await the pope’s return from France during the Avignon Papacy. She never became a nun herself, and she never saw the monastery in Vadstena. She died several years before the pope’s permanent return to Rome.But her order spread through Europe and still exists today in both contemplative monasteries and apostolic convents, with branches in 19 countries including Sweden, Norway, Poland, Italy, Israel, India, the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States.5. St. Bridget is the co-patroness of Europe.After Bridget died in Rome on July 23, 1373, her children brought her remains back to the headquarters of her religious order. Less than 20 years later, in 1391, Pope Boniface IX proclaimed her a saint. Her revelations and writings on the sufferings of Christ were published after her death. In 1999, St. John Paul II chose her as one of the three female co-patronesses of Europe, along with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Edith Stein.This story was first published on July 23, 2024, and has been updated.
Read More

5 things to know about St. Bridget of Sweden, mystic and mother #Catholic On July 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic of the Middle Ages who was a wife, mother to a large family, lady-in-waiting to a queen, and founder of a religious order that still exists today.1. St. Bridget experienced her first vision at age 10.Bridget, or “Birgitta,” was born to wealthy, devout parents in Sweden in the year 1303. Her mother died early in her life, and she and her siblings were raised by their aunt. At 10 years old, Bridget had a vision of Christ on the cross in his agonizing suffering. In her vision, Bridget saw Christ with his wounds from Good Friday, with the wounds of “The Man of Sorrows” in Isaiah 53. She asked Jesus who hurt him, and he responded: “Those who despise me and refuse my love for them.” She would go on to write about these revelations; her works were published posthumously.2. Bridget served in the royal court of Sweden.Bridget was married in 1316 at the young age of 13 to 18-year-old Ulf Gudmarsson, the Swedish prince of Nericia. The two joined the Third Order of St. Francis and dedicated their resources to building a hospital and caring for the needs of the poor. Ulf served on the council of the king of Sweden, Magnus Eriksson, and the king asked Bridget to be a lady-in-waiting for his wife, Queen Blanche of Namur.3. Bridget was a mother to eight children, and one of them became a saint.Bridget and Ulf raised a large family together while also serving the poor and managing their duties in court. Of Bridget’s eight children, two died in infancy, and another two died in the Crusades. Two of their surviving children were married, and another two joined religious life. One of those two became a saint and was canonized — St. Catherine of Sweden.4. Bridget founded a religious order, the Bridgettines, after her husband died.Bridget and Ulf made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain between 1341 and 1343, but on their return trip, Ulf became ill. The couple stopped in France until Ulf regained his health, but soon after they returned to Sweden, in 1344, he passed away.After his death, Bridget donated her belongings to the poor and devoted her life to Christ, following a call from God to start a new religious order.She founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior, now known as the Brigittines, in 1346, and her congregation was approved by Pope Urban V in 1370. The Brigittines were to be led by an abbess and constitute both nuns and priests. The priests, who lived in a separate section, served as chaplains and confessors for the nuns.King Magnus helped Bridget make the Abbey of Vadstena the home of the Brigittines. He donated a small palace and land for the new monastery.But Bridget would never see her work come to fruition. She had a vision from Christ calling her to return to Rome and await the pope’s return from France during the Avignon Papacy. She never became a nun herself, and she never saw the monastery in Vadstena. She died several years before the pope’s permanent return to Rome.But her order spread through Europe and still exists today in both contemplative monasteries and apostolic convents, with branches in 19 countries including Sweden, Norway, Poland, Italy, Israel, India, the Philippines, Mexico, and the United States.5. St. Bridget is the co-patroness of Europe.After Bridget died in Rome on July 23, 1373, her children brought her remains back to the headquarters of her religious order. Less than 20 years later, in 1391, Pope Boniface IX proclaimed her a saint. Her revelations and writings on the sufferings of Christ were published after her death. In 1999, St. John Paul II chose her as one of the three female co-patronesses of Europe, along with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Edith Stein.This story was first published on July 23, 2024, and has been updated.

unitedyam

On July 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic of the Middle Ages who was a wife and mother of eight children.

Read More
Sicar: The retreat transforming the lives of young people in Latin America #Catholic The Sicar retreat (“Sychar” in the English Bible) has given rise to one of the most notable youth evangelization experiences in Latin America. It came about through a process of discernment by a Mexican religious in her own search for God, a dynamic movement that today reaches thousands of young people.With over 30 years of consecrated life, Mother María Elena Martínez has dedicated her life to the spiritual formation of young people and adults through “Mary, Mother of Love,” a private association of the faithful she founded in Mexico in 2015.The community is centered on retreats making a spiritual impact, such as Emmaus, which is held in parishes and correctional facilities, and Sicar, which is aimed specifically at young adults. Mother María Elena Martínez. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Her life, marked from childhood by a quest for God, would ultimately become bound up in an initiative that is active today in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru.“I remember as a little girl I had a great thirst for God,” she shared in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.That initial calling deepened over time. At age 11, she recalled, a desire to please Jesus arose within her. “A desire for purity … I wanted to live a life of virginity,” she noted, explaining that she prayed insistently to the Virgin Mary, asking for that consecration. Mother María Elena Martínez in front of an oasis. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez However, her path was neither immediate nor direct. “Religious life wasn’t something that particularly appealed to me,” she admitted. In her youth, she went through various experiences ranging from completing a degree in translating to exploring broader spiritual concerns, which eventually led her to try out consecrated life with the Missionaries of Charity.Some time later, she tried cloistered contemplative life. “I wanted something more interior, deeper,” she confessed.A concern arises: ‘What about the young people?’The Sicar retreat did not originate as a planned initiative but rather as a pastoral response that only gradually took shape. According to Mother María Elena, for years many people approached her with the same concern: “What about the young people?” “Do something for the young people,” they would tell her. Sicar team members in Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez The Gospel account of the Samaritan woman began to take center stage in her prayer and discernment. Jesus’ dialogue at the well of Sychar — “If you knew the gift of God” (cf. Jn 4:1-42) — served as the starting point for helping young people discover Christ. “The passage about the Samaritan woman was so rich, so rich, that I could draw so much from it,” she explained.The decisive step came in 2016, when the first Sicar retreat was held. Mother María Elena remembered it as the beginning of something small and simple yet deeply meaningful. Young people with prior experience in movements like Emmaus were the first to participate. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Sicar began to expand. After establishing itself in cities such as Mexico City, Tehuacán, and Tecamachalco (in the state of Puebla), as well as San Luis de la Paz (Guanajuato state), Veracruz, Mérida (Yucatán state), and Cuernavaca (Morelos state), the initiative began to cross borders beyond Mexico. The first retreat in Guatemala took place in 2017; Buenos Aires in 2018; Paraguay in 2022; and in Peru in 2023.“It has been growing in many places, rescuing so many young people,” Mother María Elena said with gratitude.In Mexico, 38 Sicar retreats have been held with an average of 50 participants each, amounting to nearly 2,000 young people. In Peru, where the initiative arrived in 2023, seven retreats have already taken place with around 70 participants each, reaching approximately 490 people. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Ottmar Ricalde, a Sicar volunteer in Mexico, noted that “Sicar means and has meant so much over these past 10 years.” “I could write and speak about all the stories, all the laughter, and all the tears, but the most important thing of all is the love of God that has been a gift to me,” he stated.“My life was always focused on pleasing others, but when I met God and realized how much he loves me, I began wanting to please him,” he said.In Paraguay, Sicar coordinator Fátima Correa highlighted that the experience “was a time of growth and renewal. It allowed us to view our history with fresh eyes.” Sicar Paraguay 2026 team members. | Credit: Sicar Paraguay “It was a retreat organized by young people for young people, where every testimony reflected realities many of us could relate to,” she added.A couple from Argentina who participated in the retreat and are now married say that Sicar marked a turning point in their lives. “We arrived as boyfriend and girlfriend and returned with completely transformed hearts … today, we feel that one of the greatest fruits was our marriage.”A growing community in PeruSicar arrived in Peru in 2023 and has since established a growing community.Geraldine Spihlman, director of Sicar in Peru, explained that the initiative arose after a need was identified within youth ministry. “When young people reached the age of 24 or 25, they no longer had a place to continue their journey of faith,” she noted.Following contact with Mother María Elena, it was decided to launch the initiative in Lima, which holds two retreats a year: in May and November.Spihlman highlighted that the most visible fruit is the community: “Many young people have discovered that it’s hard to go it alone but that everything is easier in community. It is a community where you can see how they love one another.”Instagram post‘God’s mercy knows no bounds’One of the most common fruits of these retreats is a shift in how one views others.In personal encounters, transformation occurs not only for those receiving the retreat but also for those who put it on. “God’s mercy knows no bounds,” Mother María Elena stated. “You look at people with eyes of mercy. You no longer judge the person; instead, you see them as a child of God,” she explained.Eros Acevedo, another team member, said the retreat “was an encounter with God that changed everything … I arrived bearing wounds, and his presence touched them. I left renewed.” Sicar Peru team members, May 2026. | Credit: Sicar Peru Rafael Mansilla, 27, said Sicar taught him to persevere in the faith. “Faith is not a flame that goes out but a steady flame,” he said.Dina Dávila shared that the retreat was the instrument God used to call her. “The love I have experienced in the community is overwhelming,” she added.‘A living Jesus’Through the retreats, Mother María Elena explained, people are invited to encounter “a living Jesus.” “God continues to act; he continues to perform miracles every day,” she affirmed. She said she lives one day at a time. “Each day I tell the Lord, ‘For one more day, I say yes to you.’” Participants in a Sicar retreat in Mexico. | Credit: Sicar Mexico The Sicar retreat, born of a contemplative reading of the Gospel, continues to spread wherever young people seek meaning, healing, and an experience of mature faith.Today, the young “Samaritans” who have lived this experience carry with them the words that marked their encounter with God: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst” (Jn 4:14).This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Sicar: The retreat transforming the lives of young people in Latin America #Catholic The Sicar retreat (“Sychar” in the English Bible) has given rise to one of the most notable youth evangelization experiences in Latin America. It came about through a process of discernment by a Mexican religious in her own search for God, a dynamic movement that today reaches thousands of young people.With over 30 years of consecrated life, Mother María Elena Martínez has dedicated her life to the spiritual formation of young people and adults through “Mary, Mother of Love,” a private association of the faithful she founded in Mexico in 2015.The community is centered on retreats making a spiritual impact, such as Emmaus, which is held in parishes and correctional facilities, and Sicar, which is aimed specifically at young adults. Mother María Elena Martínez. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Her life, marked from childhood by a quest for God, would ultimately become bound up in an initiative that is active today in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru.“I remember as a little girl I had a great thirst for God,” she shared in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.That initial calling deepened over time. At age 11, she recalled, a desire to please Jesus arose within her. “A desire for purity … I wanted to live a life of virginity,” she noted, explaining that she prayed insistently to the Virgin Mary, asking for that consecration. Mother María Elena Martínez in front of an oasis. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez However, her path was neither immediate nor direct. “Religious life wasn’t something that particularly appealed to me,” she admitted. In her youth, she went through various experiences ranging from completing a degree in translating to exploring broader spiritual concerns, which eventually led her to try out consecrated life with the Missionaries of Charity.Some time later, she tried cloistered contemplative life. “I wanted something more interior, deeper,” she confessed.A concern arises: ‘What about the young people?’The Sicar retreat did not originate as a planned initiative but rather as a pastoral response that only gradually took shape. According to Mother María Elena, for years many people approached her with the same concern: “What about the young people?” “Do something for the young people,” they would tell her. Sicar team members in Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez The Gospel account of the Samaritan woman began to take center stage in her prayer and discernment. Jesus’ dialogue at the well of Sychar — “If you knew the gift of God” (cf. Jn 4:1-42) — served as the starting point for helping young people discover Christ. “The passage about the Samaritan woman was so rich, so rich, that I could draw so much from it,” she explained.The decisive step came in 2016, when the first Sicar retreat was held. Mother María Elena remembered it as the beginning of something small and simple yet deeply meaningful. Young people with prior experience in movements like Emmaus were the first to participate. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Sicar began to expand. After establishing itself in cities such as Mexico City, Tehuacán, and Tecamachalco (in the state of Puebla), as well as San Luis de la Paz (Guanajuato state), Veracruz, Mérida (Yucatán state), and Cuernavaca (Morelos state), the initiative began to cross borders beyond Mexico. The first retreat in Guatemala took place in 2017; Buenos Aires in 2018; Paraguay in 2022; and in Peru in 2023.“It has been growing in many places, rescuing so many young people,” Mother María Elena said with gratitude.In Mexico, 38 Sicar retreats have been held with an average of 50 participants each, amounting to nearly 2,000 young people. In Peru, where the initiative arrived in 2023, seven retreats have already taken place with around 70 participants each, reaching approximately 490 people. Sicar Mexico. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Mother María Elena Martínez Ottmar Ricalde, a Sicar volunteer in Mexico, noted that “Sicar means and has meant so much over these past 10 years.” “I could write and speak about all the stories, all the laughter, and all the tears, but the most important thing of all is the love of God that has been a gift to me,” he stated.“My life was always focused on pleasing others, but when I met God and realized how much he loves me, I began wanting to please him,” he said.In Paraguay, Sicar coordinator Fátima Correa highlighted that the experience “was a time of growth and renewal. It allowed us to view our history with fresh eyes.” Sicar Paraguay 2026 team members. | Credit: Sicar Paraguay “It was a retreat organized by young people for young people, where every testimony reflected realities many of us could relate to,” she added.A couple from Argentina who participated in the retreat and are now married say that Sicar marked a turning point in their lives. “We arrived as boyfriend and girlfriend and returned with completely transformed hearts … today, we feel that one of the greatest fruits was our marriage.”A growing community in PeruSicar arrived in Peru in 2023 and has since established a growing community.Geraldine Spihlman, director of Sicar in Peru, explained that the initiative arose after a need was identified within youth ministry. “When young people reached the age of 24 or 25, they no longer had a place to continue their journey of faith,” she noted.Following contact with Mother María Elena, it was decided to launch the initiative in Lima, which holds two retreats a year: in May and November.Spihlman highlighted that the most visible fruit is the community: “Many young people have discovered that it’s hard to go it alone but that everything is easier in community. It is a community where you can see how they love one another.”Instagram post‘God’s mercy knows no bounds’One of the most common fruits of these retreats is a shift in how one views others.In personal encounters, transformation occurs not only for those receiving the retreat but also for those who put it on. “God’s mercy knows no bounds,” Mother María Elena stated. “You look at people with eyes of mercy. You no longer judge the person; instead, you see them as a child of God,” she explained.Eros Acevedo, another team member, said the retreat “was an encounter with God that changed everything … I arrived bearing wounds, and his presence touched them. I left renewed.” Sicar Peru team members, May 2026. | Credit: Sicar Peru Rafael Mansilla, 27, said Sicar taught him to persevere in the faith. “Faith is not a flame that goes out but a steady flame,” he said.Dina Dávila shared that the retreat was the instrument God used to call her. “The love I have experienced in the community is overwhelming,” she added.‘A living Jesus’Through the retreats, Mother María Elena explained, people are invited to encounter “a living Jesus.” “God continues to act; he continues to perform miracles every day,” she affirmed. She said she lives one day at a time. “Each day I tell the Lord, ‘For one more day, I say yes to you.’” Participants in a Sicar retreat in Mexico. | Credit: Sicar Mexico The Sicar retreat, born of a contemplative reading of the Gospel, continues to spread wherever young people seek meaning, healing, and an experience of mature faith.Today, the young “Samaritans” who have lived this experience carry with them the words that marked their encounter with God: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst” (Jn 4:14).This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Through her own spiritual journey seeking God, Mother María Elena Martínez founded a community and a retreat movement that is touching the lives of thousands of young people in Latin America.

Read More
Parishioners in western New York ask Vatican to let them save 160-year-old church #Catholic “[We] will not receive an extension or any second chances.” That’s the urgent message Catholics in western New York are telling the local faithful in their bid to preserve a Civil War-era parish in the small town of Auburn. The Diocese of Rochester is moving to permanently close and potentially sell Holy Family Church due to structural issues that officials say make it unsafe to use as a parish. Interior details of Holy Family Catholic Church in Auburn, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of H.O.P.E. The diocese shut down the church in June 2024, but parishioners of the parish in Auburn — located about 40 minutes outside of Syracuse — are petitioning the Vatican to keep the church an active holy site rather than allow it to be sold off to potential developers. On its website, Holy Family Organization to Preserve and Endure says the Vatican has requested that the group “demonstrate funding for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the church.”The organizers say they are working to raise pledges to support the parish but there is a “narrow time window” and numbers “must be provided to the Vatican by mid-late summer 2026.”“If H.O.P.E. fails to demonstrate sufficient evidence to the Vatican by mid-late summer, then Holy Family Church could be sold to a secular buyer and could be destroyed,” the group said.Parish’s roots stretch back to early 1800sThe Auburn-based Roblee Historic Preservation said in a “statement of significance” report that Auburn was the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Western New York region in the early 1800s. The Roblee report was drafted in order to assist the city’s historic review board in potentially awarding a landmark designation to the parish. The New York Historic Preservation Office had previously said the property was eligible for listing on both the state and national historic registers. Holy Family Church hosts the wedding of Joseph Paul Staehr Sr. and Jean Marie Hayes Staehr on Nov. 29, 1958. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Richard Staehr The Church of the Holy Family was initially dedicated in 1830 in a chapel previously used by local Methodists. The current building was built in 1861 by local Dutch-born master builder John Vanderbosch.The report described the parish as the “mother church” of Auburn and “an iconic part of its downtown skyline.” On its website, the Catholic preservation group says it hopes to retain the parish for “Catholic religious activity,” including rosary groups and private prayer groups, “occasional worship,” sacred music concerts, sacred art displays, and architecture tours.Karen Odrzywolski, the president of the parish preservation group, said the church is also meant to preserve the memory and legacy of Bishop Patrick Byrne, an apostolic delegate to Korea who was martyred in 1950 during a four-month-long forced march while in the captivity of communist forces in North Korea. Born in Washington, D.C., Byrne spent his formative years in Auburn, living just a few blocks from the parish. His family attended Mass there and he attended the parochial school; he was confirmed at the parish in 1900. A record from Holy Family Church shows the Sept. 2, 1900, date of Bishop Patrick Byrne’s confirmation. | Credit: Courtesy of H.O.P.E. Odrzywolski told EWTN News the preservation group formed in July 2024, a month after the parish was officially shuttered by the diocese. “We initially put together a preservation plan, which we shared with our pastor and with the Diocese of Rochester,” she said. “We’ve also shared it with the Vatican.” “We’ve also worked on educating the community as to the significance of the church,” she said. “We’ve had events in honor of Bishop Byrne and of his family, and on the 75th anniversary of his martyrdom we had a prayer vigil.”In addition to the link with Byrne, Odrzywolski said the parish was also once host to another famous Catholic bishop, now-Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. The prelate, at the time the bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, officiated the funeral Mass of Father William Davie at the parish in 1968. The Vatican has requested that the group demonstration its ability to fund the church’s upkeep, she said. “We’re very appreciative of this opportunity. We’re hopeful if we can demonstrate the funding they’ll allow us to proceed with preserving the church.”Thus far, Odrzywolski said, the group isn’t accepting cash donations; instead, it is collecting pledges “so we can demonstrate our ability to fund the maintenance, repair, and preservation of the church.” “We’ve received over 300 pledges,” she continued. “We’re extremely grateful to every single person who has pledged. Many people have pledged as much as they possibly can. Many who pledge in general may be of limited or fixed income.”Odrzywolski said the needed repairs are limited to the exterior facade. The interior, she said, has been well maintained over more than a century and a half. The Vatican, meanwhile, is expecting the group’s proof of viability by August. “We’re trying our best to aim for an Aug. 1 deadline in order to allow enough time to prepare the documents in a timely manner,” she said.“The truth is, we need the entire community to come together,” she said. “The closure of the church impacts the entire community, and we need individuals, families, and businesses to come together.” “It’s about the future of Auburn,” she continued. “but it’s also about honoring Bishop Byrne, and ultimately honoring God.”
Read More

Parishioners in western New York ask Vatican to let them save 160-year-old church #Catholic “[We] will not receive an extension or any second chances.” That’s the urgent message Catholics in western New York are telling the local faithful in their bid to preserve a Civil War-era parish in the small town of Auburn. The Diocese of Rochester is moving to permanently close and potentially sell Holy Family Church due to structural issues that officials say make it unsafe to use as a parish. Interior details of Holy Family Catholic Church in Auburn, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of H.O.P.E. The diocese shut down the church in June 2024, but parishioners of the parish in Auburn — located about 40 minutes outside of Syracuse — are petitioning the Vatican to keep the church an active holy site rather than allow it to be sold off to potential developers. On its website, Holy Family Organization to Preserve and Endure says the Vatican has requested that the group “demonstrate funding for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the church.”The organizers say they are working to raise pledges to support the parish but there is a “narrow time window” and numbers “must be provided to the Vatican by mid-late summer 2026.”“If H.O.P.E. fails to demonstrate sufficient evidence to the Vatican by mid-late summer, then Holy Family Church could be sold to a secular buyer and could be destroyed,” the group said.Parish’s roots stretch back to early 1800sThe Auburn-based Roblee Historic Preservation said in a “statement of significance” report that Auburn was the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Western New York region in the early 1800s. The Roblee report was drafted in order to assist the city’s historic review board in potentially awarding a landmark designation to the parish. The New York Historic Preservation Office had previously said the property was eligible for listing on both the state and national historic registers. Holy Family Church hosts the wedding of Joseph Paul Staehr Sr. and Jean Marie Hayes Staehr on Nov. 29, 1958. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Richard Staehr The Church of the Holy Family was initially dedicated in 1830 in a chapel previously used by local Methodists. The current building was built in 1861 by local Dutch-born master builder John Vanderbosch.The report described the parish as the “mother church” of Auburn and “an iconic part of its downtown skyline.” On its website, the Catholic preservation group says it hopes to retain the parish for “Catholic religious activity,” including rosary groups and private prayer groups, “occasional worship,” sacred music concerts, sacred art displays, and architecture tours.Karen Odrzywolski, the president of the parish preservation group, said the church is also meant to preserve the memory and legacy of Bishop Patrick Byrne, an apostolic delegate to Korea who was martyred in 1950 during a four-month-long forced march while in the captivity of communist forces in North Korea. Born in Washington, D.C., Byrne spent his formative years in Auburn, living just a few blocks from the parish. His family attended Mass there and he attended the parochial school; he was confirmed at the parish in 1900. A record from Holy Family Church shows the Sept. 2, 1900, date of Bishop Patrick Byrne’s confirmation. | Credit: Courtesy of H.O.P.E. Odrzywolski told EWTN News the preservation group formed in July 2024, a month after the parish was officially shuttered by the diocese. “We initially put together a preservation plan, which we shared with our pastor and with the Diocese of Rochester,” she said. “We’ve also shared it with the Vatican.” “We’ve also worked on educating the community as to the significance of the church,” she said. “We’ve had events in honor of Bishop Byrne and of his family, and on the 75th anniversary of his martyrdom we had a prayer vigil.”In addition to the link with Byrne, Odrzywolski said the parish was also once host to another famous Catholic bishop, now-Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. The prelate, at the time the bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, officiated the funeral Mass of Father William Davie at the parish in 1968. The Vatican has requested that the group demonstration its ability to fund the church’s upkeep, she said. “We’re very appreciative of this opportunity. We’re hopeful if we can demonstrate the funding they’ll allow us to proceed with preserving the church.”Thus far, Odrzywolski said, the group isn’t accepting cash donations; instead, it is collecting pledges “so we can demonstrate our ability to fund the maintenance, repair, and preservation of the church.” “We’ve received over 300 pledges,” she continued. “We’re extremely grateful to every single person who has pledged. Many people have pledged as much as they possibly can. Many who pledge in general may be of limited or fixed income.”Odrzywolski said the needed repairs are limited to the exterior facade. The interior, she said, has been well maintained over more than a century and a half. The Vatican, meanwhile, is expecting the group’s proof of viability by August. “We’re trying our best to aim for an Aug. 1 deadline in order to allow enough time to prepare the documents in a timely manner,” she said.“The truth is, we need the entire community to come together,” she said. “The closure of the church impacts the entire community, and we need individuals, families, and businesses to come together.” “It’s about the future of Auburn,” she continued. “but it’s also about honoring Bishop Byrne, and ultimately honoring God.”

unitedyam

Holy Family Church in Auburn, New York, is facing a possible sale to developers if local Catholics cannot provide a financial plan to the Holy See.

Read More
Haiti plunged into deepening violence as drone fatalities, gang activity increase #Catholic Escalating gang violence and a 120% increase in drone attacks have driven Haiti deeper into what aid officials describe as a rapidly deteriorating situation, placing the country among the top five on the International Rescue Committeeʼs 2026 emergency watch list.“Haiti is in the grip of an overwhelming humanitarian crisis,” Ciarán Donnelly, senior vice president for crisis response, recovery, and development at the International Rescue Committee, told “EWTN News Nightly” on July 15.According to Donnelly, more than 1,200 civilians are estimated to have been killed in drone attacks in Haiti this year, including 17 children.“This is one of the most concerning aspects of the humanitarian situation in Haiti and of the trends that weʼve seen over recent months,” he said.Donnelly described the drones as “small, cheap, easier-to-operate quadcopter-type drones which are fitted with explosives and then used essentially as improvised explosive devices, some of which have exploded in public areas with children around or people who are out shopping, leading to a number of fatalities.”“The situation is particularly acute in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which is in the grip of gang-fueled violence, with gangs controlling about 90% of the total territory of the capital city,” he said.In addition, Donnelly said Haitians face limited access to healthcare, and about half of the country’s population of around 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.“Our team on the ground, working very closely with Haitian civil society organizations, is focused on providing healthcare support, supporting primary healthcare, and, in particular, services for women and children and water and sanitation,” he said. “The risk of communicable diseases, given the displacement and the underfunding of public services in Haiti, is quite significant, as well as protection services for women and children who are particularly at risk of violence given the given the situation on the ground.”Donnelly’s remarks come as Haiti has climbed from ninth place in 2023 to fifth place in 2026 on the International Rescue Committee’s annual emergency watch list, which ranks the top 20 countries facing the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. No. 1 on the list is Sudan.
Read More

Haiti plunged into deepening violence as drone fatalities, gang activity increase #Catholic Escalating gang violence and a 120% increase in drone attacks have driven Haiti deeper into what aid officials describe as a rapidly deteriorating situation, placing the country among the top five on the International Rescue Committeeʼs 2026 emergency watch list.“Haiti is in the grip of an overwhelming humanitarian crisis,” Ciarán Donnelly, senior vice president for crisis response, recovery, and development at the International Rescue Committee, told “EWTN News Nightly” on July 15.According to Donnelly, more than 1,200 civilians are estimated to have been killed in drone attacks in Haiti this year, including 17 children.“This is one of the most concerning aspects of the humanitarian situation in Haiti and of the trends that weʼve seen over recent months,” he said.Donnelly described the drones as “small, cheap, easier-to-operate quadcopter-type drones which are fitted with explosives and then used essentially as improvised explosive devices, some of which have exploded in public areas with children around or people who are out shopping, leading to a number of fatalities.”“The situation is particularly acute in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which is in the grip of gang-fueled violence, with gangs controlling about 90% of the total territory of the capital city,” he said.In addition, Donnelly said Haitians face limited access to healthcare, and about half of the country’s population of around 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.“Our team on the ground, working very closely with Haitian civil society organizations, is focused on providing healthcare support, supporting primary healthcare, and, in particular, services for women and children and water and sanitation,” he said. “The risk of communicable diseases, given the displacement and the underfunding of public services in Haiti, is quite significant, as well as protection services for women and children who are particularly at risk of violence given the given the situation on the ground.”Donnelly’s remarks come as Haiti has climbed from ninth place in 2023 to fifth place in 2026 on the International Rescue Committee’s annual emergency watch list, which ranks the top 20 countries facing the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. No. 1 on the list is Sudan.

unitedyam

Haiti climbed to No. 5 on the International Rescue Committee’s 2026 emergency watch list, which ranks the top 20 countries facing the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

Read More
2 historic churches in Mexico City reopen almost 9 years after earthquake damage #Catholic Almost nine years after the earthquakes that shook central and southwestern Mexico in September 2017, St. John of God Church and Holy True Cross Church, both located in Mexico City, have reopened their doors for worship.On July 8, a Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, marking the communityʼs return to their church and concluding a lengthy restoration process. Start of the reopening Mass at Holy Cross Parish. | Credit: Holy True Cross Parish, Mexico City The earthquakes of Sept. 7 and 19, 2017, resulted in 468 deaths and caused damage to thousands of buildings.In Mexico City alone, around 160 Catholic churches suffered structural damage of varying severity such as these two churches located just a short distance apart. Restoration work at the Holy True Cross Parish. | Credit: Holy True Cross Parish, Mexico City 5 centuries of historyHoly True Cross Church is considered one of the oldest churches in the country.According to tradition, the explorer and conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the construction of a small chapel to commemorate the landing of the Spanish expedition at the port of what is now known as the state of Veracruz. Over time, that chapel gave rise to the parish as it is known today.Facebook postThe church also houses important works of sacred art, such as the Christ of the Seven Veils, which is said to have been a gift from Pope Paul III to King Carlos V of Spain. Additionally, a relic of the true cross is preserved there, considered by Christian tradition to be a fragment of the cross on which Jesus Christ died. Reliquary containing a splinter of the true cross. | Credit: “EWTN Noticias” In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Father Juan Carlos Guerrero Ugalde, the pastor of Holy True Cross and St. John of God, stated that restoring the churches was a priority of “not only ecclesiastical but also civic interest.”“This church [Holy True Cross] was the third parish established in the city and, therefore, holds a tradition of faith dating back to the 16th century,” he explained.9 years to returnGuerrero described the restoration process as “meticulous and slow” due to the complexity of the damage.Among other measures, the bell towers, which were at risk of collapse, were reinforced, cracks were repaired, the hydraulic piles supporting both structures were serviced, the roofs were waterproofed, and work was carried out to correct the effects of the ground settling.Facebook postThe work was overseen by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, as both buildings are part of the nationʼs historical heritage.In Mexico, religious buildings constructed prior to the 1992 constitutional reforms are state property, although they remain places of worship and are used by religious associations.The restoration of the Holy True Cross church faced an additional challenge: a fire in August 2020 caused by individuals living on the street. Reports indicate that a campfire spiraled out of control, damaging the choir loft, the dome, and sacred art.Today, those walking through the historic central part of Mexico City can once again enter the church. Marcela Eduardo, who works in the area and took a moment of free time to stop in and pray, did just that.“It brought me great joy to see it open and to see that repairs are underway,” she noted in an interview with ACI Prensa. She said that when she saw the parish church open, her first thought was to go in to see Christ and “greet him, make the sign of the cross, and ask him for something: that he give me more energy.” Much more than a churchThese churches are surrounded by some of Mexico’s most important cultural landmarks, such as the Franz Mayer Museum, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Alameda Central, a large city park. Visible in the background of the photo are the Torre Latinoamericana, the Palace of Fine Arts, and part of the Alameda Central. | Credit: “EWTN Noticias” Although Holy True Cross and St. John of God churches might go unnoticed by some tourists amid so many other buildings, Guerrero noted that their value has been “significant for both the faith and the city.”He explained that, following the 1985 earthquake, the area welcomed numerous families from various places, necessitating the construction of a new community identity. Pastoral work at the time “consisted of gradually integrating the way of life of longtime residents and that of those who were newly arriving.”Over the years, he added, violence, drug trafficking, and social breakdown affected life in the neighborhood, making the Church’s presence even more necessary.Facebook postFor Betsabé Jara, who visited the church after touring the Franz Mayer Museum, the reopening represents an opportunity to regain a place for encountering God.“It brings peace of mind that the church is open, that one can enter and pray. Especially for people who couldnʼt go elsewhere because there wasnʼt a church nearby,” she said in an interview with ACI Prensa.Building the communityThe priest noted that reactivating community life will be the next challenge. He explained that a “call has already gone out to neighborhood residents to come for formation as pastoral workers.” Interior of Holy True Cross Church. | Credit: “EWTN Noticias” He also noted that they aim to develop social programs such as job training for individuals who did not complete their formal education as well as cultural initiatives in collaboration with nearby museums.“We want the spaces we have in both churches to be truly utilized and filled with formation programs,” Guerrero said.As the community gradually restores life to these churches, Masses are currently held regularly on Sundays, whereas weekday Masses take place only upon the request of the faithful.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

2 historic churches in Mexico City reopen almost 9 years after earthquake damage #Catholic Almost nine years after the earthquakes that shook central and southwestern Mexico in September 2017, St. John of God Church and Holy True Cross Church, both located in Mexico City, have reopened their doors for worship.On July 8, a Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, marking the communityʼs return to their church and concluding a lengthy restoration process. Start of the reopening Mass at Holy Cross Parish. | Credit: Holy True Cross Parish, Mexico City The earthquakes of Sept. 7 and 19, 2017, resulted in 468 deaths and caused damage to thousands of buildings.In Mexico City alone, around 160 Catholic churches suffered structural damage of varying severity such as these two churches located just a short distance apart. Restoration work at the Holy True Cross Parish. | Credit: Holy True Cross Parish, Mexico City 5 centuries of historyHoly True Cross Church is considered one of the oldest churches in the country.According to tradition, the explorer and conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the construction of a small chapel to commemorate the landing of the Spanish expedition at the port of what is now known as the state of Veracruz. Over time, that chapel gave rise to the parish as it is known today.Facebook postThe church also houses important works of sacred art, such as the Christ of the Seven Veils, which is said to have been a gift from Pope Paul III to King Carlos V of Spain. Additionally, a relic of the true cross is preserved there, considered by Christian tradition to be a fragment of the cross on which Jesus Christ died. Reliquary containing a splinter of the true cross. | Credit: “EWTN Noticias” In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Father Juan Carlos Guerrero Ugalde, the pastor of Holy True Cross and St. John of God, stated that restoring the churches was a priority of “not only ecclesiastical but also civic interest.”“This church [Holy True Cross] was the third parish established in the city and, therefore, holds a tradition of faith dating back to the 16th century,” he explained.9 years to returnGuerrero described the restoration process as “meticulous and slow” due to the complexity of the damage.Among other measures, the bell towers, which were at risk of collapse, were reinforced, cracks were repaired, the hydraulic piles supporting both structures were serviced, the roofs were waterproofed, and work was carried out to correct the effects of the ground settling.Facebook postThe work was overseen by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, as both buildings are part of the nationʼs historical heritage.In Mexico, religious buildings constructed prior to the 1992 constitutional reforms are state property, although they remain places of worship and are used by religious associations.The restoration of the Holy True Cross church faced an additional challenge: a fire in August 2020 caused by individuals living on the street. Reports indicate that a campfire spiraled out of control, damaging the choir loft, the dome, and sacred art.Today, those walking through the historic central part of Mexico City can once again enter the church. Marcela Eduardo, who works in the area and took a moment of free time to stop in and pray, did just that.“It brought me great joy to see it open and to see that repairs are underway,” she noted in an interview with ACI Prensa. She said that when she saw the parish church open, her first thought was to go in to see Christ and “greet him, make the sign of the cross, and ask him for something: that he give me more energy.” Much more than a churchThese churches are surrounded by some of Mexico’s most important cultural landmarks, such as the Franz Mayer Museum, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Alameda Central, a large city park. Visible in the background of the photo are the Torre Latinoamericana, the Palace of Fine Arts, and part of the Alameda Central. | Credit: “EWTN Noticias” Although Holy True Cross and St. John of God churches might go unnoticed by some tourists amid so many other buildings, Guerrero noted that their value has been “significant for both the faith and the city.”He explained that, following the 1985 earthquake, the area welcomed numerous families from various places, necessitating the construction of a new community identity. Pastoral work at the time “consisted of gradually integrating the way of life of longtime residents and that of those who were newly arriving.”Over the years, he added, violence, drug trafficking, and social breakdown affected life in the neighborhood, making the Church’s presence even more necessary.Facebook postFor Betsabé Jara, who visited the church after touring the Franz Mayer Museum, the reopening represents an opportunity to regain a place for encountering God.“It brings peace of mind that the church is open, that one can enter and pray. Especially for people who couldnʼt go elsewhere because there wasnʼt a church nearby,” she said in an interview with ACI Prensa.Building the communityThe priest noted that reactivating community life will be the next challenge. He explained that a “call has already gone out to neighborhood residents to come for formation as pastoral workers.” Interior of Holy True Cross Church. | Credit: “EWTN Noticias” He also noted that they aim to develop social programs such as job training for individuals who did not complete their formal education as well as cultural initiatives in collaboration with nearby museums.“We want the spaces we have in both churches to be truly utilized and filled with formation programs,” Guerrero said.As the community gradually restores life to these churches, Masses are currently held regularly on Sundays, whereas weekday Masses take place only upon the request of the faithful.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Work was slow and meticulous due to the complexity of the damage, but the two churches in the historic city center of Mexico City are now open to the faithful.

Read More
Canonization cause for Mother Angelica’s spiritual mentor, Rhoda Wise, reaches next step #Catholic The canonization cause for Servant of God Rhoda Wise crossed another hurdle after formal documents that outline her life, heroic virtues, and holiness were submitted to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.Wise — who was born in 1888 in Cadiz, Ohio, and died in 1948 in Canton, Ohio — was a laywoman and a mystic who received visions of Jesus Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1939, she reported a miraculous healing of her stomach cancer and a wound that doctors told her was incurable.She was raised Protestant but was introduced to Catholicism by religious sisters during her hospital stay, where she developed a strong devotion to the rosary and St. Thérèse.After news of the miracle spread, hundreds of people visited her home weekly, with whom she would pray. Hundreds of those who visited her home both during and after her lifetime reported miraculous, unexplained healings, including EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who developed a close friendship with Wise after being healed of a stomach ailment.Wise also had a visible stigmata — which resembles the wounds Christ had at the Crucifixion — that appeared on her body from noon until 3 p.m. for two and a half years, from 1942 to 1945.On July 7, Father John Sheridan — liaison between the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Rhoda Wise House in Canton, Ohio — announced that the Vatican had received the formal “positio,” which is a collection of documents that details the holiness of her life and makes the case for why Pope Leo XIV should consider her beatification.Valentina Culurgioni, the postulator tasked with preparing the document, gave the paperwork to the dicastery several months ago, but it was first announced by Sheridan during the Diocese of Youngstown’s annual Mass for the cause of beatification of Wise.Following the Mass, Sheridan delivered the news to the faithful gathered by reading a letter he received from Culurgioni.“Testimonies of healings and graces received through the intercession of Rhoda Wise continue to arrive at the shrine, which testify [to] her growing reputation of holiness and signs, and I would like to entrust to all of you two prayer intentions for this year, related to the progress of the cause in the Vatican,” Culurgioni wrote in the letter.“First, that all the experts — historians and theologians — who will be called upon to study and evaluate the ‘positio’ may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their valuable and delicate work,” she added. “Second, that among all the reports of graces and healings we receive, suitable cases may be identified for investigation as alleged miracles.”“Do not stop praying to God, asking for the spiritual or material graces you need through the intercession of Rhoda, and continue to share and bear witness to the wonders of his powerful love in your lives,” Culurgioni wrote.Next stepsRyan Schweitzer, assistant director of the Rhoda Wise House and Grotto, told EWTN News that the next step is the dicastery’s review of the “positio,” which includes evaluations by theologians, historians, and Catholic hierarchy. The dicastery will provide its conclusions to the Holy Father, who will determine whether to beatify her and grant her the title “venerable.”He said there’s no real estimate for the timeline of this process but asked Catholics to “continue to pray for Rhoda’s intercession and continue to pray for her beatification.”Schweitzer called the news of this development “exciting.” He said if Leo elevates her status to “venerable,” “that’s a very small group of individuals on their pathway to canonization.” He said that would increase her visibility and “Our Lord can utilize that visibility and knowledge of Rhoda to pray for her intercession.”Rhoda Wise’s legacyThe Rhoda Wise House and Grotto continues to host visitors and frequently receives reports of miraculous healings on a regular basis, now nearly 80 years after her death.According to Schweitzer, hundreds of people still visit Wise’s home weekly, many of whom come “because they’re seeking healing,” whether that be physical, mental, or spiritual. He said many of the visitors come because “they heard that something happened to a friend, some healing” and some visitors return to share stories of their healing.Wise had a strong friendship with Mother Angelica — then Rita Rizzo — when she was just 19 years old, before entering religious life. Schweitzer noted that Rizzo “suffered from a really debilitating stomach ailment,” and her mother took her to see Wise.Rizzo began praying a nine-day novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Wise and continued to pray it each day until its conclusion, at which point she was healed of her ailment. Schweitzer said this experience served as “a catalyst to become serious about her spiritual life” and Rizzo became close friends with Wise, who served as a mentor to her.Schweitzer said one of the most important things to know about Wise is that she was “a very humble housewife,” a person who is “not someone who is unreachable” for the average person.“She really reflects troubles that many people today are associated with,” Schweitzer said.
Read More

Canonization cause for Mother Angelica’s spiritual mentor, Rhoda Wise, reaches next step #Catholic The canonization cause for Servant of God Rhoda Wise crossed another hurdle after formal documents that outline her life, heroic virtues, and holiness were submitted to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.Wise — who was born in 1888 in Cadiz, Ohio, and died in 1948 in Canton, Ohio — was a laywoman and a mystic who received visions of Jesus Christ and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1939, she reported a miraculous healing of her stomach cancer and a wound that doctors told her was incurable.She was raised Protestant but was introduced to Catholicism by religious sisters during her hospital stay, where she developed a strong devotion to the rosary and St. Thérèse.After news of the miracle spread, hundreds of people visited her home weekly, with whom she would pray. Hundreds of those who visited her home both during and after her lifetime reported miraculous, unexplained healings, including EWTN Founder Mother Angelica, who developed a close friendship with Wise after being healed of a stomach ailment.Wise also had a visible stigmata — which resembles the wounds Christ had at the Crucifixion — that appeared on her body from noon until 3 p.m. for two and a half years, from 1942 to 1945.On July 7, Father John Sheridan — liaison between the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, and the Rhoda Wise House in Canton, Ohio — announced that the Vatican had received the formal “positio,” which is a collection of documents that details the holiness of her life and makes the case for why Pope Leo XIV should consider her beatification.Valentina Culurgioni, the postulator tasked with preparing the document, gave the paperwork to the dicastery several months ago, but it was first announced by Sheridan during the Diocese of Youngstown’s annual Mass for the cause of beatification of Wise.Following the Mass, Sheridan delivered the news to the faithful gathered by reading a letter he received from Culurgioni.“Testimonies of healings and graces received through the intercession of Rhoda Wise continue to arrive at the shrine, which testify [to] her growing reputation of holiness and signs, and I would like to entrust to all of you two prayer intentions for this year, related to the progress of the cause in the Vatican,” Culurgioni wrote in the letter.“First, that all the experts — historians and theologians — who will be called upon to study and evaluate the ‘positio’ may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their valuable and delicate work,” she added. “Second, that among all the reports of graces and healings we receive, suitable cases may be identified for investigation as alleged miracles.”“Do not stop praying to God, asking for the spiritual or material graces you need through the intercession of Rhoda, and continue to share and bear witness to the wonders of his powerful love in your lives,” Culurgioni wrote.Next stepsRyan Schweitzer, assistant director of the Rhoda Wise House and Grotto, told EWTN News that the next step is the dicastery’s review of the “positio,” which includes evaluations by theologians, historians, and Catholic hierarchy. The dicastery will provide its conclusions to the Holy Father, who will determine whether to beatify her and grant her the title “venerable.”He said there’s no real estimate for the timeline of this process but asked Catholics to “continue to pray for Rhoda’s intercession and continue to pray for her beatification.”Schweitzer called the news of this development “exciting.” He said if Leo elevates her status to “venerable,” “that’s a very small group of individuals on their pathway to canonization.” He said that would increase her visibility and “Our Lord can utilize that visibility and knowledge of Rhoda to pray for her intercession.”Rhoda Wise’s legacyThe Rhoda Wise House and Grotto continues to host visitors and frequently receives reports of miraculous healings on a regular basis, now nearly 80 years after her death.According to Schweitzer, hundreds of people still visit Wise’s home weekly, many of whom come “because they’re seeking healing,” whether that be physical, mental, or spiritual. He said many of the visitors come because “they heard that something happened to a friend, some healing” and some visitors return to share stories of their healing.Wise had a strong friendship with Mother Angelica — then Rita Rizzo — when she was just 19 years old, before entering religious life. Schweitzer noted that Rizzo “suffered from a really debilitating stomach ailment,” and her mother took her to see Wise.Rizzo began praying a nine-day novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux with Wise and continued to pray it each day until its conclusion, at which point she was healed of her ailment. Schweitzer said this experience served as “a catalyst to become serious about her spiritual life” and Rizzo became close friends with Wise, who served as a mentor to her.Schweitzer said one of the most important things to know about Wise is that she was “a very humble housewife,” a person who is “not someone who is unreachable” for the average person.“She really reflects troubles that many people today are associated with,” Schweitzer said.

unitedyam

A positio for Servant of God Rhoda Wise was submitted to the Vatican. She has been associated with hundreds of unexplained, miraculous healings in the United States.

Read More
Earthquake survivor in Venezuela: ‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’ #Catholic In Playa Grande, a neighborhood in the city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Kamar Galíndez was on the top floor of Chipi’s Beach Hotel, preparing to start his daily workout in the gym, unaware that his life was about to change forever.It was Wednesday, June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist and a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Carabobo. At 6:05 p.m., the peaceful atmosphere created by the stunning ocean view from the top of the hotel was shattered by the thunderous violence of two consecutive earthquakes that took everyone by surprise, sowing anguish and confusion.Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Galíndez, a 53-year-old lawyer, recalled how the heavy gym machines began moving from one side to the other, much like an air hockey puck. Disaster struck within seconds.“The floor split, and immediately I saw half the building tilting forward while the section I was in collapsed straight down; I felt my feet were no longer standing on anything, and the next thing [I knew], I was trapped in the rubble,” he recounted. Remains of Chipi’s Beach Hotel in Playa Grande, from which Kamar Galíndez managed to come out alive. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News Faced with imminent death: ‘Lord, have mercy!’Galíndez recounted that the only thing he managed to do was to seek protection beside a nearby wall. As he felt the building collapsing, what came to his mind was the image of the Lord Jesus as he first appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska on Feb. 22, 1931.“I remember thinking of the merciful Christ and praying, ‘Lord, have mercy,’” he said, on the verge of tears. “The next thing was feeling the building collapse because with that violent shaking, I kept saying, ‘It’s going to fall,’ and of course, it did.”Galíndez never lost consciousness. He said he felt every blow but that “amid the shock and fear, physical sensations become secondary.” Once the confusion of the collapse subsided, he realized he was alive, though his body was completely buried in the rubble and pinned by a massive beam crushing his chest.He couldn’t breathe properly. His head had not been buried, and through that immense mountain of twisted metal, bricks, and earth, he could see the sky, still lit by the last rays of the evening sun. All around, the desperate screams of other people trapped in the rubble could be heard.Galíndez wiped his face and tried to move to free himself. Then he realized his left arm was broken: “A lot of desperation, a lot of fear” is what he recalled feeling, yet amid the suffering, he didn’t hesitate to entrust himself to God’s protection.“Then I prayed to stay calm. What I did was to pray a lot: ‘OK, Father God, help me get out of here. Keep me calm’ was the first thing I prayed. ‘Keep me calm and tell me what I need to do,’” he recounted.He signaled for help as best he could. He said he has no idea how long he was underneath the rubble, but he knows it “felt like an eternity.” Finally, a man who had climbed the mountain of debris helped him break free.‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’Galíndez made his way down the remains of the collapsed building on his own. Upon realizing the magnitude of the tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives in a split second, he is positive that emerging virtually unharmed was a miracle, one he attributes to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to whom he has always been devoted.“I was wearing a small chain with a crucifix and a tiny medal of the Miraculous Virgin. Among the things I lost track of, the chain broke, though, of course, I hadnʼt noticed it at the time,” he recalled.On his way to his home, which was also completely destroyed, a couple of young people helped Galíndez with first aid. While they were tending to him, he became aware of one of those small miracles that holds profound meaning for someone with sincere faith.He asked the young people to help him put his watch into one of the pockets of his shorts, as he needed to remove it to hold his fractured arm still. And then, the inexplicable happened.“I was wearing shorts with a small zippered pocket, and when I looked — don’t ask me where from, don’t ask me how — a piece of the chain and the Miraculous Medal were caught inside.”"Of course, I told the boy: ‘Please, put that little medal away for me too, because that was what saved me,’” he said. “I havenʼt the slightest doubt.”“Absolutely, absolutely,” he replied when asked if he truly believes his life is a miracle obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The Miraculous Medal that Kamar Galíndez wore around his neck, which broke during the collapse and later appeared — inexplicably — in the pocket of his shorts. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News Many people didn’t make it out of what was left of the hotel. For Galíndez, having survived is the work of the mercy of God, who listened to his pleas in every instant and granted him his request for a reason he still does not know.“In the greatest adversity, you begin to see it in terms of what is most basic, because the most basic thing becomes impossible. When the most basic thing is impossible and you manage to do it anyway, you say: ‘Only God can do that,’” he reflected.“There is a God who looks after you in that moment, attending to what you are asking of him and what you need. From freeing up an arm or reminding you of his presence by leaving a small medal hanging from your [shorts],” he said. He then emphasized what he considers most important following his harrowing experience: "I have the greatest gift God [my dear] Father gave me, which is life.”Galíndez said he feels deeply grateful to be alive. For him, what happened serves as a humbling reminder that what we have comes from the will and mercy of God, who does not abandon his people; who does not abandon Venezuelans, especially during times of greatest suffering.At the time of publication, the official death toll in Venezuela from the double earthquake has risen to 3,535, while the number of injured has reached 16,740. Estimates by independent organizations indicate that tens of thousands of people are still missing.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Earthquake survivor in Venezuela: ‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’ #Catholic In Playa Grande, a neighborhood in the city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Kamar Galíndez was on the top floor of Chipi’s Beach Hotel, preparing to start his daily workout in the gym, unaware that his life was about to change forever.It was Wednesday, June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist and a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Carabobo. At 6:05 p.m., the peaceful atmosphere created by the stunning ocean view from the top of the hotel was shattered by the thunderous violence of two consecutive earthquakes that took everyone by surprise, sowing anguish and confusion.Speaking with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Galíndez, a 53-year-old lawyer, recalled how the heavy gym machines began moving from one side to the other, much like an air hockey puck. Disaster struck within seconds.“The floor split, and immediately I saw half the building tilting forward while the section I was in collapsed straight down; I felt my feet were no longer standing on anything, and the next thing [I knew], I was trapped in the rubble,” he recounted. Remains of Chipi’s Beach Hotel in Playa Grande, from which Kamar Galíndez managed to come out alive. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News Faced with imminent death: ‘Lord, have mercy!’Galíndez recounted that the only thing he managed to do was to seek protection beside a nearby wall. As he felt the building collapsing, what came to his mind was the image of the Lord Jesus as he first appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska on Feb. 22, 1931.“I remember thinking of the merciful Christ and praying, ‘Lord, have mercy,’” he said, on the verge of tears. “The next thing was feeling the building collapse because with that violent shaking, I kept saying, ‘It’s going to fall,’ and of course, it did.”Galíndez never lost consciousness. He said he felt every blow but that “amid the shock and fear, physical sensations become secondary.” Once the confusion of the collapse subsided, he realized he was alive, though his body was completely buried in the rubble and pinned by a massive beam crushing his chest.He couldn’t breathe properly. His head had not been buried, and through that immense mountain of twisted metal, bricks, and earth, he could see the sky, still lit by the last rays of the evening sun. All around, the desperate screams of other people trapped in the rubble could be heard.Galíndez wiped his face and tried to move to free himself. Then he realized his left arm was broken: “A lot of desperation, a lot of fear” is what he recalled feeling, yet amid the suffering, he didn’t hesitate to entrust himself to God’s protection.“Then I prayed to stay calm. What I did was to pray a lot: ‘OK, Father God, help me get out of here. Keep me calm’ was the first thing I prayed. ‘Keep me calm and tell me what I need to do,’” he recounted.He signaled for help as best he could. He said he has no idea how long he was underneath the rubble, but he knows it “felt like an eternity.” Finally, a man who had climbed the mountain of debris helped him break free.‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’Galíndez made his way down the remains of the collapsed building on his own. Upon realizing the magnitude of the tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives in a split second, he is positive that emerging virtually unharmed was a miracle, one he attributes to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to whom he has always been devoted.“I was wearing a small chain with a crucifix and a tiny medal of the Miraculous Virgin. Among the things I lost track of, the chain broke, though, of course, I hadnʼt noticed it at the time,” he recalled.On his way to his home, which was also completely destroyed, a couple of young people helped Galíndez with first aid. While they were tending to him, he became aware of one of those small miracles that holds profound meaning for someone with sincere faith.He asked the young people to help him put his watch into one of the pockets of his shorts, as he needed to remove it to hold his fractured arm still. And then, the inexplicable happened.“I was wearing shorts with a small zippered pocket, and when I looked — don’t ask me where from, don’t ask me how — a piece of the chain and the Miraculous Medal were caught inside.”"Of course, I told the boy: ‘Please, put that little medal away for me too, because that was what saved me,’” he said. “I havenʼt the slightest doubt.”“Absolutely, absolutely,” he replied when asked if he truly believes his life is a miracle obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The Miraculous Medal that Kamar Galíndez wore around his neck, which broke during the collapse and later appeared — inexplicably — in the pocket of his shorts. | Credit: Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News Many people didn’t make it out of what was left of the hotel. For Galíndez, having survived is the work of the mercy of God, who listened to his pleas in every instant and granted him his request for a reason he still does not know.“In the greatest adversity, you begin to see it in terms of what is most basic, because the most basic thing becomes impossible. When the most basic thing is impossible and you manage to do it anyway, you say: ‘Only God can do that,’” he reflected.“There is a God who looks after you in that moment, attending to what you are asking of him and what you need. From freeing up an arm or reminding you of his presence by leaving a small medal hanging from your [shorts],” he said. He then emphasized what he considers most important following his harrowing experience: "I have the greatest gift God [my dear] Father gave me, which is life.”Galíndez said he feels deeply grateful to be alive. For him, what happened serves as a humbling reminder that what we have comes from the will and mercy of God, who does not abandon his people; who does not abandon Venezuelans, especially during times of greatest suffering.At the time of publication, the official death toll in Venezuela from the double earthquake has risen to 3,535, while the number of injured has reached 16,740. Estimates by independent organizations indicate that tens of thousands of people are still missing.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

Kamar Galíndez credits his survival to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Miraculous Medal he wore was torn from his neck as the building collapsed and inexplicably ended up in one of his zippered pockets.

Read More
Argentinians join in prayer for earthquake-shattered Venezuelans #Catholic With thousands dead, injured, and missing in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, Argentinians gathered in prayer for the Venezuelan people on June 28 at the basilica and national shrine of Our Lady of Luján. There, the archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, Jorge Eduardo Scheinig, offered Mass for the Venezuelan people.“Let us think of those who have died and their families,” Scheinig said in his homily. “In a single minute, so many people were left with nothing, absolutely nothing,” he noted.“Let us pray for the rescue workers and for all those who are working [on the ground]. Let us stand in solidarity with them through prayer,” said Scheinig, who proceeded to lead a moment of silence to pray to God and the Virgin for the people of Venezuela.The archbishop dedicated the rest of his homily to examining priorities, those things that “carry more weight than others” and “have the power to bring order to our lives.”“If you have the right priorities, you are at peace. But if you choose your priorities poorly, it causes confusion and anguish for you; it doesn’t help you live well. So, from time to time, we need to have the courage to reexamine our priorities,” he noted.In this regard, he said that “Jesus helps us order our priorities,” and elaborated: “What is Jesus’ priority? God. What comes first for Jesus? God. And what does he advise us? Put God first, and you won’t regret it,” he explained.He therefore urged people to ask themselves: “What place does God hold? What place does Mass hold?” he continued. “If you put God’s love first, if you love God in your life — that love is so good, so pure, and so radiant that it brings order to your entire life and helps you understand your whole life. Because God takes nothing away from you; he fills your life with love,” he pointed out. “Putting God first means taking a stand, taking a risk, and filling your heart with love; that helps you love everyone and everything in a different way, to love better,” he emphasized.Referring to the situation in Venezuela, Scheinig reflected: “Just look at how strange the world is. Today, television shows harrowing scenes. I was watching the news and saw a little boy crying — he had been left all alone after the earthquake, and it breaks your heart. Yet, a short while later, we’re watching the Argentina [World Cup] match.”“And notice, too, that we see scenes of war, of migrants who have nothing and live in a small tent. That’s the world. It happens to us in a family as well: You might be celebrating the 15th birthday of one of your children and then a close relative dies or someone comes down with an illness. That’s life. Life is that strange mix of very beautiful things and deeply painful things,” he noted.“But when your heart has priorities, you don’t get confused. And so, yes, we can cheer for the national team, but my priority isn’t soccer; my priority is life, it’s what happens to other people. I don’t let the things of life desensitize me,” he cautioned.That is why, “if God is your priority, you are able to not get desensitized to pain. You have your life on track. You can watch the World Cup, but you realize that it isn’t the priority. Your life is in order. You know where you stand, what you want, and what you don’t want,” he continued.In that context, he added, the need arises to stand with Venezuelans in prayer: “God, strengthen so many people whose lives changed in an instant.”“We also feel moved to show solidarity, to give money and goods, and to share what we have with those in need because your heart is rightly ordered; it is with God.”“Life presents us with complex, difficult moments in the world,” Scheinig acknowledged, while expressing the hope that “God holds first place on our list of priorities, so that we may remain good people.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Argentinians join in prayer for earthquake-shattered Venezuelans #Catholic With thousands dead, injured, and missing in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, Argentinians gathered in prayer for the Venezuelan people on June 28 at the basilica and national shrine of Our Lady of Luján. There, the archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, Jorge Eduardo Scheinig, offered Mass for the Venezuelan people.“Let us think of those who have died and their families,” Scheinig said in his homily. “In a single minute, so many people were left with nothing, absolutely nothing,” he noted.“Let us pray for the rescue workers and for all those who are working [on the ground]. Let us stand in solidarity with them through prayer,” said Scheinig, who proceeded to lead a moment of silence to pray to God and the Virgin for the people of Venezuela.The archbishop dedicated the rest of his homily to examining priorities, those things that “carry more weight than others” and “have the power to bring order to our lives.”“If you have the right priorities, you are at peace. But if you choose your priorities poorly, it causes confusion and anguish for you; it doesn’t help you live well. So, from time to time, we need to have the courage to reexamine our priorities,” he noted.In this regard, he said that “Jesus helps us order our priorities,” and elaborated: “What is Jesus’ priority? God. What comes first for Jesus? God. And what does he advise us? Put God first, and you won’t regret it,” he explained.He therefore urged people to ask themselves: “What place does God hold? What place does Mass hold?” he continued. “If you put God’s love first, if you love God in your life — that love is so good, so pure, and so radiant that it brings order to your entire life and helps you understand your whole life. Because God takes nothing away from you; he fills your life with love,” he pointed out. “Putting God first means taking a stand, taking a risk, and filling your heart with love; that helps you love everyone and everything in a different way, to love better,” he emphasized.Referring to the situation in Venezuela, Scheinig reflected: “Just look at how strange the world is. Today, television shows harrowing scenes. I was watching the news and saw a little boy crying — he had been left all alone after the earthquake, and it breaks your heart. Yet, a short while later, we’re watching the Argentina [World Cup] match.”“And notice, too, that we see scenes of war, of migrants who have nothing and live in a small tent. That’s the world. It happens to us in a family as well: You might be celebrating the 15th birthday of one of your children and then a close relative dies or someone comes down with an illness. That’s life. Life is that strange mix of very beautiful things and deeply painful things,” he noted.“But when your heart has priorities, you don’t get confused. And so, yes, we can cheer for the national team, but my priority isn’t soccer; my priority is life, it’s what happens to other people. I don’t let the things of life desensitize me,” he cautioned.That is why, “if God is your priority, you are able to not get desensitized to pain. You have your life on track. You can watch the World Cup, but you realize that it isn’t the priority. Your life is in order. You know where you stand, what you want, and what you don’t want,” he continued.In that context, he added, the need arises to stand with Venezuelans in prayer: “God, strengthen so many people whose lives changed in an instant.”“We also feel moved to show solidarity, to give money and goods, and to share what we have with those in need because your heart is rightly ordered; it is with God.”“Life presents us with complex, difficult moments in the world,” Scheinig acknowledged, while expressing the hope that “God holds first place on our list of priorities, so that we may remain good people.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

In his homily during a Mass offered for the earthquake’s victims, Archbishop Jorge Scheinig urged the faithful to reexamine their priorities in life, realizing one can lose everything in an instant.

Read More
Pope Leo XIV prays for Venezuela quake victims at Angelus #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday expressed his closeness to the people of Venezuela after recent earthquakes, offering prayers for the victims and encouragement to rescue workers.“I wish to express my solidarity with our Venezuelan brothers and sisters affected by the recent earthquakes, which have caused numerous deaths and injuries, as well as extensive damage to property,” the pope said after praying the Angelus on June 28 in St. Peter’s Square.“Praying to the Lord for the eternal rest of the deceased, I renew my spiritual solidarity with their families, the injured, and all who have been shaken by this tragedy,” he continued. “I also wish to express my gratitude and encouragement to those generously working on search and rescue efforts and providing assistance.”Before the Angelus, Pope Leo reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew 10:37–42, saying that Jesus’ call to discipleship is rooted in a love that requires “detachment, loss and hospitality.”“In today’s Gospel reading, we hear some of Jesus’ exhortations on how to follow him and be witnesses to his kingdom,” the pope said. “This is not just a matter of outward acts, but of committing ourselves entirely to a loving relationship with him.”The first requirement, he said, is detachment. Citing Jesus’ words — “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” — Pope Leo said the Lord wanted the apostles to be free for mission.“When the Lord begins to send his apostles on mission, he wants them to be free from any ties,” he said. “However, this applies to everyone, as even the most significant relationships find their fullness through the love that Christ gives us.”The pope pointed to married life as an example, saying it “can only be lived fully by ‘leaving’ one’s parents’ home in order to commit to the life of marriage.” He also spoke of raising children, saying parents help them “to fulfill themselves and be happy by teaching them to ‘stand on their own two feet’ and make their own choices.”Quoting St. Augustine, Pope Leo said: “It is painful to part from what you love. Yet even the farmer temporarily loses what he sows.”“Only by ‘losing’ that seed sown in the ground, can we see it blossom,” the pope added.Pope Leo said Christians often struggle to understand that “love is also loss,” especially “in a world where losing is seen as weakness and we are obsessed with having and possessing.”“However, love only bears fruit in self-giving: when we are willing to lose a little of ourselves to make room for another; to lose a little time to listen to a friend; to lose a little comfort to share in a time of hardship,” he said.He added that “according to the Gospel, those who hold on to their lives merely for themselves actually lose them, for they do not open themselves to the joy of love and thus become barren.”“This is why Jesus invites us to embrace the cross,” the pope said. “He offered himself, lost himself, and in this very way we were enabled to receive his life in abundance. In the same way, if we live by the logic of the gift of self, we too will be capable of bringing forth new life in our relationships.”Finally, Pope Leo turned to hospitality, saying love must take shape in concrete acts.“Love is expressed through concrete choices and actions; by a commitment made up of small daily gestures, such as offering a glass of water to someone who is thirsty,” he said.Jesus, he said, sent his disciples without provisions “so that, by being dependent on the help of others, they would inspire hospitality in those they met.”“By welcoming those who come in Jesus’ name, we welcome him and the heavenly Father who sent him,” the pope said. “Indeed, love for the Lord always involves welcoming our brothers and sisters.”This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope Leo XIV prays for Venezuela quake victims at Angelus #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday expressed his closeness to the people of Venezuela after recent earthquakes, offering prayers for the victims and encouragement to rescue workers.“I wish to express my solidarity with our Venezuelan brothers and sisters affected by the recent earthquakes, which have caused numerous deaths and injuries, as well as extensive damage to property,” the pope said after praying the Angelus on June 28 in St. Peter’s Square.“Praying to the Lord for the eternal rest of the deceased, I renew my spiritual solidarity with their families, the injured, and all who have been shaken by this tragedy,” he continued. “I also wish to express my gratitude and encouragement to those generously working on search and rescue efforts and providing assistance.”Before the Angelus, Pope Leo reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew 10:37–42, saying that Jesus’ call to discipleship is rooted in a love that requires “detachment, loss and hospitality.”“In today’s Gospel reading, we hear some of Jesus’ exhortations on how to follow him and be witnesses to his kingdom,” the pope said. “This is not just a matter of outward acts, but of committing ourselves entirely to a loving relationship with him.”The first requirement, he said, is detachment. Citing Jesus’ words — “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” — Pope Leo said the Lord wanted the apostles to be free for mission.“When the Lord begins to send his apostles on mission, he wants them to be free from any ties,” he said. “However, this applies to everyone, as even the most significant relationships find their fullness through the love that Christ gives us.”The pope pointed to married life as an example, saying it “can only be lived fully by ‘leaving’ one’s parents’ home in order to commit to the life of marriage.” He also spoke of raising children, saying parents help them “to fulfill themselves and be happy by teaching them to ‘stand on their own two feet’ and make their own choices.”Quoting St. Augustine, Pope Leo said: “It is painful to part from what you love. Yet even the farmer temporarily loses what he sows.”“Only by ‘losing’ that seed sown in the ground, can we see it blossom,” the pope added.Pope Leo said Christians often struggle to understand that “love is also loss,” especially “in a world where losing is seen as weakness and we are obsessed with having and possessing.”“However, love only bears fruit in self-giving: when we are willing to lose a little of ourselves to make room for another; to lose a little time to listen to a friend; to lose a little comfort to share in a time of hardship,” he said.He added that “according to the Gospel, those who hold on to their lives merely for themselves actually lose them, for they do not open themselves to the joy of love and thus become barren.”“This is why Jesus invites us to embrace the cross,” the pope said. “He offered himself, lost himself, and in this very way we were enabled to receive his life in abundance. In the same way, if we live by the logic of the gift of self, we too will be capable of bringing forth new life in our relationships.”Finally, Pope Leo turned to hospitality, saying love must take shape in concrete acts.“Love is expressed through concrete choices and actions; by a commitment made up of small daily gestures, such as offering a glass of water to someone who is thirsty,” he said.Jesus, he said, sent his disciples without provisions “so that, by being dependent on the help of others, they would inspire hospitality in those they met.”“By welcoming those who come in Jesus’ name, we welcome him and the heavenly Father who sent him,” the pope said. “Indeed, love for the Lord always involves welcoming our brothers and sisters.”This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

The pope expressed solidarity with those affected by recent earthquakes, following a reflection on “detachment, loss and hospitality” in Christian love.

Read More
Cambodia’s Buddhist leaders honor Catholic bishop for decades of cooperation #Catholic Cambodia’s Buddhist leadership has conferred a high honorary title on the Catholic bishop of Phnom Penh, recognizing decades of cooperation between Buddhist and Christian communities in a country where the Catholic Church remains a small minority.Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, received the title “Akka Mahāupāsakabuddhasāsanūpatthambhakr,” roughly translated as “Elder Great Lay Supporter and Upholder of the Buddha’s Dispensation,” during a ceremony on June 13, 2026, at Wat Botum Vatey in the Cambodian capital. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler meets with Venerable Khim Sorn, third deputy supreme patriarch of Cambodiaʼs Mohanikaya Buddhist order, during a ceremony at Wat Botum Vatey in Phnom Penh on June 13, 2026. | Credit: Ly Sovanna/Catholic National Office for Social Communications in Cambodia The title was conferred by Supreme Patriarch Nun Nget of Cambodia’s Mohanikaya Buddhist order and presented at a ceremony presided over by Venerable Khim Sorn, the order’s third deputy supreme patriarch.The honor builds on a distinction Schmitthaeusler received in 2022, when Cambodia’s Buddhist leadership named him a “Maha Upasaka,” recognizing his support for Buddhist communities and his role in promoting dialogue and cooperation between Cambodia’s Buddhist majority and its small Catholic minority.At the time, Buddhist leaders cited joint development projects, educational initiatives, and efforts to strengthen social cohesion. The new title represents a higher level of recognition from the country’s Buddhist establishment.Speaking at the ceremony, Khim Sorn pointed to Cambodia’s constitutional framework, which recognizes Buddhism as the state religion while protecting religious freedom.He said the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia clearly stipulates that Buddhism is the state religion, but “it also guarantees complete freedom of religious belief without coercion” and promotes religious harmony, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect among the different religions.Buddhist leaders said the recognition reflected Schmitthaeusler’s long involvement in educational, humanitarian, and community-development initiatives carried out in cooperation with Buddhist institutions.For Schmitthaeusler, the award marked another chapter in a relationship that began more than two decades ago. “This is a profoundly meaningful event for me as a Catholic bishop,” he said.The French-born missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society traced that relationship to his years as a parish priest in Takeo province, where Catholics and Buddhists worked together on local development projects.Among them was the construction of a road linking a Catholic community and a nearby pagoda, an initiative he said helped lay the groundwork for deeper cooperation.Over the years, that collaboration expanded into education and social services. Schmitthaeusler noted that he supported the establishment of a primary school at Wat Ang Montrey, where students study Pali, Sanskrit, and other academic subjects.The prelate also highlighted joint humanitarian efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and assistance provided to displaced families during recent tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border.“Receiving the status of Akka Mahāupāsakabuddhasāsanūpatthambhakr today is a moment of profound recognition of how the Catholic Church and Buddhism walk hand-in-hand for the common good of our people and our country,” he said. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler poses with community members outside Wat Botum Vatey in Phnom Penh on June 13, 2026, after receiving a high honorary title from Cambodiaʼs Buddhist leadership in recognition of his work promoting Buddhist-Christian cooperation. | Credit: Ly Sovanna/Catholic National Office for Social Communications in Cambodia Schmitthaeusler also cited recent dialogue initiatives involving Buddhist and Christian leaders from Cambodia and across Asia focused on peacebuilding and reconciliation.“We know that when Cambodia is full of peace, it radiates a positive influence to the rest of the world,” he said. “This is a powerful signal: when religions journey together, the world will witness true peace,” he added.A small Church rebuilt after the Khmer RougeTheravada Buddhism is practiced by the vast majority of Cambodia’s roughly 18 million people. The Catholic Church numbers about 20,000 faithful across one apostolic vicariate and two apostolic prefectures.The Catholic Church was nearly wiped out during the Khmer Rouge era, when religious communities were persecuted and most church buildings were destroyed.Since public religious life resumed in the early 1990s, the Catholic Church has gradually rebuilt through education, health care, social services, and pastoral ministry, becoming a small but visible presence in Cambodian society.
Read More

Cambodia’s Buddhist leaders honor Catholic bishop for decades of cooperation #Catholic Cambodia’s Buddhist leadership has conferred a high honorary title on the Catholic bishop of Phnom Penh, recognizing decades of cooperation between Buddhist and Christian communities in a country where the Catholic Church remains a small minority.Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, received the title “Akka Mahāupāsakabuddhasāsanūpatthambhakr,” roughly translated as “Elder Great Lay Supporter and Upholder of the Buddha’s Dispensation,” during a ceremony on June 13, 2026, at Wat Botum Vatey in the Cambodian capital. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler meets with Venerable Khim Sorn, third deputy supreme patriarch of Cambodiaʼs Mohanikaya Buddhist order, during a ceremony at Wat Botum Vatey in Phnom Penh on June 13, 2026. | Credit: Ly Sovanna/Catholic National Office for Social Communications in Cambodia The title was conferred by Supreme Patriarch Nun Nget of Cambodia’s Mohanikaya Buddhist order and presented at a ceremony presided over by Venerable Khim Sorn, the order’s third deputy supreme patriarch.The honor builds on a distinction Schmitthaeusler received in 2022, when Cambodia’s Buddhist leadership named him a “Maha Upasaka,” recognizing his support for Buddhist communities and his role in promoting dialogue and cooperation between Cambodia’s Buddhist majority and its small Catholic minority.At the time, Buddhist leaders cited joint development projects, educational initiatives, and efforts to strengthen social cohesion. The new title represents a higher level of recognition from the country’s Buddhist establishment.Speaking at the ceremony, Khim Sorn pointed to Cambodia’s constitutional framework, which recognizes Buddhism as the state religion while protecting religious freedom.He said the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia clearly stipulates that Buddhism is the state religion, but “it also guarantees complete freedom of religious belief without coercion” and promotes religious harmony, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect among the different religions.Buddhist leaders said the recognition reflected Schmitthaeusler’s long involvement in educational, humanitarian, and community-development initiatives carried out in cooperation with Buddhist institutions.For Schmitthaeusler, the award marked another chapter in a relationship that began more than two decades ago. “This is a profoundly meaningful event for me as a Catholic bishop,” he said.The French-born missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society traced that relationship to his years as a parish priest in Takeo province, where Catholics and Buddhists worked together on local development projects.Among them was the construction of a road linking a Catholic community and a nearby pagoda, an initiative he said helped lay the groundwork for deeper cooperation.Over the years, that collaboration expanded into education and social services. Schmitthaeusler noted that he supported the establishment of a primary school at Wat Ang Montrey, where students study Pali, Sanskrit, and other academic subjects.The prelate also highlighted joint humanitarian efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and assistance provided to displaced families during recent tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border.“Receiving the status of Akka Mahāupāsakabuddhasāsanūpatthambhakr today is a moment of profound recognition of how the Catholic Church and Buddhism walk hand-in-hand for the common good of our people and our country,” he said. Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler poses with community members outside Wat Botum Vatey in Phnom Penh on June 13, 2026, after receiving a high honorary title from Cambodiaʼs Buddhist leadership in recognition of his work promoting Buddhist-Christian cooperation. | Credit: Ly Sovanna/Catholic National Office for Social Communications in Cambodia Schmitthaeusler also cited recent dialogue initiatives involving Buddhist and Christian leaders from Cambodia and across Asia focused on peacebuilding and reconciliation.“We know that when Cambodia is full of peace, it radiates a positive influence to the rest of the world,” he said. “This is a powerful signal: when religions journey together, the world will witness true peace,” he added.A small Church rebuilt after the Khmer RougeTheravada Buddhism is practiced by the vast majority of Cambodia’s roughly 18 million people. The Catholic Church numbers about 20,000 faithful across one apostolic vicariate and two apostolic prefectures.The Catholic Church was nearly wiped out during the Khmer Rouge era, when religious communities were persecuted and most church buildings were destroyed.Since public religious life resumed in the early 1990s, the Catholic Church has gradually rebuilt through education, health care, social services, and pastoral ministry, becoming a small but visible presence in Cambodian society.

unitedyam

The recognition for Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler is a rare gesture from the Buddhist establishment of a country where Catholics number barely 20,000.

Read More
‘Chant GPT’: How Catholics are responding to AI-generated Gregorian chant #Catholic In the early morning and late at night, monks still rise to sing the divine office, their voices low and hoarse from sleep. With every breath they are keeping alive a centuries-old tradition in monasteries around the world.But in a small corner of the internet, and on music providers like Spotify, another form of chant has taken hold. The text is often a hodgepodge of Latin-sounding words; a mechanical simulation not sung by human voices but generated by artificial intelligence (AI).How should Catholics navigate the new phenomenon of AI-generated chant, or, in the term hymnist Alan Hommerding coined, “Chant GPT”?What is Gregorian chant?Chant isn’t something that is consumed, like social media or food. Instead, it is a way to worship and pray, according to Catholic theologians and musicians.“Chant is not meant to be performed for artistic consumption but meant to attune our hearts to the Lord over the course of time,” Father Phillip Alcon Ganir, a Jesuit priest who teaches sacred music classes at Boston College, told EWTN News. Father Phillip Alcon Ganir, a Jesuit priest who researches and teaches about music, catechetics, and liturgy at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, encourages Catholics to “develop a more nuanced appreciation” of Gregorian chant by engaging more deeply with it. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Phillip Alcon Ganir Composer and liturgist Father Ricky Manalo, a Paulist priest, agreed, adding: “Gregorian chant is not merely an aesthetic; it is part of the Church’s living tradition of sung prayer, as much as Gospel music is a living tradition for many African American Catholics, or pentatonic melodies are a living tradition for many East Asian Catholics.”“Its beauty is tied not only to its sound but to its liturgical, scriptural, and cultural roots,” he said.Named for St. Gregory the Great, Gregorian chant is a “musical synthesis” of Roman and Gallican chant, according to Father Basil Nixen, a monk of the Abbey of San Benedetto in Monte, Norcia, Italy, where the monks chant daily together. These chanted psalms continue to be prayed as part of the Divine Office, or Liturgy of the Hours — a daily practice for Catholic priests, religious, and laypeople. The Monks of Norcia. | Credit: Christopher McLallen, courtesy of Benedicta, de Montfort Music “Many might assume that Gregorian chant is really a product of the medieval or dark ages from Western Christianity,” noted Giorgio Navarini, founder and director of the Catholic chant group Floriani Sacred Music. “However, Gregorian chant derives its existence from the Hebrew Temple. Sung psalmody, lamentations, and hymns were a significant part of the Hebraic liturgical life in both the synagogue and Temple.”In the Middle Ages came the “unprecedented notation” of the chant, which helped Gregorian chant spread, Nixen explained.“The sacred melodies of the chant were written by men and women inspired by the Holy Spirit, and every time we sing them, we allow the Holy Spirit to possess our hearts too so as to enter more fully into communion with God in prayer,” Nixen said.“Through the Divine Office the voice of Christ praying to his Father mingles with our own, allowing us to unite our voice with his and to participate in his priestly intercession for the salvation of the world,” Nixen said.How do we pray through Gregorian chant?Because Gregorian chant is more than just an aesthetic, questions about Gregorian chant are, at their root, questions about the connection between prayer and song.“Christian worship involves the whole human being — body and soul,” Nixen said. “Chanting is fundamental for Christian worship precisely for this purpose, because it allows us to pray not only with our minds but also with our bodies, our heart, our sentiments.”“Worship is the natural expression of the highest love, the love which most engages and engrosses us, which is why we owe it to God alone, whom we must love with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength — i.e., with body, heart, mind, and soul,” Nixen said. “And we do this most perfectly when we sing.” The Benedictine Monks of Norcia give their lives to pray for the world. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Monks of Norcia Music, Navarini said, is “an art form that directly reflects the inner workings of the soul, unlike other art forms, which gives it a unique power of being united to prayer.”“Chant has the power to raise the soul to the divine,” Navarini said. “It is unlike any music in this world and truly provides a doorway and glimpse into the life to come.”Can machines pray?Human chant is meant to be just that — human, in every imperfection, hoarse voice, or flat note.“Even with AI aside, one of the dangers of chant recordings is that singers often aim to present pristine, errorless, and sublime sounds — which are good and holy in and of themselves,” Ganir said. “But such perfection is not often reflective of a life that worships regularly with chant.”The monks who chant daily in monasteries often sing with “tired” voices, Ganir observed. The monks of Norcia chant the Divine Office seven times during the day and once during the night. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Monks of Norcia “Sung prayer early in the morning or in the evening is often a different, usually 'tired,’ sound than prayers chanted during the day,” Ganir said.This isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s part of the deeper meaning behind chant.“Prayer is meant to span and intersect through all of life,” Ganir continued. “And music, especially our chant tradition, can be such a worthy and life-giving companion.”“AI-generated sacred-sounding music may have a place as a tool for study, preparation, or even private reflection, but it should not replace the living voice of the Church, the trained pastoral musician, the human composer, or the sung participation of the assembly,” Manalo said. Father Ricky Manalo, a distinguished liturgical composer who also gives lectures on artificial intelligence, defines liturgical music as “sung prayer” that “belongs to the embodied worship of a community gathered before God.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Ricky Manalo “AI can generate chant-like sounds or contemporary songs, but it cannot replace the faith, breath, body, and communal participation during a liturgy,” Manalo continued.“Sacred music requires theological depth, pastoral sensitivity, scriptural grounding, ritual awareness, and a sense of the actual community that will sing or hear it,” Manalo said.“Every true prayer is an authentic and personal encounter of trust between a creature with its Creator, a recognition of our dependence on the one who is infinitely good,” Father Ezra Sullivan, a Dominican priest and director of the Spirituality Institute at the Angelicum, told EWTN News.“There is an old saying: ‘You cannot give what you do not have,’” Sullivan continued. “Because an algorithm does not have a knowledge and love of God, no person to have a relationship with him, it cannot make prayers or music that authentically express the raising up of the soul to the hands of our loving Father — even if it makes imitations that are somewhat pleasing, the soul would be missing.”“One of the reasons why we like to know the biography of composers or authors is because when we read their works or listen to their music, we can commune with them across the ages and join our souls with theirs in coming closer to God,” Sullivan continued. “Artificial intelligence might be able to fool us into thinking that it facilitates these horizontal and vertical relationships, and thatʼs precisely how it can be dangerous in the spiritual realm.” Giorgio Navarini, right, sings with his chant group Floriani Sacred Music, a group founded to bring about a revival of Catholic sacred chant. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Floriani Sacred Music In Pope Leoʼs recent encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, the Holy Father wrote: “No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil.”“Gregorian chant is what the soul sings to God; it is what a bride sings to her Divine Bridegroom,” Nixen said. “If an AI-generated thing can love and get married, then it can sing chant. If it can get baptized, then it can sing chant. But if it cannot love, get married, get baptized, or be united to God, then it cannot chant.”
Read More

‘Chant GPT’: How Catholics are responding to AI-generated Gregorian chant #Catholic In the early morning and late at night, monks still rise to sing the divine office, their voices low and hoarse from sleep. With every breath they are keeping alive a centuries-old tradition in monasteries around the world.But in a small corner of the internet, and on music providers like Spotify, another form of chant has taken hold. The text is often a hodgepodge of Latin-sounding words; a mechanical simulation not sung by human voices but generated by artificial intelligence (AI).How should Catholics navigate the new phenomenon of AI-generated chant, or, in the term hymnist Alan Hommerding coined, “Chant GPT”?What is Gregorian chant?Chant isn’t something that is consumed, like social media or food. Instead, it is a way to worship and pray, according to Catholic theologians and musicians.“Chant is not meant to be performed for artistic consumption but meant to attune our hearts to the Lord over the course of time,” Father Phillip Alcon Ganir, a Jesuit priest who teaches sacred music classes at Boston College, told EWTN News. Father Phillip Alcon Ganir, a Jesuit priest who researches and teaches about music, catechetics, and liturgy at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, encourages Catholics to “develop a more nuanced appreciation” of Gregorian chant by engaging more deeply with it. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Phillip Alcon Ganir Composer and liturgist Father Ricky Manalo, a Paulist priest, agreed, adding: “Gregorian chant is not merely an aesthetic; it is part of the Church’s living tradition of sung prayer, as much as Gospel music is a living tradition for many African American Catholics, or pentatonic melodies are a living tradition for many East Asian Catholics.”“Its beauty is tied not only to its sound but to its liturgical, scriptural, and cultural roots,” he said.Named for St. Gregory the Great, Gregorian chant is a “musical synthesis” of Roman and Gallican chant, according to Father Basil Nixen, a monk of the Abbey of San Benedetto in Monte, Norcia, Italy, where the monks chant daily together. These chanted psalms continue to be prayed as part of the Divine Office, or Liturgy of the Hours — a daily practice for Catholic priests, religious, and laypeople. The Monks of Norcia. | Credit: Christopher McLallen, courtesy of Benedicta, de Montfort Music “Many might assume that Gregorian chant is really a product of the medieval or dark ages from Western Christianity,” noted Giorgio Navarini, founder and director of the Catholic chant group Floriani Sacred Music. “However, Gregorian chant derives its existence from the Hebrew Temple. Sung psalmody, lamentations, and hymns were a significant part of the Hebraic liturgical life in both the synagogue and Temple.”In the Middle Ages came the “unprecedented notation” of the chant, which helped Gregorian chant spread, Nixen explained.“The sacred melodies of the chant were written by men and women inspired by the Holy Spirit, and every time we sing them, we allow the Holy Spirit to possess our hearts too so as to enter more fully into communion with God in prayer,” Nixen said.“Through the Divine Office the voice of Christ praying to his Father mingles with our own, allowing us to unite our voice with his and to participate in his priestly intercession for the salvation of the world,” Nixen said.How do we pray through Gregorian chant?Because Gregorian chant is more than just an aesthetic, questions about Gregorian chant are, at their root, questions about the connection between prayer and song.“Christian worship involves the whole human being — body and soul,” Nixen said. “Chanting is fundamental for Christian worship precisely for this purpose, because it allows us to pray not only with our minds but also with our bodies, our heart, our sentiments.”“Worship is the natural expression of the highest love, the love which most engages and engrosses us, which is why we owe it to God alone, whom we must love with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength — i.e., with body, heart, mind, and soul,” Nixen said. “And we do this most perfectly when we sing.” The Benedictine Monks of Norcia give their lives to pray for the world. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Monks of Norcia Music, Navarini said, is “an art form that directly reflects the inner workings of the soul, unlike other art forms, which gives it a unique power of being united to prayer.”“Chant has the power to raise the soul to the divine,” Navarini said. “It is unlike any music in this world and truly provides a doorway and glimpse into the life to come.”Can machines pray?Human chant is meant to be just that — human, in every imperfection, hoarse voice, or flat note.“Even with AI aside, one of the dangers of chant recordings is that singers often aim to present pristine, errorless, and sublime sounds — which are good and holy in and of themselves,” Ganir said. “But such perfection is not often reflective of a life that worships regularly with chant.”The monks who chant daily in monasteries often sing with “tired” voices, Ganir observed. The monks of Norcia chant the Divine Office seven times during the day and once during the night. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Monks of Norcia “Sung prayer early in the morning or in the evening is often a different, usually 'tired,’ sound than prayers chanted during the day,” Ganir said.This isn’t a bad thing; in fact, it’s part of the deeper meaning behind chant.“Prayer is meant to span and intersect through all of life,” Ganir continued. “And music, especially our chant tradition, can be such a worthy and life-giving companion.”“AI-generated sacred-sounding music may have a place as a tool for study, preparation, or even private reflection, but it should not replace the living voice of the Church, the trained pastoral musician, the human composer, or the sung participation of the assembly,” Manalo said. Father Ricky Manalo, a distinguished liturgical composer who also gives lectures on artificial intelligence, defines liturgical music as “sung prayer” that “belongs to the embodied worship of a community gathered before God.” | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Ricky Manalo “AI can generate chant-like sounds or contemporary songs, but it cannot replace the faith, breath, body, and communal participation during a liturgy,” Manalo continued.“Sacred music requires theological depth, pastoral sensitivity, scriptural grounding, ritual awareness, and a sense of the actual community that will sing or hear it,” Manalo said.“Every true prayer is an authentic and personal encounter of trust between a creature with its Creator, a recognition of our dependence on the one who is infinitely good,” Father Ezra Sullivan, a Dominican priest and director of the Spirituality Institute at the Angelicum, told EWTN News.“There is an old saying: ‘You cannot give what you do not have,’” Sullivan continued. “Because an algorithm does not have a knowledge and love of God, no person to have a relationship with him, it cannot make prayers or music that authentically express the raising up of the soul to the hands of our loving Father — even if it makes imitations that are somewhat pleasing, the soul would be missing.”“One of the reasons why we like to know the biography of composers or authors is because when we read their works or listen to their music, we can commune with them across the ages and join our souls with theirs in coming closer to God,” Sullivan continued. “Artificial intelligence might be able to fool us into thinking that it facilitates these horizontal and vertical relationships, and thatʼs precisely how it can be dangerous in the spiritual realm.” Giorgio Navarini, right, sings with his chant group Floriani Sacred Music, a group founded to bring about a revival of Catholic sacred chant. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Floriani Sacred Music In Pope Leoʼs recent encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, the Holy Father wrote: “No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil.”“Gregorian chant is what the soul sings to God; it is what a bride sings to her Divine Bridegroom,” Nixen said. “If an AI-generated thing can love and get married, then it can sing chant. If it can get baptized, then it can sing chant. But if it cannot love, get married, get baptized, or be united to God, then it cannot chant.”

unitedyam

As AI encroaches on sacred music, Catholics still hold true to Gregorian chant, a historical form of sacred music that is still alive today.

Read More
Cleveland father and son live out sacrificial faith after mother’s near-death illness #Catholic In a time when the meaning of masculinity is often misunderstood and undervalued, Joe Soltis and his 15-year-old son, Jake, are a father/son pair from Cleveland, Ohio, who have made service to others the focus of their lives.After his mother’s serious illness, Jake, almost entirely by himself, built her a sauna and exercise room in the family’s basement in order to help her recover. Joe, the CEO of a marketing company, serves on the board of an ecumenical project that unites Catholics and Protestants called Prayer At The Heart, with the aim of igniting “a great spiritual awakening out of a national movement of unified, humble, desperate prayer, unity and evangelism.”The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their Catholic faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.‘There’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home’In 2020, Joe’s wife and Jake’s mom, Becky, almost died after multiple medical issues led doctors to estimate she had only a 10% chance of survival. Joe said she was diagnosed with lupus, Lyme disease, a burst gall bladder, sepsis, and pancreatitis.“We weren’t allowed to see her in the hospital because it was during Covid,” said Joe, the father of five boys and one daughter, who had to tell his kids “there’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home.” The Soltis family. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family After weeks in the hospital, Becky began to recover, Joe said, and “by the grace of God, she pulled through.”“Out of that hardship, I have found a woman who is incredibly holy,” Joe said of his wife, who, though mostly recovered, still suffers ongoing symptoms from lupus. “She is an incredible mom and an incredible wife. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. She is a blessing to all of us.”Joe said that time “brought our family tremendously closer together.” A plan to ‘mobilize Christians’As Becky recovered from her health crisis, Joe watched the race riots that erupted all over the country that summer, leading him to conclude that “there are evil forces” at work leading to such division between Americans.“That’s not what Christ wants,” he said, and he wondered whether such division was “manufactured and intentional.” He read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, which he called “diabolically brilliant.”On July 4, 2020, between his work, family, and other responsibilities, Joe “happened to be free to sit down and think.” He felt inspired to write out a plan that would address how to “mobilize Christians” in a “Catholic, Christian, biblical manner.” Becky helped him fine tune the plan, which Joe then sent to various Christian leaders. Tom Phillips, vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called him back and put him in touch with Doug Small, a Pentecostal leader with a similar vision who also lives in Ohio. Together, the men came up with Prayer at the Heart, an evangelistic endeavor with the goal of “one million Christians praying for one million friends to know Christ.”Of the ecumenical nature of their ministry, he said there is “great unity among” the team. “We can all unite around Christ.”  “Each congregation-denomination-ministry would brand the effort calling their constituents to prayer, evangelism-mission in their own way,” reads the website, on which Christians can sign up to pray for unbelievers. “The early apostles didn’t just stay in their church and pray,” Joe said. “They went out and evangelized. It’s time for Christians to get out of their homes and churches and bring Jesus to people.”The ministry’s strategy also involves other practical initiatives, such as the organization of local gatherings and outdoor prayer meetings, as well as a prayer request line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.In addition, the ministry is organizing neighborhood prayer walks, weekly groups of Christians praying for coworkers, and a new missionary and mentorship program to train young adults in prayer and evangelism.“There’s no person or political party that’s going to save us. The only thing that’s going to save us is the love of Jesus Christ and the love of others,” Joe said.A message to fathers: ‘Love your wife’This Father’s Day, Joe has encouraging words for fathers: “Love your wife and kids the way Christ loved the Church.” “Sacrifice, be willing to lay your life down. Strive to love like Christ, knowing you will sometimes fall short,” he said. “Go to church every Sunday. Your kids wonʼt know faith is important if you don’t show it. Pray every day with your kids.”“Every night we say the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the St. Michael prayer, and the Angel of God prayer,” he said. “Then we say what we’re thankful for, and this is what we’d like God to help us with.”The Soltis’ also say a rosary once a week as a family, as well as in the car on long trips. “If your family is going through a difficult time, strongly follow the lead of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Joe said.“One of the promises of that consecration is peace within your family. Ours didn’t have peace for a while but it does now, thank the Lord.”‘If I start, God will help me and guide me through it’Jake told EWTN News that “my dad and mom have always shown what love is. It’s a choice, You choose to love others, to love your enemy. Love is a choice and not an emotional feeling.”When he decided to build the sauna and exercise room for his mother in the family’s basement, he said he had “no idea what I was getting into.”Before beginning the basement renovation, Jake said he only “knew how to build a sub par table.” During the work, he said he “was just inspired. I just wanted to help my mom.” Becky Soltis and her son, Jake, in their basement, where Jake built a sauna and exercise room to aid in his motherʼs recovery. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family Joe said his son “put a lot of pressure on himself because his mom’s health was at stake.” Becky had a grand mal seizure in 2025, which Joe called “scary.”“I have based the majority of my life on the saying ‘I will figure it out,’” Jake said. "I know that if I start something, and use the gifts I was given from God, I will be able to figure it out. I’m not wasting my ability, and I trust that if I start, God will help me and guide me through it.”His father said Jake “looked at two Google images” before starting the project. “He has the knack and ability to do this stuff. He would come home from school and work for thousands of hours.” “The only thing I did was I loaded the stuff in the back of the Chevy Tahoe at the hardware store. Every now and then I helped him out,” Joe laughed.“As an 8th grader, he took an unfinished basement, and now we have a fitness center, sauna, theater room, and theyʼre beautiful! They look professional. He did it all himself, for his mother,” Joe said proudly.
Read More

Cleveland father and son live out sacrificial faith after mother’s near-death illness #Catholic In a time when the meaning of masculinity is often misunderstood and undervalued, Joe Soltis and his 15-year-old son, Jake, are a father/son pair from Cleveland, Ohio, who have made service to others the focus of their lives.After his mother’s serious illness, Jake, almost entirely by himself, built her a sauna and exercise room in the family’s basement in order to help her recover. Joe, the CEO of a marketing company, serves on the board of an ecumenical project that unites Catholics and Protestants called Prayer At The Heart, with the aim of igniting “a great spiritual awakening out of a national movement of unified, humble, desperate prayer, unity and evangelism.”The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their Catholic faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.‘There’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home’In 2020, Joe’s wife and Jake’s mom, Becky, almost died after multiple medical issues led doctors to estimate she had only a 10% chance of survival. Joe said she was diagnosed with lupus, Lyme disease, a burst gall bladder, sepsis, and pancreatitis.“We weren’t allowed to see her in the hospital because it was during Covid,” said Joe, the father of five boys and one daughter, who had to tell his kids “there’s a good chance Mom won’t be coming home.” The Soltis family. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family After weeks in the hospital, Becky began to recover, Joe said, and “by the grace of God, she pulled through.”“Out of that hardship, I have found a woman who is incredibly holy,” Joe said of his wife, who, though mostly recovered, still suffers ongoing symptoms from lupus. “She is an incredible mom and an incredible wife. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. She is a blessing to all of us.”Joe said that time “brought our family tremendously closer together.” A plan to ‘mobilize Christians’As Becky recovered from her health crisis, Joe watched the race riots that erupted all over the country that summer, leading him to conclude that “there are evil forces” at work leading to such division between Americans.“That’s not what Christ wants,” he said, and he wondered whether such division was “manufactured and intentional.” He read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, which he called “diabolically brilliant.”On July 4, 2020, between his work, family, and other responsibilities, Joe “happened to be free to sit down and think.” He felt inspired to write out a plan that would address how to “mobilize Christians” in a “Catholic, Christian, biblical manner.” Becky helped him fine tune the plan, which Joe then sent to various Christian leaders. Tom Phillips, vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called him back and put him in touch with Doug Small, a Pentecostal leader with a similar vision who also lives in Ohio. Together, the men came up with Prayer at the Heart, an evangelistic endeavor with the goal of “one million Christians praying for one million friends to know Christ.”Of the ecumenical nature of their ministry, he said there is “great unity among” the team. “We can all unite around Christ.”  “Each congregation-denomination-ministry would brand the effort calling their constituents to prayer, evangelism-mission in their own way,” reads the website, on which Christians can sign up to pray for unbelievers. “The early apostles didn’t just stay in their church and pray,” Joe said. “They went out and evangelized. It’s time for Christians to get out of their homes and churches and bring Jesus to people.”The ministry’s strategy also involves other practical initiatives, such as the organization of local gatherings and outdoor prayer meetings, as well as a prayer request line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.In addition, the ministry is organizing neighborhood prayer walks, weekly groups of Christians praying for coworkers, and a new missionary and mentorship program to train young adults in prayer and evangelism.“There’s no person or political party that’s going to save us. The only thing that’s going to save us is the love of Jesus Christ and the love of others,” Joe said.A message to fathers: ‘Love your wife’This Father’s Day, Joe has encouraging words for fathers: “Love your wife and kids the way Christ loved the Church.” “Sacrifice, be willing to lay your life down. Strive to love like Christ, knowing you will sometimes fall short,” he said. “Go to church every Sunday. Your kids wonʼt know faith is important if you don’t show it. Pray every day with your kids.”“Every night we say the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the St. Michael prayer, and the Angel of God prayer,” he said. “Then we say what we’re thankful for, and this is what we’d like God to help us with.”The Soltis’ also say a rosary once a week as a family, as well as in the car on long trips. “If your family is going through a difficult time, strongly follow the lead of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Joe said.“One of the promises of that consecration is peace within your family. Ours didn’t have peace for a while but it does now, thank the Lord.”‘If I start, God will help me and guide me through it’Jake told EWTN News that “my dad and mom have always shown what love is. It’s a choice, You choose to love others, to love your enemy. Love is a choice and not an emotional feeling.”When he decided to build the sauna and exercise room for his mother in the family’s basement, he said he had “no idea what I was getting into.”Before beginning the basement renovation, Jake said he only “knew how to build a sub par table.” During the work, he said he “was just inspired. I just wanted to help my mom.” Becky Soltis and her son, Jake, in their basement, where Jake built a sauna and exercise room to aid in his motherʼs recovery. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Soltis family Joe said his son “put a lot of pressure on himself because his mom’s health was at stake.” Becky had a grand mal seizure in 2025, which Joe called “scary.”“I have based the majority of my life on the saying ‘I will figure it out,’” Jake said. "I know that if I start something, and use the gifts I was given from God, I will be able to figure it out. I’m not wasting my ability, and I trust that if I start, God will help me and guide me through it.”His father said Jake “looked at two Google images” before starting the project. “He has the knack and ability to do this stuff. He would come home from school and work for thousands of hours.” “The only thing I did was I loaded the stuff in the back of the Chevy Tahoe at the hardware store. Every now and then I helped him out,” Joe laughed.“As an 8th grader, he took an unfinished basement, and now we have a fitness center, sauna, theater room, and theyʼre beautiful! They look professional. He did it all himself, for his mother,” Joe said proudly.

unitedyam

The pair spoke with EWTN News about how their faith inspires them to be men who make it their mission to love as Jesus loves, and about how they hope to inspire others to do the same.

Read More

Picture of the day Small waterfall on Gunung Lambak, one of several along the stream that flows next to the main path up the mountain. This is a focus stack of 2 photographs, and a neutral density filter was used to allow a long exposure time of 2 seconds. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Small waterfall on Gunung Lambak, one of several along the stream that flows next to the main path up the mountain. This is a focus stack of 2 photographs, and a neutral density filter was used to allow a long exposure time of 2 seconds.
Read More

Picture of the day Blue shark (Prionace glauca), Faial-Pico Channel, Azores Islands, Portugal. The blue shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, that inhabits deep waters (images taken though between 5 and 10 meter below water) averaging around 3.1 m (10 ft) and preferring cooler waters. They can live up to 20 years, can move very quickly and feed primarily on small fish and squid, although they can take larger prey. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Blue shark (Prionace glauca), Faial-Pico Channel, Azores Islands, Portugal. The blue shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, that inhabits deep waters (images taken though between 5 and 10 meter below water) averaging around 3.1 m (10 ft) and preferring cooler waters. They can live up to 20 years, can move very quickly and feed primarily on small fish and squid, although they can take larger prey.
Read More
Picture of the day Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a lifespan of 1–2 years and have many predators including sharks, dolphins, seals, fish, and cephalopods which includes other cuttlefish. During the day, most cuttlefish can be found buried below the substrate and fairly inactive. At night however, they are actively searching for prey and can ambush them from under the substrate. Cuttlefish are carnivorous and eat a variety of organisms including crustaceans (crabs and shrimp), small fish, molluscs (clams and snails), and sometimes other cuttlefish.
Read More
CubeSats’ Missions Begin – A pair of CubeSats designed by college students from around the world is deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed sized satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations.
Read More

CubeSats’ Missions Begin – A pair of CubeSats designed by college students from around the world is deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed sized satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations.

unitedyam

A pair of CubeSats designed by college students from around the world is deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed sized satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations.

Read More
NASA’s Pandora Small Satellite Launched – NASA’s Pandora small satellite, and NASA-sponsored Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT) CubeSat, are ready to be encapsulated inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing in this early January 2026 photo. Pandora and the CubeSats launched Sunday, Jan. 11, from Vandenberg Space Force Base located on California’s central coast.
Read More

NASA’s Pandora Small Satellite Launched – NASA’s Pandora small satellite, and NASA-sponsored Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT) CubeSat, are ready to be encapsulated inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing in this early January 2026 photo. Pandora and the CubeSats launched Sunday, Jan. 11, from Vandenberg Space Force Base located on California’s central coast.

unitedyam

NASA’s Pandora small satellite, and NASA-sponsored Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT) CubeSat, are ready to be encapsulated inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing in this early January 2026 photo. Pandora and the CubeSats launched Sunday, Jan. 11, from Vandenberg Space Force Base located on California’s central coast.

Read More
NASA Lab Completes Engine Checks on New Aircraft – Justin Hall, left, controls a subscale aircraft as Justin Link holds the aircraft in place during preliminary engine tests on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Hall is chief pilot at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory and Link is a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft systems.
Read More

NASA Lab Completes Engine Checks on New Aircraft – Justin Hall, left, controls a subscale aircraft as Justin Link holds the aircraft in place during preliminary engine tests on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Hall is chief pilot at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory and Link is a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft systems.

unitedyam

Justin Hall, left, controls a subscale aircraft as Justin Link holds the aircraft in place during preliminary engine tests on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Hall is chief pilot at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory and Link is a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft systems.

Read More
Newly Found Organics in Enceladus’ Plumes – NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed ‘tiger stripes’ near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Read More

Newly Found Organics in Enceladus’ Plumes – NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed ‘tiger stripes’ near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

unitedyam

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed ‘tiger stripes’ near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Read More
Picture of the day Top view of grafted Gymnocalycium mihanovichii (chin cactus). The host cactus has been digitally blanked out. The red body is about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) diameter. The small “moons” are 0.5–0.8 cm (0.20–0.31 in) diameter. House plant in Ooty, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India. Focus stack of 89 images using PMax mode of ZereneStacker. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Top view of grafted Gymnocalycium mihanovichii (chin cactus). The host cactus has been digitally blanked out. The red body is about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) diameter. The small “moons” are 0.5–0.8 cm (0.20–0.31 in) diameter. House plant in Ooty, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India. Focus stack of 89 images using PMax mode of ZereneStacker. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Top view of grafted Gymnocalycium mihanovichii (chin cactus). The host cactus has been digitally blanked out. The red body is about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) diameter. The small “moons” are 0.5–0.8 cm (0.20–0.31 in) diameter. House plant in Ooty, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India. Focus stack of 89 images using PMax mode of ZereneStacker.
Read More
Picture of the day Coral (Favia favus), Ras Muhammad National Park, Red Sea, Egypt. This species of stony corals is massive and forms thickly encrusting dome-shaped colonial corals. There is a great diversity of form even among the same species. The corallites project slightly above the surface of the coral and each has its own wall. The septa and costae linked to the corallite wall are well developed and covered by fine teeth. The polyps only extend and feed during the night. Each one has a small number of tapering tentacles which often have a darker coloured tip; these are called stinger tentacles, or sweeper tentacles. They use these to sweep the water to see if any other coral is in its area; if so, then they begin to sting the other coral. This is commonly known as coral war. Each coral is trying to make sure it has enough room around it so it can continue to grow and have more surface area for its offspring. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Coral (Favia favus), Ras Muhammad National Park, Red Sea, Egypt. This species of stony corals is massive and forms thickly encrusting dome-shaped colonial corals. There is a great diversity of form even among the same species. The corallites project slightly above the surface of the coral and each has its own wall. The septa and costae linked to the corallite wall are well developed and covered by fine teeth. The polyps only extend and feed during the night. Each one has a small number of tapering tentacles which often have a darker coloured tip; these are called stinger tentacles, or sweeper tentacles. They use these to sweep the water to see if any other coral is in its area; if so, then they begin to sting the other coral. This is commonly known as coral war. Each coral is trying to make sure it has enough room around it so it can continue to grow and have more surface area for its offspring. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Coral (Favia favus), Ras Muhammad National Park, Red Sea, Egypt. This species of stony corals is massive and forms thickly encrusting dome-shaped colonial corals. There is a great diversity of form even among the same species. The corallites project slightly above the surface of the coral and each has its own wall. The septa and costae linked to the corallite wall are well developed and covered by fine teeth. The polyps only extend and feed during the night. Each one has a small number of tapering tentacles which often have a darker coloured tip; these are called stinger tentacles, or sweeper tentacles. They use these to sweep the water to see if any other coral is in its area; if so, then they begin to sting the other coral. This is commonly known as coral war. Each coral is trying to make sure it has enough room around it so it can continue to grow and have more surface area for its offspring.
Read More
Picture of the day Moray eels (Muraena augusti) and a cleaner shrimp (Lysmata grabhami), Teno-Rasca marine strip, Tenerife, Spain. It belongs to the family of moray eel and is endemic of the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores. It is non-migratory, and dwells at a depth range of 0 to 250 metres (0 to 820 ft), most often at around 0 to 50 metres (0 to 164 ft). Muraena augusti is active during the night and hides in holes or crevices during the day. It can reach up to 100 centimetres (39 in) length and is a carnivore that feeds on small fishes, shrimps and crabs. Like all other moray eels their vision is poor but their sense of smell extraordinary. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day Moray eels (Muraena augusti) and a cleaner shrimp (Lysmata grabhami), Teno-Rasca marine strip, Tenerife, Spain. It belongs to the family of moray eel and is endemic of the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores. It is non-migratory, and dwells at a depth range of 0 to 250 metres (0 to 820 ft), most often at around 0 to 50 metres (0 to 164 ft). Muraena augusti is active during the night and hides in holes or crevices during the day. It can reach up to 100 centimetres (39 in) length and is a carnivore that feeds on small fishes, shrimps and crabs. Like all other moray eels their vision is poor but their sense of smell extraordinary. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
Moray eels (Muraena augusti) and a cleaner shrimp (Lysmata grabhami), Teno-Rasca marine strip, Tenerife, Spain. It belongs to the family of moray eel and is endemic of the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores. It is non-migratory, and dwells at a depth range of 0 to 250 metres (0 to 820 ft), most often at around 0 to 50 metres (0 to 164 ft). Muraena augusti is active during the night and hides in holes or crevices during the day. It can reach up to 100 centimetres (39 in) length and is a carnivore that feeds on small fishes, shrimps and crabs. Like all other moray eels their vision is poor but their sense of smell extraordinary.
Read More
Picture of the day A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc HH 30 around a newly formed star produced by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It is surrounded by jets and a disc wind, and is located in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas outflowing from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an example of where this outflowing gas takes the form of a narrow jet. The source star is located on one end of the jet, hidden behind an edge-on protoplanetary disc that the star is illuminating. #ImageOfTheDay
Read More

Picture of the day A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc HH 30 around a newly formed star produced by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It is surrounded by jets and a disc wind, and is located in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas outflowing from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an example of where this outflowing gas takes the form of a narrow jet. The source star is located on one end of the jet, hidden behind an edge-on protoplanetary disc that the star is illuminating. #ImageOfTheDay

unitedyam
Picture of the day
A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc HH 30 around a newly formed star produced by NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. It is surrounded by jets and a disc wind, and is located in the dark cloud LDN 1551 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas outflowing from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an example of where this outflowing gas takes the form of a narrow jet. The source star is located on one end of the jet, hidden behind an edge-on protoplanetary disc that the star is illuminating.
Read More