strength

This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March is for disarmament and peace.In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question to the faithful: “Would you imagine what a world without wars would be like? A world without the terror of approaching explosions? Without rocket alarms shattering the silence of the night?”“Please join me in prayer this month for disarmament and peace,” he said.In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention.Here is the pope’s full prayer:Lord of Life,you shaped every human being in your image and likeness.We believe you created us for communion, not for war,for fraternity, not for destruction.You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,”grant us the gift of your peaceand the strength to make it a reality in history.Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world,asking that nations renounce weaponsand choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,so we may become instruments of reconciliation.Help us understand that true securitydoes not come from control fueled by fear,but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations,so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death,halt the arms race,and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.Holy Spirit,make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace:in our hearts, our families,our communities, and our cities.May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation,and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.Amen.“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.
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This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March #Catholic Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March is for disarmament and peace.In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question to the faithful: “Would you imagine what a world without wars would be like? A world without the terror of approaching explosions? Without rocket alarms shattering the silence of the night?”“Please join me in prayer this month for disarmament and peace,” he said.In the full video shared on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website, Pope Leo recites an original prayer written specifically for this month’s prayer intention.Here is the pope’s full prayer:Lord of Life,you shaped every human being in your image and likeness.We believe you created us for communion, not for war,for fraternity, not for destruction.You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,”grant us the gift of your peaceand the strength to make it a reality in history.Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world,asking that nations renounce weaponsand choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference,so we may become instruments of reconciliation.Help us understand that true securitydoes not come from control fueled by fear,but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations,so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death,halt the arms race,and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the center.May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.Holy Spirit,make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace:in our hearts, our families,our communities, and our cities.May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation,and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world.Amen.“Pray with the Pope” is accessible on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network website and its digital platforms.

unitedyam

In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question to the faithful: “Would you imagine what a world without wars would be like? A world without the terror of approaching explosions?”

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Replica of Manila’s famed ‘Black Nazarene’ arrives in Los Angeles Archdiocese #Catholic The centuries-old devotion to Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno of Quiapo, Manila, in the Philippines has formally reached the U.S. West Coast as an official replica of the revered image was turned over to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and entrusted to Holy Family Parish in Artesia and the archdiocese’s Filipino ministry.The replica, gifted by the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesús Nazareno in Manila, will be enthroned at Holy Family Parish and serve as a pilgrim image, visiting parishes across the archdiocese’s five pastoral regions as part of a broader evangelization initiative. Father John Cordero displays the official replica of the Jesús Nazareno from Manila’s Quiapo Church in 2025. | Credit: Holy Family Catholic Church Artesia The arrival of the image marks the fruit of an evangelization effort spearheaded by then-rector of Quiapo Church, now Bishop Rufino Sescon of Balanga, Bataan. According to Father John Cordero of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross, pastor of Holy Family Parish, the development unfolded providentially.“The real starting point of this development was the evangelization initiative of the National Shrine of Jesús Nazareno in Manila, spearheaded by then-rector and now bishop of Balanga, Rufino ‘Jun’ Sescon,” Cordero told EWTN News.The replica was initially offered to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles through Father Rodel Balagtas, priest liaison to the Filipino Ministry. Although another parish had first expressed willingness to host the image, no final arrangements had been made.Months later, Sescon personally contacted Cordero — a former graduate school classmate — to reestablish communication between Quiapo Church and a receiving parish. What seemed at first a closed matter reopened, and Cordero discerned that the parish could accommodate the image by converting a religious goods store in the vestibule into a shrine.“I noticed something that had slipped my attention: We have space,” Cordero said. After consultation with Filipino Ministry leaders, including its president and parishioner Noel Motus, the parish agreed to receive the image. “It is a gift from the national shrine, and our parish was merely chosen to be the caretakers.”Formal reception and MassSescon will celebrate the Mass marking the official arrival and reception of the replica in Los Angeles on Feb. 14. Later this year, the image will also be brought to the annual Religious Education Congress, further expanding its exposure to thousands of catechists and ministry leaders.Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City — the first Filipino-born bishop to lead a diocese in the United States — is also scheduled to celebrate a Mass in connection with the image’s visit.While there was no prior organized clamor among parishioners for a Nazareno image, Cordero said the parishioners’ response after learning that their parish will be the home of the replica has been one of “sheer joy,” with Filipino and Hispanic faithful alike rallying around the new shrine.“As a pastor explaining this new devotion to my multicultural parish, I would like to point to our mutual interconnectedness with this image,” he said. “This is primarily an image of Jesus, the focal point of our Christian unity.”Historical connectionsThe original image of the Jesús Nazareno, which arrived in Manila from Mexico in 1606, bears deep historical ties to both the Philippines and the Americas. California itself was once part of Mexico, and devotion to Jesús Nazareno has long-standing roots throughout Latin America.“The image, touched by hundreds of millions of pilgrims throughout its four centuries of devotional history, connects us with the everyday faith stories of all who identify with the suffering of Our Lord,” Cordero said.In a gesture underscoring that spiritual continuity, “like the Galileans who were content with touching the tassels of the cloak of Jesus for their healing,” Cordero requested Father Jade Licuanan, the current Quiapo Basilica rector, to have the replica be touched to the original image in Quiapo before being shipped to the United States. Cordero described this as an “intimate act of blessing and sending.”Mass devotion in ManilaThe devotion to the image once known as the “Black Nazarene” is among the largest Catholic expressions of popular piety in the world. Each January, millions of barefoot devotees join the Traslación procession in Manila, accompanying the dark wooden image of Christ carrying the cross through the streets of Quiapo. Manila’s feast of the Black Nazarene draws 9.6 million devotees Cordero, who recently visited the basilica, described the scale of devotion as “mind-boggling,” noting that even hourly Masses draw thousands of worshippers.Now, he believes, the image comes to Los Angeles at a providential moment.“Amid a sociopolitical climate marked by fear and division, this symbol of our connection in the Lord and with one another, embodied in this rustic image of Jesus carrying the cross, offers us consolation and mission,” he said.Citing the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter “A Treasured Presence,” which describes Filipino Catholics as a vital but often unseen minority in the United States, Cordero said the Nazareno highlights the “prophetic resiliency and joy” they bring to the Church.“The Jesús Nazareno reassures us that we are not alone in bearing our crosses,” he said. “In this strange new world, our Catholic faith has been our familiar refuge of connection, support, and strength.”Revitalizing faithBalagtas said he hopes the popular Filipino icon that has a rich tradition in Latin America will help revitalize the faith of the people of the largest and most ethnically diverse archdiocese in the United States, thanks to the vibrant devotion of Filipino Catholics. Father John Cordero, MMHC, signs the “Memorandum of Agreement” formalizing Holy Family Parish’s reception of the official replica of the Jesús Nazareno on behalf of the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as Father Jade Licuanan, rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Jesús Nazareno in Manila, looks on in 2025. | Credit: Holy Family Catholic Church Artesia “The people who are filling the pews of the churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as in other dioceses, are Filipino Catholics.”From Quiapo, Manila’s narrow streets, where millions gather each year for the Traslación, to the sprawling parishes of Southern California, the cross-bearing Christ now stands in a new land — inviting the faithful not only to venerate but also to follow him.
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Replica of Manila’s famed ‘Black Nazarene’ arrives in Los Angeles Archdiocese #Catholic The centuries-old devotion to Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno of Quiapo, Manila, in the Philippines has formally reached the U.S. West Coast as an official replica of the revered image was turned over to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and entrusted to Holy Family Parish in Artesia and the archdiocese’s Filipino ministry.The replica, gifted by the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesús Nazareno in Manila, will be enthroned at Holy Family Parish and serve as a pilgrim image, visiting parishes across the archdiocese’s five pastoral regions as part of a broader evangelization initiative. Father John Cordero displays the official replica of the Jesús Nazareno from Manila’s Quiapo Church in 2025. | Credit: Holy Family Catholic Church Artesia The arrival of the image marks the fruit of an evangelization effort spearheaded by then-rector of Quiapo Church, now Bishop Rufino Sescon of Balanga, Bataan. According to Father John Cordero of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross, pastor of Holy Family Parish, the development unfolded providentially.“The real starting point of this development was the evangelization initiative of the National Shrine of Jesús Nazareno in Manila, spearheaded by then-rector and now bishop of Balanga, Rufino ‘Jun’ Sescon,” Cordero told EWTN News.The replica was initially offered to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles through Father Rodel Balagtas, priest liaison to the Filipino Ministry. Although another parish had first expressed willingness to host the image, no final arrangements had been made.Months later, Sescon personally contacted Cordero — a former graduate school classmate — to reestablish communication between Quiapo Church and a receiving parish. What seemed at first a closed matter reopened, and Cordero discerned that the parish could accommodate the image by converting a religious goods store in the vestibule into a shrine.“I noticed something that had slipped my attention: We have space,” Cordero said. After consultation with Filipino Ministry leaders, including its president and parishioner Noel Motus, the parish agreed to receive the image. “It is a gift from the national shrine, and our parish was merely chosen to be the caretakers.”Formal reception and MassSescon will celebrate the Mass marking the official arrival and reception of the replica in Los Angeles on Feb. 14. Later this year, the image will also be brought to the annual Religious Education Congress, further expanding its exposure to thousands of catechists and ministry leaders.Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City — the first Filipino-born bishop to lead a diocese in the United States — is also scheduled to celebrate a Mass in connection with the image’s visit.While there was no prior organized clamor among parishioners for a Nazareno image, Cordero said the parishioners’ response after learning that their parish will be the home of the replica has been one of “sheer joy,” with Filipino and Hispanic faithful alike rallying around the new shrine.“As a pastor explaining this new devotion to my multicultural parish, I would like to point to our mutual interconnectedness with this image,” he said. “This is primarily an image of Jesus, the focal point of our Christian unity.”Historical connectionsThe original image of the Jesús Nazareno, which arrived in Manila from Mexico in 1606, bears deep historical ties to both the Philippines and the Americas. California itself was once part of Mexico, and devotion to Jesús Nazareno has long-standing roots throughout Latin America.“The image, touched by hundreds of millions of pilgrims throughout its four centuries of devotional history, connects us with the everyday faith stories of all who identify with the suffering of Our Lord,” Cordero said.In a gesture underscoring that spiritual continuity, “like the Galileans who were content with touching the tassels of the cloak of Jesus for their healing,” Cordero requested Father Jade Licuanan, the current Quiapo Basilica rector, to have the replica be touched to the original image in Quiapo before being shipped to the United States. Cordero described this as an “intimate act of blessing and sending.”Mass devotion in ManilaThe devotion to the image once known as the “Black Nazarene” is among the largest Catholic expressions of popular piety in the world. Each January, millions of barefoot devotees join the Traslación procession in Manila, accompanying the dark wooden image of Christ carrying the cross through the streets of Quiapo. Manila’s feast of the Black Nazarene draws 9.6 million devotees Cordero, who recently visited the basilica, described the scale of devotion as “mind-boggling,” noting that even hourly Masses draw thousands of worshippers.Now, he believes, the image comes to Los Angeles at a providential moment.“Amid a sociopolitical climate marked by fear and division, this symbol of our connection in the Lord and with one another, embodied in this rustic image of Jesus carrying the cross, offers us consolation and mission,” he said.Citing the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter “A Treasured Presence,” which describes Filipino Catholics as a vital but often unseen minority in the United States, Cordero said the Nazareno highlights the “prophetic resiliency and joy” they bring to the Church.“The Jesús Nazareno reassures us that we are not alone in bearing our crosses,” he said. “In this strange new world, our Catholic faith has been our familiar refuge of connection, support, and strength.”Revitalizing faithBalagtas said he hopes the popular Filipino icon that has a rich tradition in Latin America will help revitalize the faith of the people of the largest and most ethnically diverse archdiocese in the United States, thanks to the vibrant devotion of Filipino Catholics. Father John Cordero, MMHC, signs the “Memorandum of Agreement” formalizing Holy Family Parish’s reception of the official replica of the Jesús Nazareno on behalf of the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as Father Jade Licuanan, rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Jesús Nazareno in Manila, looks on in 2025. | Credit: Holy Family Catholic Church Artesia “The people who are filling the pews of the churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as in other dioceses, are Filipino Catholics.”From Quiapo, Manila’s narrow streets, where millions gather each year for the Traslación, to the sprawling parishes of Southern California, the cross-bearing Christ now stands in a new land — inviting the faithful not only to venerate but also to follow him.

unitedyam

An official replica of Manila’s centuries-old Jesús Nazareno image has been entrusted to Holy Family Parish in Artesia, California, bringing one of the world’s largest Catholic devotions to the U.S.

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Archbishop Wenski makes case for ‘permanent’ solution for Haitian refugees in U.S. #Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is calling on Congress to find a “permanent” solution for Haitian refugees in the United States.On Feb. 2 a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants that was given in 2010. TPS provides eligible Haitians in the U.S. with protection from deportation and work authorization, due to ongoing safety concerns in Haiti.As Florida has the largest Haitian population in the country, Wenski said there is “relief” after the judge blocked the order. Ending TPS “would affect possibly 300,000 Haitians, not only here in South Florida but throughout the United States,” he said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”“It’s not the final solution … because the administration, I think, has the intention of making an appeal, and what is given could be quickly taken away as well. While the Haitians are breathing a sigh of relief, at the same time, we realize that it’s a temporary relief.”Now, Wenski said, it is up to Congress “to step up to the plate and provide a more permanent solution to the plight of these Haitians.” The administration “is applying the laws as they understand them, but it is Congress that makes the laws.”“If the laws are unfair, unjust, or inadequate to the real needs of our country, then they should be changed, and that’s a prerogative of Congress. So I would urge Congress to step up to provide a solution, because the Haitians being forced back to Haiti with very perilous, dangerous conditions right now … puts their lives in danger.”The Haitians “leaving South Florida and other places in the United States so abruptly would cause great economic damage to the United States,” Wenski said. He detailed that Haitians in the U.S. with TPS are working gainfully, paying taxes, and participating in the economy.“It is also important to remember, these people have temporary protective status, which also grants them a work permit. They are not illegals. They’re not violating any law because they have been given a status by the government,” Wenski said.TPS status does put them “in limbo,” Wenski said. It “doesn’t provide any path to permanent residency. If they would leave the country, they would not be able to return.”Concerns in HaitiAs the U.S. State Department tells Americans not to travel to Haiti, when “the Trump administration puts a travel ban, trying to stop people from Haiti,” it “shows the perilousness of the country conditions,” Wenski said.“For instance, the capital city, where there’s about 3 million people residing, is in the hands of gangs,” he said. “Here’s a country that has its school system in disarray because gangs make it impossible for kids to go to school.”Wenski also highlighted the issue of “almost nonexistent health care” as “doctors have been forced to flee and hospitals have been closed” in the country.“It is a place where there is no rule of law, no government, where these gangs and other criminals operate with impunity. For many people, the only lifeline that they have that allows them to survive is the remittances, small as they might be, that the Haitians in the United States are sending home to support families,” Wenski said.“It’s a real problem, not only in Haiti, but the Caribbean region,” Wenski said. He specifically noted Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.“We see the drugs that are being transported into Europe from Asia and also Africa. It is a worldwide problem. What I think we have to recognize is that the poorest people are not the ones that are driving the problem. They are the victims of the problem.”The Haitians in the U.S. seeking refuge and protection “did not create the problems, but they were the ones that have been victimized by the problems,” Wenski said. “We have to be careful that we don’t blame the victims because it’s easier to do that sometimes because they don’t have the strength to oppose us,” Wenski said.
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Archbishop Wenski makes case for ‘permanent’ solution for Haitian refugees in U.S. #Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is calling on Congress to find a “permanent” solution for Haitian refugees in the United States.On Feb. 2 a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants that was given in 2010. TPS provides eligible Haitians in the U.S. with protection from deportation and work authorization, due to ongoing safety concerns in Haiti.As Florida has the largest Haitian population in the country, Wenski said there is “relief” after the judge blocked the order. Ending TPS “would affect possibly 300,000 Haitians, not only here in South Florida but throughout the United States,” he said in an interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”“It’s not the final solution … because the administration, I think, has the intention of making an appeal, and what is given could be quickly taken away as well. While the Haitians are breathing a sigh of relief, at the same time, we realize that it’s a temporary relief.”Now, Wenski said, it is up to Congress “to step up to the plate and provide a more permanent solution to the plight of these Haitians.” The administration “is applying the laws as they understand them, but it is Congress that makes the laws.”“If the laws are unfair, unjust, or inadequate to the real needs of our country, then they should be changed, and that’s a prerogative of Congress. So I would urge Congress to step up to provide a solution, because the Haitians being forced back to Haiti with very perilous, dangerous conditions right now … puts their lives in danger.”The Haitians “leaving South Florida and other places in the United States so abruptly would cause great economic damage to the United States,” Wenski said. He detailed that Haitians in the U.S. with TPS are working gainfully, paying taxes, and participating in the economy.“It is also important to remember, these people have temporary protective status, which also grants them a work permit. They are not illegals. They’re not violating any law because they have been given a status by the government,” Wenski said.TPS status does put them “in limbo,” Wenski said. It “doesn’t provide any path to permanent residency. If they would leave the country, they would not be able to return.”Concerns in HaitiAs the U.S. State Department tells Americans not to travel to Haiti, when “the Trump administration puts a travel ban, trying to stop people from Haiti,” it “shows the perilousness of the country conditions,” Wenski said.“For instance, the capital city, where there’s about 3 million people residing, is in the hands of gangs,” he said. “Here’s a country that has its school system in disarray because gangs make it impossible for kids to go to school.”Wenski also highlighted the issue of “almost nonexistent health care” as “doctors have been forced to flee and hospitals have been closed” in the country.“It is a place where there is no rule of law, no government, where these gangs and other criminals operate with impunity. For many people, the only lifeline that they have that allows them to survive is the remittances, small as they might be, that the Haitians in the United States are sending home to support families,” Wenski said.“It’s a real problem, not only in Haiti, but the Caribbean region,” Wenski said. He specifically noted Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.“We see the drugs that are being transported into Europe from Asia and also Africa. It is a worldwide problem. What I think we have to recognize is that the poorest people are not the ones that are driving the problem. They are the victims of the problem.”The Haitians in the U.S. seeking refuge and protection “did not create the problems, but they were the ones that have been victimized by the problems,” Wenski said. “We have to be careful that we don’t blame the victims because it’s easier to do that sometimes because they don’t have the strength to oppose us,” Wenski said.

unitedyam

The Haitians “leaving South Florida and other places in the United States so abruptly would cause great economic damage to the United States,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski said.

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