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New York City street renamed for religious sister’s decades of service #Catholic A New York City street acquired a new name this past weekend honoring a Catholic sister’s decades of dedication to the East Harlem community.On Saturday, April 25, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the newly named street — Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way — named for the life and legacy of Lachapelle and her contributions as a registered nurse, advocate, and Little Sister of the Assumption (LSA).“With a heart rooted in justice, she dedicated herself to serving the vulnerable through home visits, healthcare, and tireless advocacy, both locally and globally,” Rosario Jimenez, director for LSA Family in Mission, told EWTN News.The event and street naming flowed from Lachapelleʼs work with Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service, a community-based nonprofit based in East Harlem. Founded by the Little Sisters, the organization offers numerous programs to help vulnerable families and children meet their basic needs. Crowd celebrates the unveiling of the Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way street sign in East Harlem, New York, on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Alysa Jette and Grace Ayres-Doyle The group has been in the city for almost 70 years and Lachapelle “really helped to set the trajectory for the organization,” Ray Lopez, chief program officer of LSA Family Health Service, told EWTN News.She was “a foundational visionary staff person and a leader who really, to this day, has a very profound impact on many of us who are on the staff and worked shoulder to shoulder with her, learning from her,” he said.“Since her passing, weʼve all … redoubled our efforts to find a way to keep LSAʼs original mission and vision going in this current environment,” Lopez said. “We really wanted to find ways to keep her name out there and the legacy going.”The street is on the southeast corner of East 115th Street and First Avenue. "Itʼs almost the exact midpoint of where Sister Susanne Lachapelle lived in the Little Sisters of the Assumption brownstone and where the LSA Family Health Service … center is located,” Lopez said.“She walked there every day for at least two decades,” he said. “We thought it was the appropriate place.”Sister Susanne and the Little Sisters: ‘Unsung heroes’Lachapelle entered the LSA order in 1962 and took the religious name Sister Susanne Mary of the Sacred Heart. She made her final vows in 1971. Sister Susanne Lachapelle. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission In her 60 years of religious life, she served in numerous areas and worked with many ministries. But for 45 years she made the community of East Harlem her home, helping to spearhead the LSA Family Health Service’s programs.As a nurse, Lachapelle conducted home visits, which “was a foundational program of LSA Family Health Service,” Lopez said. “All of the programs grew out of those interactions, those early interactions of nurses going into the homes to treat the sick and poor and really seeing conditions firsthand, sitting with families at their kitchen table, hearing their stories.”“Sister Susanne and the rest of the leadership created other programs to really provide wraparound services for families,” he said. "The Little Sisters set up a food pantry and a thrift store just to make sure that people had the very basics.”“From there, the services were about connecting people with public benefits, providing support around education, education enrichment, education navigation. A lot of … programs focused on maternal child health and early childhood development.”Along with her support for health and families, Lachapelle also had a passion for protecting the environment through her commitment to Pope Francis' Laudato Si', a call to protect our common home. Sister Susanne Lachapelle. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission Lachapelle decided to initiate “an environmental health component to the work that the Little Sisters were doing,” Lynn Tiede, a volunteer for LSA Health Service who worked with Lachapelle, told EWTN News.“She worked with the families and saw problems like asthma and other debilitating health things, she realized that … itʼs mold, itʼs the air quality, itʼs these other things that are really at the root of these health problems.”“Everybody was just so inspired … to see her traipsing into rough, rough buildings and just without any hesitation,” Tiede said. “If you went into a home and people were dealing with asthma, you … send in the environmental health team and then they try to work to get the building management to actually address those things.”With the success of her work, she even collaborated with the human rights group and nongovernmental organization Vivat International, where she helped bring voices and environmental issues to the United Nations, but she always remained “very, very humble,” Tiede said.Due to her humility “there were a few people who were against [the street-naming] when we proposed it, because they thought she would hate it — because she was so humble,” Tiede said. Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way in East Harlem, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission Ultimately they chose to honor Lachapelle and the Little Sisters because they are “unsung heroes — these quiet heroes,” Tiede said.The process to get the street renamed began in 2024 and it was found to be an easier process than expected, as the city council was eager to acknowledge Lachapelle and the Little Sisters.Sister Susanne’s lasting impactAt the street naming celebration organizers “were expecting around 80 participants, but I think it was maybe 150 or a little bit more,” Jimenez said. “There were community members, families that she served, youth that she served, … volunteers, and of course, our board members and benefactors.”It honored her “simplicity and the way that she used to be a leader,” which was “was grounded in integrity, purpose, love,” Jimenez said. “Having a street named after her will honor all of that.”Reflecting on the event, Lopez said: “[It] feels like a dream because so many people came that worked with her in the past.”Despite having to move the event inside to avoid the cold and rain, the crowd of people stayed to celebrate. It “was crowded with people, and our center lobby was filled completely,” Lopez said. “It was just a very festive atmosphere.”He added: “It was really moving to have so many people there from so long ago that still feel it in their hearts, [how] the work here in East Harlem impacted their careers, impacted their lives, and that itʼs still a very significant thing for them,” he said.
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New York City street renamed for religious sister’s decades of service #Catholic A New York City street acquired a new name this past weekend honoring a Catholic sister’s decades of dedication to the East Harlem community.On Saturday, April 25, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the newly named street — Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way — named for the life and legacy of Lachapelle and her contributions as a registered nurse, advocate, and Little Sister of the Assumption (LSA).“With a heart rooted in justice, she dedicated herself to serving the vulnerable through home visits, healthcare, and tireless advocacy, both locally and globally,” Rosario Jimenez, director for LSA Family in Mission, told EWTN News.The event and street naming flowed from Lachapelleʼs work with Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service, a community-based nonprofit based in East Harlem. Founded by the Little Sisters, the organization offers numerous programs to help vulnerable families and children meet their basic needs. Crowd celebrates the unveiling of the Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way street sign in East Harlem, New York, on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Alysa Jette and Grace Ayres-Doyle The group has been in the city for almost 70 years and Lachapelle “really helped to set the trajectory for the organization,” Ray Lopez, chief program officer of LSA Family Health Service, told EWTN News.She was “a foundational visionary staff person and a leader who really, to this day, has a very profound impact on many of us who are on the staff and worked shoulder to shoulder with her, learning from her,” he said.“Since her passing, weʼve all … redoubled our efforts to find a way to keep LSAʼs original mission and vision going in this current environment,” Lopez said. “We really wanted to find ways to keep her name out there and the legacy going.”The street is on the southeast corner of East 115th Street and First Avenue. "Itʼs almost the exact midpoint of where Sister Susanne Lachapelle lived in the Little Sisters of the Assumption brownstone and where the LSA Family Health Service … center is located,” Lopez said.“She walked there every day for at least two decades,” he said. “We thought it was the appropriate place.”Sister Susanne and the Little Sisters: ‘Unsung heroes’Lachapelle entered the LSA order in 1962 and took the religious name Sister Susanne Mary of the Sacred Heart. She made her final vows in 1971. Sister Susanne Lachapelle. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission In her 60 years of religious life, she served in numerous areas and worked with many ministries. But for 45 years she made the community of East Harlem her home, helping to spearhead the LSA Family Health Service’s programs.As a nurse, Lachapelle conducted home visits, which “was a foundational program of LSA Family Health Service,” Lopez said. “All of the programs grew out of those interactions, those early interactions of nurses going into the homes to treat the sick and poor and really seeing conditions firsthand, sitting with families at their kitchen table, hearing their stories.”“Sister Susanne and the rest of the leadership created other programs to really provide wraparound services for families,” he said. "The Little Sisters set up a food pantry and a thrift store just to make sure that people had the very basics.”“From there, the services were about connecting people with public benefits, providing support around education, education enrichment, education navigation. A lot of … programs focused on maternal child health and early childhood development.”Along with her support for health and families, Lachapelle also had a passion for protecting the environment through her commitment to Pope Francis' Laudato Si', a call to protect our common home. Sister Susanne Lachapelle. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission Lachapelle decided to initiate “an environmental health component to the work that the Little Sisters were doing,” Lynn Tiede, a volunteer for LSA Health Service who worked with Lachapelle, told EWTN News.“She worked with the families and saw problems like asthma and other debilitating health things, she realized that … itʼs mold, itʼs the air quality, itʼs these other things that are really at the root of these health problems.”“Everybody was just so inspired … to see her traipsing into rough, rough buildings and just without any hesitation,” Tiede said. “If you went into a home and people were dealing with asthma, you … send in the environmental health team and then they try to work to get the building management to actually address those things.”With the success of her work, she even collaborated with the human rights group and nongovernmental organization Vivat International, where she helped bring voices and environmental issues to the United Nations, but she always remained “very, very humble,” Tiede said.Due to her humility “there were a few people who were against [the street-naming] when we proposed it, because they thought she would hate it — because she was so humble,” Tiede said. Sister Susanne Lachapelle Way in East Harlem, New York. | Credit: Photo courtesy of LSA Family in Mission Ultimately they chose to honor Lachapelle and the Little Sisters because they are “unsung heroes — these quiet heroes,” Tiede said.The process to get the street renamed began in 2024 and it was found to be an easier process than expected, as the city council was eager to acknowledge Lachapelle and the Little Sisters.Sister Susanne’s lasting impactAt the street naming celebration organizers “were expecting around 80 participants, but I think it was maybe 150 or a little bit more,” Jimenez said. “There were community members, families that she served, youth that she served, … volunteers, and of course, our board members and benefactors.”It honored her “simplicity and the way that she used to be a leader,” which was “was grounded in integrity, purpose, love,” Jimenez said. “Having a street named after her will honor all of that.”Reflecting on the event, Lopez said: “[It] feels like a dream because so many people came that worked with her in the past.”Despite having to move the event inside to avoid the cold and rain, the crowd of people stayed to celebrate. It “was crowded with people, and our center lobby was filled completely,” Lopez said. “It was just a very festive atmosphere.”He added: “It was really moving to have so many people there from so long ago that still feel it in their hearts, [how] the work here in East Harlem impacted their careers, impacted their lives, and that itʼs still a very significant thing for them,” he said.

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For 45 years, Sister Susanne Lachapelle made the community of East Harlem her home, helping to spearhead the LSA Family Health Service’s programs to help the most vulnerable.

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Hotline operator named Catholic Charities USA 2026 volunteer of the year #Catholic Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) has named Julie Abbott its 2026 volunteer of the year for her work as “a good and faithful servant.”Abbott has spent more than 15 years and nearly 5,000 hours answering the Relief & Hope emergency services hotline and accompanying callers, many of whom are at their lowest and most vulnerable points.The Catholic Charities Maine hotline provides immediate support for individuals and families experiencing crises. Abbott helps with a number of challenges related to finances, mental health, job loss, car repairs, housing, hunger, or any other situation callers may find themselves in.“When my years of home schooling my children ended, I searched for places where I could feel useful and talk freely about Jesus,” Abbot said in a press release. “I often came home feeling depressed about the need around me and how little I was able to help.”“Callers thank me for just being willing to listen and empathize. I really feel good after those calls. And I appreciate working with people who put their faith into action every day at work," she said."Catholic Charities is such a nice, friendly, godly place to work. I don’t feel I do enough to have earned this award. I am flabbergasted to have received it,” she said.The award also acknowledges Abbott’s work in developing a large database of resources covering Maine’s 16 counties. Due to its success, the state’s 2-1-1 operators, who provide residents with local health and human services information, have even been known to call her for guidance on how to refer their own callers to the appropriate services.“Julie Abbott’s service to Catholic Charities Maine shows that sometimes, the quietest contributions can make the greatest impact,” said Kerry Alys Robinson, CCUSA president and CEO.“Julie’s gift of presence and attention allow struggling neighbors to retain their dignity even in their most distressing and vulnerable moments. She is truly a good and faithful servant to those in need,” Robinson said.The award has been given annually since 1998 and is bestowed on an individual “who embodies the mission of CCUSA to provide critical services to those in need, advocate for justice in social structures, and call the entire Church and other people of goodwill to do the same,” according to CCUSA.More than 200,000 people volunteer at Catholic Charities agencies around the country each year, and agencies nominate their most deserving volunteers for the honor. Abbott was also a 2021 Volunteer of the Year finalist for her work.Abbott will receive the award at CCUSA’s 2026 annual gathering in Richmond, Virginia, later this year.
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Hotline operator named Catholic Charities USA 2026 volunteer of the year #Catholic Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) has named Julie Abbott its 2026 volunteer of the year for her work as “a good and faithful servant.”Abbott has spent more than 15 years and nearly 5,000 hours answering the Relief & Hope emergency services hotline and accompanying callers, many of whom are at their lowest and most vulnerable points.The Catholic Charities Maine hotline provides immediate support for individuals and families experiencing crises. Abbott helps with a number of challenges related to finances, mental health, job loss, car repairs, housing, hunger, or any other situation callers may find themselves in.“When my years of home schooling my children ended, I searched for places where I could feel useful and talk freely about Jesus,” Abbot said in a press release. “I often came home feeling depressed about the need around me and how little I was able to help.”“Callers thank me for just being willing to listen and empathize. I really feel good after those calls. And I appreciate working with people who put their faith into action every day at work," she said."Catholic Charities is such a nice, friendly, godly place to work. I don’t feel I do enough to have earned this award. I am flabbergasted to have received it,” she said.The award also acknowledges Abbott’s work in developing a large database of resources covering Maine’s 16 counties. Due to its success, the state’s 2-1-1 operators, who provide residents with local health and human services information, have even been known to call her for guidance on how to refer their own callers to the appropriate services.“Julie Abbott’s service to Catholic Charities Maine shows that sometimes, the quietest contributions can make the greatest impact,” said Kerry Alys Robinson, CCUSA president and CEO.“Julie’s gift of presence and attention allow struggling neighbors to retain their dignity even in their most distressing and vulnerable moments. She is truly a good and faithful servant to those in need,” Robinson said.The award has been given annually since 1998 and is bestowed on an individual “who embodies the mission of CCUSA to provide critical services to those in need, advocate for justice in social structures, and call the entire Church and other people of goodwill to do the same,” according to CCUSA.More than 200,000 people volunteer at Catholic Charities agencies around the country each year, and agencies nominate their most deserving volunteers for the honor. Abbott was also a 2021 Volunteer of the Year finalist for her work.Abbott will receive the award at CCUSA’s 2026 annual gathering in Richmond, Virginia, later this year.

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“Callers thank me for just being willing to listen and empathize. I really feel good after those calls,” Julie Abbott said.

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

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

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Pope Leo XIV: Sport must be a ‘space for encounter’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Thursday praised athletes from the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games, saying sport “can and must truly become a space for encounter” in a world marked by “polarization, rivalry, and conflicts that escalate into devastating wars.”Speaking in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican on April 9, the Holy Father welcomed the athletes “with joy” shortly after the conclusion of the Winter Games and thanked them for their witness.“Thank you for what you have shown,” the pope said. “Truly, sport, when lived authentically, is not merely a performance: It is a form of language, a narrative made up of gestures, of effort, of anticipation, of falls, and of new beginnings.”Leo XIV said the games revealed not only athletic achievement but also “stories of sacrifice, of discipline, of tenacity.”“In particular, in Paralympic competitions we have seen how a limitation can become a source of revelation: not something that holds a person back but something that can be transformed, even transfigured into newfound qualities,” he said. “You athletes have become life stories that inspire a great number of people.”The pope also emphasized the communal dimension of athletic success, saying: “No one wins alone.”“Your team spirit reminds us that no one wins alone, because behind every victory there are many people involved — from family to teams — as well as many days of training, pressure, and solitude,” he said.Quoting Psalm 18, he added: “It is often precisely in these moments that God reveals himself, as the psalmist sings: ‘Thou didst give a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.’”Leo XIV said sport helps mature the human person by fostering discipline, humility, and right relationships.“Sport contributes to the maturing of our character, requires a steadfast spirituality, and is a fruitful form of education,” he said. “By training the mind, along with the limbs, sport is authentic when it remains humane — that is, when it remains faithful to its first vocation: to be a school of life and talent.”“A school in which one learns that true success is measured by the quality of relationships: not by the amount of prizes but by mutual respect, by shared joy in the game,” he continued.Referring to his Feb. 6 apostolic letter “Life in Abundance,” written for the occasion of the Olympics and Paralympics, the pope said the Gospel’s vision of abundant life points to harmony between the physical and interior dimensions of the person.Turning to the present global situation, Leo XIV said the athletes’ witness carries special importance.“At the present time, so marked by polarization, rivalry, and conflicts that escalate into devastating wars, your commitment takes on an even greater value: Sport can and must truly become a space for encounter!” he said. “Not a show of strength but an exercise in relationship.”Recalling the value of the Olympic truce, he thanked the athletes for making visible “this possibility of peace as a prophecy that is by no means rhetorical: breaking the logic of violence to promote that of encounter.”The pope also warned against distortions in sport, including doping, commercialism, and the reduction of athletes to mere spectacle.“We are well aware that sport also brings with it certain temptations: that of performance at any cost, which can lead to doping; that of profit, which transforms the game into a market and the athlete into a star; that of spectacle, which reduces the athlete to an image or a number,” he said. “Against these excesses, your witness is essential.”Leo XIV concluded by thanking the athletes for showing “an honest and beautiful way of inhabiting the world” and urged them to keep the human person at the center of sport in all its forms.Following the audience, several of the athletes spoke to journalists about their experience of the audience and competing in the Winter Games, including speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, who won two gold medals at Milan-Cortina this year. Francesca Lollobrigida responds to journalists after a papal audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on April 9, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News “My goal was just to show that in my sport; I was able to combine, you know, being a mother and a top athlete,“ Lollobrigida told EWTN News. ”Iʼm just doing this for the other women, you know, that maybe at some points during their career they want to stop to focus on the family and then to come back.”Nikko Landeros, an American-born Catholic who lost both his legs in 2007, represented Italy in ice hockey at the latest Paralympic games. He described to EWTN News the role of Catholicism in his athletic journey.“At home, I started pretty much Catholic. You know, I went to Catholic school in the U.S. Weʼve been going to church now… not as much as I should, but, you know, I still pray every day, and Iʼm thankful to be here. You know, if it werenʼt for God, I wouldnʼt be alive. So, you know, Iʼm super thankful,” Landeros said.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo XIV: Sport must be a ‘space for encounter’ #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Thursday praised athletes from the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games, saying sport “can and must truly become a space for encounter” in a world marked by “polarization, rivalry, and conflicts that escalate into devastating wars.”Speaking in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican on April 9, the Holy Father welcomed the athletes “with joy” shortly after the conclusion of the Winter Games and thanked them for their witness.“Thank you for what you have shown,” the pope said. “Truly, sport, when lived authentically, is not merely a performance: It is a form of language, a narrative made up of gestures, of effort, of anticipation, of falls, and of new beginnings.”Leo XIV said the games revealed not only athletic achievement but also “stories of sacrifice, of discipline, of tenacity.”“In particular, in Paralympic competitions we have seen how a limitation can become a source of revelation: not something that holds a person back but something that can be transformed, even transfigured into newfound qualities,” he said. “You athletes have become life stories that inspire a great number of people.”The pope also emphasized the communal dimension of athletic success, saying: “No one wins alone.”“Your team spirit reminds us that no one wins alone, because behind every victory there are many people involved — from family to teams — as well as many days of training, pressure, and solitude,” he said.Quoting Psalm 18, he added: “It is often precisely in these moments that God reveals himself, as the psalmist sings: ‘Thou didst give a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.’”Leo XIV said sport helps mature the human person by fostering discipline, humility, and right relationships.“Sport contributes to the maturing of our character, requires a steadfast spirituality, and is a fruitful form of education,” he said. “By training the mind, along with the limbs, sport is authentic when it remains humane — that is, when it remains faithful to its first vocation: to be a school of life and talent.”“A school in which one learns that true success is measured by the quality of relationships: not by the amount of prizes but by mutual respect, by shared joy in the game,” he continued.Referring to his Feb. 6 apostolic letter “Life in Abundance,” written for the occasion of the Olympics and Paralympics, the pope said the Gospel’s vision of abundant life points to harmony between the physical and interior dimensions of the person.Turning to the present global situation, Leo XIV said the athletes’ witness carries special importance.“At the present time, so marked by polarization, rivalry, and conflicts that escalate into devastating wars, your commitment takes on an even greater value: Sport can and must truly become a space for encounter!” he said. “Not a show of strength but an exercise in relationship.”Recalling the value of the Olympic truce, he thanked the athletes for making visible “this possibility of peace as a prophecy that is by no means rhetorical: breaking the logic of violence to promote that of encounter.”The pope also warned against distortions in sport, including doping, commercialism, and the reduction of athletes to mere spectacle.“We are well aware that sport also brings with it certain temptations: that of performance at any cost, which can lead to doping; that of profit, which transforms the game into a market and the athlete into a star; that of spectacle, which reduces the athlete to an image or a number,” he said. “Against these excesses, your witness is essential.”Leo XIV concluded by thanking the athletes for showing “an honest and beautiful way of inhabiting the world” and urged them to keep the human person at the center of sport in all its forms.Following the audience, several of the athletes spoke to journalists about their experience of the audience and competing in the Winter Games, including speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, who won two gold medals at Milan-Cortina this year. Francesca Lollobrigida responds to journalists after a papal audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on April 9, 2026. | Credit: Ishmael Adibuah/EWTN News “My goal was just to show that in my sport; I was able to combine, you know, being a mother and a top athlete,“ Lollobrigida told EWTN News. ”Iʼm just doing this for the other women, you know, that maybe at some points during their career they want to stop to focus on the family and then to come back.”Nikko Landeros, an American-born Catholic who lost both his legs in 2007, represented Italy in ice hockey at the latest Paralympic games. He described to EWTN News the role of Catholicism in his athletic journey.“At home, I started pretty much Catholic. You know, I went to Catholic school in the U.S. Weʼve been going to church now… not as much as I should, but, you know, I still pray every day, and Iʼm thankful to be here. You know, if it werenʼt for God, I wouldnʼt be alive. So, you know, Iʼm super thankful,” Landeros said.This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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The pontiff addressed athletes from the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Government favors natural family planning over contraception in key health funding #Catholic New 2027 guidelines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will ban key federal abortion funding while favoring fertility education and natural family planning.The April 3 “2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity” for Title X, the federal family planning grant program, bans funds from being used “in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”The move came days after the Trump administration released the fifth and final year of grant funding to Planned Parenthood under Title X, a decision that garnered criticism throughout the pro-life movement. The White House cited legal challenges for the controversial decision to continue the funding.“The administration has issued the fifth and final year of Title X grants that were locked in place during the Biden presidency,” the White House told EWTN News in a statement. “The administration faced significant legal challenges in stopping any of these dollars from going out.”Previous Republican administrations, including that of Trump’s first term, also banned abortion funding via Title X. What makes this year’s criteria unique is that it encourages fertility education in place of contraception.The notice highlighted “fertility-awareness-based methods” or “natural family planning,” a method encouraged by the Catholic Church that involves tracking a woman’s biological markers to determine when ovulation occurs.The administration also teased a new pro-family grant that will be announced soon.“HHS will soon be releasing a new Title X funding opportunity for the next five-year funding cycle that prioritizes life and promotes the pro-family agenda,” the White House statement read.The notice also promoted “body literacy” on fertility-related conditions, such as “education on menstrual cycle physiology, hormonal health, male and female fertility awareness, and early indicators of reproductive disorders such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), thyroid dysfunction, metabolic disorders, and other conditions that often first emerge in adolescence.”An estimated 1 in 10 women have endometriosis; 1 in 8 women develop a thyroid disorder; and roughly 1 in 10 have PCOS — all conditions that can negatively affect fertility and overall health.“For example, endometriosis often goes undiagnosed for years because symptoms such as severe menstrual pain or irregular bleeding are frequently normalized or minimized,” the HHS notice read.“Body literacy counseling helps patients recognize that these experiences are not ‘normal’ features” but instead “potential indicators of an underlying condition, prompting earlier discussion with providers, timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and improved long-term reproductive and overall health outcomes,” the notice continued.The 2027 plan is not prioritizing contraception funding; instead the government said that contraception is part of an overreliance on “pharmaceutical and surgical treatments.” The health department noted that fewer women than in previous years are using contraception (54% of reproductive-age women) and that “the most common reason women reported discontinuing use related to dissatisfaction was side effects.” For instance, hormonal contraception can cause depression in some patients, among other negative side effects.“This approach has failed to adequately address the root causes of the nation’s chronic disease burden, resulting in ongoing health challenges that affect fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and long-term health outcomes,” the notice read.HHS said it will focus instead on “underlying behavioral and lifestyle factors of health — such as nutrition, sleep, physical activity, stress management, and environmental factors.”The White House told EWTN News that “the administration remains committed to realigning the Title X program with the president’s pro-life and pro-family agenda going forward.”Michael New, an assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America as well as a Charlotte Lozier Institute senior associate scholar, called the decrease in Planned Parenthood funding “a win for the pro-life movement,” though with a caveat.“Cutting funding to Planned Parenthood may not have a large impact on the incidence of abortion in the short term due the increasing prevalence of telehealth abortions,” New said.The professor also noted that “defunding contraception programs and supporting natural family planning is a win for pro-lifers.”“Since the Title X program started in 1970, the federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, into promoting contraception,” New said. “This money has been poorly spent. Many places that distribute contraception also perform abortions, so some of this money indirectly funds abortion.”“Many Catholics do not want their tax dollars spent on programs, such as contraception programs, they find morally objectionable,” New continued. “Even though many Americans support contraceptive use, pro-life Catholics would like the government to stay out of the issue: no funding, no mandates, no distribution. As such, defunding contraception programs has been a longtime policy goal for many pro-life Catholics.”“​​Natural family planning, when done correctly, has a strong track record of success,” New said. “However, it has been marginalized in many secular public health circles. The fact that HHS is promoting natural family planning will give NFP more visibility and credibility.”
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Government favors natural family planning over contraception in key health funding #Catholic New 2027 guidelines by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will ban key federal abortion funding while favoring fertility education and natural family planning.The April 3 “2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity” for Title X, the federal family planning grant program, bans funds from being used “in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”The move came days after the Trump administration released the fifth and final year of grant funding to Planned Parenthood under Title X, a decision that garnered criticism throughout the pro-life movement. The White House cited legal challenges for the controversial decision to continue the funding.“The administration has issued the fifth and final year of Title X grants that were locked in place during the Biden presidency,” the White House told EWTN News in a statement. “The administration faced significant legal challenges in stopping any of these dollars from going out.”Previous Republican administrations, including that of Trump’s first term, also banned abortion funding via Title X. What makes this year’s criteria unique is that it encourages fertility education in place of contraception.The notice highlighted “fertility-awareness-based methods” or “natural family planning,” a method encouraged by the Catholic Church that involves tracking a woman’s biological markers to determine when ovulation occurs.The administration also teased a new pro-family grant that will be announced soon.“HHS will soon be releasing a new Title X funding opportunity for the next five-year funding cycle that prioritizes life and promotes the pro-family agenda,” the White House statement read.The notice also promoted “body literacy” on fertility-related conditions, such as “education on menstrual cycle physiology, hormonal health, male and female fertility awareness, and early indicators of reproductive disorders such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), thyroid dysfunction, metabolic disorders, and other conditions that often first emerge in adolescence.”An estimated 1 in 10 women have endometriosis; 1 in 8 women develop a thyroid disorder; and roughly 1 in 10 have PCOS — all conditions that can negatively affect fertility and overall health.“For example, endometriosis often goes undiagnosed for years because symptoms such as severe menstrual pain or irregular bleeding are frequently normalized or minimized,” the HHS notice read.“Body literacy counseling helps patients recognize that these experiences are not ‘normal’ features” but instead “potential indicators of an underlying condition, prompting earlier discussion with providers, timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and improved long-term reproductive and overall health outcomes,” the notice continued.The 2027 plan is not prioritizing contraception funding; instead the government said that contraception is part of an overreliance on “pharmaceutical and surgical treatments.” The health department noted that fewer women than in previous years are using contraception (54% of reproductive-age women) and that “the most common reason women reported discontinuing use related to dissatisfaction was side effects.” For instance, hormonal contraception can cause depression in some patients, among other negative side effects.“This approach has failed to adequately address the root causes of the nation’s chronic disease burden, resulting in ongoing health challenges that affect fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and long-term health outcomes,” the notice read.HHS said it will focus instead on “underlying behavioral and lifestyle factors of health — such as nutrition, sleep, physical activity, stress management, and environmental factors.”The White House told EWTN News that “the administration remains committed to realigning the Title X program with the president’s pro-life and pro-family agenda going forward.”Michael New, an assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America as well as a Charlotte Lozier Institute senior associate scholar, called the decrease in Planned Parenthood funding “a win for the pro-life movement,” though with a caveat.“Cutting funding to Planned Parenthood may not have a large impact on the incidence of abortion in the short term due the increasing prevalence of telehealth abortions,” New said.The professor also noted that “defunding contraception programs and supporting natural family planning is a win for pro-lifers.”“Since the Title X program started in 1970, the federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, into promoting contraception,” New said. “This money has been poorly spent. Many places that distribute contraception also perform abortions, so some of this money indirectly funds abortion.”“Many Catholics do not want their tax dollars spent on programs, such as contraception programs, they find morally objectionable,” New continued. “Even though many Americans support contraceptive use, pro-life Catholics would like the government to stay out of the issue: no funding, no mandates, no distribution. As such, defunding contraception programs has been a longtime policy goal for many pro-life Catholics.”“​​Natural family planning, when done correctly, has a strong track record of success,” New said. “However, it has been marginalized in many secular public health circles. The fact that HHS is promoting natural family planning will give NFP more visibility and credibility.”

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New directives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ban Title X abortion funding while favoring fertility education and “body literacy.”

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Pope Leo XIV: ‘Kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed’ #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Holy Thursday returned the Mass of the Lord’s Supper to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, reviving a papal practice last observed there in 2012 under Benedict XVI.Departing from Pope Francis’ custom of celebrating the liturgy in prisons or migrant centers, Leo celebrated the rite in the cathedral of Rome and washed the feet of 12 priests of the Diocese of Rome.In his homily, the pope framed the liturgy as the solemn entrance into the Easter Triduum and said Christ’s love, shown in both the Eucharist and the washing of the feet, reveals the justice of God in a world wounded by evil.“This evening’s solemn liturgy marks our entry into the holy Triduum of the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection,” Leo said. “We cross this threshold not as mere spectators, nor out of habit, but as those personally invited by Jesus himself as guests at the Supper in which bread and wine become for us the sacrament of salvation.”“His love becomes both gesture and nourishment for all, revealing the justice of God,” the pope said. “In this world, and particularly in those places where evil abounds, Jesus loves definitively — forever, and with his whole being.”Reflecting on the washing of the feet, Leo said the gesture is not simply a moral lesson but a revelation of God’s own way of loving.“What the Lord shows us — taking the water, the basin, and the towel — is far more than a moral example,” he said. “He entrusts to us his very way of life. The washing of the feet is a gesture that encapsulates the revelation of God.”The pope also cited Benedict XVI, recalling that Christians must repeatedly learn that God’s greatness is unlike worldly greatness. “We too must ‘learn repeatedly that God’s greatness is different from our idea of greatness… because we systematically desire a God of success and not of the Passion,’” Leo said.He warned that human beings are tempted to seek a God who grants success, victory, or usefulness like wealth and power rather than recognizing the divine power revealed in humble service.“Yet we fail to perceive that God does indeed serve us through the gratuitous and humble gesture of washing feet,” Leo said. “This is the true omnipotence of God.”The pope said Jesus’ action purifies both humanity’s false image of God and its false image of man.“For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,” he said. “In contrast, as true God and true man, Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service, and love.”Leo stressed that Christ gave this example not in a moment of acclaim but “on the night he was betrayed, in the darkness of incomprehension and violence.”“In this way, it becomes clear that the Lord’s love precedes our own goodness or purity; he loves us first, and in that love, he forgives and restores us,” the pope said.Quoting St. John’s Gospel, Leo urged Christians to live out mutual service in imitation of Christ: “He does not ask us to repay him but to share his gift among ourselves: ‘You also ought to wash one another’s feet.’”The pope also referred to Pope Francis’ 2013 Holy Thursday homily, noting that Christian service cannot be reduced to abstraction or empty obligation but must spring from charity.Allowing oneself to be served by the Lord, Leo said, is a precondition for serving others. “By washing our bodies, Jesus purifies our souls,” he said. “In him, God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.”In one of the homily’s strongest appeals, the pope turned to the suffering of those crushed by violence and oppression.“As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed,” he said.Leo said the liturgy of Holy Thursday draws together the institution of the Eucharist and holy orders, revealing “the perfect self-gift of Jesus, the High Priest and living, eternal Eucharist.”Addressing priests directly, he said: “Beloved brothers in the priesthood, we are called to serve the people of God with our whole lives.”He concluded by inviting Catholics to spend time in Eucharistic adoration and to ask for the grace to imitate Christ’s love.“Holy Thursday is therefore a day of fervent gratitude and authentic fraternity,” the pope said. “May this evening’s Eucharistic adoration, in every parish and community, be a time to contemplate Jesus’ gesture, kneeling as he did, and to ask for the strength to imitate his service with the same love.”This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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Pope Leo XIV: ‘Kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed’ #Catholic Pope Leo XIV on Holy Thursday returned the Mass of the Lord’s Supper to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, reviving a papal practice last observed there in 2012 under Benedict XVI.Departing from Pope Francis’ custom of celebrating the liturgy in prisons or migrant centers, Leo celebrated the rite in the cathedral of Rome and washed the feet of 12 priests of the Diocese of Rome.In his homily, the pope framed the liturgy as the solemn entrance into the Easter Triduum and said Christ’s love, shown in both the Eucharist and the washing of the feet, reveals the justice of God in a world wounded by evil.“This evening’s solemn liturgy marks our entry into the holy Triduum of the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection,” Leo said. “We cross this threshold not as mere spectators, nor out of habit, but as those personally invited by Jesus himself as guests at the Supper in which bread and wine become for us the sacrament of salvation.”“His love becomes both gesture and nourishment for all, revealing the justice of God,” the pope said. “In this world, and particularly in those places where evil abounds, Jesus loves definitively — forever, and with his whole being.”Reflecting on the washing of the feet, Leo said the gesture is not simply a moral lesson but a revelation of God’s own way of loving.“What the Lord shows us — taking the water, the basin, and the towel — is far more than a moral example,” he said. “He entrusts to us his very way of life. The washing of the feet is a gesture that encapsulates the revelation of God.”The pope also cited Benedict XVI, recalling that Christians must repeatedly learn that God’s greatness is unlike worldly greatness. “We too must ‘learn repeatedly that God’s greatness is different from our idea of greatness… because we systematically desire a God of success and not of the Passion,’” Leo said.He warned that human beings are tempted to seek a God who grants success, victory, or usefulness like wealth and power rather than recognizing the divine power revealed in humble service.“Yet we fail to perceive that God does indeed serve us through the gratuitous and humble gesture of washing feet,” Leo said. “This is the true omnipotence of God.”The pope said Jesus’ action purifies both humanity’s false image of God and its false image of man.“For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,” he said. “In contrast, as true God and true man, Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service, and love.”Leo stressed that Christ gave this example not in a moment of acclaim but “on the night he was betrayed, in the darkness of incomprehension and violence.”“In this way, it becomes clear that the Lord’s love precedes our own goodness or purity; he loves us first, and in that love, he forgives and restores us,” the pope said.Quoting St. John’s Gospel, Leo urged Christians to live out mutual service in imitation of Christ: “He does not ask us to repay him but to share his gift among ourselves: ‘You also ought to wash one another’s feet.’”The pope also referred to Pope Francis’ 2013 Holy Thursday homily, noting that Christian service cannot be reduced to abstraction or empty obligation but must spring from charity.Allowing oneself to be served by the Lord, Leo said, is a precondition for serving others. “By washing our bodies, Jesus purifies our souls,” he said. “In him, God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.”In one of the homily’s strongest appeals, the pope turned to the suffering of those crushed by violence and oppression.“As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed,” he said.Leo said the liturgy of Holy Thursday draws together the institution of the Eucharist and holy orders, revealing “the perfect self-gift of Jesus, the High Priest and living, eternal Eucharist.”Addressing priests directly, he said: “Beloved brothers in the priesthood, we are called to serve the people of God with our whole lives.”He concluded by inviting Catholics to spend time in Eucharistic adoration and to ask for the grace to imitate Christ’s love.“Holy Thursday is therefore a day of fervent gratitude and authentic fraternity,” the pope said. “May this evening’s Eucharistic adoration, in every parish and community, be a time to contemplate Jesus’ gesture, kneeling as he did, and to ask for the strength to imitate his service with the same love.”This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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On Holy Thursday, the pontiff urged Catholics to imitate Christ’s service in a world marked by brutality.

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