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Nationwide billboard campaign in Ireland invites thousands to rosary rally
The All Ireland Rosary Rally scheduled for June 6 in Knock will be the largest Catholic event in Ireland this year, and organizers have adopted an uncommon promotional tactic to catch the attention of the faithful — a countrywide billboard campaign.Building on last year’s turnout when more than 10,0...
Centennial honors historic Michigan church built amid KKK threats and strikes
A richly diverse Catholic community in southern Michigan is preparing to mark a milestone: the centennial of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Jackson, where the beauty of sacred space, reverent liturgy, and a vibrant musical tradition continue to shape the lives of the faithful. The church has thrived th...
Pope Leo prays where St. John Paul II was shot on feast of Our Lady of Fátima
In an unexpected gesture as he was greeting people at the general audience in St. Peterʼs Square on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV stopped at the exact spot where, 45 years ago, St. John Paul II was shot in an assassination attempt.Leo got out of the vehicle and remained in silence to pray before the white...
Deaths of Christian sanitation workers in Pakistan highlight systemic discrimination
LAHORE, Pakistan — A minority rights advocacy group has linked the recent deaths of sanitation workers in Pakistan to what it describes as systemic discrimination against Christians, who are disproportionately employed in high-risk sewer cleaning jobs.In a statement issued on May 12, Minority Concer...
U.S. bishop joins Slovaks honoring blessed bishop tortured by communists
Hundreds of Greek Catholic faithful gathered in the eastern Slovak village of Hrabské on May 10 to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Blessed Vasiľ Hopko, a bishop imprisoned and tortured by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.The archieparchial celebration was held in Hopkoʼs birthplace o...
U.S. government moves to seize land from New Mexico diocese to build border wall
A New Mexico Catholic diocese is facing the potential seizure of some of its land by the U.S. government in order to facilitate the construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico. A civil action filed by the federal government in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico...
From seminarian in Nicaragua to priest in Miami: ‘I carry my people and my homeland in my heart’
As a seminarian, Cristhian David Mendieta Hernández had to flee Nicaragua, persecuted by the very dictatorship that had recently exiled his bishop. The regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, ramped up its persecution of the Catholic Church in 2018.After t...
Mental health crisis in Europe: Church calls for strengthening families and spiritual support
The Commission of the Episcopal Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has published a study analyzing the mental health crisis in Europe from an ethical, social, and Christian perspective, and proposed recommendations for EU public policies.The document, titled “Mental Health in Europe — A Call...
Pope Leo XIV appoints Capuchin priest and former missionary to lead Florida diocese
Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Emilio Biosca Agüero, OFM Cap, as the third bishop of Venice, Florida, on May 13. The Capuchin Franciscan priest has been pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., since 2018 and served for more than 20 years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea and C...
Legislation would ensure parents can arrange burial or cremation after pregnancy loss
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, said he is introducing legislation to ensure hospitals and freestanding birth centers provide clear information about the rights that grieving parents have regarding the cremation or burial of their miscarried or stillborn child.Marshall, who practiced as an obstetrici...
Thousands of pilgrims gather at Fátima to commemorate the apparitions of Our Lady
Pilgrims from all over the world descended on the Fátima Shrine in Portugal to commemorate the feast of Our Lady of Fátima. On the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Fátima, May 12, the light of thousands of candles illuminated the night at the spot where Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children 10...