(OSV News) — Young Catholic adults are invited to apply for a “once-in-a-lifetime” journey with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist across the nation.
Eight perpetual pilgrims are being sought for the 2026 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which takes place May 21 to July 8.
Those selected will accompany the Blessed Sacrament for the full length of the pilgrimage, forming a core group that will participate in Eucharistic processions through towns and cities, while attending daily Mass and Holy Hours. They will also carry out both service and evangelization in local communities along the entire route.
Four young adult Catholic “perpetual pilgrims” who are accompanying the Blessed Sacrament on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Eastern Route, bring up the offertory gifts during the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage Mass June 9, 2024, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (OSV News photo/Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard)
The effort is not for the faint of heart, according to the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s website.
“Serving as a Perpetual Pilgrim is an extraordinary call — and a serious commitment,” said its perpetual pilgrim application page. “This journey is demanding spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically — yet it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Apostles.”
Applicants must baptized and confirmed Catholics ages 19-29, who are “rooted in the sacraments … faithful to the teachings of the Church and committed to daily prayer,” said the website.
In addition, pilgrims must be “flexible, resilient, and ready for communal team life on the road,” as well as “physically able to walk long distances,” which can stretch up to 15 miles on some days.
Perpetual pilgrims will engage with those they encounter along the way through faith sharing, witness talks and media interviews, and will stay in local host homes during their journey.
Training will be provided to assist the pilgrims in fundraising for mission expenses, and a spiritual director will guide the pilgrims before, during and after their trek.
Applications are due by Oct. 22.
An in-person pre-pilgrimage retreat for the perpetual pilgrims will be held Jan. 23-25, and weekly formation meetings will be conducted via Zoom on Monday evenings throughout the spring ahead of the anticipated May 21 pilgrimage start date.
The pilgrimage continues a key component of the National Eucharistic Revival, the 2022-2025 effort by the U.S. Catholic bishops to rekindle devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. The initiative was sparked by a 2019 Pew Research Center report showing that only one third of the nation’s Catholics believed that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.
Major highlights in the revival included the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, which took place in July 2024 in Indianapolis, and the 2024 and 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimages.
National Eucharistic Congress Inc., a nonprofit organization in a partnership with the USCCB, expects to continue to build on the revival’s work through its annual National Eucharistic Pilgrimages as well as diocesan, regional and national Eucharistic congresses. Organizers hope to hold the next National Eucharistic Congress in 2029, a proposal on which the U.S. bishops are expected to vote when they meet in November.
In the meantime, the upcoming 2026 pilgrimage will ” bring the healing presence of Christ across our nation, renewing the Church through encounter,” said pilgrimage organizers on the application website.
(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesse Reina.)
(OSV News) — At the end of our earthly lives, our faith tells us there will be four last things: death, judgment, hell and heaven. Reflecting on such ominous topics in the month in November can seem quite appropriate for both the pessimist and the optimist alike.
On the one hand, the pessimist, who focuses exclusively on his or her demise, finds the cold, dark nights of late fall and early winter, with the season’s gaunt and barren trees, a perfect composition of death.
The optimist, on the other hand, while acknowledging the inevitability of death, takes comfort in the seeds of life that are buried beneath winter’s snows and that will rise again “like wheat that springeth green.” November’s two great feasts — All Saints and All Souls — remind one of the lasting hope we have in Jesus, who has saved the world by his cross and resurrection. The forces of darkness cannot overcome him who is the light of the world.
Clearly, bringing Jesus’ saving acts to bear upon the four last things makes all the difference. Without faith, death can be seen in a merely utilitarian way. Rather than being an experience that one “lives,” including reflecting on it and preparing for it, death becomes something to be forestalled at all cost when one’s life is going well and hastened when one’s life becomes unbearable.
Thus life itself becomes simply another possession that one can have or throw away, rather than a gift to be experienced. Moreover, without faith, judgment and hell and heaven are parts of a grand fairy tale made up by weak people unwilling to face “reality” (see “Evangelium Vitae,” No. 22).
The Christian, by contrast, sees the four last things precisely as parts of a very real and profoundly meaningful life with God that extends beyond the grave. Indeed, life cannot be understood fully without acknowledging all four. Each of them reflects God’s love and mercy and justice in its own way.
Given the promises of Jesus — that he would, once and for all, destroy the power of death and open the gates of heaven — every Christian (and everyone searching for the truth) should develop a healthy appreciation of the last things. Death, judgment, hell and heaven — understood in relation to Christ — must be a part of one’s overall examination of life. Otherwise, one may miss the blessings such an examination brings. Worse, if God and his truth are shut out willfully, one may suffer the fate of the damned (see “Gaudium et Spes,” No. 19; “Lumen Gentium,” No. 16).
A crucifixion scene stands at one entrance of Allouez Catholic Cemetery in Allouez, Wis. All Saints’ Day, a holy day of obligation in the Catholic Church, is celebrated on Nov. 1. The photograph was taken Oct. 18, 2023, using an infrared camera filter. (OSV News file photo/Sam Lucero)
Death
Among the four last things, death is seen by both believers and nonbelievers as the end of the physical existence human beings enjoy on this earth, but that’s where the agreement ends. A faithless view stops at the grave; there’s nothing more to consider. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, sees death within the context of God’s revelation, and there’s a lot more to consider.
Based on Scripture and tradition, and ultimately on Jesus’ witness, the church recognizes death as the just punishment for the freely chosen sins of human beings: “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being. … It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death” (Wis 1:13-14, 16; see also Wis 2:23-24).
In the creation stories found in the book of Genesis, the authors convey the truth that God created a universe that is good, and it is designed according to his laws. God also created human beings to enjoy a relationship with him, which was to be marked not only by fidelity to his will but also by stewardship of his creation and even by the generation of new life. God made human beings in his image, male and female he made them: a communion of persons (reflecting the Trinity) who enjoyed — each one of them — the gifts of reason and free will.
In other words, when making man and woman, God did not desire automatons, but sons and daughters who would choose freely to love each other and their creator.
Human beings, however, chose not to honor their relationship with God, but instead invited death into the world by committing the original sin: rejecting the world as God created it and, instead, asserting themselves as equals to God. Hence the separation from God and the loss of mortal life. Before the first sin, human beings had eternal communion with God as a gift. After sin, an eternity without God is a real possibility.
But it’s not the only possibility. God, who gave the gift of freedom to man and woman, is supremely free. He could have responded to sin in a number of ways: scrap everything and start again, or create a new world with new creatures. God responds, however, by honoring the relationship with human beings, even though they did not. And he does so in a just and merciful way that allows both the consequences of sin to follow (i.e. death) and the gift of freedom to remain intact.
In a word, God’s response is Jesus. From the moment man and woman sinned, God set into motion his plan of salvation. Human beings could never offer an adequate recompense for their sins, so God offers it for them in the person of Jesus (see Rom 5:17). In effect, God opens the floodgates of his love. The world that had been marred by sin is thoroughly bathed in love through Jesus, “who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light” (2 Tim 1:10).
The sinless one dies for the sinners. What could underscore so powerfully the goodness of creation and, at the same time, the evil of sin? What could convince human beings better — or more gently — that God still desires their eternal happiness than his responding to the evil of sin not with anger, not with bloodlust, but with love?
Jesus has saved the world through his life, death and resurrection. Human beings now have the opportunity to accept salvation, to turn back to God by receiving his forgiveness and yielding to his will and, after dying themselves, to enter eternal life.
Understood in the light of Jesus, death takes on a new meaning. It no longer has power over a person who abides in Jesus, for that person has been freed “from the law of sin and death” and received “the spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:2). St. Paul received this revelation more fully than most and ordered his life upon it: “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. … I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, (for) that is far better. Yet that I remain (in) the flesh is more necessary for your benefit” (Phil 1:21, 23-24).
St. Paul grasped the essential meaning of Jesus’ saving grace for humankind. While living, he was already united to Jesus, for the kingdom of God was already present in a hidden way (see Lk 17:20-21) and, by his ministry, Paul could bring more people to the faith as well. As for death, that would only deepen the union with Jesus.
Therefore, death need not be hastened or forestalled, but can be greeted with serenity when it comes. Passing from this life to the next is simply moving from one way of living in Jesus to another. St. Paul tried to peel away a bit of the mystery by saying, “that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality” (1 Cor 15:53). Indeed, the Scriptures show that Jesus’ body had been transformed after the resurrection (see Mk 16:12; Lk 24:16; Jn 20:14, 21:4). The meaning is this: For one who remains faithful to Jesus, life is changed, not ended, at death.
Judgment
The church’s teaching on death can have both a comforting and sobering effect. It is comforting to know that life continues, but the fact that one’s time on this earth is limited should bring some weightiness to one’s decisions. But if death fails to do this, then the church’s teaching on judgment hopefully will (note that the church uses “man” in the universal sense, meaning “man and woman”): “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven — through a purification or immediately — or immediate and everlasting damnation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1022). There will also be a universal (or last) judgment of the entire universe at the end of time (see CCC, Nos. 1038-1041).
The basic meaning of the church’s teaching about judgment is that the choices one makes have value — they can be good or bad. Also, God determines the value of one’s choices and metes out the appropriate reward or punishment. This teaching tends to evoke two dominant feelings in people: fear and satisfaction.
Fear, of course, is not a bad feeling to have if one is living a sinful life; it might even prompt one toward conversion. Fear, in the sense of awe, is appropriate too, for God is able to judge everyone and every act in perfect justice and mercy. Only God knows the depths of each person’s heart; only he knows the advantages and disadvantages a person had; only he knows the full circumstances of every person’s life and every situation. God knows the full truth and will judge accordingly. The only bad kind of fear to have is one that is distrustful of God’s judgment, for how could God mistreat the very people he created and saved out of love?
Satisfaction is the other common feeling many people have regarding God’s judgment, which is good if by “satisfaction” one means a sense of contentment concerning God’s ultimate victory over all evil. A person who is content with God’s judgment is able to work diligently for justice on earth without vindictiveness or impatience, knowing that every good effort made at telling the truth, building solidarity, or righting wrongs cooperates with God’s victory. A “satisfaction” that hungers for revenge is not a good thing, for it reveals a distrust in God’s perfect judgment, which will have the final word (see Rom 12:17-21).
Hell
After a person has been judged, he or she will spend eternity in one of two states: hell or heaven. (Many people think of “hell” and “heaven” as places, but they are more accurately denoted vis-à-vis the relationship with God.) Hell is defined by the church as the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed” (CCC, No. 1033). God’s judgment in such a case would be to allow the person’s choice to take effect, as the Catechism relates: “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end” (CCC, No. 1037).
The very mention of “hell” can cause some people to cry “unfair” (placing them in a long tradition going back at least to when Ezekiel was writing; see chapter 18). How could a loving and merciful God allow anyone to suffer eternal damnation? Other people even ignore hell and maintain that Jesus, who loves everyone, will also save everyone. Granted, the thought of hell may be horrifying, but the words of Jesus are clear: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth” (Mt 13:41-42).
To understand the terrible mystery of hell, the church directs people to the mystery of freedom, which is a gift human beings have from God. It is a gift that bestows great dignity and enables the person “to initiate and control his own actions” (CCC, No. 1730). But freedom also means that the person is responsible for his or her choices. “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to the ‘slavery of sin'” (CCC, No. 1733).
Ultimately saying no to hell means saying yes to God. Again, God does not want robots that are forced to love him, but true sons and daughters who choose to love him and their brothers and sisters in freedom. Nevertheless, if they have the freedom to love, then they also must have the freedom not to love. The latter choice leads to hell.
Heaven
The alternative to hell is heaven, and whereas hell is the state of eternal separation from God, heaven is its opposite: “This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity — this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed — is called ‘heaven.’ Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (CCC, No. 1024).
And just as a person gets to hell by how he or she lives on earth, so it is with heaven. The crucial difference is that the person who chooses heaven uses his or her freedom to make every effort at yielding to and accepting God’s grace. Another difference is that a person can get to hell by oneself, but getting to heaven involves the whole body of Christ, head and members, as St. Paul reminded the Corinthians: “encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thes 5:11).
The essence of heaven is the relationship that human beings enjoy with the Holy Trinity (which includes all the saints), a perfect communion that restores the order God intended when he first created everything. In fact, the church teaches that, following the Last Judgment, not only humanity but also the entire universe will be transformed into its glorified state (CCC, No. 1060). For human beings this means a reunification with their bodies, now immortal through the grace of the resurrection (see CCC, No. 1052).
Still, to enjoy this communion, human beings must act on God’s grace now, here on earth. What this means, practically speaking, is honoring one’s relationships as God intended. The book of Genesis suggests “that human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbor and with the earth itself” (“Laudato Si’,” No. 66). Sin disrupted these relationships, resulting in separation from God, alienation among neighbors and disharmony with the earth. God’s love in Jesus has made it possible to restore all three.
The choice is before each human person: to love as Christ loves, faithful to the Father, united in the Spirit, and working for the salvation of all. If a person joins this work now, he or she will experience its perfection in heaven.
The four last things properly understood in the context of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection need not be so ominous. For example, in what is most likely an apocryphal account, the story is told about St. Bonaventure eating a meal with his fellow friars. One of them asks Bonaventure what he would do if Jesus were to initiate the Last Judgment at that very moment. And Bonaventure answers, “I’d finish eating my soup.” Apocryphal or not, it captures well the peace, even in the face of death and judgment, of one who abides in Jesus
By Carol Glatz VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Christians must avoid using their faith to label those who are different – often the poor – as enemies to be avoided and rejected, Pope Leo XIV said.
“Some forms of worship do not foster communion with others and can numb our hearts,” he said in his homily during Mass in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 12 for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality.
“Mary’s path follows that of Jesus, which leads us to encounter every human being, especially the poor, the wounded and sinners,” Pope Leo said in his homily. “Because of this, authentic Marian spirituality brings God’s tenderness, his way of ‘being a mother,’ to light in the church.”
Members of movements, confraternities and various Marian prayer groups were invited to Rome for their Oct. 11-12 Jubilee, which included an evening prayer service in the square Oct. 11 with Pope Leo in the presence of the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The statue, brought from the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, also was on display during the Oct. 12 Mass.
Pope Leo XIV stands with his crosier while in the background can be seen the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima during Mass as part of the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 12, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Marian spirituality, “which nourishes our faith, has Jesus as its center,” Pope Leo said in his homily. Remembering Jesus Christ is what matters.
“The celebration of Sunday, therefore, should make us Christians,” he said. “It should fill our thoughts and feelings with the burning memory of Jesus and change the way we live together and the way we inhabit the earth.”
When some forms of worship fail to foster communion with others, he said, “we fail to encounter the people God has placed in our lives. We fail to contribute, as Mary did, to changing the world, and to share in the joy of the Magnificat.”
“Let us take care to avoid any exploitation of the faith that could lead to labelling those who are different – often the poor – as enemies, ‘lepers’ to be avoided and rejected,” he said.
“Marian spirituality is at the service of the Gospel” because “it reveals its simplicity,” he said.
“Our affection for Mary of Nazareth leads us to join her in becoming disciples of Jesus,” he said, and “it teaches us to return to him and to meditate and ponder the events of our lives in which the Risen One still comes to us and calls us.”
Marian spirituality “helps us to see the proud being scattered in their conceit, the mighty being cast down from their thrones and the rich being sent away empty-handed,” he said, referring to the Canticle of Mary (Lk 1:51-54). “It impels us to fill the hungry with good things, to lift up the lowly, to remember God’s mercy and to trust in the power of his arm.”
Just as God asked Mary for her “yes,” he said, “Jesus invites us to be part of his kingdom.”
“Dear friends, in a world seeking justice and peace, let us revive Christian spirituality and popular devotion to the events and places blessed by God that have changed the face of the earth forever,” he said.
NATION WASHINGTON (OSV News) – As the U.S. military carried out another strike on Oct. 16 against what it said was a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, a Notre Dame Law School expert warned that type of action, without authorization from Congress, could set the stage for the government to conduct strikes closer to home with virtually no guardrails. First reported by Reuters, the Oct. 16 strike is believed to be the first out of at least six such strikes that left survivors among the crew. Nearly 30 people have been killed in the strikes. Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who specializes in international law and conflict resolution, expressed concern that Trump “played a critical role in winning a ceasefire in Gaza only to turn around to use lawless military force in the Caribbean.” On Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order designating certain international cartels and other organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states legitimate authorities are entrusted with preserving the common good by “rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm,” but specifies strict conditions for the use of military force including the exhaustion of all other efforts to stop such damage. O’Connell said the strikes have no justification in U.S. or international law, and there is nothing in the president’s executive order that prevents him from using this kind of lethal force in Lake Michigan, a waterway accessible from Canada but fully within U.S. territory.
A 17th-century monastery in northern Italy where recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis received his first Communion is seen in flames as firefighters try to contain the fire Oct. 11, 2025. The Bernaga Monastery, located in the La Valletta Brianza municipality in the Lombardy region, was home to 22 Ambrosian-rite cloistered nuns, all of whom survived the devastating blaze. (OSV News/courtesy Lombardy firefighters) Editors: best quality available.
ANCHORAGE (OSV News) – Catholic dioceses in Alaska are calling for prayer and support, after flooding from a recent typhoon devastated several coastal communities. The remnants of Typhoon Halong struck the state’s western coast over the Oct. 11-12 weekend, killing at least one. Two other individuals remain missing, and hundreds of stranded residents have been airlifted to Anchorage for safety, with many watching their homes float away. According to state officials, some 1,800 Alaska residents from just under 50 communities had been displaced. In an Oct. 14 letter posted to Facebook, Bishop Steven J. Maekawa of Fairbanks asked parishioners to “pray for the people of western Alaska who were affected by the typhoon and storms this past week. For those who lost their lives and for their families and friends. For those whose homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged. For those communities that are without power, heat, and water. For the people working in the rescue and relief efforts.”
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV met with a coalition of survivors of abuse and victims’ advocates for the first time at the Vatican Oct. 20. Members of the board of Ending Clergy Abuse met with the pope for about an hour in a closed-door meeting that was later confirmed by the Vatican. “This was a deeply meaningful conversation,” Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse in Canada, said in a press release. “It reflects a shared commitment to justice, healing and real change.” “Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard,” Hickey said in the statement. “Pope Leo is very warm, he listened,” Hickey said at a news conference, according to Reuters. “We told him that we come as bridge-builders, ready to walk together toward truth, justice and healing.” While the group of six people representing ECA met with the pope, video clips from the Vatican also showed a separate meeting between Pope Leo and Pedro Salinas, a Peruvian journalist and abuse survivor. Salinas, a former member of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae who suffered physical and psychological abuse by the movement’s founder, Luis Fernando Figari, is seen in the footage giving the pope a copy of his new book, “The Truth Sets Us Free,” in Spanish.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Sacramental marriage and traditional family life increase joy in the good times, give strength during hard times and are a path to true holiness, Pope Leo XIV said. Marking the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Pope Leo said the couple “bears witness to the ineffable happiness and profound joy that God grants, both here on earth and for eternity, to those who commit themselves to this path of fidelity and fruitfulness.” The pope’s comments came in a message to Bishop Bruno Feillet of Séez, France, the home diocese of the Martin family. The message was released at the Vatican Oct. 18, the date of the anniversary of the Martins becoming “the first couple to be canonized as such,” the pope said.
WORLD MEZCALA, Mexico (OSV News) – Another Catholic priest has been murdered in Mexico’s violence-stricken Guerrero state. Father Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada, pastor of San Cristóbal Parish in Mezcala, was found dead Oct. 6 – two days after disappearing. According to press reports, he was shot twice in the neck, and federal officials have named his driver as the prime suspect. “At this time, we have no indication that the father was involved in anything wrong,” Federal public security secretary Omar García Harfuch said Oct. 7. Father Pantaleón’s death underscores the growing danger for clergy in cartel-controlled regions. Guerrero, once a hub for heroin production, remains plagued by organized crime, extortion, and kidnappings. The Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, where the priest served, has suffered multiple clergy killings in recent years. The Mexican bishops’ conference condemned the violence, calling for a full and transparent investigation. Since 2006, at least 52 priests have been killed in Mexico – making it the deadliest country in the world for Catholic clergy.
LA VALLETTA BRIANZA, Italy (OSV News) – A devastating fire has gutted a 17th-century monastery in northern Italy where newly canonized St. Carlo Acutis once received his first Communion. The blaze broke out on Oct. 11 at Bernaga Monastery in La Valletta Brianza, reducing much of the wooden structure to ruins. Thankfully, all 22 cloistered nuns inside survived, with one sister raising the alarm just in time. Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan expressed deep sorrow, calling the fire a tragic loss of sacred heritage and personal belongings. The monastery had just marked the Jubilee of Consecrated Life and was preparing to celebrate St. Carlo’s first official feast day on Oct. 12. A first-class relic of the young saint – a lock of his hair – was saved from the flames, though a crucifix gifted by St. Paul VI remains missing. Authorities suspect an electrical short circuit may have sparked the fire. Investigations are ongoing as the faithful rally in prayer and support. According to the archdiocese, from a young age, St. Carlo was “fond of the nuns” at the monastery. It was there that he was introduced to Bishop Pasquale Macchi. It was Bishop Macchi, the archdiocese said, that informed St. Carlo’s parents that the 7-year-old future saint was ready for his first Communion.
By Junno Arocho Esteves (OSV News) – When Pope Leo XIV raised three women and four men to the altar on Oct. 19, he canonized a diverse group of religious and lay men and women, all bound by the virtue of holding on to their faith amid spiritual and external challenges.
The canonizations, which were announced by the Vatican June 13 during the pope’s first ordinary public consistory, elevated to sainthood seven candidates who hail from Venezuela, Turkey, Papua New Guinea and Italy.
St. María Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez, who was born without a left arm, overcame physical challenges and founded a religious congregation, the Servants of Jesus of Caracas, which was dedicated to pastoral ministry and education.
St. Maria Troncatti, an Italian Salesian, dedicated her life as a missionary to Indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest, earning her the informal title of “doctor of the jungle,” while St. Vincenza Maria Poloni dedicated her ministry to the sick and the poor, whom she deemed as “our masters.”
Others, such as St. Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, an Armenian Catholic archbishop, and St. Peter To Rot, were martyred for their faith.
Among the most well-known is St. Bartolo Longo, a former Satanist priest who, after his conversion, dedicated his life as a Dominican tertiary to promoting the rosary and Marian devotion.
For Dominican Father Joseph Anthony Kress, promoter of the rosary for the Province of St. Joseph and associate director of the Dominican Friars Foundation, the example of the challenges faced by St. Longo and the other six sainthood candidates shows “that this earthly pilgrimage is not a sanitized experience.”
Speaking to OSV News Oct. 10, Father Kress said that like Christ, who stumbled and fell “on his way to making that supreme sacrifice,” Christian lives reflect the same struggle.
“We don’t need to try to perfect or sanitize our lives before we offer them to Jesus, but we can invite him into the suffering and the struggle,” he said.
“All of these saints experienced different elements of struggle throughout their lives: physical struggles, psychological struggles, spiritual desolations. But in the midst of all of that, they maintained a constant relationship with the Lord and invited him into those moments.”
“That’s where holiness is,” Father Kress added.
Another notable aspect of some of the candidates is the fact that they were lay members of the Catholic Church. St. Longo was a lay member of the Dominican order, while St. José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros of Venezuela was a Franciscan tertiary. St. Peter To Rot, a martyr from Papua New Guinea, was married and served as a lay catechist.
Father Kress told OSV News that those like Sts. Longo and Hernández prove that “we can still be inspired by the great charisms of these religious orders in the Catholic Church, and to be unafraid to pursue that; to be unafraid of committing to that.”
“We live in a society, man, that is just so fraught and afraid to make any kind of commitment to a specific thing,” he said. “And some of these saints who have been tertiaries have made those commitments, and it’s a great message of hope and confidence in the Lord, and confidence in our individual humanity and personalities to say, ‘This charism is something that attracts me, and I want to participate in that in ways that make sense.’”
Below are brief summaries of the church’s seven newest saints:
St. María Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez was a Venezuelan religious sister and founder of the Servants of Jesus of Caracas. Born without a left arm, her life exemplified overcoming physical challenges. She established the Servants of Jesus of Caracas in 1965, dedicating her community to education and spiritual outreach. She died May 9, 1977, in Caracas. She is Venezuela’s first female saint.
St. José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros was a Venezuelan physician and scientist known widely as the “Doctor of the Poor.” Born Oct. 26, 1864, in Isnotú, Venezuela, he was instrumental in introducing modern medical science to the country and founded its first bacteriology laboratory. A devoted layman and Franciscan tertiary, he provided free medical care to the poor throughout his career. He died June 29, 1919, in Caracas after being struck by an automobile while running an errand for a sick patient.
St. Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan was the Armenian Catholic archbishop of Mardin. Born April 19, 1869, in Mardin, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey), he was consecrated as archbishop in 1911. During the Armenian Genocide in 1915, he was arrested by Ottoman authorities who demanded he renounce his Christian faith and convert to Islam. He refused and was subsequently tortured and martyred on June 11, 1915.
St. Peter To Rot was a married father and lay catechist from Papua New Guinea. Born in 1912 in Rakunai, he took on a vital leadership role when Japanese forces imprisoned missionaries during World War II. He became the sole spiritual guide for his community and strongly defended Christian marriage against the Japanese-promoted return of polygamy. For this opposition, he was arrested. He was martyred in a Japanese prison camp in Rakunai, Papua New Guinea, in July 1945.
St. Vincenza Maria Poloni (born Luigia Poloni) was an Italian religious sister and co-founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona. Born Jan. 26, 1802, in Verona, she dedicated her life to works of charity. She helped establish the congregation in 1840 to care for the sick, the poor, and orphans, emphasizing merciful love for the marginalized. She famously referred to the poor as “our masters.” She died Nov. 11, 1855, in Verona.
St. Maria Troncatti was a Salesian nun and nurse who served as a missionary in the Amazon rainforest. Born Feb. 16, 1883, in Corteno Golgi, Italy, she arrived in Ecuador in 1922 and spent nearly five decades working among the Indigenous Shuar people. Known as the “doctor of the jungle,” she ministered to physical and spiritual needs, notably promoting the dignity of women and reconciliation among tribal groups. She died Aug. 25, 1969, in Sucúa, Ecuador, in a small plane crash while traveling to a retreat.
St. Bartolo Longo was an Italian lawyer and lay Dominican tertiary. Born Feb. 10, 1841, in Latiano, he experienced a dramatic conversion after a period of involvement with a spiritualist cult, which included being consecrated as a satanic priest. He devoted his life to promoting the rosary and serving the materially and spiritually poor peasants near Pompeii, where he founded the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii and several charitable institutions for children. He died Oct. 5, 1926, in Pompeii.
(Junno Arocho Esteves writes for OSV News from Malmö, Sweden.)
A combination photos shows Sts. Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer and lay Dominican tertiary; Peter To Rot, a married father and lay catechist from Papua New Guinea; Vincenza Maria Poloni (born Luigia Poloni), an Italian religious sister and co-founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona; and Maria Troncatti, a Salesian nun and nurse who served as a missionary in the Amazon. They are four of the seven people from diverse backgrounds that Pope Leo XIV canonized at the Vatican Oct. 19, 2025. (OSV News photo/Catholic Press Photo)
Por Cindy Wooden CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Para muchos cristianos “es necesario volver a leer el Evangelio” porque han olvidado que la fe y el amor por los pobres van de la mano, afirmó el Papa León XIV en su primer documento papal importante.
“El amor a los que son pobres – en cualquier modo en que se manifieste dicha pobreza – es la garantía evangélica de una Iglesia fiel al corazón de Dios”, escribió el Papa en “Dilexi Te” (“Te he amado”), una exhortación apostólica a todos los cristianos “sobre el amor hacia los pobres”.
El Papa León firmó el documento el 4 de octubre, festividad de San Francisco de Asís, y el Vaticano publicó el texto el 9 de octubre.
El documento fue iniciado por el Papa Francisco, dijo el Papa León, pero él lo amplió y quiso publicarlo al comienzo de su papado “compartiendo el deseo de mi amado predecesor de que todos los cristianos puedan percibir la fuerte conexión que existe entre el amor de Cristo y su llamada a acercarnos a los pobres”.
El papa León XIV firma su primera exhortación apostólica, “Dilexi Te” (“Te he amado”), en la biblioteca del Palacio Apostólico del Vaticano el 4 de octubre de 2025, festividad de San Francisco de Asís, en presencia del arzobispo Edgar Peña Parra, secretario sustituto para los asuntos generales de la Secretaría de Estado del Vaticano. (Foto CNS/Vatican Media)
La conexión no es nueva ni moderna y no fue una invención del Papa Francisco, dijo. De hecho, a lo largo de las Escrituras hebreas “el amor de Dios a través de la protección de los débiles y de los que menos tienen, hasta el punto de poder hablar de una auténtica ‘debilidad’ de Dios para ellos”.
“Estoy convencido de que la opción preferencial por los pobres genera una renovación extraordinaria tanto en la Iglesia como en la sociedad”, escribió el Papa León. “Cuando somos capaces de liberarnos de la autorreferencialidad y conseguimos escuchar su grito”.
Como ha hecho desde el comienzo de su pontificado en mayo, el Papa León denunció la creciente brecha entre los ciudadanos más ricos y más pobres del mundo y señaló cómo las mujeres a menudo son “doblemente pobres”, luchando por alimentar a sus hijos y haciéndolo con pocos derechos o posibilidades.
El Papa León también reafirmó la enseñanza de la Iglesia, al menos desde la década de 1960, de que existen “estructuras de pecado” que mantienen a los pobres en la pobreza y llevan a quienes tienen recursos suficientes a ignorar a los pobres o a pensar que son mejores que ellos.
Cuando la Iglesia habla de la opción preferencial de Dios por los pobres, dijo, no excluye ni discrimina a los demás, algo “que en Dios serían imposibles”.
Pero la frase “desea subrayar la acción de Dios que se compadece ante la pobreza y la debilidad de toda la humanidad”, escribió.
“Queriendo inaugurar un Reino de justicia, fraternidad y solidaridad”, dijo el Papa León, Dios “se preocupa particularmente de aquellos que son discriminados y oprimidos, pidiéndonos también a nosotros, su Iglesia, una opción firme y radical en favor de los más débiles”.
Esa elección, dijo, debe incluir la atención pastoral y espiritual, así como la educación, la atención médica, la formación profesional y la caridad, todo lo cual la Iglesia ha proporcionado durante siglos.
El documento incluye una sección sobre los migrantes en la que el Papa escribe: “La Iglesia siempre ha reconocido en los migrantes una presencia viva del Señor, que en el día del juicio dirá a los que estén a su derecha: ‘Estaba de paso, y me alojaron'”.
La cita procede del Evangelio de Mateo 25,35, que forma parte del “Juicio de las Naciones”, en el que Jesús afirma claramente que sus seguidores serán juzgados por cómo cuiden de los pobres, los enfermos, los presos y los extranjeros.
“La Iglesia, como madre, camina con los que caminan” en busca de una vida mejor y más segura para ellos y sus familias, escribió el Papa León.
“Donde el mundo ve una amenaza, ella (la Iglesia) ve hijos; donde se levantan muros, ella tiende puentes”, continuó. “Sabe que su anuncio del Evangelio solo es creíble cuando se traduce en gestos de cercanía y de acogida”.
La Iglesia sabe, dijo, “que en cada migrante rechazado, es Cristo mismo quien llama a las puertas de la comunidad”.
En su exhortación, el Papa Leo repasó referencias bíblicas a la obligación de amar y cuidar a los pobres y citó a santos y órdenes religiosas a lo largo de la historia que se han dedicado a vivir con los pobres y a ayudarlos.
Una sección del documento se centra en los “padres de la Iglesia”, los primeros teólogos, quienes, según él, “reconocieron en el pobre un acceso privilegiado a Dios, un modo especial para encontrarlo. La caridad hacia los necesitados no se entendía como una simple virtud moral, sino como expresión concreta de la fe en el Verbo encarnado”, Jesús.
Por supuesto, para el Papa León, quien es agustino, San Agustín de Hipona estaba incluido en el documento. El santo, “el Doctor de la Gracia, veía en el cuidado a los pobres una prueba concreta de la sinceridad de la fe”, escribió el Papa. Para Agustín, “quien dice amar a Dios y no se compadece de los necesitados, miente”.
Y aunque el Papa escribió que “la ayuda más importante para una persona pobre es promoverla a tener un buen trabajo”, insistió en que, cuando eso no es posible, dar limosna a una persona que pide dinero sigue siendo un acto de compasión.
“Siempre será mejor hacer algo que no hacer nada”, escribió el Papa León.
Aun así, dijo el Papa, los cristianos no pueden quedarse de brazos cruzados mientras el sistema económico mundial penaliza a los pobres y hace que algunas personas sean extremadamente ricas. “Es preciso seguir denunciando la ‘dictadura de una economía que mata'”, dijo, citando una frase del Papa Francisco.
“O reconquistamos nuestra dignidad moral y espiritual, o caemos como en un pozo de suciedad”, escribió.
“Una Iglesia que no pone límites al amor, que no conoce enemigos a los que combatir, sino sólo hombres y mujeres a los que amar”, dijo el Papa León, “es la Iglesia que el mundo necesita hoy”.
Por Junno Arocho Esteves (OSV News) – Cuando el papa León XIV elevó a la santidad a tres mujeres y cuatro hombres el 19 de octubre, canonizó a un grupo diverso de religiosos y laicos, hombres y mujeres, todos unidos por la virtud de aferrarse a su fe en medio de desafíos personales, espirituales y externos.
Las canonizaciones, anunciadas por el Vaticano el 13 de junio durante el primer consistorio público del pontífice, elevaron a la santidad a siete candidatos de Venezuela, Turquía, Papúa Nueva Guinea e Italia.
San María Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez, quien nació sin brazo izquierdo, superó sus dificultades físicas y fundó una congregación religiosa, las Siervas de Jesús, dedicada al ministerio pastoral y a la educación. San Maria Troncatti, salesiana italiana, dedicó su vida como misionera a los pueblos indígenas de la selva amazónica, lo que le valió el título informal de “doctora de la selva”, mientras que San Vincenza Maria Poloni dedicó su ministerio a los enfermos y los pobres, a quienes consideraba “nuestros amos”.
Otros, como San Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, arzobispo católico armenio, y San Peter To Rot, fueron martirizados por su fe. Entre los más conocidos se encuentra San Bartolo Longo, un antiguo sacerdote satanista que, tras su conversión, dedicó su vida como terciario dominico a promover el rosario y la devoción mariana.
Para el padre dominico Joseph Anthony Kress, promotor del rosario para la Provincia de San José y director asociado de la Fundación de los Frailes Dominicos, el ejemplo de los retos a los que se enfrentaron el beato Longo y los otros seis candidatos a la santidad muestra “que esta peregrinación terrenal no es una experiencia aséptica”.
En declaraciones a OSV News el 10 de octubre, el padre Kress dijo que, al igual que Cristo, que tropezó y cayó “en su camino hacia el sacrificio supremo”, las vidas cristianas reflejan la misma lucha.
“No necesitamos intentar perfeccionar o purificar nuestras vidas antes de ofrecérselas a Jesús, pero podemos invitarlo a participar en el sufrimiento y la lucha”, afirmó.
“Todos estos santos experimentaron diferentes elementos de lucha a lo largo de sus vidas: luchas físicas, luchas psicológicas, desolaciones espirituales. Pero en medio de todo eso, mantuvieron una relación constante con el Señor y lo invitaron a esos momentos”.
“Ahí es donde está la santidad”, añadió el padre Kress.
Otro aspecto notable de algunos de los candidatos es el hecho de que eran miembros laicos de la Iglesia católica. San Longo era miembro laico de la orden dominicana, mientras que San José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, de Venezuela, era terciario franciscano. San Peter To Rot, mártir de Papúa Nueva Guinea, estaba casado y era catequista laico.
A continuación se presentan breves resúmenes sobre los siete nuevos santos:
San María Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez fue una religiosa venezolana y fundadora de las Siervas de Jesús. Nacida sin su brazo izquierdo, su vida fue un ejemplo de superación de las dificultades físicas. Fundó las Siervas de Jesús en Caracas en 1965, dedicando su comunidad a la educación y la evangelización. Falleció el 9 de mayo de 1977 en Caracas. Es la primera mujer santa de Venezuela.
San José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros fue un médico y científico venezolano conocido popularmente como el “Médico de los Pobres”. Nacido el 26 de octubre de 1864 en Isnotú, Venezuela, fue fundamental en la introducción de la ciencia médica moderna en el país y fundó su primer laboratorio de bacteriología. Laico devoto y terciario franciscano, él proporcionó atención médica gratuita a los pobres a lo largo de su carrera. Murió el 29 de junio de 1919 en Caracas tras ser atropellado por un automóvil mientras hacía un recado para un paciente enfermo.
San Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan fue arzobispo católico armenio de Mardin. Nacido el 19 de abril de 1869 en Mardin, Imperio Otomano (ahora Turquía), fue consagrado arzobispo en 1911. Durante el genocidio armenio de 1915, fue arrestado por las autoridades otomanas, que le exigieron que renunciara a su fe cristiana y se convirtiera al islam. Se negó y, posteriormente, fue torturado y martirizado el 11 de junio de 1915.
San Peter To Rot era un padre casado y catequista laico de Papúa Nueva Guinea. Nacido en 1912 en Rakunai, asumió un papel de liderazgo vital cuando las fuerzas japonesas encarcelaron a los misioneros durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Se convirtió en el único guía espiritual de su comunidad y defendió enérgicamente el matrimonio cristiano contra el retorno de la poligamia promovido por los japoneses. Por esta oposición, fue arrestado. Fue martirizado en un campo de prisioneros japonés en Rakunai, Papúa Nueva Guinea, en julio de 1945.
San Vincenza Maria Poloni (nacida Luigia Poloni) fue una religiosa italiana y cofundadora de las Hermanas de la Misericordia de Verona. Nacida el 26 de enero de 1802 en Verona, dedicó su vida a las obras de caridad. Ayudó a fundar la congregación en 1840 para cuidar de los enfermos, los pobres y los huérfanos, haciendo hincapié en el amor misericordioso hacia los marginados. Era famosa por referirse a los pobres como “nuestros amos”. Murió el 11 de noviembre de 1855 en Verona.
San Maria Troncatti fue una monja salesiana y enfermera que trabajó como misionera en la selva amazónica. Nacida el 16 de febrero de 1883 en Corteno Golgi, Italia, llegó a Ecuador en 1922 y pasó casi cinco décadas trabajando entre el pueblo indígena shuar. Conocida como la “doctora de la selva”, la “madrecita” Troncatti atendió las necesidades físicas y espirituales, promoviendo especialmente la dignidad de las mujeres y la reconciliación entre los grupos tribales. Murió el 25 de agosto de 1969 en Sucúa, Ecuador, en un accidente de avioneta mientras se dirigía a un retiro.
San Bartolo Longo fue un abogado italiano y terciario dominico laico. Nacido el 10 de febrero de 1841 en Latiano, experimentó una conversión dramática tras un periodo de implicación en una secta espiritista, que incluyó su consagración como sacerdote satánico. Dedicó su vida a promover el rosario y a servir a los campesinos pobres, tanto material como espiritualmente, de las cercanías de Pompeya, donde fundó el Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Pompeya y varias instituciones benéficas para niños. Murió el 5 de octubre de 1926 en Pompeya.
Una combinación de fotos muestra santos Bartolo Longo, abogado italiano y terciario laico dominico; Peter To Rot, padre casado y catequista laico de Papúa Nueva Guinea; Vincenza Maria Poloni (nacida Luigia Poloni), religiosa italiana y cofundadora de las Hermanas de la Misericordia de Verona; y Maria Troncatti, monja salesiana y enfermera que sirvió como misionera en la Amazonía. Son cuatro de las siete personas de diversos orígenes que el Papa León XIV canonizó en el Vaticano el 19 de octubre de 2025. (Foto OSV News/Catholic Press Photo)
By Carol Glatz CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Los cristianos deben evitar usar su fe para etiquetar a los diferentes, a menudo a los pobres, como enemigos que hay que evitar y rechazar, declaró el Papa León XIV.
“El camino de María va tras el de Jesús, y el de Jesús es hacia cada ser humano, especialmente hacia los pobres, los heridos, los pecadores”, dijo el Papa León en su homilía durante la Misa celebrada en la Plaza de San Pedro el 12 de octubre con motivo del Jubileo de la Espiritualidad Mariana “Por eso, la auténtica espiritualidad mariana hace actual en la Iglesia la ternura de Dios, su maternidad”.
Miembros de movimientos, cofradías y diversos grupos de oración mariana fueron invitados a Roma para su Jubileo, celebrado los días 11 y 12 de octubre, que incluyó una oración vespertina en la plaza el 11 de octubre con el Papa León en presencia de la estatua original de Nuestra Señora de Fátima.
La estatua, traída del Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Fátima en Portugal, también estuvo expuesta durante la Misa del 12 de octubre.
El papa León XIV posa con su báculo mientras que al fondo se puede ver la estatua original de Nuestra Señora de Fátima durante la misa celebrada en el marco del Jubileo de la Espiritualidad Mariana en la plaza de San Pedro del Vaticano, el 12 de octubre de 2025. (Foto CNS/Vatican Media)
La espiritualidad mariana, “que alimenta nuestra fe, tiene a Jesús como centro”, dijo el Papa León en su homilía. Recordar a Jesucristo es lo que importa.
“Es necesario que el domingo nos haga cristianos”, afirmó. “Que llene de la memoria incandescente de Jesús nuestro sentir y nuestro pensar, modificando nuestra convivencia, nuestra forma de habitar la tierra”.
El Papa reflexionó sobre el Evangelio del día, en el que Jesús sanó a diez leprosos (Lc 17,11-19). Si bien todos le suplicaron y fueron sanados, solo uno, que era extranjero, dio gracias a Jesús y dio gloria a Dios.
“Los leprosos que en el Evangelio no vuelven a dar las gracias nos recuerdan, de hecho, que la gracia de Dios también puede alcanzarnos y no encontrar respuesta”, dijo. “curarnos y seguir sin comprometernos”.
“Cuidémonos, pues, de ese subir al templo que no nos lleva a seguir a Jesús”, dijo.
Cuando algunas formas de culto no fomentan la comunión con los demás y “nos anestesian el corazón”, dijo, “no vivimos verdaderos encuentros con aquellos que Dios pone en nuestro camino; no participamos, como lo hizo María, en el cambio del mundo y en la alegría del Magnificat”.
“Cuidémonos, pues, de ese subir al templo que no nos lleva a seguir a Jesús. Existen formas de culto que no nos unen a los demás y nos anestesian el corazón. Entonces. Cuidémonos de toda instrumentalización de la fe, que corre el riesgo de transformar a los diferentes – a menudo los pobres – en enemigos, en “leprosos” a los que hay que evitar y rechazar”, dijo.
“La espiritualidad mariana está al servicio del Evangelio” porque “revela su sencillez”, dijo. “El afecto por María de Nazaret nos hace, junto con ella, discípulos de Jesús”, dijo, y “nos educa a volver a Él, a meditar y a relacionar los acontecimientos de la vida en los que el Resucitado continúa a visitarnos y llamarnos”.
La espiritualidad mariana “nos ayuda a ver a los soberbios dispersos en los pensamientos de su corazón, a los poderosos derribados de sus tronos, a los ricos despedidos con las manos vacías”, dijo, refiriéndose al Cántico de María (Lc 1,51-54). “Nos compromete a colmar de bienes a los hambrientos, a enaltecer a los humildes, a recordar la misericordia de Dios y a confiar en el poder de su brazo”.
Así como Dios le pidió a María su “sí”, dijo, Jesús nos invita a ser parte de su reino.
“Queridos hermanos, en este mundo que busca la justicia y la paz, mantengamos viva la espiritualidad cristiana, la devoción popular por aquellos hechos y lugares que, bendecidos por Dios, han cambiado para siempre la faz de la tierra”, dijo. “Hagamos de ella un motor de renovación y transformación”, dijo, especialmente durante este Año Santo, que fomenta la conversión, la restitución, la reflexión y la liberación.
Durante la Misa, una de las oraciones de los fieles pidió que Dios “disipara todo orgullo del corazón de quienes ocupan puestos de poder e inspirara decisiones que favorezcan a los pequeños y a los últimos”.
El Papa ofreció su propia oración, encomendando la Iglesia, el mundo y toda la humanidad a María. “Virgen Santa, Madre de Cristo, nuestra esperanza, tu presencia solícita en este Año de Gracia nos acompaña y nos consuela, y nos da, en las noches oscuras de la historia, la certeza de que en Cristo el mal es vencido y cada persona es redimida por su amor”, dijo.
“A tu Corazón Inmaculado encomendamos el mundo entero y a toda la humanidad, especialmente a tus hijos atormentados por el flagelo de la guerra”, dijo. “Abogada de la gracia, aconséjanos en el camino de la reconciliación y el perdón, no dejes de interceder por nosotros, en la alegría y en la tristeza, y consíguenos el don de la paz que imploramos con insistencia”.
Jaime Cortez aparece en la foto actuando en 2007 en la octava edición anual de los Premios Unity en Phoenix. (Foto de OSV News/J.D. Long-García, Catholic Sun)
PHOENIX (OSV News) – “Todas las culturas, todos los idiomas” tienen valor en la celebración de la misa, y la música litúrgica bilingüe puede ayudar a sanar divisiones, al tiempo que atrae a los fieles a un encuentro con Cristo y entre ellos, dijo recientemente a OSV News un compositor católico hispano con una larga trayectoria.
“El clima de la música litúrgica en la Iglesia católica está cambiando drásticamente; ha cambiado mucho en los últimos seis o siete años”, dijo Jaime Cortez, cuyos himnos incluyen “Rain Down”, “Take Up Your Cross” y “Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/We Are the Body of Christ”, una canción que coescribió con su colega compositor de música litúrgica Bob Hurd. Cortez, que nació en Nueva York y se crió en El Salvador, se ha dedicado al ministerio musical multicultural a lo largo de su carrera, con la “máxima prioridad” de cumplir con el llamamiento del Concilio Vaticano II a la “participación plena y activa de todos los fieles” en la misa.
Cortez admitió que, en medio de una sociedad polarizada, “tenemos un poco de división” en los bancos de la iglesia, lo que hace que “sea difícil encontrar un terreno común en este momento”. Pero, en particular, dijo, “cuando al menos intentas tener música en forma bilingüe, al menos estás haciendo un esfuerzo por incluir a otras personas”.
Por David Agren (OSV News) – Otro sacerdote fue hallado muerto tras su secuestro en un violento estado del sur de México, donde los obispos católicos han negociado treguas entre los cárteles de la droga en guerra y el clero ha sido asesinado con impunidad.
El cuerpo del padre Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada fue descubierto el 6 de octubre en el municipio de Mezcal, en el estado de Guerrero, a unos 240 kilómetros al sur de Ciudad de México, según la Diócesis de Chilpancingo-Chilapa.
Father Bertoldo Pantaleón Estrada, pastor of San Cristóbal Parish in Mezcala, Mexio, is seen in an undated photo. His body was discovered Oct. 6, 2025, in Mezcal in Guerrero state, some 150 miles south of Mexico City, according to the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa. Mezcala is in a region rife with drug cartel activity in what was once considered Mexico’s heroin-producing heartland. (OSV News photo/courtesy Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa)
El padre Pantaleón había desaparecido dos días antes, según la diócesis. La cadena de televisión mexicana Milenio informó de que el padre Pantaleón recibió dos disparos en el cuello. El secretario de Seguridad Pública Federal, Omar García Harfuch, dijo el 7 de octubre que el conductor del padre Pataleón era sospechoso del asesinato del sacerdote.
“Todo indica que él murió en su camioneta. Lo matan arriba de su camioneta. Iba a salir a dar una Misa. Y todo indica que fue su propio conductor”, dijo García Harfuch a los periodistas. “Al momento no tenemos ningún indicio de que el padre haya estado involucrado en algo incorrecto”.
El padre Pantaleón era párroco de la parroquia de San Cristóbal en Mezcala, una región plagada de actividad de cárteles de la droga en lo que antes se consideraba el corazón de la producción de heroína en México. La región se hizo famosa en 2014 por el ataque a 43 profesores en formación, cuando la policía obligó a los jóvenes a bajar de los autobuses y los entregó a un grupo criminal. La atrocidad sigue sin resolverse.
“Constatamos con tristeza y dolor que hechos de violencia nuevamente enlutan nuestra comunidad Católica. Por ello, exigimos a las autoridades competentes del Estado y de la Federación una investigación pronta, exhaustiva y transparente que permita el esclarecimiento de este crimen y el justo castigo a los responsables”, declaró la Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano en un comunicado el 6 de octubre.
“Como pastores del Pueblo de Dios, elevamos nuestra voz para recordar a todos que ninguna forma de violencia puede tener cabida en una sociedad que honra la vida y busca el bien, la verdad y la paz para todos sus ciudadanos”, dijeron los obispos.
El estado de Guerrero – que se extiende al sur de la Ciudad de México y que incluye el glamour de Acapulco y la miseria de las comunidades indígenas empobrecidas – ha estado plagado de violencia por parte de los cárteles de la droga durante más de una década.
Los grupos criminales se disputaban anteriormente la producción y distribución de heroína, pero ese negocio ilegal fue eliminado por el auge del fentanilo, según explicó a Catholic News Service el obispo Salvador Rangel, que dirigió la Diócesis de Chilpancingo-Chilapa entre 2014 y 2022. Afirmó que los grupos criminales ahora se dedican a la extorsión y el secuestro y han cooptado a los gobiernos locales.
El obispo Rangel se convirtió en una figura controvertida en México por viajar a comunidades remotas para dialogar con los “capos” de los cárteles de la droga, o líderes de alto rango, en un esfuerzo por pacificar su diócesis y el estado de Guerrero en general. En 2024, el obispo declaró a OSV News que los cárteles de la droga estaban respaldando activamente a candidatos en las elecciones de ese año.
Los cuatro obispos de Guerrero intentaron negociar un acuerdo de paz entre los cárteles de la droga del estado en 2024, una iniciativa que fue bien recibida por el entonces presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
El asesinato del padre Pantaleón ha reforzado la reputación de México como el país más peligroso del mundo para el clero católico. Al menos 53 sacerdotes han sido asesinados en México desde 2006 y 10 entre 2019 y 2024, según el Centro Católico Multimedia, mientras que siguen siendo frecuentes delitos como la extorsión cometida contra el clero y las iglesias.
(David Agren escribe para OSV News desde Buenos Aires.)
