Category Archives: U.S. News

What Catholics believe about the four last things

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By David Werning , OSV News

(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

(David Werning writes from Virginia.)

Briefs

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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.

Sister Jean, beloved Loyola icon and chaplain of men’s basketball team, dies at 106

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By John Knebels , OSV News

(OSV News) — She prayed with college basketball players before games, counseled them after losses, and reminded them that faith, not fame, was the real victory.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, longtime chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball team and campus icon, gives a thumbs up after the team defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack in the semifinals of the South regional of the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Atlanta. Sister Jean died at age 106 Oct. 9, 2025. (OSV News photo Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)

Now, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the spirited chaplain who became a national symbol of joy, devotion and perseverance, has completed her earthly journey.

Sister Jean, a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and longtime chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball team, died Oct. 9. She was 106.

For many Americans, Sister Jean became a household name during Loyola’s stunning run to the 2018 NCAA Final Four, when she was 98 years old. Sitting courtside in her maroon-and-gold scarf, she offered pregame prayers, postgame analysis and the occasional strategic suggestion — earning the affection of fans, players, and coaches nationwide.

Yet long before “March Madness” made her famous, she had already spent decades forming minds, shaping hearts and witnessing to Christ’s love through education and service.

“While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy,” said Loyola President Mark C. Reed. “Her presence was a profound blessing for our entire community, and her spirit abides in thousands of lives.”

A month prior to her death, Loyola had confirmed Sister Jean had officially retired from on-campus work amid growing health concerns, according to The Loyola Phoenix, the student newspaper.

Born Dolores Bertha Schmidt in San Francisco on Aug. 21, 1919, she entered the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1937 and took the name Sister Jean Dolores. She began teaching at Catholic schools in California and Chicago before arriving at Mundelein College in 1961, which later affiliated with Loyola. By 1994, she had joined Loyola’s men’s basketball program as an academic adviser and later team chaplain — a position she held for three decades.

Her spiritual encouragement often blended faith with practical wisdom. During her 106th birthday in August, she urged Loyola students to “make new friends, talk to your old friends,” and to “become the people that God has decided you will be.” Her signature message — “Worship, Work, Win” — became both her personal motto and the slogan that adorns a banner inside Loyola’s Gentile Arena.

“Sister Jean Dolores was a woman of prayer, a dedicated educator, and a bearer of hope,” said Sister LaDonna Manternach, president of her religious order. “She saw God present in all that surrounded her and trusted in His goodness.”

Beyond basketball, Sister Jean led weekly student prayer groups and founded SMILE (Students Moving Into the Lives of the Elderly), pairing Loyola students with residents of The Clare, the assisted-living community she called home. Her influence reached far beyond campus, touching thousands who encountered her through interviews, speaking events, and her bestselling memoir, “Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years” (2023).

Over the years, she received numerous honors: induction into the Loyola Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, the Sword of Loyola in 2018, proclamations from Illinois Gov.J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and even an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis on her 100th birthday. On her 105th birthday, President Joe Biden recognized her for a lifetime of faith-filled service.

When the news of her passing spread, tributes poured in across social media.

“Sister Jean, our beloved friend and inspiration, went home to the Lord today,” Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said in a statement posted on X. “She nurtured the mind and spirit of her students and all who came to know her with dedication, a firm belief in our faith, and a sharp sense of humor. May she rest in the peace she so richly deserves.”

For Loyola fans, her memory will forever be entwined with that magical 2018 season — when the underdog Ramblers captured the nation’s imagination and, in the eyes of many, proved that prayer and perseverance could move mountains.

But for Sister Jean, the real victory was always deeper.

“Don’t let anybody stop you,” she told students on her last birthday. “You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country and our world.”

A celebration of her life and ministry will be held at Loyola University Chicago at a date to be announced.

John Knebels writes for OSV News from suburban Philadelphia.

Briefs

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NATION
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, as the coadjutor archbishop of New Orleans. The appointment was publicized Sept. 24 In Washington by Cardinal Christophe Piere, apostolic nuncio to the United States. As coadjutor, Archbishop Checchio will assist Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond and automatically succeed him upon retirement. Archbishop Checchio called the New Orleans Archdiocese a “faith-filled” community and thanked both Pope Leo and local church leaders for their warm welcome. As coadjutor, he is coming into an archdiocese faced with having to resolve hundreds of sexual abuse claims. A Camden, New Jersey, native, Archbishop Checchio brings to his new assignment decades of pastoral and administrative experience – including 10 years as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Ordained in 1992, he has led the Diocese of Metuchen since 2016, prioritizing parish visits, child protection and accountability. Notably, the diocese said in a statement, he implemented a bishop abuse reporting system before it was required by church law. Archbishop Checchio has served on national boards, including Seton Hall and the National Catholic Bioethics Center – and once ministered as chaplain to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The 2026 National March for Life theme is “Life is a Gift,” The March for Life Education and Defense Fund announced Sept. 30. Jennie Bradley Lichter, who became president of the March for Life earlier this year, noted the group chooses a theme each year for the annual pro-life march in Washington as “an opportunity to focus our attention on a key message or a timely element of the prolife mission.” “We’re now at a critical moment in our country where the March for Life and what we stand for is more important than ever,” Lichter told reporters at a launch event, adding, “This year, with this theme, we really want to speak to the heart.” The 53rd annual National March for Life is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. A pre-rally concert will feature the Christian band Sanctus Real, Lichter said, and the Friends of Club 21 Choir, comprised of individuals with Down syndrome, will lead the national anthem at the event. Georgetown University Right to Life will carry the banner at the start of the March. Lichter said the group is also launching a “Marchers’ Stories Project” where they will seek video submissions from participants to document the group’s history.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Loving someone who is sick requires “concrete gestures of closeness,” just like that shown in the Gospel story of the Samaritan who helps the person beaten by thieves, said a Vatican office. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced Sept. 26 that Pope Leo XIV had chosen the theme for the church’s next celebration of the World Day of the Sick: “The compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by bearing the pain of the other.” The world day is celebrated annually on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes Feb. 11. A papal message for the celebration usually is published in early January.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV announced he will proclaim St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the church Nov. 1 during the Jubilee of the World of Education. Speaking after Mass Sept. 28 for the Jubilee of Catechists, the pope said St. Newman “contributed decisively to the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine.” The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints had announced July 31 that Pope Leo “confirmed the affirmative opinion” of the cardinals and bishops who are members of the dicastery “regarding the title of Doctor of the Universal Church which will soon be conferred on Saint John Henry Newman, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Founder of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in England.” St. Newman was born in London Feb. 21, 1801, was ordained an Anglican priest, became Catholic in 1845, was made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and died in Edgbaston, near Birmingham, England, in 1890.

Journalists visit a working area at outside Sagrada Familia following a news conference to announce an update on the works of the basilica in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 18, 2025. Over a century in the making, the Tower of Jesus Christ, designed by the famed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, will soon crown the Basilica of the Holy Family, making it the tallest Catholic church in the world. (OSV News photo/Albert Gea, Reuters)

WORLD
BARCELONA, Spain (OSV News) – The iconic Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is nearing a historic milestone: the completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ, which will make it the tallest Catholic church in the world. Designed by visionary architect and Servant of God Antoni Gaudí, the tower will stand over 564 feet tall – surpassing both the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Ivory Coast and even Germany’s Ulmer Münster. Head architect Jordi Faulí announced that the central spire is finished, and crews are now preparing to install a massive seven-piece cross atop it. “The cross is made up of seven large pieces that are assembled here and will then be lifted with the crane,” Faulí said. The cross is expected to be in place by early 2026, aligning with the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death. Construction on the basilica began in 1882 and has weathered wars, pandemics and funding delays. While the main structure is on track for completion in 2026, artistic elements like statues and chapels will continue into the 2030s – bringing Gaudí’s masterpiece one step closer to completion.

Can’t afford a Catholic college? Think again. Many offer full tuition options

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By Kimberley Heatherington , OSV News

(OSV News) – It’s often said that death and taxes are two of life’s most enduring certainties. To that duo, anxious parents of teenagers might add another: rising college tuition.

For high school students yearning to attend a Catholic college, there is an encouraging development: Many Catholic institutions of higher learning are increasingly committed to making academia accessible through free, full tuition programs.

“There’s probably a significant number of students who would be interested in St. Mike’s,” said Brigid Lawler, until recently the vice president for enrollment management at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. “But they see that initial sticker price and think, ‘I’m not even going to have the conversation because I don’t think I can’t afford that.'”

St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, is pictured in this May 24, 2023 photo. It is one of many Catholic institutions of higher learning making academia accessible through free, full tuition programs. (OSV News photo/courtesy of St. Anselm College)

With about 1,100 undergraduate students from 21 states and 15 countries, St. Michael’s College is the only Edmundite college in the world – founded in 1904 by the French order of priests known as the Society of St. Edmund.

Boasting more than 40 majors and a 10:1 student to faculty ratio, the college has a history of social justice commitment, with more than 70% of students participating in service opportunities.

For the 2025-2026 school year, tuition, food and housing at St. Michael’s College totals $70,990, excluding books, supplies and incidental costs. However, over 90% of its students receive financial aid – and “The St. Mike’s Community Commitment” gives families whose income falls at or below $100,000 a total aid package covering full tuition after federal grants. In addition, all admitted students are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships.

Because the St. Mike’s Community Commitment launched in late 2024, it’s still difficult to judge the impact of the new financial aid program. But Lawler is both enthusiastic and emphatic.

“We are a campus that has this very strong sense of community, and there is this idea that we want to take care of the folks that are here and help them to stay,” she said, “because we all know that should be a huge part of the mission.”

St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, launched its Anselmian Community Commitment in 2024, “a program that allows New Hampshire students with a family income of $100,000 or less and a GPA of 3.25 or higher to attend the college tuition-free,” according to its website, with school leaders citing the school’s Catholic and Benedictine mission.

Also in 2024, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, also announced that students whose families have a total income of $100,000 or less “and reasonable assets” will receive a full tuition grant. The move was an expansion of the school’s current financial aid program, which in the 2022-2023 academic year stated that families with a total income of $75,000 or less were eligible for the full tuition coverage.

At Regis University in Denver, undergraduate students in 2025-2026 can expect to pay $47,490, excluding fees and living expenses. However, all first-year students received financial aid in 2023-2024.

“We strive to continue to evolve each year and meet students where they are,” said Catherine Rohde, assistant vice president of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

“We know how transformative a Jesuit Catholic education is, and we hope that these initiatives, including ‘Road to Regis,’ build awareness and excitement about the possibility of attending Regis University,” she continued. “While specific financial aid strategies may shift, especially in light of federal and state budget conversations, our goal of partnering with families to provide support stays the same.”

Unveiled in Oct. 2024, the “Road to Regis” program – through federal, state and Regis funding – provides a financial aid offer of full tuition for up to four years for eligible traditional first-year or transfer college students.

Rohde explained the funding mix that enables Regis to assist students.

“Although we are a private institution, we rely on federal grants and campus-based funding, and we are incredibly thankful for the grant support from the Colorado Department of Higher Education that we receive for our Colorado Residents pursuing a Jesuit Catholic education,” she said.

“Like other financial aid opportunities, we utilize federal and state grant allocations, but we also optimize institutional dollars. Most are unfunded tuition discount incentives, in order to help, particularly our financially neediest families,” Rohde added. “While our endowment dollars are a piece of the puzzle, many endowments are geared towards specific students or programs, per donor wishes. Therefore, these endowments, while critical for our overall budget conversations, do not directly correlate to our Road to Regis offer.”

As the only Jesuit Catholic university in the Rocky Mountain region, Regis offers 83 degree programs to 5,754 enrolled students, with a 9:1 student to faculty ratio. Designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution – 39% of full-time undergraduates identify as “Hispanic/Latine” – Regis is also moving toward becoming a bilingual campus.

According to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, “On average, the published tuition at a Catholic college or university was $37,500 in 2023-2024, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. After financial aid, the average net tuition is $25,220.”

ACCU additionally reports that “84% of students enrolled at Catholic institutions receive any kind of financial aid, with an average amount of $23,771 per student in 2022-2023. Over 91% of students at Catholic institutions received institutional aid.”

There are 230 Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S. – distributed throughout 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico – attended by some 675,000 students as of fall 2023. In the United States, Catholic schools founded by the Dominican, Franciscan, and Jesuit orders dominate the higher education field.

“A lot of times, students never even considered us because we are a private university and they just automatically think, ‘Unaffordable; expensive; can’t do it,'” said Lynda McKendree, dean of scholarships and financial aid at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

“So when we started getting more information about why maybe some of the Catholic students in our community weren’t looking at our school, that was the reason,” she explained. “And we knew that some of these families would qualify for very strong financial aid packages.”

Tuition and fees are $35,754 before scholarships and financial aid, but more than 85% of new freshmen – both domestic and international – receive a University of St. Thomas scholarship upon enrolling.

“The St. Thomas Promise” – launched three years ago, with approximately 6% of the student body benefitting – also offers help to prospective scholars.

“If you have a 3.4 or higher high school GPA – and if your family income is $50,000 or less – you qualify for the St. Thomas promise,” said McKendree. “And that is free tuition and fees for four years.”

Founded in 1947 by the Basilian Fathers – a congregation launched in France in the wake of the French Revolution – the University of St. Thomas provides more than 40 undergraduate majors and 30 graduate degrees to 3,600 students, offering a 13:1 faculty to student ratio.

“One thing that’s at the core of our mission at the University of St. Thomas is being able to bring students into that awareness of what is the Catholic university,” said Sara Nevares Johnson, the university’s dean of admissions.

Nevares Johnson said that both the values of “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” – an apostolic constitution issued in 1990 by St. John Paul II regarding Catholic colleges and universities – and the Basilian Fathers’ charism of “goodness, discipline and knowledge” contribute to student formation.

“We bring that into the conversation not only in the classroom, but before they even enter the classroom,” Nevares Johnson said. “When we’re outreaching and recruiting students and families, we’re talking about what it means to grow and thrive in a university community at the University of St. Thomas.”

(Kimberley Heatherington writes for OSV News from Virginia.)

St. Patrick’s Cathedral mural honors immigrants, first responders, NY saints

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By Steven Schwankert / The Good Newsroom , OSV News

NEW YORK (OSV News) – A new 25-foot-high mural that covers the walls of the entrance to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and was officially dedicated before Mass Sept. 21 celebrates New York’s sacred and secular history.

The largest permanent artwork commissioned in the 146-year history of “America’s Parish Church,” the painting depicts the apparition at Knock in Ireland, along with New York saints, servants of God, immigrants and first responders.

New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan speaks during the formal unveiling Sept. 18, 2025, of a 25-foot-high, four-panel mural in the narthex of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Looking on is artist Adam Cvijanovic, the mural’s creator. The artwork depicts the 1879 Marian apparition in Knock, Ireland; people connected to the Catholic heritage and immigration history of the city of New York and the state; and first responders who serve the metropolitan area. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

At a morning press event Sept. 18, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Brooklyn artist Adam Cvijanovic unveiled the mural, and the cardinal discussed how his initial vision for a representation of the Knock apparition evolved.

“This became not only an ode to Jesus and Mary and Joseph and St. John and the faith of the Irish people who were so instrumental in this archdiocese, it also became an ode to those who followed them and found in this city, this country, and yes, in this Holy Mother Church, an embrace of welcome,” Cardinal Dolan said.

“I thought when I started making this painting, that the important thing to do was to make it about people and portraits,” Cvijanovic said of his work, which is titled, “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding.”

“So, everybody in this painting is an actual person. They’re all portraits. Even the angels,” he said. “And that seemed to me to be a really, really important thing to do, to talk about the people of the city, all of them, and to have it in some place that people could go in New York and feel themselves recognized in the context of respect and hope.”

Father Enrique Salvo, himself an immigrant from Nicaragua, said that the story told on the panels was particularly meaningful for him.

“If you would have told me that I was going to be the rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, when I came to this country, I would have never believed it,” he said. “But with God, all things are possible, and hopefully it’s an inspiration for everyone that walks in, that we’re not only welcome, but we’re also invited to make a difference and to let God shine through us.”

Cardinal Dolan noted that he originally wanted the mural as part of the last major renovation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 2012, but the cathedral’s trustees advised that he wait. He thanked them for their wise advice.

“I’m kind of glad now, because it matured – it was like a crock pot,” he said.

Cardinal Dolan said that major benefactors covered the cost of the mural, and expressed his gratitude that no further funds needed to be raised to complete the project.

“My wife and I support a lot of causes that are more direct, such as education, feeding the hungry, healthcare, social services, and things like that,” said Kevin Conway, who with his wife, Dee, were major benefactors of the mural. “But this struck me as a project that we could honor a good friend, His Eminence (Cardinal Dolan), but more importantly, you could make an impact and tell a story to the millions of people who come through these doors, and tell an important story.”

Each panel tells a different part of the New York story, along with the apparition at Knock — an 1879 vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, angels and the Lamb of God – witnessed by more than a dozen townspeople in County Mayo, Ireland, the same year St. Patrick’s Cathedral was consecrated.

Two panels of a 25-foot-high, four-panel mural in the narthex of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City is seen during the artwork’s formal unveiling Sept. 18, 2025. The mural depicts the 1879 Marian apparition in Knock, Ireland; people connected to the Catholic heritage and immigration history of the city of New York and the state; and first responders who serve the metropolitan area. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

One panel depicts early immigrants to New York and features a likeness of a young girl – for whom an image of Cardinal Dolan’s late mother, Shirley, served as the model.

“I am thrilled that she is here among those,” he said, pointing out that his mother herself was not an immigrant.

Another panel features New Yorkers of consequence to the church, including Archbishop John Hughes, the first archbishop of New York; St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American and the church’s first Indigenous from North America; former New York Gov. Al Smith; Servant of God Dorothy Day; and Venerable Pierre Toussaint.

(Steven Schwankert is senior editor of The Good Newsroom, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York. This story was originally published by The Good Newsroom and is distributed through a partnership with OSV News.)

New Louisiana bishop says he finds ‘strength, hope and courage’ in God

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By Julie Asher
(OSV News) – “I do not deserve to be an apostle, but by the grace of God that is what I am,” said Bishop Simon Peter Engurait, newly ordained and installed as the head of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, quoting words of the Apostle Paul.

He made the remarks in addressing the congregation after a nearly three-hour afternoon Mass Sept. 5 at the Stopher Gym at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux.

The faithful filled the venue to witness his consecration as the sixth bishop of Houma-Thibodaux. Dozens of bishops, priests, men and women religious, deacons, seminarians and laypeople attended the liturgy.

Bishop Engurait’s mother and five of his siblings were also there. Born in 1971 in Ngora, Uganda, the bishop is one of 14 children. The congregation included a representative of Uganda’s ambassador to the United States.

Bishop Simon Peter Engurait offers closing remarks of gratitude, humility and hope at the end of his Mass of ordination and installation as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., Sept. 5, 2025. (OSV News photo/Angeljoy Porche, courtesy of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux)

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans was the principal consecrator with Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, and retired Bishop Sam G. Jacobs of Houma-Thibodaux as co-consecrators. Bishop Jacobs and Archbishop Fabre served as the third and fourth bishops, respectively, of Houma-Thibodeaux.

“I stand here not because of my worthiness but because of God’s mercy, but with that mercy comes an awesome and, yes, even a frightening responsibility to shepherd God’s people, to guard and defend the faith and to account not only for my soul but for those (I serve),” Bishop Engurait said.

“My brothers and sisters, God’s ways are not our ways, nor are his thoughts our thoughts,” he continued. “Who but God alone could have done this? Who would have thought, have imagined that I would one day stand before you as a bishop of the church?”

He said he draws courage from words of St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, where Paul states he was “compelled by the Spirit” to go to Jerusalem, not knowing what would happen to him and even though he was warned by the Holy Spirit that hardships awaited him. “I count my worth as nothing to me unless I can finish the race and bear witness of God’s grace,” Paul wrote.

“Like St. Paul, I go forward uncertain of the road ahead, but certain of God – that’s why I chose my motto, ‘In Deo Tantum’ – ‘In God Alone’ – because it is in God alone that I find strength, that I find hope, that I find courage,” Bishop Engurait said.

When Pope Leo XIV named then-Father Engurait as Houma-Thibodaux’s bishop June 5, he had been serving as diocesan administrator since January 2024, upon the death of Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, a former Washington auxiliary bishop who had headed the diocese for just under a year.

Previously he was vicar general of the diocese, beginning in 2017. He was also pastor of St. Bridget Parish in Schriever, Louisiana.

His early education led him through Catholic seminaries in Uganda before a career in public service, including roles in Uganda’s government and a master of business administration from the Maastricht School of Management the Netherlands.

During his career, he rose from entry level positions to senior management. While at Katigondo Seminary in Uganda, he had a profound encounter with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal that shaped his spiritual path and ultimately led him back to discern a priestly vocation, according to a diocesan news release.

Bishop Jacobs, a longtime key figure in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, invited him to the Louisiana diocese to study for the priesthood. In 2007, he was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and was ordained a priest May 25, 2013, by Bishop Jacobs, then head of the diocese.Before the rite of episcopal ordination, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the papal bull on then-Father Engurait’s appointment as Houma-Thibodaux’s bishop.

In his remarks, the cardinal noted that he was apostolic nuncio to Uganda from 1999 to 2007, and during that time he met Engurait, then a layman.

“On one occasion at Mass for Holy Thursday,” Cardinal Christophe recalled, “I washed his feet, and he must have been like the original Simon Peter,” who asked Christ to wash “’not only my feet but my hands and head as well,’ because several years later his hands were consecrated as a priest and now his head will be anointed with oil as a bishop.”

“So God has him covered from head to foot,” the cardinal said. “Bishop-elect Engurait, you are well acquainted with the love and mercy of God, who has brought you to this day filled with the gift of hope, which is a special grace of this Jubilee Year. God will supply all that you need for a joyful ministry.”

Bishop-designate Engurait received the papal bull from the cardinal and showed it to the bishops in attendance and then walked through the congregation, holding it up for all to see. He walked up and down the aisles to cheers and loud applause.

“You have served well in priestly ministry and as vicar general,” Archbishop Aymond told the soon-to-be-bishop. “We gather here to pray with you and for you – rooted in sacred Scripture beginning with the apostles, and for over 2,000 years … the Holy Spirit has enabled other men to become successors of the apostles. That is what we do again today.”

He said a bishop’s ministry is threefold: first, to oversee the teaching of ministry of church by preaching the Gospel “faithfully and courageously,” handing on the teaching “with great fidelity; second, to lead God’s people in prayer, celebrate the sacraments, especially confirmation, and have the privilege to ordain priests and deacons; and third, to provide pastoral care and pastoral governance.”

“In all things, my friends, he will strive to reflect Jesus the good shepherd as he carries his pastoral staff with humility in the name of Jesus,” Archbishop Aymond said, adding that the title of bishop is “for service, not for your own honor.”

In his closing remarks, Bishop Engurait told the congregation that this day of his ordination and installation “is not mine alone. It is the fruit of so many who have walked with me.”

“It is sometimes said that the only happy day in the life of a bishop is the day of his ordination,” he added. “Well, I cannot accept that. I pray that every day, even the difficult ones, may hold some joy in the Lord, may hold some consolation in his service and, yes, even a little laughter along the way.”

(Julie Asher is OSV News senior editor.)

US bishops deepen commitment to fight racism with new permanent body

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By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – The U.S. Catholic bishops have deepened their commitment to combating racism, by making permanent a subcommittee dedicated to working for racial justice and reconciliation in society.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Sept. 10 that its Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism – established in 2017 under then-USCCB president, and now retired, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo Galveston-Houston, Texas – has been made a permanent USCCB body.

The move, approved by the USCCB’s administrative committee Sept. 9, will place the committee, now named the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, under the conference’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

That committee’s mandate “includes Catholic social teaching on issues of domestic concern such as poverty, housing, the environment, criminal justice, and other challenges that often have a disproportionate impact on communities of color,” said the USCCB in its Sept. 10 media release.
USCCB president Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, said the subcommittee “continues the important work of the temporary ad hoc committee.”

Retired Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Racism and the USCCB Subcommittee on African American Affairs, smiles during a Nov. 14, 2023, session of the USCCB’s fall general assembly in Baltimore. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

The bishops had formed the racism ad hoc committee just days after the violent Aug. 11-12, 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, at which white supremacists protested the planned removal of Confederate statues there, following two city council votes. Amid clashes between rally participants and counterprotestors, James Fields drove his vehicle through a crowd of the latter, killing paralegal Heather Heyer and injuring dozens. Fields is now serving two life sentences.

In his Sept. 10 statement, Archbishop Broglio – who referenced the USCCB’s 2018 pastoral letter against racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts” – said, “As we call for a genuine conversion of heart that will compel change at both individual and institutional levels, I invite all Catholics to join us as we carry forward this work to recognize and uphold the inherent dignity of every person made in the image and likeness of God.”

“I speak on behalf of the bishop members, staff and consultants of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism in expressing gratitude for the transition of our committee to a standing subcommittee so that the important work of evangelization of the faithful and the community at large may continue in the spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” said retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago, who has been serving as chair of the committee.

With the new subcommittee set to begin work after the USCCB’s November plenary assembly, members will have plenty to do.

According to a Gallup poll released Aug. 20, 64% of U.S. adults believe racism against Black people is widespread, with 83% of Black adults and 61% of white adults expressing this view.

Police interactions are seen as the “most racially inequitable” among six possible scenarios, said respondents.

At the same time, Gallup found that “68% of U.S. adults think civil rights have improved in their lifetime.”
Human Rights Watch said that “racial justice remained a pressing human rights concern in the United States in 2024.”

While the U.S. “ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination nearly 60 years ago,” the nation “has done far too little to implement its provisions,” said HRW, adding that “living legacies of slavery and the slaughter and dispossession of Native peoples remain largely unaddressed.”

(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.)

Briefs

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Pope Leo XIV blows out a candle on a cake for his 70th birthday Sept. 14, 2025, as cardinals, Vatican officials and ecumenical leaders look on after a prayer service at Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

NATION
MIAMI (OSV News) – Dressed in the customary yellow colors of the event and with umbrellas in hand, elementary school student Aniela Alejandra Garcia and her mother, Yeily Garcia, didn’t let the weather stop them from approaching the statue of the Cuban Virgin of Our Lady of Charity. “I was helping people with the candles,” Aniela told the Florida Catholic, Miami’s archdiocesan news outlet. She made the remarks as she joined the local Cuban-American community Sept. 8 in placing bright yellow sunflowers and candles outdoors during a recitation of the rosary followed by Mass at the the National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in Miami. The color yellow is customarily associated with the Virgin of Charity, and her shrines – including the one in Miami – are often graced with yellow flowers. Affectionately known as La Ermita de La Caridad, the shrine is located near Coconut Grove. This year was also the 25th anniversary of La Ermita’s designation as a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2000. Flash flood warnings and epic rain may have shut down flights at the Miami Airport Sept. 8 but it didn’t stop faithful from making the pilgrimage to Biscayne Bay for the annual feast event.

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Dozens of small handmade signs and large bold banners waved in the crowd of some 30,000 visitors in St. Peter’s Square wishing Pope Leo XIV a happy birthday Sept. 14. Two gold mylar balloons with the numbers “7” and “0” were held up high. The largest banner, in red and white, was held by a group from the Peruvian city of Monsefú in the province of Chiclayo, where the pope had served as bishop for eight years. “Dear friends, it seems that you know that today I turn 70 years old,” the pope said to huge cheers and shouts of “auguri,” meaning “congratulations” and “happy birthday” in Italian. “I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers,” he said after reciting the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Musicians and musical bands in the square struck up the “Happy Birthday” tune, and people sang and clapped along. “Many thanks to everyone!” he said, followed by someone shouting, “Long live the pope!” “Thank you! Have a good Sunday!” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pain must never give rise to violence, and every Catholic needs to learn to safeguard with tenderness those who are vulnerable, Pope Leo XIV said during a prayer vigil dedicated to people experiencing pain and affliction due to illness, bereavement, violence or abuse. Recognizing that some members of the church “have unfortunately hurt you,” the pope said, the church “kneels with you today before our Mother (Mary). May we all learn from her to protect the most vulnerable with tenderness!” “May we learn to listen to your wounds and walk together,” he said in his homily Sept. 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. “May we receive from Our Lady of Sorrows the strength to recognize that life is not defined only by the evil we suffer, but by the love of God, who never abandons us and guides the whole church.” The pope led the prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica Sept. 15 as part of the Jubilee of Consolation, which is “dedicated to all those who are experiencing or have experienced moments of particular difficulty, grief, suffering or hardship in their lives,” according to the section of the Dicastery for Evangelization in charge of organizing the Holy Year. Pope Leo said, “pain must not give rise to violence, and that violence never has the final say, for it is conquered by a love that knows how to forgive.” “Where there is evil, we must seek the comfort and consolation that can overcome it and give it no respite,” he said. “In the church, this means never being alone.”

WORLD
VITERBO, Italy (OSV News) – Italian police say they’ve prevented what could have been a deadly attack at one of the country’s most cherished Catholic traditions. On Sept. 3, counterterrorism officers raided a bed and breakfast near the route of the famous “Macchina di Santa Rosa” procession in Viterbo, arresting two Turkish men. Authorities say the men were found with automatic weapons, including an assault rifle, just steps away from where 40,000 people had gathered for the centuries-old festival honoring St. Rose of Viterbo. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been scheduled to attend, was quickly moved to safety. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the swift police action, saying it ensured the peaceful celebration of an event UNESCO recognizes as cultural heritage. While investigators say the suspects appear tied to organized crime rather than international terror networks, prosecutors are still weighing charges of arms trafficking and possible plans for a terrorist act.

Hurricane Katrina 20th anniversary a call to racial equity, justice, say bishops

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By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – The 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina marks a call to “renew our commitment to racial equity and justice in every sector of public life,” said two U.S. Catholic bishops.

Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr. of Washington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on African American Affairs, and retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago, chairman of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, issued a joint statement Aug. 26 reflecting on the tragedy.

The hurricane, one of the five deadliest in U.S. history, struck the nation’s Gulf Coast Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 3 storm, with 120-140 mph winds and stretching 400 miles across the coast. At one point, the storm became a Category 5, but weakened before striking land.

Katrina made multiple landfalls, inflicting what the National Weather Service called “staggering” damage and loss of life, particularly in Louisiana and Mississippi. A total of 1,833 were killed by the storm, which at the time caused some $108 billion dollars in damage, according to NWS.

New Orleans was ravaged by the storm, with at least 80% of the city flooded by Aug. 31, 2005, NWS noted on its website, adding that the impact was “heightened by breaks in the levees that separate New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain.”

Compounding the damage were key failures in governmental response, and in their statement, Bishop Campbell and Bishop Perry said that “despite the scale of devastation, it took days before the federal government responded with aid.”

A statue of Jesus stands amid rubble near a destroyed grotto outside St. Michael Church in Biloxi, Miss., Sept. 12, 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Aug. 29, 2025, marks the 20th anniversary of the deadly storm, which made landfall in the Gulf Coast region, inflicting “staggering” damage and loss of life, particularly in Louisiana and Mississippi. A total of 1,833 were killed. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

More broadly, they observed, Hurricane Katrina “threw into stark focus the deep racial and socio-economic disparities across various sectors, including environmental justice, systemic housing inequality, and disaster response.”

The bishops pointed out that “some of the most catastrophic damage occurred in neighborhoods like the Ninth Ward, a predominantly Black neighborhood, which was under so much water that many of the residents had to take refuge in their attics and on their rooftops to avoid the rising tides.

“Today, we pray with those who still suffer from the loss of family and friends and whose very identities were affected,” said the bishops.

They also noted that the storm resulted in “the loss of irreplaceable items handed down through generations such as photos, videos, diaries, genealogical records, documents, and other mementos that are an essential means of sharing a person’s existence, history, and culture.”

In addition, said the bishops, “many residents were unable to return home because gentrification caused their former neighborhoods to become unaffordable.

“Disparities, rooted in historical and structural racism, intensified the suffering of many Black residents,” they said.

The hurricane and the response missteps “revealed the fragility of our cities to natural disasters and the reality of poverty among the most vulnerable in our country,” the bishops noted.

Bishop Campbell and Bishop Perry extolled the “powerful witness of the Catholic Church” that countered the “inadequate governmental response” to Katrina, citing the work of Catholic Charities USA and its local agencies, the USCCB’s Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Home Missions Appeal, the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Knights of Columbus.

The two bishops stressed the “dire need for equitable investments in climate resilience and preparedness,” amid storms intensified by climate change.

“Katrina revealed how quickly entire communities can be overlooked, their cultures erased as neighborhoods vanished – taking with it cherished cultural spaces and historic landmarks,” said Bishop Campbell and Bishop Perry.

They added that two decades later, “many still struggle to rebuild intangible bonds,” with “ongoing mental and physical injuries” still evident today, while the “gap between the wealthy and poor continues to grow.”

Concluding their statement, Bishop Campbell and Bishop Perry said, “Let us join together, as one community, responding to the call to be leaven for the world. As church, let us be a lifeboat in the flood waters of injustice.”