Saint Brigid was born Brigit, and shares a name with a Celtic goddess from whom many legends and folk customs are associated. There is much debate over her birthparents, but it is widely believed her mother was Brocca, a Christian baptized by Saint Patrick, and her father was Dubthach, a Leinster chieftain. Brocca was a slave, therefore Brigid was born into slavery. When Dubthach's wife discovered Brocca was pregnant, she was sold to a Druid landowner. It is not clear if Brocca was unable to ...

In light of the worsening crisis, and following US President Donald Trump's executive order threatening to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, the country's Catholic Bishops warn of the risk of increased social suffering and call for profound reforms, dialogue, and respect for human dignity, without exclusions or violence.

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Radio Veritas Asia hosts a major online meeting bringing together several Asian personalities for the awards ceremony of a short film competition and for the launch of a commemorative book.

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At least 29 Palestinians, including at least six children, die in Israeli strikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip since dawn.

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John Bosco, also known as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco and Don Bosco, was born in Becchi, Italy, on August 16, 1815. His birth came just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars which ravaged the area. Compounding the problems on his birthday, there was also a drought and a famine at the time of his birth. At the age of two, John lost his father, leaving him and his two older brothers to be raised by his mother, Margherita. His "Mama Margherita Occhiena" would herself be declared venerable by the ...

In a message for the 30th anniversary of the Italian newspaper "Il Foglio", Pope Leo XIV reminds the press of their responsibility to resist "extremist and misleading polarization that reduces reality to a parody of itself."

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Pope Leo XIV blesses a Marian mosaic and an image of St. Rose of Lima in the Vatican Gardens, and upholds the first saint born in the Americas as an example of our earthly journey of sanctification.

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The UN Children's Agency warns it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach just one child in Sudan's Darfur region amid a violent situation.

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Pope Leo XIV tells young participants in the Political Innovation Hackathon’s 'One Humanity, One Planet' Conference that 'there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself,' and warns that 'no policy can genuinely serve the people if it denies the unborn the gift of life, or if it neglects to support those in need.'

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A telegram conveying Pope Leo XIV’s best wishes was read during a gathering held at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington to celebrate Cardinal Christophe Pierre on his birthday. Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, was present at the event.

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