Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, in the Province of Ancona, Italy. Her family lived in deep poverty, and when her farmworker father moved them to Ferriere di Conca, near Anzio, their hardship only increased. After her father died of malaria, Maria's mother was left to care for and provide for her children alone. While her mother and older siblings labored in the fields, young Maria assumed great responsibility at home. She cooked, sewed, kept the house, and lovingly ...

Father Professor Walter Chikwendu Ihejirika, SIGNIS Africa President and Chairperson of the Africa Organising Committee for the SIGNIS World Congress to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 3 to 8 August 2026, says the continent is ready to welcome delegates and guests.

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The Vatican publishes the Preparatory Document for the October 2026 Meeting on 'Amoris Laetitia,' marking ten years since the publishing of the late Pope Francis' Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the family.

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For eight months, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) in the United States and Canada accompany women in their 20s and 30s through an “onlife” experience—both online (a “third space”) and, in some cases, in person. This journey offers guided vocational discernment, helping participants explore a call to marriage, religious life, or consecrated virginity.

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In a pastoral letter on prison conditions published at the end of June, Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala, Cameroon, sounds the alarm on forced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and inhumane prison conditions in the country, reports the Vatican agency 'Fides.'

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Arriving in Castel Gandolfo, just southeast of Rome, Pope Leo XIV briefly appeared at the balcony of the Apostolic Palace to greet the faithful gathered in Piazza della Libertà. He thanked them for their warm welcome and reaffirmed the importance of coming together as brothers and sisters.

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In a letter to the Bishop of Lodi, Italy, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on the occasion of the 27th Columbanus Day, Pope Leo emphasizes that only God's mercy can fill hearts with genuine solidarity and "enable enemies to extend a hand to one another." He also recalls his recent pastoral visit to the Lodi area and his tribute to Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.

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Pope Leo XIV sends a video-message for the conclusion of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the United States and encourages the participants to draw from the Eucharist a source of renewal and unity.

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Cofounder of the Barnabites. Born in 1502 in Cremona, Italy, Anthony became a medical doctor. In 1528 he was ordained a priest and cofounded the Barnabites, the religious congregation so called because it was headquartered in St. Barnabas Monastery in Milan. The Barnabites occupied the monastery in 1538, having been approved in 1533. Anthony popularized the forty-hour prayer ceremony, promoted the use of altar sacraments, and introduced the ringing of church bells on Friday. He is depicted in ...

The Prefecture of the Papal Household announces that, beginning on the afternoon of Sunday, July 5, the Pope will stay in the town of Castel Gandolfo until July 27 and that all audiences are suspended in this time period.

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