Also called Hebed Jesus, a deacon in the Christian community of Persia who was caught up in the persecutions conducted by King Shapur II. Records indicate that Abdiesus was accompanied in his martyrdom by Abrosimus, Acepsimus, Azadanes, Azades, Bicor, Mareas, Milles, and a women named Tarbula. Some were Persian courtiers, others priests and bishops. Tarbula was the sister of St. Simeon, and suffered a particularly cruel death by sawing.

On the second day of his Apostolic Journey to Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in Mongomo, and urges Christians to proclaim the Gospel and build a future of hope and reconciliation for their resource-rich land.

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A musical oratorio marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death will be performed in Mdina, Malta, with proceeds supporting a Church-run home for persons in need.

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Pope Leo XIV leaves Angola and arrives in Equatorial Guinea, kicking off the final leg of his intense Apostolic Journey in four African countries.

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Fr Inocencio Moisés, a Claretian in Malabo, reflects on the significance of Pope Leo XIV’s presence in the Catholic-majority country, and he highlights key ways the Church in Equatorial Guinea has changed since the last visit by a Pope in 1982.

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At the Jean Pierre Olie Psychiatric Hospital in Malabo, Pope Leo highlights the call of all hospitals, especially ones with a Christian mission, to be a civilization of love “where a person is welcomed as they are and respected in their frailty.”

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Pope Leo XIV remembers Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his passing, saying that the late Pope "remained a disciple of the Lord, faithful to his Baptism and to his consecration in episcopal ministry, until the end."

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During his meeting with the World of Culture in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea at the National University's León XIV Campus, Pope Leo reiterates the perfect complementarity between faith and reason, and criticizes when Christ is reduced to 'a religious escape in the face of intellectual endeavors.'

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The desire to visit Africa first reveals the heart of the missionary Pope.

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WASHINGTON – “Vocations are a sign of God’s free gift of merciful love to a world in need of salvation,” said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, in anticipation of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 26. “We join in prayer for all disciples of Christ, especially young people, to experience the loving God, the Good Shepherd, who has a unique call for each person’s life,” he continued. 

In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations released the Ordination Class of 2026 Study conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. According to this survey, four in five ordinands reported regular participation in Eucharistic adoration before entering the seminary. The full CARA report and profiles of the Ordination Class of 2026 may be found here.   

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Leo XIV extends an invitation to all, not just clergy and those in religious life, to commit to creating conditions that allow the gift of vocations to be embraced, nourished, protected and accompanied, so that it may bear abundant fruit. “Only when our surroundings are illumined by living faith, sustained by constant prayer and enriched by fraternal accompaniment can God’s call blossom and mature, becoming a path of happiness and salvation for individuals and for the world,” he says. 

This year’s CARA report was sent out to the 428 men scheduled to be ordained this year. 334 completed the survey for an overall response rate of 78%. These ordinands represent 110 U.S. dioceses and eparchies and 34 distinct religious institutes.

A few of the major findings of the report are:

• In regard to prayer practices before entering the seminary, ordinands participated in Eucharistic Adoration (81%) on a regular basis, praying the Rosary (79%), participated in a prayer/Bible group (52%), and prayed Lectio Divina (48%).
• Most of the ordinands received formation at a seminary in the Midwest (35%), in the Northeast (28%), South (19%), West (14%), and abroad (5%).
• Nine in ten responding ordinands (92%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently by a parish priest (70%), friend (49%), or parishioner (44%).
• Hispanics/Latinos constituted 17% of the responding ordinands. They represented 14% of ordinands in religious institutes and 18% of ordinands to the diocesan priesthood.
• Most respondents (93%) were baptized Catholic as an infant and raised primarily by their biological parents (97%) and a married couple living together (88%).

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