The General Secretariat of the Synod offers Bishops and diocesan synodal teams practical guidance for evaluation Assemblies to be held in the first half of 2027.

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After a minivan drove at high speed into a crowd at an event in Berlin, the local Church, German leaders, and EU authorities are expressing their opposition to hatred and calling for the defense of freedom.

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On the occasion of the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, held yesterday on the feast of 'Jesus' grandparents' Saints Joachim and Anne, Vatican News speaks with Vittorio Scelzo, head of the pastoral care of the elderly at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, who reflects on the precious value of elderly people and the grandparents.

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Saints Joachim (sometimes spelled "Joaquin," pronounced "wal-keem") and Anne, are the parents of the Virgin Mary. There are no mentions of them in the Bible or Gospels, what we know comes from Catholic legend and the Gospel of James, which is an unsanctioned, apocryphal writing form the second century AD. We do know from scholarship that the Gospel of James was not written by James, the Brother of Jesus, despite its claim to be so authored. Even the early Church fathers expressed skepticism ...

The Bishops of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) have pledged to make young people the Church's shared pastoral priority for the next four years, while calling on political leaders across the region to end the exploitation of youth

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Pope Leo XIV expresses closeness to those affected by wildfires in France and Spain and calls for prayers for victims and emergency responders. He also recalls the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated on 26 July.

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At the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV praises the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoayek, praying that the new Blessed's intercession will bring peace to Lebanon and strengthen Maronite faithful worldwide.

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Nothing is known of St. James the Greater's early life, though it has been established that he is the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of John the disciple. The title "the Greater" was added to St. James' name to help distinguish him from the Apostle James "the Less," who is believed to have been shorter than James "the Greater." Saint James the Greater was one of Jesus' first disciples. James was fishing with his father and John the Apostle when Jesus came to the shores of the Sea of ...

One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born at Dufton, at Westmoreland, England, and studied at Oxford. Becoming a Catholic in 1576, he went to Reims and received ordination in 1581. John went back to England where he worked in the northern parts of the kingdom and became the object of a massive manhunt. He was betrayed, arrested, and taken to London. There he was crippled on the rack and returned to Dryburn near Durham. On July 24, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. John was ...

Saint Birgitta was the daughter of Uppland�s Lagman, Birger Petersson and his wife, Ingeborg, who was a member of the same clan as the reigning family. Birgitta�s family was pious; her father went to confession every Friday and made long and arduous pilgrimages as far away as the Holy Land. Birgitta�s mother died, leaving Birgitta, ten years old, Katharine, nine and a newborn baby boy, Israel. The children were sent to their maternal aunt for further education and care. It seems that as ...