St. Scholastica, sister of St. Benedict, consecrated her life to God from her earliest youth. After her brother went to Monte Cassino, where he established his famous monastery, she took up her abode in the neighborhood at Plombariola, where she founded and governed a monastery of nuns, about five miles from that of St. Benedict, who, it appears, also directed his sister and her nuns. She visited her brother once a year, and as she was not allowed to enter his monastery, he went in company with ...

'AI is a tool, not a voice': This World Radio Day, Vatican Radio celebrates its 95th anniversary with seven multilingual programs dedicated to the future of radio.

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The theme for the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be 'I will never forget you' (Is 49:15), announces the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in a statement on Tuesday.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV will not travel to the United States this year, the head of the Holy See Press Office said Feb. 8.

Vatican observers had speculated about whether the first American pope would return to the United States during his first full year as pontiff, particularly as some news outlets reported that he might visit in September to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly in New York, a meeting attended by each of his three most recent predecessors during their pontificates.

But, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters that no U.S. trip is planned for 2026 when asked about the pope’s travel schedule.

Recent popes have all traveled to the United States at least once, making such visits an expected trip for modern papacies. 

St. John Paul II visited the United States frequently, traveling to the country seven times during his pontificate and making stops across the nation. During those visits, he met with President Jimmy Carter at the White House and President Ronald Reagan in Alaska.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States once, spending six days in April 2008, during which he met with President George W. Bush in Washington and addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Pope Francis also made a single six-day visit in 2015, becoming the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress. He also traveled to Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia.

St. Paul VI was the first pope to visit the United States in 1965. He made a historic address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, met with President Lyndon B. Johnson and celebrated Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Since his election in May 2025, Pope Leo has taken one international trip to Turkey and Lebanon, a six-day trip previously planned before his predecessor's passing last year. The November trip included meetings with civil and religious leaders, visits to holy sites, and prayer at the Port of Beirut, where a 2020 explosion killed 218 people and injured more than 7,000.

While the Vatican has not made any official announcements, a number of local sources have suggested how Pope Leo’s 2026 calendar may already be taking  shape with potential trips to Africa, Spain and South America.

Last month, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers told reporters outside the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall Jan. 8 that a papal visit to Algeria was “on track” and would occur in “the first part of 2026.” Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel, the apostolic nuncio to Angola, has also said the pope accepted invitations from both Church and government officials to visit the country.

Spanish Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid told reporters in January that Pope Leo is also expected to visit Spain this year, and will likely include stops in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands.

The president of Peru's Catholic bishops, Bishop Carlos Garcia Camader, told reporters in Lima Feb. 4 that a papal trip to Peru was "very probable" in November or the first week of December, according to Reuters. The Vatican typically makes an official announcement of a papal trip at least a month before the expected departure.

St. Apollonia, who died in the year 249, was martyred for not renouncing her faith during the reign of Emperor Philip. The account of the life of St. Apollonia was written by St. Dionysius to Fabian, Bishop of Antioch. Apollonia had all her teeth knocked out after being hit in the face by a Christian persecutor under the reign of Emperor Philip. After she was threatened with fire unless she renounced her faith, Apollonia jumped into the flames voluntarily. She is considered the patron of dental ...

Jerome Emiliani lay chained in the dark dirty dungeon. Only a short time before he had been a military commander for Venice in charge of a fortress. He didn't care much about God because he didn't need him -- he had his own strength and the strength of his soldiers and weapons. When Venice's enemies, the League of Cambrai, captured the fortress, he was dragged off and imprisoned. There in the dungeon, Jerome decided to get rid of the chains that bound him. He let go of his worldly attachments ...

WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Denver, and has appointed Most Reverend James R. Golka, currently bishop of Colorado Springs, as his successor. 

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on February 7, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Golka’s biography may be found here.

The Archdiocese of Denver is comprised of 40,154 square miles in the State of Colorado.

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Arab hermit and bishop who is called �the Apostle of the Saracens.� He lived in the desert regions of Syria and Egypt, caring for the local nomadic tribes. When the Romans imposed peace upon the Saracens, Queen Mavia, the Saracen ruler, demanded that Moses be consecrated a bishop. He accepted against his will and maintained the peace between the Saracens and Rome. The Saracens were a nomadic people of the Syro-Egyptian desert so designated by the Romans.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Just as the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina were about to begin, Pope Leo XIV called on the Catholic Church to recognize sport as an opportunity to offer much-needed human and spiritual guidance.

With so many dangers and distortions threatening the integrity of athletics and the dignity of players, the Church can help strengthen the needed harmony between people's physical and spiritual development, he wrote, helping sport become a place "for athletes to learn to take care of themselves without falling prey to vanity, to push themselves to their limits without harming themselves and to compete without losing sight of fraternity."

Pope Leo, who considers himself "a decent amateur tennis player," issued a letter on "the value of sport," Feb. 6, titled "Life in Abundance," from Jesus' declaration, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly," from the Gospel according to St. John (10:10).

The need for holistic, integral human development is critical, he wrote, because "the danger of narcissism … permeates the entire sporting culture today. Athletes can become obsessed with their physical image and with their own success, measured by visibility and approval."

And sometimes sports can take on a "quasi-religious dimension" with athletes perceived as "saviors," he wrote. "When sport claims to replace religion, it loses its character as a game that benefits our lives, becoming instead aggrandized, all-encompassing and absolute." 

The pope dated and released the eight-page letter the same day the XXV Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo began Feb. 6. Set to run until Feb. 22, the international sporting event will be followed by the XIV Paralympic Games March 6-15.

Offering his "greeting and good wishes to those who are directly involved" in the Games, the pope also encouraged all the world's nations to "rediscover and respect" the Olympic Truce as a symbol and promise of hope and reconciliation in "a world thirsting for peace."

"We need tools that can put an end to the abuse of power, displays of force and indifference to the rule of law," he wrote, decrying the "radicalization of conflict and a refusal to cooperate" as well as a "culture of death."

The world is witnessing "lives broken, dreams shattered, survivors' trauma, cities destroyed -- as if human coexistence were superficially reduced to a video game scenario," he wrote, repeating St. John Paul II's warning that aggression, violence and war are "always a defeat for humanity."

The Olympic Truce is built on the belief that participating in public sport with a spirit of "virtue and excellence" promotes greater fraternity, solidarity and the common good, he wrote.

"International competitions offer a privileged opportunity to experience our shared humanity in all its rich diversity," he wrote. "Indeed, there is something deeply moving about the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games, when we see the athletes parade with their national flags and in the traditional garments of their countries." 

These global gatherings "can inspire us and remind us that we are called to form one human family" and that "the values promoted by sport -- such as loyalty, sharing, hospitality, dialogue, and trust in others -- are common to every person, regardless of ethnic origin, culture or religious belief," he wrote.

While the pope praised the power and potential of the Olympics, the bulk of the letter was dedicated to all levels of sport, from those engaged in informal fun to serious athleticism.

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo highlighted the virtues of engaging in physical activity and competition as well as warned against current risks that threaten healthy values.

He criticized the perennial problems of using sports as a platform to push political or ideological interests, doping and seeking profits or winning at all costs, warning against the "dictatorship of performance."

"When financial incentives become the sole criterion, individuals and teams may also fall prey to subjecting their performance to the corruption and influence of the gambling industry," he wrote. "Such dishonesty not only corrupts sporting activities themselves, but also demoralizes the general public and undermines the positive contribution of sport to society as a whole." 

He also criticized "pay-to-play" programs, which often require costly fees for children to participate, when organized sports should be accessible to everyone.

"In other societies, girls and women are not allowed to participate in sports. Sometimes, in religious formation, especially of women, there is a mistrust and fear of physical activity and sport," he wrote in the letter, encouraging greater efforts to make sport more accessible to diversity and fraternity, too.

He also warned against "transhumanism" or technologies, including AI, being applied to enhance performance, artificially separating body and mind, and "transforming the athlete into an optimized, controlled product, enhanced beyond natural limits."

"Finally, we must question the growing assimilation of sport into the logic of video games," Pope Leo wrote, pointing to the "extreme gamification of sport," turning it into "simply a device for consumers" and disconnecting it from "concrete relationships."

The pope said, "There is an urgent need to reaffirm integral care of the human person; physical well-being cannot be separated from inner balance, ethical responsibility and openness to others," calling on the Church "to recognize sport as an opportunity for discernment and accompaniment and to offer human and spiritual guidance." 

He asked that every national bishops' conference have an office or commission dedicated to sport and help unite parishes, schools, universities, oratories, associations and neighborhoods in a "shared vision." 

"Pastoral accompaniment of sport is not limited to moments of celebration, but takes place over time through sharing the efforts, expectations, disappointments and hopes of those who play daily on the field, in the gym or on the street," he added.

He called for seeking out those "who have combined passion for sports, sensitivity to social issues and holiness," such as St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who "perfectly combined faith, prayer, social commitment and sport." Pope Leo canonized the 24-year-old Italian Sept. 7 at the Vatican.

The fullness of life "integrates our bodies, relationships and interior lives," the pope wrote. "In this way, sport can truly become a school of life, where all can learn that abundance does not come from victory at any cost, but from sharing, from respecting others and from the joy of walking together."
 

Paul was the son of a Japanese military leader. He was born at Tounucumada, Japan, was educated at the Jesuit college of Anziquiama, joined the Jesuits in 1580, and became known for his eloquent preaching. He was crucified on Februay 5 with twenty-five other Catholics during the persecution of Christians under the Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ruler of Japan in the name of the emperor. Among the Japanese layment who suffered the same fate were: Francis, a carpenter who was arrested while watching ...