The Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments comments on St. John Henry Newman's inscription in the General Roman Calendar with the rank of optional memorial.

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Two major Christian charitable communities - the Knights of Columbus and the Order of Malta - have pooled their resources to improve and reinforce humanitarian aid to those in need in war-struck Ukraine.

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Pope Leo XIV meets with David Ryan, a former student at Blackrock College in Ireland, and listens to his story of the abuse he and his late brother, Mark, endured at the Catholic secondary school.

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VATICAN CITY  (CNS)-- As the Olympic flame continued its journey toward the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Games, Pope Leo XIV shared his blessing, welcoming the event as an opportunity to promote peace, solidarity and encounter through sport.

Ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Milan Feb. 6, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sent a telegram to the Diocese of Como, where some of the Olympic competitions will be held, as well as where a Olympic Village is located, and another to Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan, as that city welcomed the "Cross of Athletes."

In a telegram Jan. 30, Cardinal Parolin said Pope Leo was sending warm wishes and an apostolic blessing to the Catholic community in Como. The Vatican released copies of the telegrams the same day.

"He expresses his deep appreciation for their fervent cooperation in this sporting event and hopes that it will be an opportunity to promote the authentic values of sport: loyalty, respect, team spirit and sacrifice, as well as social inclusion and the joy of encounter," the telegram said in Italian. 

The telegram went on to say that the pope "encourages the parish communities of the territory to experience this significant event with willingness, offering a generous Christian witness so that they may be a bright sign of the presence of Christ who calls all to fraternity ."

The cardinal also sent a telegram to Archbishop Delpini Jan. 29 on behalf of the pope, stating that Pope Leo "hopes that this important event will awaken feelings of friendship and fraternity, strengthening awareness of the value of sport in the service of the integral development of the human person." 

He wrote that the pope was sharing his apostolic blessing and prayed that "these days of healthy competition will contribute to building bridges between cultures and peoples, promoting welcoming, solidarity and peace."

Pope Leo reiterated that the Olympics sends a powerful message of fraternity and hope for peace after praying the Angelus  Feb. 1. He also shared his best wishes to the organizers and athletes. 

"I hope that all those who care about peace among peoples and are in positions of authority will take this opportunity to make concrete gestures of détente and dialogue," he said. 

The Olympic Cross, sent by the Vatican's Dicastery for Culture and Education, has been delivered to the local diocese of every city hosting the international sports competition since the London Olympics in 2012.

Athletica Vaticana, the Vatican's official sports association, presented the cross to Milan's Basilica of San Babila during an evening Mass Jan 29. Recognized in 2019, the co-ed organization includes Vatican employees, both lay and clergy and promotes sport as a tool for education, inclusion and peace. It also represents the Holy See in international sporting events. 

The cross was placed on the altar of the basilica, where it will remain until the end of the Paralympics, the archdiocese of Milan said in a press release.  

During the Mass, the telegram from Pope Leo was read aloud, and Archbishop Delpini said in his homily that sports were a "school of asceticism, morality, humanity, life, courage, and imagination," according to the press release.

"In this church, we welcome the sign of the crucified body. The Athletes' Cross is more of a crack of light than a figure: the body of Christ, crucified for love, is the opening to go beyond and embrace the mystery," Archbishop Delpini said in his homily. "The absent body encourages questions, observation and attention."

WASHINGTON – Following the close of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, along with the Justice, Peace and Development Commission of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), issued a joint statement, Brothers and Sisters in Hope. Calling for a renewed commitment to integral development and mutual solidarity between the peoples of the U.S. and Africa, their statemen offers guiding themes for strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and African countries, rooted in Catholic social teaching.

The bishops write: “The faithful of the U.S. and Africa are gifts to one another. Together, we call for robust lifesaving and life-affirming U.S. assistance to the continent, grounded in thoughtful partnership, and pray for the flourishing of an ever-deeper fraternity.”

The joint statement, Brothers and Sisters in Hope, may be read in full in English, French, and Portuguese.

In conjunction with the release of the statement, bishops representing the two committees will celebrate a Mass for Solidarity with the Bishops and Faithful of Africa on February 4 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Information on the Mass can be found on the USCCB website.

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St. Joan de Lestonnac was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1556. She married at the age of seventeen. The happy marriage produced four children, but her husband died suddenly in 1597. After her children were raised, she entered the Cistercian monastery at Toulouse. Joan was forced to leave the Cistercians when she became afflicted with poor health. She returned to Bordeaux with the idea of forming a new congregation, and several young girls joined her as novices. They ministered to victims of a ...

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 ...

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 ...

WASHINGTON – This week, the U.S. Department of State officially published three rules, significantly expanding the “Mexico City Policy,” which historically limited certain federal funds from going to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion abroad. The State Department is referring to these three rules collectively as the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) Policy. Three bishop-chairmen of committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) responded:

“God entrusts us with a responsibility to share our blessings to help preserve the lives and dignity of our brothers and sisters in need. We support robust funding for authentic lifesaving and life-affirming foreign assistance and applaud new policies that prevent taxpayer dollars from going to organizations that engage in ideological colonization and promote abortion or gender ideology overseas. We also call for the implementation of any related policies to be carried out in a manner that recognizes the inherent dignity of every human person and does not harm those who are racially or ethnically marginalized.”

The bishop-chairmen were Bishop Edward J. Burns of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Committee on International Justice and Peace. Earlier in the week, Bishop Thomas had also offered a statement, in part, addressing the rule related to the performance and promotion of abortion.

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Virgin and abess, also known as Adelgundis, Aldegonde, or Orgonne. She was a member of the royal family of the Merovingians and was raised by two saints: St. Walbert and St. Bertila, her parents. The family resided in the Hainault region of Flanders, a region of the Low Countries. Aldegundis reflused offers of marriage from other nobles and received the veil from St. Amandius, the bishop of Maastricht. She followed this ceremony of acceptance into the religious life with the foundation of a ...