CatholicCulture.org - Catholic World News

Imitate St. Frances Cabrini's service to migrants, Pope says as he venerates her heart (CWN)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 08:06:02 GMT

Pope Leo XIV visited the hometown of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini this evening and called upon the faithful to imitate her missionary service to migrants.

Pope encourages Pavia's citizens to seek the common good (CWN)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 07:06:38 GMT

After venerating St. Augustine’s relics in Pavia this afternoon, Pope Leo XIV visited Pavia Cathedral, where he adored the Blessed Sacrament and prayed before the relics of St. Syrus. He then addressed citizens of the northern Italian city in the Piazza della Vittoria (video).

Pope, in Pavia, venerates St. Augustine's relics, urges faithful to focus on Christ (CWN)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 07:06:07 GMT

Pope Leo XIV began a brief pastoral visit to two cities in the northern Italian region of Lombardy this afternoon.

Pope tells youth at Steubenville conferences: 'Only the love of God can provide us with true and perfect joy' (CWN)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 10:06:53 GMT

In a video message released by the Vatican yesterday, Pope Leo XIV told participants in Franciscan University of Steubenville’s summer youth conferences that “only the love of God can provide us with true and perfect joy.”

Shalom Catholic Community's founder discusses charism with Pope (Shalom Catholic Community)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 10:06:34 GMT

Moysés Azevedo, founder and moderator of the Shalom Catholic Community, met with Pope Leo XIV on June 19.

Azevedo “presented to the Holy Father aspects of Shalom life and charism, as well as some of the main initiatives carried out by the Community in favor of the evangelizing action of the Church, with emphasis on the work aimed at youth and human promotion,” the community said in a statement.

Members of the community, according to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, “feel united by the call to be disciples and ministers of peace, on a journey of contemplation, unity and evangelization, marked by spousal love for Jesus Christ and an experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”

Founded in Brazil in 1982, the community attained Vatican recognition as an international association of the faithful in 2007.

Leading development banker meets with Pontiff (Vatican News (Italian, video))

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 08:06:24 GMT

Pope Leo XIV received Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank, in an audience on June 19.

Goldfajn, who posts regularly on X, did not refer to the papal audience in his posts of the day. As is customary, the Vatican did not reveal the topics discussed, apart from a brief video highlighting a gift to the Pontiff.

Help build the New Jerusalem, Pope tells participants in Borgo Dialogues (CWN)

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:06:35 GMT

Pope Leo XIV today asked participants in the Borgo Dialogues to help build the New Jerusalem.

USCCB committee chairman welcomes US-Iran agreement, calls for peace in Lebanon, Hezbollah's disarming (USCCB)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 12:06:38 GMT

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace welcomed the Islamabad Memorandum, signed at Versailles by the presidents of the United States and Iran.

“I commend President Trump and President Pezeshkian for taking the vitally important step of signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities between the United States and Iran and advancing deeper dialogue for lasting peace in the region,” said Maronite Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of Los Angeles. “Preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons is critically important for avoiding a dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East.”

Bishop Zaidan also called for peace in Lebanon:

I call on the United States, Iran, and Israel to now also prioritize an end to the fighting in Lebanon. The disarming of Hezbollah is necessary for peace and development in Lebanon.

Over one million people have been internally displaced, including 400,000 children, and thousands have fled to neighboring Syria, potentially adding to the region’s instability. If the fighting and humanitarian catastrophe continue in Lebanon, I fear that peace across the wider Middle East will remain unreachable.

Cardinal Koovakad's Azerbaijan visit strengthens interreligious dialogue (Vatican News)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 11:06:34 GMT

Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, concluded a four-day visit to Azerbaijan on June 19.

The prelate met with President Ilham Aliyev and with Allahshukur Pashazade, the Sheikh ul-Islam and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus.

Located in the Caucasus, the nation of 10.7 million (map) is 97% Muslim and 2% Christian (primarily Orthodox). Five priests minister to 620 Catholics in two parishes, according to the Annuario Pontificio.

European bishops reflect on priestly formation (CCEE)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 12:06:50 GMT

The general secretaries of the European bishops’ conferences devoted their 53rd annual meeting to the theme of “Being Priests in Today’s Europe: Vocation and Formation.”

Speakers included Archbishop Alfonso Vincenzo Amarante, C.Ss.R., rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, who discussed “The Beauty of the Priesthood at the Service of a Complex World,” and Chiara D’Urbano, a psychologist, who discussed “Psycho-Affective Formation for the Priesthood: Perspectives from the Human Sciences.” Pope Francis wrote the preface to a 2025 book by D’Urbano on vocations and sexual orientation.

The European bishops’ meeting took place in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 14-17.

Detroit archdiocese forecasts suspension of weekend Masses at 90 parishes (EWTN News)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 10:06:35 GMT

Sunday Masses could be suspended at 90 parishes of the Archdiocese of Detroit, according to models released June 18 amid the archdiocese’s restructuring process.

The archdiocese has 209 parishes, 483 priests, and 47 seminarians, according to the 2025 edition of The Official Catholic Directory. 299 of the priests are diocesan, and 184 are religious; of the 299 diocesan priests, 197 are in active ministry.

In 1968, the archdiocese had 1,373 total priests (763 of them diocesan) and 345 parishes.

Texts released for 2027 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 12:06:28 GMT

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity released the texts for the 2027 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will take place from January 18-25.

The theme of the week is “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The 2027 texts were prepared by dicastery and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, with the assistance of the Irish Council of Churches and the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Vatican newspaper devotes 8 articles to refugees' plight (CWN)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 07:06:40 GMT

The Vatican newspaper highlighted the plight of refugees with eight articles in its June 19 edition, published the day before World Refugee Day.

Most US Catholics view Pope favorably; half think president has been too critical of him (Pew Research Center)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 08:06:48 GMT

A survey of 9,750 U.S. adults found that 78% of Catholics view Pope Leo favorably—down from 84% last year—and that 51% of Catholics believe that President Donald Trump has been too critical of him.

The survey, conducted between May 26 and June 1, found that Catholics who attend Mass weekly are more likely to have a favorable view of the Pope than do Catholics who attend Mass seldom or never (85% vs. 73%). Likewise, Democrats are more likely to have a favorable view of the Pope than do Republicans (84% vs. 72%). Men and women have equally favorable views of the Pope.

According to Pew surveys that date back to 1987, Pope St. John Paul II’s favorability ratings varied from 91% to 93%; Pope Benedict’s, from 67% to 83%; and Pope Francis’s, from 72% to 90%.

40th US diocese welcomes FSSP (Diocese of Arlington)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 02:06:20 GMT

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, announced that he is welcoming two priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) to establish a chaplaincy in his diocese.

The Fraternity, whose priests celebrate the sacraments in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, are currently active in 39 U.S. dioceses. Mass is already celebrated in the extraordinary form at eight locations in the Diocese of Arlington.

Charlotte seminary faces shortfall after diocese reduces financial support for operations (CWN)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 09:06:24 GMT

The seminary of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, faces a $200,000 shortfall following a reduction in diocesan financial support for operations, according to a fundraising appeal sent by the seminary’s rector.

Pope, at funeral Mass of Cardinal Ruini, quotes from newly published spiritual testament (CWN)

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:06:06 GMT

At the funeral Mass of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica on June 18 (video), Pope Leo XIV quoted from the late prelate’s spiritual testament, published online the same day in Italian and English.

Pope praises sacredness, beauty of Eastern liturgies; laments effects of wars on Middle East's Christians (CWN)

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 03:06:30 GMT

Pope Leo XIV lauded the sacredness of Eastern liturgies and decried the effects of war during an audience today with participants in a meeting of members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO).

Pope: Universities should be centers of respectful dialogue in divided world (CWN)

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 02:06:44 GMT

In a divided world, universities should be centers of respectful dialogue, Pope Leo said this morning during an audience with members of the board of governors of Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

6 beatification causes advance, including Spanish martyrs, New York sister (CWN)

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:06:11 GMT

During a June 18 meeting with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved decrees that advanced six beatification causes.