Pope Leo XIV titled this year’s observance of World Day of Migrants and Refugees “Even Just One of These Children,” citing Matthew 18:5: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., said in a homily on Sunday, Sept. 27, that “for the last year and a half, the people of the United States have witnessed the suffering of the undocumented in our midst, purposely and strategically magnified by our government, and for the most part, we have simply passed on by.”

McElroy wrote that “Jesus weeps all across our nation for the children who have been arrested, detained, transported to far-off centers with terrible living conditions, and cut off from their families.”

The cardinal described the case of a 5-year-old boy in Minneapolis, Liam Ramos, who along with his father was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and was “imprisoned for a month until an outraged federal judge ordered him to be released.”

After being held for about 10 days, on Jan. 31, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio ordered their release, writing in his order that the case grew from “the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”

Biery attached a photo and two Gospel verses to his order: Matthew 19:14 (“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them”) and John 11:35 (“Jesus wept”).

In March an immigration judge denied the family’s asylum claim and ordered them removed to Ecuador.

McElroy also decried the government’s ending of temporary protected status (TPS) for nearly 1 million people, saying refugees admitted under it “never broke any law.”

The cardinal said: "They are being deported because of a general desire to exclude immigrants from American society. They are being deported because the bigotry that has often tarnished American immigrant history is rampant once again in our nation.”

The Trump administration has stated it ended TPS because it says conditions in many countries have improved and the program “has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens” and has become a “de facto amnesty” program.

TPS is granted when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determines that a country is temporarily unsafe to return to because of armed conflict, disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Congress designed TPS in the Immigration Act of 1990 as a time-limited humanitarian designation intended to be temporary; it is not a path to citizenship.

TPS holders are lawfully present and authorized to work while the designation lasts. After termination of TPS, however, people who remain commit a civil immigration violation.

Yakima, Washington, bishop calls for ‘surgical deportation’

Bishop Joseph Tyson of the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, also issued a message on Sunday, lamenting that “Yakima County seems to be disproportionately targeted” by immigration enforcement actions. He cited Freedom of Information Act data he had obtained, which he said showed that “fewer than a fourth” of the people ICE had detained between March and August had a criminal record.

Tyson called for “a public policy that allows for a surgical deportation of those with serious criminal records” rather than the “indiscriminate deportation” of immigrants who “have lived here for years” and are often “detained in front of courthouses while pursuing legal pathways to regularize their legal status.”

Andrew Arthur, a national-security and immigration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, told EWTN News that “immigration laws — like every other law — are meaningless unless they are enforced.”

“Border security — which even the bishops support — is impossible without interior enforcement and deportations of those who entered illegally,” even if they have not committed other crimes, he said.

Referring to Tyson’s recommendation for “surgical deportations” for those with “serious criminal records,” Arthur, a former immigration judge, explained that the law does not require that “serious” crimes be committed before deportation takes place.

“A ‘serious crime’ is one that impacts or threatens any other person,” he said. Regardless “there is no reason to wait until a drunk driver kills someone before he is deported … There is no reason that the American people should be threatened by a criminal immigrant who should never have been here to begin with.”

McElroy also described ongoing immigration enforcement as a “wholesale war” on immigrants, which Arthur called a "reckless statement.”

“Using military terminology in this context denigrates federal officers who are tasked with a very difficult job,” Arthur said.

DHS affirms continued arrests of ‘anyone’ in country illegally

The Department of Homeland Security refuted a report circulating on Sept. 26 that said anonymous ICE officials claimed they were instructed to cease arresting illegal immigrants who had not committed crimes other than entering or remaining in the country illegally.

In a statement to EWTN News as well as in a social media post, DHS called the claim “false,” saying: “No one is off the table. We will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path. Anyone in our country illegally will be arrested and deported.”

From there he traveled to the Metz Cathedral — a towering Gothic structure dedicated to St. Stephen and nicknamed “the Good Lord’s lantern” for its large expanse of stained glass — where he celebrated Mass before 35,000 people both inside and outside the cathedral, according to the Vatican. He returned to Rome in the evening.

Here is a look at his day in photos:

“No matter what happened, we must overcome the evil that happened here, in our abbey, with goodness, love, and forgiveness,” Father Adrian Mantykiewicz told the congregation during his Sept. 26 homily at the Benedictine Abbey in Jarosław, Poland, where the knife attack had occurred two days earlier.

“Therefore, I ask you to forgive, because it has affected all of you,” he said, according to a transcript published by the Polish Jesuit news website DEON.pl.

Police arrested a 31-year-old Ukrainian man for the attack, which killed one priest and sent four other people to the hospital. Father Stanislaw Zbojniewicz died at the hospital from his injuries, and Father Marek Pienkowski remains in serious condition in the hospital.

Mantykiewicz told people not to blame the Ukrainian people because only one single person is responsible for the attack. He noted the convent — which is in a small town near the border with Ukraine — has provided support for many people who fled the Russia-Ukraine war.

“From this place, I also want to ask you not to blame the nation from which the torturer belonged, because the evil was committed by a specific person, a specific person who has a name, a life, and is responsible for his actions,” he said. “Other people did not do this. This was one, unique person.”

Mantykiewicz said he speaks in his own name and in the names of Zbojniewicz and Pienkowski when he says “very emphatically that we forgive and we ask you to pray for us.”

“For prayers for Father Stanislaw [Zbojniewicz], for the peace of his soul, for the health of Father Marek [Pienkowski], who is still fighting for his life in the hospital, and for me, that I may return to my duties as soon as possible and continue to serve you here,” he said.

The priest also asked people to pray for the attacker, specifically for “the grace of conversion,” saying “he needs this prayer the most.” He asked “not to respond to evil with evil but with love, support, understanding, and care” and to respect all people in the abbey, in the community, and in the country, including respect for Ukrainian refugees.

Mantykiewicz said in his homily that “this sermon is difficult for me,” but he said first and foremost, “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, I am a disciple of my Master, I am a disciple of my Lord, and Christ teaches me to love.”

“Love that allowed itself to be crucified,” he said. “Love that gave its life for its enemies. Such is my Lord and Master. And I am his servant.”

According to prosecutors, a man identified as Ihor M. faced charges for the attack. According to a statement, the investigation is ongoing, but he was charged with murder, attempted murder, and causing serious injury to victims.

The suspect is receiving medical care, and prosecutors requested a public defender for him. He was appointed a Ukrainian translator.

“If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode, no I’m not, I sleep at night. I do think the concerns raised by many experts in AI should be taken seriously,” the pope told reporters accompanying him on his flight to Rome from Metz, France, Sept. 28.

“I don’t think that is fake news, as some have said, to try and cause … financial or some other kind of benefit,” he added.

A former safety researcher at the AI company Anthropic warned earlier this month that he believes the technology’s rapid advancement could mean there’s a more than 10% chance that AI could “could kill all humans” within a decade.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei responded by calling on the AI industry to slow down the pace of advanced model development to address risks, and other industry leaders publicly supported his call.

That drew criticism of Amodei from President Donald Trump, who dismissed dire scenarios and said restrictions on AI development in the U.S. would benefit China. The two men dined together on Sunday in an apparent attempt to address their differences.

The pope’s encyclical on AI, Magnifica Humanitas, published just four months ago, included a broad call for regulation of the technology.

In recent months, concerns have grown over AI’s risks of creating advanced cyberattacks and autonomous agents that will get past human control and threaten humanity.

Pope Leo told journalists on Monday that the Vatican has organized its own commission on AI, both to coordinate its own use of the technology and to “continue to promote dialogue, study, investigation to find ways to make sure that AI doesn’t get to a point where it destroys humanity.”

“But we have to keep working. We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen,” he said.

Leo was returning to Rome after a four-day trip to France.

In response to another reporter’s question, the pope said it was vital for the Church to proclaim Catholic social doctrine even on controversial matters such as end-of-life issues and political extremism.

Asked if he had “crossed a line” in France, where there is a strict separation of church and state, by speaking against the recent legalization there of euthanasia and assisted suicide, he said: “I didn’t cross it,” because “we’re not entering into politics; we’re applying the Gospel to people’s lives.”

“The defense of life is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches, believes very deeply,” the pope said.

“Being in a place especially like Lourdes, where people are searching for something much deeper and understanding that their lives, even in the midst of sickness or disability or pain of different kinds, that their life has meaning, the Church, because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that that life itself I think holds for all of us,” the pope said.

Asked whether he thought clerical sexual abuse was “systemic” in the Church, Leo said he preferred “to express it in a different way.”

He said some organizations within the Church have, at times, “as a system, been abusive.”

“But I think itʼs important to make the distinction. Sexual abuse is first and foremost a human problem. … When it happens within the Church it actually has another whole dimension added to it, because peopleʼs lives of faith are deeply wounded and sometimes even destroyed,” the pontiff said.

“The Church, in certain ways, has been seen as being responsible, but in the same way, the Church, I think, is an important part of helping [victims] to find healing.”

In a Sept. 25 interview with Montse Alvarado on “EWTN News In Depth,” Cardinal Michael Czerny, who leads the Vatican’s Commission on AI, and San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú, who heads the USCCB’s Task Force on Preserving Human Dignity formed in response Pope Leo XIV’s call for cooperation in  Magnifica Humanitas, discussed how AI may reshape the workforce.

Two days before Czerny and Cantú spoke on “EWTN News In Depth,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made an urgent appeal to the U.N. Security Council for international standards to curb risks from rapid AI development.

Czerny said: “Catholic social teaching says that companies, that investors and management, owe care to the workers.” 

“They are not to be used, exploited simply as part of the production process,” Czerny continued. “They are not just cogs in the machine, they are human beings who are living out their dignity in this very, very important field of work.” 

He called leaders in the AI industry to care for its people and employees, and not to “pursue profit or win the AI race at the expense of human dignity.”

Amid fears that AI will result in the loss of jobs, Czerny said: “I think we are treating it as a zero-sum game in an unhelpful sense.”

“Maybe we should say, ‘No, the question isnʼt whether jobs will be lost, the question is how much is AI going to help us to create more meaningful and more human beneficial work among its achievements?’” he said. “This has to be one of its goals, not just us protesting against job loss.”

Touching on the labor issue as well, Cantú said he hopes the reports from labs that he has met with are true in that they don’t anticipate significant job loss.

“But I think we should be prepared, and we should go into this wide-eyed and continuing to put forward for the lab developers that at the center needs to be human dignity and the common good,” Cantú said.

Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, in an interview at the council’s first strategic planning meeting held Sept. 9–11, COP vice chairperson Father Alex Beukes said the new structure responds to the need for closer collaboration between bishops and priests.

Beukes compared the COP structure with the former Southern African Council of Priests, saying: “The one reason for the change to COP is that we found that there was not much collaboration between bishops and priests.”

He said COP was established by the bishops as a collaborative and synodal body through which priests can share their experiences and concerns.

Beukes said the previous arrangement brought priests together for meetings but did not give them sufficient space to address issues affecting their ministry in the different dioceses.

“Itʼs COP which changed that, because itʼs a collaborative ministry, and itʼs also synodal in its inception, that priests and bishops work together in solving various issues that are fundamental to the priesthood in the different dioceses in southern Africa,” he said.

Held under the theme “Strengthening Priestly Communion, Stewardship, and Mission for a Sustainable Church,” the meeting focused on strengthening collaboration between bishops and priests, establishing priorities for the period 2026–2029, and addressing key challenges affecting priestly life and ministry.

The two-day meeting brought together representatives from dioceses and archdioceses across South Africa and Eswatini, representing diverse experiences of diocesan, religious, and missionary priesthood.

In the interview, Beukes said the broad representation at the first strategic planning meeting provided an opportunity for priests and bishops from across South Africa to share their experiences and discuss issues affecting the priesthood.

“The beauty of this first encounter is that every diocese and archdiocese in all of South Africa is represented,” he said, adding that many dioceses had embraced the idea of closer collaboration between bishops and priests.

He explained that the discussions were not limited to bishops, with priests also contributing their experiences and concerns.

“And we could then speak together synodally, if you can actually call it that, and we can have a conversation in the spirit about issues that really affect the whole priesthood in the southern African diocese,” he said.

Beukes said COP’s structure, which brings together chairpersons of priests’ councils from different dioceses, would also support the implementation of the synodal process at the diocesan level.

He said the structure gives the chairpersons access to bishops, vicars general, and other members involved in the council of priests, enabling them to communicate issues raised by priests and follow up on their implementation.

On the priorities discussed during the strategic planning meeting, Beukes said participants had addressed several issues that priests had previously identified as important.

“Weʼve gone through a lot of priorities; we call them strategic priorities. And the ones that we have touched on are also ones that the priests in the general meeting had also asked us to look at. And we did,” he said.

He added that the meeting also brought in people with expertise on the issues under discussion, with finances among the priorities examined.

“We started with the priority on finances and how finances have changed over a period of time, and how it also affects parishes and affects priests who work in parishes,” Beukes said.

He said the discussions were intended to provide practical insights that priests could take back to their parishes and dioceses.

“All the priorities, those who speak to us, are things that we can take back to a parish council, but also to the diocese itself,” he said.

For priests from the participating dioceses, the meeting also provided an opportunity to address practical challenges affecting priestly life and ministry.

Father Sandile Mswane of the Diocese of Manzini, Eswatini, said the discussions covered finances, revenues, the changing face of the Church, healthcare, and self-care, describing the meeting as “an eye-opener” that would provide insights to share with priests in his diocese.

Father Albert Post of the Diocese of The Hague identified financial pressures, retirement policies, and mental stress among the concerns requiring attention, while Father Lawrence Kamala of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, said the meeting had highlighted the need to strengthen the bond between bishops and priests as well as among priests themselves.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

Families, students, and older people joined a warmly spirited program of personal testimonies, hopeful speeches, and musical performances celebrating life.

The march took place amid continuing political debate in Lithuania over family policy and declining birth rates. Lawmakers also remain divided over reproductive legislation, including access to abortion and in vitro fertilization.

Organizers stressed that the event sought to move beyond abstract slogans and political declarations by focusing on the realities of family life. Speakers addressed motherhood, fatherhood, and the challenges posed by child loss, disability, illness, and old age.

Throughout the march, participants and speakers affirmed the equal dignity of every person — especially unborn children — regardless of health, age, or ethnicity.

Saulius Karosas, a father, illustrated that conviction by describing how welcoming children with special needs reshaped his family’s outlook. After their fourth child, Iva, was born with Down syndrome, the family adopted Motiejus, a boy with the same condition. Karosas said embracing the children transformed the family’s understanding of human worth and beauty and how they recognize the value of others.

Courage and perseverance

The event also drew pro-life advocates from across Europe and the Americas. Featured speakers included Agnese Irbe, OFS, founder of Latvia’s Peripatos Philosophers’ Association; Marcin Perłowski, director of the Polish pro-life foundation Centrum Życia i Rodziny; and Patricia Sandoval, an international pro-life speaker and co-host of EWTN’s “Informe Provida.”

Sandoval described the Vilnius march as deeply moving. “I was impressed by the zeal of the youth that attended the march,” she told EWTN News, noting that they were “on the front line.” She recalled the peaceful atmosphere, in which participants sang “hymns and songs of joy,” and praised the event as “very well organized.”

Sandoval, who shared her testimony of undergoing three abortions and later working for Planned Parenthood, said speaking in Vilnius held particular significance. “Vilnius is the city of mercy,” she said, describing the opportunity to share her story as “a very emotional and very exciting moment.”

Offering spiritual encouragement to participants, Sandoval urged advocates to remain strong regardless of political outcomes. “Remain steadfast, persevere, and be faithful to do his will,” she said.

From Christian witness to practical help

Speaking to EWTN News, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius said he hoped the event would help “a culture of life grow in Lithuania” — one in which every “human being is welcomed as a gift from the very beginning of life.”

For Grušas, that culture must be experienced concretely. “I would be especially glad to see a practical change,” he said, so that “a woman who feels anxious about her pregnancy knows where to turn, finds someone who will listen, and receives the support she needs.” He also said he hoped “families feel supported by their communities, employers, and public institutions.”

“We build a culture of life through many everyday decisions,” he said. In a city known as the “City of Mercy,” he added: “I hope mothers, children, and families will increasingly experience that mercy here.”

The archbishop also pointed to the responsibility of men. “A man’s steady presence can make an enormous difference,” he said, describing fatherhood as beginning before a child is born through “supporting the mother, listening to her, sharing her concerns, and preparing together to welcome the child.”

Grušas cited St. Joseph as a model of quiet responsibility. “He speaks no words in the Gospels, yet his care for Mary and Jesus is unmistakable.”

He described the march as “Christian witness with a civic dimension,” saying Catholics can participate in public life while seeking the common good. “We must keep in view both the dignity of the unborn child and the real needs of the mother,” he said, calling for public conversation “grounded in respect and followed by practical help.”

Builders of a culture of life

Archbishop Kęstutis Kėvalas of Kaunas told EWTN News at the march that building a culture of life requires men to embrace their roles as “fathers, leaders, and providers.” He urged them to take an active part in their children’s religious upbringing and formation.

That responsibility, he said, belongs to every Christian. Too often, people assume that “somebody else will do this” rather than recognize that “we are the people who need to take personal responsibility in creating the culture of life.”

For Kėvalas, this means fostering “prayer groups, family movements, and also the consciousness of the culture of life.” Christians, he added, are called to become “collaborators of God” in transmitting life and the Gospel of Life.

Asked what most threatens a culture of life, the archbishop pointed beyond individual social trends to “the faith problem.” The deeper question, he said, is whether people understand that “we are given the gift of life” and are called to give others “the possibility of life.”

He also warned against a materialistic mindset in which families “count the cost” of having children primarily in material terms. Greater trust in God, he said, can foster “a culture of trust and encouragement.”

Ultimately, he called Catholics to reject passivity. “We need to be not those who are just looking or observing life, but ones creating life and building the culture,” he said. He compared this vocation to that of the builders of medieval cathedrals, who laid foundations they would never see completed, trusting that their work would contribute to “a beautiful creation.”

At the last event of his trip to France, the pope celebrated Mass in the Metz Cathedral, a towering Gothic structure dedicated to St. Stephen and nicknamed “the Good Lord’s lantern” for its large expanse of stained glass — at nearly 70,000 square feet, the most of any medieval religious structure.

“It seems that the builders sought to minimize the walls — which remain solid — so that light might flood in abundantly to the faithful,” the pope said.

“As we contemplate these stained-glass windows, we learn that Europe’s future does not lie in uniformity but in the harmony of differences, where the wounds of the past become openings through which light shines,” he said.

The Vatican said 35,000 Catholics from Metz and the neighboring areas participated in the Mass both inside the cathedral and in the surrounding streets, watching large screens. Participants described taking a day off of work or school for the occasion.

“It’s great to be able to come celebrate peace and meet all the Christians who’ve come for the occasion, and to feel that we’re all together, united for the same cause and the same values,” 20-year-old fine arts student Humbeline Deville said.

“The fact that he chose this city … and that he did us the honor of coming here is truly important to us,” said Hassina Boulariah as she walked toward the city center almost four hours before the start of Mass.

Inside the cathedral, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, sat in the front row.

Metz, a city in northeastern France, sits just 27 miles from the Schengen tripoint, where the borders of Luxembourg, France, and Germany meet.

The Franco-German area is rich in significance for European history: It was annexed by the German Empire at the turn of the 20th century and later by Nazi Germany during World War II. Metz was also home to Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union.

In the Church, it is also remembered as the historical birthplace of Gregorian chant — “Metssine Chant” (also called “Metz singing”) — which developed during the eighth-century Carolingian Renaissance.

In his homily at Mass, Pope Leo recalled the history of the territory, especially the “fratricidal conflicts” that tore it apart.

Those who are from this land, he said, “know full well that it is not true that those who seek revenge are stronger than those who forgive.”

Leo said “it takes strength and great integrity not to be overwhelmed by evil, especially when the wounds inflicted are deep. However, in the face of injustice, humanity’s only path to salvation is a love that cares for others and seeks to give trust regardless of the circumstances, even when confronted with the most difficult behavior to accept.”

“In a world marked by so much violence, manipulation, and arrogance at various levels, Jesus teaches us how to transform deserts into oases, to plant gardens, and to build homes. He shows us the path that leads through forgiveness, mercy, and magnanimity,” he said.

Yvette Bisiaux pushed her adult daughter Sandrine Coquelet to the Mass in a wheelchair: “We live here, so we said, ‘Let’s go!’” she said.

Bisiaux added that she was “really moved” by the pope’s speech to the sick in Lourdes on Sept. 27. “I had tears in my eyes. It was so, so beautiful, so true.”

In his homily, the pontiff cited St. Augustine’s “The City of God,” noting that the bishop of Hippo “defined the peace of the heavenly city as a harmonious communion in which people find joy in God and in one another through him.”

St. Augustine “also described peace among people as the fruit of a “tranquillitas ordinis,” whereby each person recognizes and respects the unique and sacred dignity and role of others,” Leo added.

“Here in Metz, it is worth recalling that these are precisely the values upon which the Europe we know has been built over the centuries, with its spiritual and moral heritage preceding its economic and political heritage,” he said.

The pontiff recalled that it has never been easy to be faithful to these principles, including for those who came before us.

“Nevertheless, through faithfulness and perseverance, our ancestors bequeathed them to us as treasures to be passed on in turn to future generations, and enriched by our experience, the value of our efforts and our stories,” he said.

Before Mass, people awaiting the pope waved French or regional flags. German flags also dotted the crowds, which included enthusiastic scouts in uniform, older people seated on portable stools, and young adults embracing.

Some tired teenagers napped on the stone path of the historic outdoor market next to the cathedral.

The teens’ mother, Marion Bertagnolio, said it was worth it to take a day off from her job as a physics professor to attend the Mass.

“We are Catholics, and itʼs too important to me to come here to pray with him, to see him,” said Bertagnolio, who came with her husband and four of her six children, ages 10 to 19.

She said she hoped Leo could bring a message of peace to France, especially with presidential elections early next year. She also mentioned divisions with the country’s Catholic community, particularly over the Traditional Latin Mass.

“I hope [the pope’s] message will change our hearts” to be more united, she said.

The Order of Friars Minor announced the venue in a Sept. 26 statement. About 12,000 people are expected to attend the event.

The beatification Mass is set for 11 a.m., and no ticket is necessary, organizers said. Registration is required by Oct. 15.

Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah said the beatification will be “a date of great significance for the faithful within the Diocese of Savannah and the Archdiocese of Atlanta.”

Cardinal Frank Leo, metropolitan archbishop of Toronto, will serve as papal legate and preside over the beatification liturgy on All Hallows Eve. The beatification will be livestreamed on EWTN.

A Mass of Thanksgiving is set for 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 1 at Savannah’s Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

Who are the Georgia Martyrs?

In September 1597, Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz, and Father Francisco de Veráscola were killed for defending the sanctity of marriage. They died in the region called La Florida, which included present-day Georgia.

The U.S. bishops petitioned Pope Pius XII to beatify the missionaries in 1941, and the cause officially began in the Diocese of Savannah in 1981. In January 2025, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of a decree recognizing the five Franciscans as martyrs for Christ who were killed for their faith after ministering among the Guale people.

The late Father Dominic Monti, OFM, a historian and vice postulator for the cause, said in a statement: “These were not ‘missions’ like those that were established later in California, where native people were gathered together under friar supervision. The Guale were already living in towns; the friars were welcomed into these villages by local chiefs and lived among the people. This model of evangelization resembled more contemporary methods.”

The friars learned the Guale language and lived peacefully among the people without Spanish soldiers. Monti said archaeological evidence shows “a blending of native and Christian motifs, showing that the Christian faith was thoroughly accepted by the native people.”

In 1597, Juanillo, the young heir to a Guale chiefdom, wanted to take a second wife. Friar Pedro de Corpa opposed the second marriage. He also made his opposition to Juanillo’s succession as chief known.

Juanillo, together with a band of like-minded allies, resorted to violence and killed Pedro de Corpa, OFM, on Sept. 14, 1597. The group then proceeded to other local missions, killing four other friars in the area.

A local chief urged Father Miguel de Añon and Brother Antonio de Badajóz to flee, but the unarmed friars disregarded the warning. A sixth friar, Francisco de Avila, was kidnapped and tortured until he was liberated months later, according to the order.

Father Roger Lopez, OFM, is a provincial councilor for the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, part of the Order of Friars Minor, which has worked with the Diocese of Savannah to promote the Georgia Martyrs’ cause for canonization since the mid-20th century.

Lopez said: “The beatification of our brothers, Pedro de Corpa and Companions, stands as a profound message to the Church in America — that the love of Christ Jesus is more powerful than hatred. In every age, the use of force and violence are the weapons used by leaders to silence the Gospel of truth and peace. Such was the result for our friars four centuries ago in the present state of Georgia.”

Lopez said the Georgia Martyrs “invite all people of America to lay aside weapons of death and division. Their blood calls us to recommit to Jesus Christ’s Gospel of peaceful dialogue, mutual respect, and forgiveness in our families, country, and world.”

This story was updated at 5:34 p.m. ET on Sept. 28, 2026, to reflect the extended registration deadline, which is now Oct. 15 instead of Sept. 30.

The answer rests on the Churchʼs crucial distinction between the closed deposit of public revelation and the subordinate, pastoral role of private revelations.

The unrepeatable fullness of public revelation

A fundamental Catholic doctrine is the conviction that Godʼs self-communication reached its complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

As the Second Vatican Councilʼs Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, teaches, after speaking through the prophets, “in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son” (Heb 1:1-2). Christ is “the mediator and fullness of all revelation,” completing salvation through his words, deeds, death, and resurrection.

Consequently, the council declares that “no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This boundary is firm.

In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, the council reiterates that the faithful do not accept “a new public revelation as pertaining to the divine deposit of faith.”

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes, and as commentary surrounding the popeʼs visit has noted, the Church has not received a single new revealed truth since the death of the last apostle.

No vision or apparition in history adds a single word to what was handed down through the apostles (Nos. 65-67).

The nature and limits of private revelation

How, then, does the Church view the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes?

The Church categorizes events like Lourdes as “private revelation.”

According to the catechism, private revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church, "do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christʼs definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history” (CCC, No. 67).

Because private revelations do not form part of mandatory doctrine, no Catholic is obliged to believe in the apparitions of Lourdes.

Church approval does not elevate an apparition to the level of dogma. Rather, such revelations remain private, nonbinding, and matters of prudent belief.

Pastoral discernment: Testing the Spirit

To protect the faithful from credulity, the Church approaches claims of apparitions with strict vigilance.

Dei Verbum states that the Churchʼs teaching authority serves the word of God by “guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully” in accordance with its divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Similarly, in Lumen Gentium, the council notes that, regarding extraordinary gifts, “judgment as to their genuineness and proper use belongs to those who are appointed leaders in the Church,” whose task is “to test all things and hold fast to what is good” (No. 12).

This principle guided the Churchʼs evaluation of St. Bernadette Soubirous' reports of apparitions in 1858.

A four-year investigation examined Bernadetteʼs character, psychological state, doctrinal orthodoxy, and the spiritual fruits associated with the apparitions, including conversions and healings. In 1862, the local bishop concluded that the faithful were justified in believing the apparitions to be authentic.

Pointing back to the Gospel

Authentic apparitions never supplant Christ. Rather, they direct believers back to sacred Scripture and the sacraments.

In his homily at Lourdes, Pope Leo XIV observed: “This Sundayʼs readings touch on a central part of the message that the Virgin Mary entrusted to St. Bernadette: the call to conversion, both tender and urgent.”

Maryʼs statements to Bernadette, including “I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next” and “Penance! Penance! Penance!” echo the central demands of the Gospel, the pope said.

This understanding of Maryʼs role aligns with Lumen Gentium, which teaches that the “maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power” (No. 60).

The council adds that “all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure” (No. 60).

A signpost to eternal life

When Pope Leo XIV knelt at Massabielle as “a pilgrim among pilgrims,” he demonstrated the Churchʼs authentic approach to private revelation.

Popes do not go to Lourdes to seek new doctrine. Rather, they go to witness, as Pope Leo noted, how “the miracle of Lourdes is that it can awaken the joy of hope in the very midst of suffering and hardship.”

By affirming Lourdes without adding to revelation, the Church ensures that the grotto remains a signpost pointing souls back to the definitive word spoken in Jesus Christ.

“Giacomo was in the same room and saw him die. The documentary unflinchingly portrays that moment and the suffering it caused him, also aware that his own future is also marked by the disease. Yet, alongside death, there is also resurrection. In a way, that is the cross running through the entire story, because Giacomo finds the strength not to let himself be defeated and to keep moving forward,” Lia Beltrami, who co-directed the documentary with Ali Aksu, explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Giacomo Mattivi’s daily life

The production follows the daily life of this highly intelligent young man with exquisite sensitivity as he dreams of becoming a sociologist while not shying away from the progressive physical deterioration he has endured.

Over the course of more than two decades, the disease has caused him to lose much of his muscle strength. As a child, he could walk, but today he gets around in a wheelchair. He can barely move his hands and head, just enough to control the wheelchair. Furthermore, he needs to spend many hours connected to a ventilator.

The film “tells the story of a family raising two children with such a severe illness. The parents know their children’s lives will be marked by hardship and will likely be shorter. Even simple activities, like getting up in the morning, require hours of assistance,” Beltrami noted.

Faith and family: The only way to persevere

Despite the severity of the illness, Giacomo’s life is a testament to hope, which the documentary captures well by showing how faith has helped the family persevere. The young man is no longer afraid to face the end of his life head-on, and he has even found meaning in his brother’s death.

He is currently finishing his sociology studies and will dedicate his thesis to the subject of death. “He wants to talk about a reality that is taboo in our society, considering both what might lie beyond death and what happens before reaching it,” the Italian director explained.

The documentary was filmed in the Dolomites, the mountain range in northern Italy where Giacomo lives, and images of pine forests envelop the entire setting.

In fact, the title of the documentary, “Green Lava,” is no coincidence. “For Giacomo, the green of the pines is an essential pillar of his life, while the lava represents the force of a volcano. He feels like a volcano and needs that lava to remain forever alive, never to petrify,” Beltrami explained, evoking the idea that identity must undergo profound, sometimes strange and violent, changes in order to keep growing.

In Hollywood

Last week, the production was presented in Los Angeles as part of the process to qualify for Academy Award consideration. “Green Lava” was screened at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills, California, Sept. 18–24.

The film was produced by the Vatican through the company Emotions to Generate Change in collaboration with Vatican News and Vatican Media.

The initiative marks the first time a production linked to the Holy See has entered the Oscars competition. However, “Green Lava” will not compete officially representing the Vatican.

The Best Documentary Short Subject category allows for the entry of independent productions and does not require formal backing from a government or national committee.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Referring to the large presence of immigrants in Europe, Leo said: “We must grasp the historical significance of what is taking place, namely an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures, which calls us to rediscover our roots in new and creative ways, while at the same time listening carefully to others.”

“The universal character of Europe’s founding values assures us that this dialogue is possible and that it can provide a solid foundation for our societies, enabling us to work more effectively for peace and a reconciled world,” he said Sept. 28.

The pope also encouraged Europe to help migrants enter safely and legally and to integrate into the community “as if they were part of one’s own family.”

The pope addressed European leaders at the Robert Schuman Conference Center in Metz on the final day of his Sept. 25–28 visit to France. The title of the event was “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.”

Metz is a city just 27 miles from the Schengen tripoint, where the borders of Luxembourg, France, and Germany meet — an area rich in significance for European history.

The city is linked to Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who lived there and is buried nearby.

Schuman, a French statesman whose leadership was shaped by two world wars and by his Catholic faith, used politics to work for reconciliation among nations. He was declared “venerable” by Pope Francis in 2021 in recognition of his heroic virtues.

“Robert Schuman, who lived through a time of constantly shifting borders, helped to lay the foundations of a Europe that was aware of the urgent need to tear down the walls that were dividing it,” Leo said.

Schuman’s Christian formation, the pontiff continued, “taught him the value of equality, without distinction of race or social class, and the dignity of work. The succession of different national sovereignties taught him the importance of international law and the value of keeping one’s word. … Schuman committed himself to peace and fraternity among peoples who, after having been in conflict for so long, finally recognized their need for each other.”

Among those present in the 1,200-seat auditorium were the heads of the bishops’ conferences of Europe; abbots and abbesses of local monasteries; French President Emmanuel Macron; Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène of Monaco; Grand Duke Guillaume and Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg; Prime Minister Luc Frieden of Luxembourg; and Anke Rehlinger, minister president of Saarland in the Federal Republic of Germany.

In today’s multicultural context of Europe, Leo said, it is important to affirm the universal character of values such as those contained in the preamble of the Treaty on European Union: “the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law.”

Quoting Schuman, the pope said: “World peace cannot be safeguarded if constructive efforts are not made commensurate with the dangers that threaten it.”

In a closing message to the young people of Europe, he encouraged them to “take up with responsibility the task of promoting peace … Do not give in to the mentality of violence and oppression.”

“Love life at every moment, and do not be afraid of the future! Do not be afraid to start a family, to bring children into the world, to defend the dignity of every person, from the moment of conception to death,” he said.

Interreligious meeting

Earlier in the morning, Pope Leo met in another room of the conference center with the chief rabbi of France and representatives of Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians in France.

After a musical performance, an interreligious declaration was read and signed by the religious leaders present, including Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, president of the French bishops’ conference.

In his message to the assembly, Leo said the greatness of a religion is measured by the way it cares for and protects human beings, including the most vulnerable, from conception to death.

“If the fruitfulness of religious traditions is seen above all in their service of peace and fraternity, it is also expressed in their ability to protect, accompany, and serve life,” he said.

“The greatness of a civilization is not measured by its material achievements but by the way it cares for, protects, and upholds the human person,” the pope said, adding that “religions are guardians of life, for they affirm its sacred value.”

“For those of us who are open to transcendence, our mission is to offer sound points of reference, especially to young people, to help build a communion that respects and upholds the dignity of every human person,” he said.

The nearly two-hour encounter took place at the residence of the local bishop, where Leo is staying for his two nights at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, one of the victims, Jérôme Guillement, said: “There was something sincere about [Pope Leo]. With him, every word was carefully chosen; every word had meaning. … There were a lot of emotions.”

According to the Holy See Press Office, Leo spent an hour and a half speaking to the four men and three women individually, before addressing them as a group for about 20 minutes and “thanking them for their painful testimony and reaffirming his commitment to ensuring that the harm they experienced is not repeated for others.”

He “expressed his solidarity with them and, through them, with all those who have suffered and continue to suffer from the wounds of abuse,” the statement said.

Leo also prayed with some of the victims.

“I sensed that he was a man of commitment and also a man of resolve,” Olivier Mardi, one of the participants, said after the meeting. “He’s not fooled and knows that these events will continue and that we must remain vigilant… There was an emotional side to it, and at the same time something very powerful when he speaks.”

Five of the seven involved in the meeting revealed their identities ahead of the pope’s trip. Among them was Bertrand Virieux, a victim of ex-priest Bernard Preynat, who in 2020 was sentenced to five years in prison for assaults on young scouts in the Archdiocese of Lyon. Preynat died in 2024.

The Church in France has been grappling with the repercussions of abuse in the wake of an independent commission’s report that hundreds of thousands of children had been abused by clergy and religious over the past 70 years.

The Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) published a nearly 2,500-page final report in October 2021, estimating that 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons, monks, or nuns in France from 1950 to 2020.

It added that when abuse by lay Church workers was also taken into account, “the estimated number of child victims rises to 330,000 for the whole of the period.”

The victims were accompanied by Bishop Gérard Le Stang of Amiens, president of the Council for the Prevention and Combating of Pedophilia within the French bishops’ conference.

Guillement said Leo “felt that the Church in France still had a great deal of work to do” to prevent abuse.

“We talked about prevention as part of a cultural shift at all levels … There are different opinions, but from his perspective, there’s still a systemic dimension at play,” the man added.

According to Mardi, the pontiff “responded well to our very concrete proposals; he knows he has to work with us… He said we need to rekindle hope, and it takes serious commitment to make that happen.”

Pope Leo spoke about the clerical sexual abuse of minors in his address to the French bishops on the morning of Sept. 27.

“In recent years, you have faced with determination the painful scourge of abuse committed against minors by members of the clergy or in an ecclesial context,” he said.

The pontiff praised them for their courageous measures to listen, search for truth, justice, forgiveness, and making amends, as well as “a firm commitment to a culture of prevention and protection against these crimes.”

“You must continue along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance,” he said.

Before addressing the bishops, Leo stopped in front of a memorial for victims of child sexual abuse, featuring the brief reflection of an anonymous victim.

“[The victim] will come to understand that it was the entire culture of a system that sought to protect itself rather than protect him,” an inscription on the memorial reads. “And his turmoil continues to deepen around this question: Why can’t justice be done for him? It is so vital to him that he may finally find peace and that the tears of his childhood may cease to flow.”

At an open-air Mass later on Sunday morning, the pope seemed to allude to the clerical abuse crisis, saying in his homily that “in order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities, and painful errors that have occurred within [the Church], we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze. Recognizing our own faults is essential to our spiritual growth.”

The pope’s plans for a private conversation with victims ignited controversy among several abuse support groups in France who criticized the format of the meeting and the exclusion of victims’ organizations.

Asked about the criticism, Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo, the spokesman of the French bishops’ conference, told journalists that “there are many survivor groups … If all of them had been included or brought together, it would have been a very large format, and it would not have had the same impact.”

“What helps us most in accompanying victims is listening to them. And to do that, you cannot have 50 people sitting in front of you. That is really what the pope wanted,” Bozo said.

The Lourdes shrine was an evocative backdrop for the meeting with abuse victims, since it is among the first shrines to cover artwork by the accused sexual abuser Father Marko Rupnik, currently on trial at the Vatican.

Mosaics by Rupnik on the façade of the Basilica of the Rosary were covered ahead of Leo’s visit and will remain indefinitely hidden.

“It had come to carry such a symbolic burden for victims that, even though many of the people who come to Lourdes are not abuse victims, for those who are, something had to be done,” Bozo said.

“If it becomes so difficult for people to come to Lourdes, people who should have a privileged place there because they are suffering, then the situation is no longer acceptable,” the spokesman added. “So I think covering the mosaics is a first step. Afterward, something new will have to be proposed, perhaps a new work of art.”

As Leo prepares to reach Metz, at the crossroads of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, what message can he offer a continent increasingly torn between the Christian imperative to welcome the stranger and growing concerns over the social, cultural, and security consequences of mass immigration?

The balance is particularly difficult to strike, not least for a pope whose experience has been largely shaped by Latin America, where migration raises different demographic and civilizational challenges than in Europe. So far, he has combined strong continuity with Pope Francis’ defense of migrants and a more explicit recognition of the rights of nations, the demands of integration, and the concerns of receiving societies.

It is against this backdrop that Leo is traveling to Metz on Sept. 28 for an interreligious meeting, followed by an address on the “Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity” at the Robert Schuman Conference Centre. He already sent a strong international signal by visiting Maison Bakhita, a Paris center for migrants, on Sept. 26, just one day before the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

At Europe’s crossroads

More than a decade after the 2015 migration crisis, immigration has become one of the defining fault lines of European politics — and increasingly of European Catholicism itself.

That year alone, more than 1.2 million people applied for asylum in the European Union, and migration pressures have remained a major continental issue ever since, with political repercussions still unfolding.

In the weeks preceding Leo’s arrival in Metz, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) scored two historic victories in regional elections, while in France, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National is already well ahead of its rivals in polls for the 2027 presidential election.

The term “remigration” itself, once largely confined to fringe circles, has entered the European political vocabulary, as illustrated by the large-scale “Save Europe Act” campaign, which advocates an end to mass immigration and a policy of remigration. It has already gathered some 750,000 signatures and sparked a confrontation with the European Commission over its attempted registration as a European Citizens’ Initiative.

These mounting tensions are increasingly reflected within the Church itself. While identitarian Catholic voices and platforms have gained visibility on social media, much of the Catholic hierarchy has continued to place strong emphasis on the duty to welcome migrants.

In Germany, Catholic bishops have also repeatedly warned against the AfD and the growing appeal of “remigration,” while Cardinal Gerhard Müller, following the party’s historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt this month, accused bishops of misusing their spiritual authority by intervening in partisan politics and thereby alienating Catholic AfD voters.

In Italy, meanwhile, Archbishop Giancarlo Perego, head of the bishops’ migration commission, recently accused Giorgia Meloni’s government of placing “borders before people.”

France has been marked by equally heated Catholic debates on the issue over the past decade.

In “Église et immigration: le grand malaise,” published in 2017, conservative writer Laurent Dandrieu accused Church leaders of reducing Catholic teaching to an almost exclusive imperative of welcome while neglecting the major upheavals experienced by local communities.

More recently, Father Benoist de Sinety, in “La Cause du Christ,” attacked the opposite temptation of instrumentalizing Christianity in the service of identitarian politics.

A column published this month in La Nef magazine challenged what it regarded as a false choice between Christian hospitality and attachment to one’s cultural inheritance.

A ‘rupture’ with the previous pontificate?

Pope Leo, however, seems sensitive to the nuances demanded by this growing polarization. While maintaining the firm defense of migrants that characterized Francis’ pontificate, he has also given unusual prominence to the responsibilities of migrants and the legitimate concerns of the societies that receive them.

Barely a month after his election, Leo prayed at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit might “open borders, break down walls,” and overcome the “logic of exclusion” of political nationalisms. Yet, while supporting the U.S. bishops’ opposition to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies last November, he stated unequivocally that “every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” rejecting the idea that states should have open borders.

This drive for balance was reaffirmed during his visit to the Canary Islands in June, when he invoked the “right not to have to migrate,” warned against the creation of “parallel worlds,” and asserted that host societies must be able to welcome newcomers without “diluting their identity.”

This language has led some Catholic observers, including French Vatican analyst Jean-Marie Guénois, to speak of a “rupture” with his predecessor on immigration. But his approach appears less a break than an attempt to better articulate a tension already present in Catholic doctrine.

A delicate balance

Indeed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself holds together principles that are often separated in today’s debate. It asks wealthier nations to welcome foreigners seeking security and vital resources “to the extent they are able,” while affirming that political authorities may regulate immigration for the sake of the common good. Migrants, in turn, are called to respect the laws as well as the “material and spiritual heritage” of their host country (No. 2241).

The Catholic Church therefore establishes moral obligations without prescribing minimum or maximum thresholds. Such teaching inevitably requires prudential judgments concerning integration, security, social cohesion, and the common good — precisely the areas over which Catholics today are most deeply divided.

At a time when Europe’s migration debate is hardening and divisions are deepening to the point of threatening the unity of the Church, the question is no longer simply whether Catholics should welcome the stranger or defend the continuity of nations and cultures. It is whether the Church can speak credibly both to Europeans who feel dispossessed of their future and to the migrant who, more often than not, does not know Christ.

Leo’s address at the “Roots of Europe” conference may offer a first indication of how he intends to navigate between these two realities in an increasingly tense European context.

“I know that for some of you, because of particular illnesses and, at times, terrible pain, your horizon may appear dark, uncertain, and without hope. But no human law should ever make you lose the certainty of your dignity,” the pope said during a meeting with about 5,000 sick people and caregivers at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on Sept. 27.

“It is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion,” the pontiff added to loud applause. “It is impossible to regard causing death as something normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral.”

The popeʼs remarks on end-of-life concerns were met with applause and shouts of “Bravo.”

France legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia this summer, becoming the fifth European country to do so after Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain. In addition, Switzerland and Austria permit assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is the intentional ending of a person’s life to relieve suffering. It differs from assisted dying, in which the patient takes life-ending drugs himself, under a physician’s guidance. Both practices are prohibited by Catholic teaching.

Leo met Sept. 27 with staff and sick guests of the Accueil Notre-Dame (Notre Dame Home), a residential accommodation classified as a healthcare facility, which hosts sick, disabled, and frail pilgrims to Lourdes.

The Catholic shrine is one of the most visited in the world, drawing more than 3 million people every year, many in search of miraculous physical healing.

The 136-acre property includes the Grotto of Massabielle, where a young St. Bernadette Soubirous saw 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary starting on Feb. 11, 1858. Today, pilgrims to the sanctuary bathe themselves in the freshwater spring Mary revealed to Bernadette.

Visitors have reported 7,000 healings since the apparitions; after lengthy investigations, the Church has declared that 72 of the recoveries were miraculous, meaning unexplainable by science.

“Here in Lourdes, the city of the sick and of hope, I appeal to the entire healthcare community to remember the profound meaning of your vocation, which is to care for a suffering person, not to eliminate that person,” Pope Leo said.

He encouraged healthcare workers to be “passionate servants of life” and cited his speech to the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation in June, in which he said "no one ever has the right, “on the basis of laboratory algorithms, to decide the life of a given embryo or elderly person! Medicine must never become the servant of programmed death!”

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Earlier in the morning, the pope addressed the French bishops’ conference, praising the bishops’ courage in opposing the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

“I encourage you to persevere, together with all people of goodwill who uphold the same values,” he told the bishops.

In his remarks to the sick and caregivers, Leo called for structures for palliative care and urged the healthcare field to accompany the sick with the same tenderness they receive in Lourdes.

“Doctors, nurses, stretcher-bearers, chaplains, pastoral teams serving the sick, and so many others live out their vocation in the service of the dignity of the human person, so that the world may have life,” he said.

“Dear brothers and sisters who are sick,” he concluded, “I want to tell you that you are not a burden. You are the beating heart of our humanity and a precious treasure for the Church. I carry in my prayers the trials you are going through.”

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Immediately after the meeting, the pope walked next door to greet the Discalced Carmelite nuns whose monastery faces the grotto of the apparitions from across the river Gave de Pau. The contemplative monastery was founded in 1876, just 18 years after Mary appeared to St. Bernadette.

Rosary procession

The pope concluded his visit to Lourdes with a torchlight rosary procession from the Grotto of Massabielle to the forecourt of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.

“We are gathered this evening to respond to the request that Our Lady addressed to the priests through St. Bernadette: ‘People should come here in procession,’” Leo said at the procession’s end.

“How moving it is to see the faithful from one generation to the next respond with love and trust to the tender invitation of the Virgin Mary. … I give thanks to the Lord that I, too, may respond this evening to the call of our Mother, becoming a pilgrim among pilgrims.”

Pope Leo said those who are sick “are privileged witnesses to this transfiguration of our lives through faith and love of God and neighbor.”

“It is indeed necessary to come here and take part in this procession with you, dear brothers and sisters who are ill, in order to experience this full reality,” he added. “As Pope Pius XII wrote: ‘No one has ever seen such a procession of suffering in one spot on earth, never such radiance of peace, serenity, and joy.’”

The pontiff called it a miracle to find “serenity and joy amidst suffering.”

“God grants us the grace to perceive the life-giving presence of the risen Christ among us. He enables us to look beyond our earthly horizon towards a more distant future, a future of immeasurable happiness in God,” he said.

Federica Postiglione has volunteered for 30 years with UNITALSI, an Italian organization that arranges pilgrimages for sick and disabled people. Leo’s visit to Lourdes coincided with the organization’s national pilgrimage, which brought about 4,000 people to the shrine this year.

“The pilgrimage in itself is already truly a gift and a grace,” Postiglione, who is from Naples, Italy, told EWTN News. “Coming to Lourdes … with the pope, was very, very beautiful.”

She said it was wonderful to experience the anticipation that the pilgrims in their group felt as they waited to see Pope Leo in his encounter with the sick and their caregivers.

Her favorite moment was seeing how, “despite the fences, he wanted to meet and greet some of the sick people.”

Virginia Wildemann, a pilgrim from Long Island, New York, participating in the rosary procession, said she had experienced illness and “wanted to come here and I wanted to bathe myself in the holy water, and it’s a shame because we can’t do that because the pope is here, and being that he’s here, everything is closed — the grotto, the baths — but I was able to get some holy water, which is fantastic.”

Wildemann said she absorbed the pope’s message that “we have to stay together, pray together, love one another, be kind to one another, and that’s what Jesus wants of us — to love your neighbors as you love yourself.”

Ron Denissen, a pilgrim from Delaware, said when his parish group booked the trip to Lourdes, he didn’t know the pope would be visiting the Marian pilgrimage site at the same time. Denissen said he stood along the road near his hotel as the pope passed in a motorcade.

“And as he was coming by, I yelled, ‘Go Bears!’ because he’s a Chicago fan,” referring to the Chicago Bears football team, Denissen said. “And he was looking away, but then he looked over at me and waved, and I got a picture of him up close, personal, looking at me and waving. So that was pretty special.”

This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 27, 2026, to include reporting on the torchlight rosary procession.

In an interview with ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, Warda said education, professional formation, and sustainable employment have become essential to strengthening Christian communities at a time when economic pressures continue to weigh heavily on young Iraqis.

The challenge is particularly significant for Christians because their numbers have declined considerably in recent decades, leaving smaller communities more vulnerable to economic pressures.

Speaking at the Catholic University of Erbil, Warda pointed to the structure of Iraq’s economy as part of the problem. Government spending and public-sector employment continue to play an outsized role, while the private sector has yet to generate enough sustainable jobs to meet the needs of a young and growing workforce.

A difficult transition from education to employment

World Bank data indicate that the country’s unemployment rate stands at 15.5%, while labor force participation is around 38%.

Demographics add another layer to the challenge: Iraqis between the ages of 15 and 29 make up approximately 29% of the population, placing continued pressure on the labor market.

The countryʼs heavy dependence on oil also affects its ability to generate employment. Oil accounted for approximately 88% of government revenue and 91% of merchandise exports in 2025, leaving the economy exposed to fluctuations in energy prices and revenues.

Against that backdrop, Warda said preparing young people for employment requires more than helping them earn university degrees. Education, he said, must also provide the practical and professional skills needed in an increasingly competitive labor market, particularly as opportunities for government employment become more limited.

He pointed to university students who take night jobs to finance their education as an example of both the pressures facing young Iraqis and their determination to pursue a future through work.

For Warda, their experience also demonstrates that young people are prepared to take responsibility when meaningful opportunities are available.

Moving beyond emergency assistance

Warda praised the support that Aid to the Church in Need provides through scholarships but said the challenge does not end when students graduate.

Helping young Christians move from education into employment, he said, must become a greater priority for the Church and other institutions seeking to sustain Iraqʼs Christian presence.

That requires a broader change in approach: from responding primarily to immediate needs to creating the conditions in which families and young people can become economically independent.

Warda called for greater investment in people, professional formation, employment, and projects capable of strengthening the private sector and providing young Iraqis with viable alternatives to dependence on government jobs.

The Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil has sought to follow that model through a network of educational, academic, healthcare, media, and humanitarian institutions.

Creating opportunities through Church institutions

Warda said institutions connected to the archdiocese currently employ approximately 950 people from different communities and backgrounds without discrimination. Yet he raised the question of whether even that number is enough when measured against the scale of the economic challenges facing Iraqi society and, in particular, its Christian communities.

For Warda, expanding sustainable employment will require partnerships and investment beyond what Church institutions can accomplish on their own.

He argued that the Churchʼs response should therefore be rooted not simply in charitable assistance but in justice, human dignity, and empowerment.

The ultimate purpose of assistance, he said, should be to give people the skills and opportunities they need to support themselves and their families rather than allowing short-term assistance to become a source of permanent dependence.

For Iraqʼs Christians, that approach places economic opportunity alongside education as an important part of the effort to preserve a living Christian presence in the country, one in which young people can see a future for themselves and their families in their homeland.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Mary’s call to conversion in her message to St. Bernadette “also concerns the Church herself as she makes her earthly journey. She must have the courage to begin with herself,” he said at Mass on Sept. 27.

“In order to heal the deep wounds, infidelities and painful errors that have occurred within her, we must humbly place ourselves under the Lord’s purifying gaze. Recognizing our own faults is essential to our spiritual growth,” the pontiff said.

In 2021, the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) published a nearly 2,500-page final report, estimating that 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons, monks, or nuns in France from 1950 to 2020.

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Leo is scheduled to meet later on Sunday with seven victims of clerical sexual abuse in France.

Lourdes is an evocative backdrop to the private meeting, since it is among the first shrines to cover artwork by the accused sexual abuser Father Marko Rupnik, currently on trial at the Vatican.

Rupnik’s mosaics decorating the front of the Basilica of the Rosary were covered ahead of Leo’s visit and will remain covered indefinitely, according to the local bishop.

The pope celebrated Mass on a prairie across the river Gave de Pau from the grotto of the apparitions on the third day of his Sept. 25-28 visit to France.

Pilgrims from France and around the world gathered on the grassy hill and along the streets of the shrine. Some waved flags or held banners of sacred images. A number of pilgrims arrived in wheelchairs. Around 150,000 people attended the Mass, according to the Vatican.

Claire Banks, a nurse from the UK, said she has traveled over 100 times to Lourdes.

“It was too good of an opportunity to miss coming here and seeing the pope. I think he’s wonderful,” she told EWTN News. She described an “electric atmosphere” at the shrine since Leo’s arrival.

Libby Frank, another Mass attendee, is also from the UK, but has lived in Lourdes for 40 years. She recently retired after working for a charity that brings sick people to the shrine.

“I worked for three papal visits and now I’ve come to one papal visit to enjoy it with my family and friends and just be part of the community,” she said, referencing two visits by St. Pope John Paul II in 1983 and 2004, and one by Pope Benedict in 2008.

“There’s been a phenomenal amount of excitement locally waiting for Leo to come visit. The town [of Lourdes] has really gotten behind everything that’s happening,” she said.

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The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is among the most popular Catholic shrines in the world, built on the site of Mary’s apparitions to St. Bernadette in 1858. It is particularly visited by the sick, who come to bathe in or drink its healing spring water.

In his homily, Pope Leo noted that a “call to conversion, both tender and urgent,” was a central part of the message the Virgin Mary entrusted to Bernadette, and that “it is today, not tomorrow, that we must repent.”

He said Jesus is quite direct about the call to repentance: “As St. Luke tells us, ‘Unless you repent, you will all perish.’ But he also extends our horizon beyond this earthly life to the horizon of eternal life.”

“Did not the Virgin Mary say to St. Bernadette, ‘I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the next’?” Leo said.

The pope noted that we can often forget this in an age and society focused on progress and material wellbeing.

Eternal life is already won for us by Jesus’ sacrifice, he continued, but “the obstacle to grace and eternal life — the only obstacle to this love — is sin.”

The Holy Father called everyone to do penance, an act of love for God and for our brothers and sisters, “who do not heed this call to conversion, and whose sins lead them towards death.”

“We want to make amends for the wounds our sins have dealt to [God’s] heart,” he said.

Addressing the many sick, elderly, and disabled people present at the Mass, Leo said their suffering, if lived in a “spirit of offering,” can take part “in the redemptive work that the world so greatly needs.”

“In this way, you are truly at the heart of the Church, and your role is irreplaceable,” he said.

“In the face of current trends that seek to redefine the value of human life in illness, suffering and old age, the grotto of Massabielle stands as a place of Christian hope,” he said. “Here, no one is turned away due to their frailty.”

Earlier in the morning, Leo met with France’s bishops at the shrine, where he praised their courage in opposing the recent legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the country.

“I encourage you to persevere, together with all people of good will who uphold the same values,” he told the bishops’ conference.

At the end of Mass, before praying the Angelus, the pope invited those present to pray the rosary for peace, and to offer concrete acts of penance and mercy.

“It was here that the Immaculate Virgin appeared to St. Bernadette with the rosary and, as it were, guided her in prayer,” he said. “For this reason, today I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy rosary throughout the coming month of October, with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.”

Elliot Hartley contributed to this report.

This story was updated at 7:14 a.m. ET with more information about the Mass and the pope’s meeting with bishops.

He then made his way to Place de la Concorde, where he greeted a crowd of more than 800,000 people and celebrated Mass. He then ended the evening at the Lourdes shrine, where he led a short prayer service before spending several minutes in private prayer.

Here’s a recap of the pope’s day in photos:

The combined parish of St. Mary in El Paso, Illinois — where Sheen was baptized — and St. John in Benson, Illinois, will be the first parish in the world to be named after the new blessed. While the buildings themselves will retain their original names, the new parish name will take effect on Dec. 9, Sheen’s feast day, Tylka said.

“This has been a remarkable week of firsts for the Diocese of Peoria and the universal Catholic Church,” Tylka said in a statement released later on Sept. 26. “We have celebrated Archbishop Fulton Sheen becoming the first American-born bishop to be declared Blessed. For the first time, we have heard his name invoked as a Blessed in the Eucharistic Prayer. For the first time, we have prayed the Collect given to the Church for his feast. And today, I have the great joy of announcing another first: the establishment of the first parish in the world named Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish.”

The Sept. 26 Mass — celebrated by Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, who was baptized as a baby by Sheen — was one of many celebrated in thanksgiving for the beatification of Sheen, who was declared “blessed” on Sept. 24 in St. Louis.

“There is something profoundly fitting about this new parish carrying his name,” Tylka continued in the statement. “It was at St. Mary Church in El Paso that Fulton John Sheen was baptized. There, his life in Christ began. From those waters of Baptism flowed a remarkable life of faith, priesthood, preaching, teaching, missionary discipleship and evangelization that eventually touched millions of people around the world.”

A person must be proclaimed “blessed” by the Church before a parish can be named after him or her, Tylka explained to EWTN News’ Mark Irons on Saturday outside of St. Mary’s Church. Tylka said he signed the decree to name the parish after Sheen on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after Sheen’s beatification.

“It’s great,” Tylka said when asked by Irons what he thought about having the parish named after Sheen. “This is where he was baptized, this parish church — which will still be St. Mary’s Church, but it is St. Mary’s Church of Blessed Fulton Sheen Parish — to know that connection, that we’re continuing on that faith that God has given to us that he witnessed so well, just immense pride and certainly for the folks here … to be able to know that theirs is the first parish to ever honor the blessed.”

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Sheen, despite his humble origins in small-town Illinois, aspired to great things as an academic and as a communicator of the Catholic faith. On Thursday, before a crowd of more than 50,000 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, the farm-boy-turned-mass-media star was declared “blessed” after the reading of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Midwesterner.

Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.

Sheen was born in Illinois in 1895 and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He later became an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York and then bishop of Rochester, New York.

His international fame was largely due to his ability to use the new forms of media of his time to proclaim the Catholic faith.

Through his television program “Life Is Worth Living,” first broadcast during the 1950s, Sheen brought reflections on faith, morality, and the meaning of life into millions of homes, becoming one of the most recognizable Catholic figures on American television.

Mark Irons and Jonah McKeown contributed to this report.

This story was updated at 4:02 p.m. ET on Sept. 26, 2026, with the statement from the Diocese of Peoria/Bishop Tylka and comments to Mark Irons.

Among them will be a 27-year-old woman who will attend alongside a group of Cistercian nuns, hoping the visit will confirm the call to contemplative life she has felt since returning to the faith during the COVID-19 crisis. 

It is no coincidence that Yohanna, a sign-language interpreter for deaf people, has chosen Lourdes to mark this new beginning after years of volunteering with people with disabilities. It is a few dozen miles from here, at the Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Boulaur, one of the strongholds of monastic renewal in France, that her vocation took shape. And it is to join this community as an aspirant that she quit her job in Paris, just in time not to miss the Holy Father’s visit.

Her story reflects a broader generational movement in France, where adult baptisms reached a new record this year, driven largely by young adults. 

‘I wanted to give God everything’

But Yohanna’s story is a singular testament to divine grace. Placed in foster care at the age of 4, she grew up far from any religious practice in a life marked early on by bereavement and solitude.

Like so many of her generation, she first went looking for answers in the spiritual movements close to the New Age that flourish among young French people — an exploration that left its mark, literally, in the tattoos she still carries. She evokes these wanderings today with a smile rather than regret, for it was through them, she believes, that she eventually found her way back to God.

That way opened in the spring of 2020, in a university residence emptied by the first COVID-19 lockdown.

“All the students had left, and it felt a bit like the end of the world,” she recalled. “I had nothing; I had no one. And suddenly there was this thought of God that took hold of me. I became really eager to know more about him.”

She began learning how to pray through online resources and quickly made prayer part of her daily life. Once the lockdown was lifted, she developed a taste for stepping into every church she encountered to pray alone, while avoiding Masses, since she didn’t know any of the customs. The turning point came in 2023, when she moved to Paris and walked into a church on a weekday, just as a Mass was beginning.

“I didn’t even know there was a consecration, although it is the heart of the Catholic Mass. But I spent that whole celebration crying at the back of the church,” she remembered. “And at the end I said to the Lord: OK, I’ve understood. Now I want to give you everything, really everything, my whole life. Do what you want with me. And from that moment on, everything changed.”

After settling in a parish in Paris’s 10th arrondissement, she undertook a period of catechetical formation and received the sacrament of confirmation.

During the National Pilgrimage each August, she serves as an interpreter for deaf-blind pilgrims — an experience that transformed her understanding of the sanctuary. “The real miracle of Lourdes,” she said, “is perhaps simply that we all end up together.”

Her conversion was followed by the call to consecrated life almost immediately, but she was determined not to rush her decision, having been warned that new converts “might be very enthusiastic and immediately think of consecrated life, only to give it up quickly.”

An unexpected call

Guided by her parish priest and the vocations service of the Archdiocese of Paris, she began discerning with apostolic sisters, cloistered life being the last thing on her mind. “Given my personal background, I had enormous clichés about monastic life,” she said. “I imagined all sorts of old-fashioned things.”

It was in the middle of a difficult university year, at the end of December 2024, that she first went to the Cistercian abbey of Boulaur, simply because she “had always heard that monasteries were a good place to rest and get some air.” She has returned every holiday since. When the sisters offered her a stay inside the enclosure, she accepted with the thought that it would only confirm her prejudices.

“I thought that going inside the cloister for the first time would help me understand that this was not my path at all, and that would settle it,” she said. “But when I experienced the cloister for the first time, it was incredible. I felt completely in my place.”

“The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves,” she continued. “Sometimes he leads us to things that at first seem absurd, and afterward you realize that it fits perfectly.”

At the 2025 Jubilee of Youth in Rome, she encountered the universal Church for the first time among thousands of young people “so different from each other, and all there for the Lord.” That experience now shapes her expectations for Leo’s visit to a France witnessing record numbers of adult baptisms. 

Reflecting on the pope’s forthcoming visit to Lourdes, which Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes has described as that of “a simple pilgrim,” she said: “Pope Leo knows what is happening in our country, and I’m sure his words will help us on our way.” The official program already includes a special prayer for France, asking the Virgin Mary for the renewal of Christian families and the flourishing of vocations, “especially priestly and religious.”

Yohanna’s own vocation initially alarmed her foster parents. But faced with her perseverance and joy, they agreed to drive her to Boulaur themselves, giving them an opportunity to meet the sisters and discover the life she is preparing to embrace. From there, they will travel together to Lourdes for the pope’s visit.

“It will be a chance for them to meet the sisters and to see what a monastery really is, not just what people imagine,” she said. “That’s already a big step.”

Her aspirancy, the first step on the long road to the novitiate, is to last until June. She said her heart is “completely open” to what it will reveal. “If God calls me there, I’ll be so happy that I’ll offer him a big yes, with all my heart.”

Local authorities estimated the size of the crowd at 800,000, the Vatican said.

Six young men with Down syndrome were among the many altar servers assisting Leo during the celebration Sept. 26.

Numerous families with children sprawled on picnic blankets, babies slept in strollers, and gray-haired women sat in camp chairs as they waited for Mass to start.

Some Catholics described waiting four to five hours to try to catch a glimpse of Leo as he drove nearly two miles down the Avenue of Champs-Élysées in the popemobile on his way from the Arche de Triomphe to the altar at the Place de la Concorde. Priests heard confessions on the sidewalk along the famous avenue.

Once the site of one of the guillotines that decapitated more than 1,000 people during the French Revolution, including King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, the square was bathed in sunlight, the thick clouds of the morning having parted only 10 minutes before the start of Mass.

Jean Noizet, his parents, and five siblings ages 9 to 22 were among those who waited hours along the route for the papal Mass, traveling in from a Paris suburb.

The 15-year-old said his family wanted to show their unity with “all the Catholic Church.”

“From this beautiful city of Paris, I pray fervently that the living water of the Holy Spirit may flow throughout France,” Leo said in his homily.

“Seeing you gathered here … heirs to France’s long and beautiful history of faith, I say to you: Drink from the source that is the pierced heart of Jesus,” he said.

“Yes, you thirst for God, for life, for truth, for unity, for peace, for communion, and for happiness. You long to rediscover a horizon filled with light and to build a renewed nation upon roots nourished by faith.”

Thibault Lecauchois left home at 9 a.m. to travel two hours into the city for the Mass. He and his wife brought their 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son to see Pope Leo.

He told EWTN News the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the pope in Paris was worth the challenges of the journey and waiting hours with two young children.

“We wanted the kids to have the blessing of the pope, and we wanted to share the moment with the rest of the community of Catholics,” he said, noting that his daughter was delighted and shouted “Pape Leon” when she saw him.

With tired kids, he was unsure they would be able to stay for the entire Mass, which started at 3 p.m. local time.

“I think he’s a pope of hope. I think a message of peace is very important nowadays, and Iʼm eager for him to show it to the rest of the world. And I think Paris is a very good place to do so.”

Lourdes

Following the Mass, Pope Leo embarked on the second leg of his trip, flying to Lourdes, at the foot of the Pyrénées in southwest France, where he will spend a day and half in prayer at the shrine where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world, draws more than 3 million people every year — many in search of miraculous physical healing.

The 136-acre property includes the Grotto of Massabielle, where a young St. Bernadette Soubirous saw 18 apparitions of the Virgin Mary starting on Feb. 11, 1858. Today, pilgrims to the sanctuary drink and bathe in the healing water Mary revealed to Bernadette.

Pope Leo XIV arrived Saturday evening at the Lourdes shrine, which was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with cheering pilgrims from France and around the world.

His first stop was to the grotto of the apparitions for a brief prayer service, which began with a moment of private prayer. The loud and excited crowds fell completely silent as Leo knelt in prayer for nearly four minutes.

Leo touched the rock of the grotto and drank a glass of the shrine’s spring water. He placed a lit candle before the statue of the Virgin Mary.

“We pray to you, our Mother, for France, for you are her patroness and have protected her for so many centuries,” the pontiff prayed aloud.

“May the most disadvantaged and the poorest always be supported,” he said. “Obtain for France wise and generous leaders, ready to make sacrifices, capable of responding to challenges, and eager to serve the common good. May they keep France at peace within the family of nations, and may they make her voice heard in promoting the defense of fundamental human rights and peace in the world, rejecting the mentality of war once and for all.”

“Mother full of love, we entrust to you our most urgent personal intentions, especially those of the sick and suffering, as well as all those who accompany them, who have come together to find strength and healing at the spring of Massabielle,” Leo said.

He then honored the statue of the Immaculate Conception with a Golden Rose — one of the highest distinctions a pope can bestow upon a Marian image or shrine.

“We’re social beings, so we want to join communities … where we can be our authentic selves,” said Joseph McInerney, the Knights’ chief strategy adviser and senior vice president for leader development.

The symposium, sponsored in part by the Knights, was focused on problems faced by young American men in 2026. The symposium focused primarily on public policy solutions advanced by both Republicans and Democrats but also included talks unrelated to government, such as McInerney’s, which was about the role of fraternal community in helping strengthen men.

Other conference sponsors included the Institute for Family Studies, the National Parents Organization, and the Men’s Health Network.

Although the Knights are known for being popular with older, retired men, McInerney noted significant growth in recent years with young men on college campuses and those who recently entered the workforce. He pointed out that men who are under 35 are the organization’s fastest-growing membership segment, and there are now more than 300 active college Knights councils, with nearly half of those in the United States.

“The lifeblood of the Knights is young men,” McInerney said, adding that “it’s a place where they can … spend time with other men — their peers — and that, frankly, is very powerful.”

McInerney pitched fraternal communities as a means to combat male loneliness and isolation but also to build up men into leaders and “better themselves so they can be better husbands, fathers, … and members of their community.”

Warning against isolation, which McInerney said is amplified through the internet and media, he said: “We’re not made for that.” Rather, “we’re made for rich and beautiful relationships with the people that we love.”

Although the broader symposium was not primarily focused on matters of faith, McInerney said a major attraction of the Knights for young men is faith formation. He referenced in particular the Knights’ Cor program, which develops small groups for men focused on prayer, formation, and fraternity. The Knights also run the McGivney Fellowship, which is a two-year leadership formation program.

“They become good people,” McInerney said of the goals of the Knights’ programs. “They become people who are worthy of trust, and those are the type of people we want to lead us.”

Speaking to EWTN News after his talk, McInerney noted that the uniqueness of the Knights of Columbus is that it is a Catholic fraternal organization that is also focused on serving others through charity, which he sees as another attraction for young men.

“We want to help people spiritually, but we also have this mandate to serve,” he said. “Thatʼs why we exist, [it] is to help other people. And so, when you join the group, thatʼs kind of part of the package deal that we offer.”

“Itʼs natural if youʼre working on your spiritual life, you want to share the grace that youʼre receiving in your relationship with God,” McInerney said.

McInerney said Catholic men who wish to join can visit their website and get connected to a local council.

“Whatever councilʼs closest to you, weʼll get that person in contact,” he said. “And then whatʼs most important. … Entry might be online there, but whatʼs most important is then getting that man in touch with a man face-to-face.”

“It may seem paradoxical that this phenomenon … is taking place against the backdrop of a society like that of France, which is marked by a deeply secularized culture,” the pope said at the Catholic Institute of Paris on Sept. 26.

According to Franceʼs national demographic institute, more than half of French adults report no religious affiliation. While 29% of the population identifies as Catholic, the survey found only 8% say they go to Church regularly.

Despite this, the Catholic Church continues to see record-breaking numbers of baptisms every year. In 2026, France recorded more than 20,000 adult and adolescent baptisms, a 20% increase from the already record-high number in 2025, which saw a 45% increase from 2024 figures.

The pope said people approach the Church for a variety of reasons, from a search for meaning to personal hardship.

The Church must welcome newcomers while helping them embrace the demands of Christian life, he said.

Leo visited the Catholic university hall where the new Provincial Ecclesial Assembly of Île-de-France will hold its three sessions beginning in mid-October.

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris said in his welcoming remarks that more than 350 people from eight dioceses of the Province of Paris and the Military Ordinariate will meet for a synodal discussion on “Catechumens and Neophytes: New Perspectives for the Life of Our Church in Our Dioceses.”

Ulrich noted that 45,000 people responded in the assembly’s consultation phase.

“This renewed request for the sacraments of Christian initiation has come as a surprise to us, and we see in it the work of the Lord,” the archbishop said.

Leo said the increase in baptisms should be welcomed as the work of the Holy Spirit.

Calling the sustained growth in conversions “God’s surprising work,” Leo encouraged the Church in Paris to ask where the Holy Spirit is leading them with regard to accompanying new Catholics and seekers.

He told catechumens and newly baptized Catholics that they represented hope for the future of the Church in France.

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New Catholic 22-year-old Loïs Barbichon told EWTN News that he came to faith during the COVID-19 pandemic, “largely through reading.”

“I felt kind of an inner impulse, a desire to be baptized and to learn more.” He was baptized at the Easter Vigil in 2023, and now he accompanies other young people entering the Church.

“Now the goal is to ensure that each newly baptized person finds a mission so that they do not feel abandoned by the community but rather find their place within it,” he said. “Today, I am mainly involved in the Scripture readings at Mass, and I am very happy about that.”

About Pope Leo’s visit to France, Barbichon, who is studying history, heritage, and museum studies, said “it is very important that he be able to speak to young people.”

Sister Christine Kohler will participate in the assembly as a representative of men and women religious in France.

She is superior general of the Little Sisters of the Gospel and lives in the Diocese of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris sometimes described as a “quartier sensibile” (vulnerable neighborhood).

“At Easter, we baptized 20 people during the Easter Vigil in a single parish in the Diocese of Saint-Denis,” she told EWTN News. “I think there were more than 500 in total across the diocese. This is something that raises many questions for us. How is it that adults and teenagers, sometimes 18 years old and sometimes 70, are saying, ‘I would like to become a Christian?’”

Kohler said many newcomers arrive after asking questions about meaning, suffering, and God.

One change the sister has seen in France in the last 15 years is a greater missionary impulse among local Catholics.

“It is no longer simply: ‘I live my faith and I live it within my parish.’ There is now this desire to share it, to become missionary disciples … this desire to bear witness and to say, ‘This is what gives us life.’”

She said she hoped the assembly would help the Church become more welcoming to newcomers.

In her opinion, the pope’s presence Saturday morning may have arisen not only from a desire to encourage the synodal assembly but also to listen and understand more about the “people who are questioning, searching, and wanting to become Christians.”

During the event, a catechumen (baptized but not yet confirmed), a new Catholic, and a director of Christian initiation spoke about their experiences to Pope Leo.

New Catholic Marielle described the challenge of finding one’s place in the community after formally entering the Church. A young man, Jaoide, shared about the winding path he took to get to his baptism last year. He said his journey began when he read both the Quran and the New Testament.

“I was struck by the figure of Jesus,” he said, “above all, by his determination to show us the example through his life and through the trials he endured to the very end.”

40 Days for Life is a pro-life group that leads prayer vigils outside abortion clinics across the U.S. and around the world. The group prioritizes prayer and fasting, nonstop prayer vigils, and community outreach. The group’s most well-known event is likely its Lenten vigil campaign, but 40 Days for Life operates year-round.

For the current campaign, the group will rally against abortion pills, according to Shawn Carney, president and CEO of 40 Days for Life.

“We are saving more babies from abortion pills than ever before by offering abortion pill reversal,” Carney told EWTN News. “We are also going on offense with a national billboard campaign that warns against the abortion pill and offers abortion pill reversal — including in some of the most pro-abortion cities in the country, like San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Boston.”

When asked about what inspires people to join 40 Days for Life, Carney highlighted how the group saves lives.

“There is very little you can do in life that will literally save the life of another human being,” he said. “There is nothing like it, and it is beautiful to see that it has been done nearly 27,000 times.”

“People get involved in 40 Days for Life because it is proven,” Carney continued. “It is proven to be peaceful. It is proven to deepen our spiritual lives. And it is proven to save babies.”

“We have not only saved babies, but helped their mothers with medical care and follow-up,” Carney said. “Former Planned Parenthood workers have said the no-show rate for an abortion appointment can go as high as 75% when we are outside praying.”

Local leaders can volunteer to help lead vigils in their communities.

“One of the most beautiful things about 40 Days for Life is how many babies are born and named after the local 40 Days for Life leader — and in some cases, that local leader becomes the child’s godfather or godmother,” Carney said.

“It is beautiful, and it is one of the reasons demand for 40 Days for Life is at an all-time high,” he said.

Man who poisoned pregnant girlfriend, killing baby, sentenced to six months

An Ohio man, Hassan-James Abbas, was sentenced to six months in prison after he allegedly forced abortion pills into his pregnant girlfriend’s mouth in December 2024.

Jona Affholder was hospitalized and ultimately lost her baby.

Pro-life leader Marjorie Dannenfelser spoke out against the short sentence, saying U.S. law is behind on abortion poisonings, in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“The fact that this guy got only six months in prison for his crime says a lot about the state of our culture right now,” Dannenfelser said. “This was a very much wanted pregnancy. She could support the baby on her own and didnʼt need his help. But he had other ideas in mind.”

Virginians on both sides of abortion ballot measure raise funds

Abortion advocates have raised over $2.8 million to advocate for an abortion amendment in the state constitution, while opponents of the referendum have raised more than $400,000.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, so far Virginians for Reproductive Freedom, a group largely funded by Planned Parenthood organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union, has raised over $2.8 million to advocate for the amendment.

The proposed abortion amendment would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to make and carry out decisions relating to one’s own prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and fertility care.”

The amendment, if passed, could jeopardize already-existing laws protecting unborn children as well as Virginia’s parental notification law. Virginia’s Catholic bishops have strongly opposed the amendment, as it could lead to unlimited abortion and would likely overturn parental involvement laws and cut safeguards for women.

Campaigns against the amendment include No Safeguards, No Deal and Protect Virginia 2026.

That text, which was translated by English monk Nicholas Love from a 14th-century devotional work, enjoyed immense popularity among English Catholics in the years leading up to the Reformation; a few hundred surviving manuscripts attest to the public’s love of the book.

One incomplete manuscript of the work, meanwhile, has finally been reunited with several long-lost pages thanks to recent work by English researchers Katie Walter and James Wade.

The two professors, who teach at the University of Sussex and Girton College at the University of Cambridge, respectively, recently published their findings in the journal Notes and Queries in which they detailed what Wade described as their successful effort to “piece together the history” of the manuscript.

Wade told EWTN News that it was known for years that the East Sussex public records office held fragments of a “Mirror” manuscript, though “no one knew where.”

The researchers eventually identified the manuscript pages in the archive. Further investigation revealed that a fuller “Mirror” manuscript held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University was missing those exact pages.

That copy in the Beinecke archive had been known to scholars for years as having been owned by John Gage. A royal courtier in Tudor-era England, Gage’s life was “almost cut in half by the English Reformation,” Wade said.

“Half of his life he spent as a Catholic who was considered orthodox by the Church and the state,” Wade said. “After the Reformation, he remained a Catholic and he didn’t convert.”

Such individuals were known as “recusants.” Wade said that though Gage lived in post-Reformation England the rest of his life, he “refused to convert, he lived his life, didn’t go into exile, wasn’t executed, and didn’t lose his job.”

Gage is a notable historic figure, Wade said, in no small part because he worked for the king even as a practicing Catholic.

“There were plenty of people at the time of the Reformation who kept their Catholic faith,” the researcher said. “But Gage was an administrator who was tasked with orchestrating the dissolution of the monasteries, which meant physically going into monastic houses and basically claiming all their properties for the Crown.”

The “Mirror” manuscript is the only book historians can verify that Gage actually owned, Wade said. It likely came into his possession at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries.

The book would have been seen as heretical in post-Reformation England, as it affirms the validity of numerous sacraments including confession and the Eucharist.

Gage’s signature is found in the manuscript, along with the names of two nuns who historians think owned the book prior to it coming into Gage’s possession.

The book stands as a testament not just to its popularity during the time of its publication but also to Gage’s faith during a period of extraordinary persecution of the Church — a persecution in which Gage himself took some part even as he maintained that faith.

Wade told the University of Cambridge that Gage may have gone to a monastic library and brought the book home. “Another [possibility] is that someone else smuggled it out, and it briefly circulated from hand to hand until Gage acquired it.”

“The key thing is,” Wade said, “he kept it safe when he was meant to destroy books precisely like this one.”

France is one of the European countries with the highest influx of immigrants — a highly divisive political issue that is also tied to next year’s presidential election, with anti-immigration politician Marine Le Pen the current front-runner.

Roughly 8 million immigrants live in France, representing 11.6% of France’s total population in 2025, according to the French national statistics institute.

Leo visited the Bakhita House, a center offering support and integration to immigrants in the Archdiocese of Paris. The pope’s visit falls on the fifth anniversary of the center, which offers educational workshops in sewing, cooking, visual arts, and computer skills.

Named for St. Josephine Bakhita — a child victim of abduction and slavery from Sudan — the day home has welcomed 2,500 people of 84 different nationalities since opening its doors in late September 2021. It is run by five permanent staff members and 100 volunteers.

“The name of your center … which refers to St. Bakhita, inspires us to recognize the fundamental role of women in building a civilization of love, which is an alternative to a culture that tears communities apart and leaves cities sick with loneliness,” the pope said Sept. 26.

The pope heard from a 31-year-old Nigerian woman named Blessing, who described the way her life has changed since receiving the help and friendship of the association Aux Captifs, la Libération, a Catholic charitable organization that helps the homeless and people in situations of prostitution.

Blessing described a complicated life in which she “was forced to do things I did not want to do.” But through the assistance she received, she left that life behind and began to work in a restaurant.

“God has an important place in my life. Without God, nothing is possible,” she said. “Even through the difficulties I have experienced, I never doubted his presence, and I knew that one day he would open a new path for me. Sometimes I wish God could erase everything like a magician, but I know that he will do everything in his own time.”

The pope also heard from 35-year-old Meysam, a refugee from Afghanistan. Through Bakhita House, he was able to improve his French and his sewing skills. He is now a volunteer with the house: “I go on two street outreaches each week to meet undocumented exiles and refugees. It is a way of giving back what I myself received.”

Pope Leo thanked everyone who works at the center, “as well as all those throughout France who carry out this service in similar institutions.”

“Continue to bear witness to that care for one another which, through fraternal welcome, programs of formation, and dialogue with the city, elevates the spirit and makes the world more humane,” he said.

“May St. Bakhita, together with the great witnesses of charity who have shaped the presence of the Church in France, especially during periods of tumultuous change, intercede on your behalf.”

Patrick Vinuales, owner of Hôtels Vinuales — the largest hotel chain in Lourdes — told EWTN News: “The average number of people who would be staying in Lourdes is roughly 20,000. But for the Sunday Mass, there will be something like 150,000 people. We expect altogether an attendance of nearly a quarter of a million people over the weekend.”

“What I think is very important is the enthusiasm of people. A lot of people have been calling us saying even if they couldnʼt come, they were so happy for the pope to come to Lourdes, to reveal more about the message of Our Lady to Bernadette,” he told EWTN News.

Tourism is a big business in Lourdes. The town is widely considered to be the area with the highest concentration of hotels in France outside of Paris — rather unusual for a town with a population of 10,000. Hotel owners have been making the most of the increase in numbers.

Joseph Tedesco, owner of the Grand Hôtel Moderne, built in 1896 by the nephew of St. Bernadette, told EWTN News: “Everybody increased their prices… We made a huge effort to welcome individuals, because usually itʼs mostly big dioceses… but this event made more individuals come and thatʼs a completely different type of business.”

For the major ceremonies, tourists will need to have registered in advance, or they won’t be allowed into the sanctuary. “The biggest challenge is the people who organized the pilgrimage before they knew the pope was coming. There are a lot of people who donʼt have their ticket,” he said. “Our hotel is in the red area, so it wonʼt be accessible [by car].”

Pope John Paul II visited Lourdes in 1983 and 2004. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI visited, which Tedesco recalls. “Two months after I bought the hotel 18 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI arrived… We didnʼt have all this security for sure. But thatʼs maybe because we didnʼt have the geopolitical problem that we have today.”

“This visit is, first and foremost, a visit by the Successor of Peter to strengthen his brothers in the faith and to address our society as a whole,” said Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes.

During this visit, Pope Leo will pray at the grotto and take part in the torchlight procession, meet with bishops of the French Episcopal Conference, celebrate Holy Mass, and meet the staff and sick community at Accueil Notre Dame, the main hospital for sick pilgrims.

He also will meet privately with seven survivors of sexual abuse in the Church — a major focus for critics who argue the Church hasn’t confronted the problem fully.

The visit also marks an increase in the number of attendees on organized pilgrimage groups. Most visitors to Lourdes come as part of an organized group, often with their local diocese.

Caroline Trainor, a Lourdes organizer for Joe Walsh Tours, told EWTN News she had seen a huge increase in sign-ups. “When they heard that the pope was visiting, they were signing up to come back to be here over the weekend,” she said. “So thatʼs really positive for the future because it brings Lourdes back into the spotlight… Even coming in this morning, you can kind of feel this little ripple of excitement.”

Lourdes’ story can be traced back to 1858, when St. Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl, had apparitions of Our Lady in a small cave. A shrine was built there, and the Pyrenean town became a pilgrimage site known for its miraculous healings.

Paul Eaton, president of Ireland’s national Carmelite pilgrimage, told EWTN News: “It’s just electrifying. You really have to come here to experience it. It’s just something else… weʼre so blessed to have this honor.”

“When the news first came out, we thought ‘this is not happening!’ That increased our numbers, which was fantastic… Weʼre very lucky because we have an awful lot of the same people that come with us every year who are actually hooked... They love Lourdes. They really, really do.”

Michael Murphy has been coming on pilgrimage to Lourdes for 19 years. He told EWTN News: “Thereʼs a draw that continually brings me back. Itʼs difficult to explain. Itʼs just the serenity and the atmosphere. For the dates and to align with the pope as well, it just made it extra special.”

Organized pilgrimages to Lourdes often have two sides. Pilgrims can either join as someone in need of assistance or as a volunteer. Those with learning or physical disabilities spend the week being assisted by volunteers, who help them with their daily needs.

Clíona, a first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News: “I heard people describing Lourdes before, but I never expected it just to be like this. Thereʼs something about it. Itʼs like a magical place.”

“Itʼs a different experience than Iʼve ever experienced before,” Harry Lynch, another first-time pilgrim, told EWTN News. “I wasnʼt expecting it to be this busy. Everyoneʼs very excited about everything thatʼs about to happen.”

Martin has been visiting Lourdes for 20 years from Ireland. He told EWTN News: “Weʼve got more youth coming now than we had years ago, which is great. With the visit of the pope, we’re getting two trips in one! Thereʼs so much excitement, so much talk about it, and itʼs a great thing for everyone. Some people donʼt get the chance to go to Rome, so they’re getting a real run for their money this year.”

The visit is expected to provide a huge boost to Lourdes’ economy. Natasha Afonso, a local souvenir shop owner, told EWTN News: “When tourists found out the pope was coming, many delayed their trips to align the dates. So, we lost a lot of business in the middle [of the] season, but now it’s growing again.”

“Lourdes is known for its miracles, so it’s good for the publicity, for the young people, and the new generations to come.”

Whether they were lifting their arms in praise-and-worship or silently venerating the relics of saints and the Holy Tunic of Christ, the entire Stade de France was united in prayer before Leo’s arrival and throughout an hour and a half-long program.

People from working-class suburbs stood alongside families from the more traditional Catholic milieu associated with the city of Versailles. In the lines outside the stadium, Breton and Vendéan flags — from regions with strong Catholic histories — stood alongside groups with a more popular, charismatic style.

One young woman, 29-year-old Romance Bono, wiped tears from her eyes as the pope entered the stadium to deafening cheers.

“It brought tears to my eyes because it’s such an emotional moment,” she told EWTN News. “Seeing all these young people cheering for the pope like a rock star, that is the strength of the Church, and it is the future of the Church here. It was very moving.”

Soon after Pope Leoʼs arrival at the stadium, hundreds of young French Catholics staged an artistic performance depicting French saints and the history of the Church in France, including the use of live horses, and culminating in fireworks launched above the stadium.

One 28-year-old volunteer, Jacques-Henri de Livron, told EWTN News that as soon as he heard the pope was coming to France, he decided to take a day off work to see him. He was so afraid of missing the events that he volunteered to make sure he could be in attendance. De Livron grew up in a Catholic environment, but returned to the faith in his twenties after painful deaths among his siblings and close friends. Those experiences, he said, made him recognize its value anew.

“Christianity is really the religion of the human person,” he said. “In this age of narcissism, it helps us get out of ourselves, turn toward others and care about them instead of thinking only about ourselves. People often call it a religion of the book, or a religion of revelation. But it’s much more than that. It’s the religion of the human person.”

De Livron also made a point of sharing his surname, which is unusual in France, where anticlerical culture is widespread and religious people usually ask to be identified in press reports only by their first names in order to avoid trouble at work. “I want to be part of a generation that stops being afraid to testify, that gives its name, and isn’t afraid of anything,” he said.

Pierre-Alain Belaube, 34, described the effort to arrive hours early after a long day at work, and to fight the crowds to enter into the packed stadium, as “200% worth it. It’s a privilege to be here.”

Belaube described himself as a formerly lukewarm Catholic, whose life was transformed when he read the autobiography of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

“I have the hope that many more young people will open their hearts to God and let him change their life,” he said. “I think that such an event can be, for many, the first milestone of a life-changing experience. I hope we will inspire many more young people to get to know Jesus.”

Thibault, a religious brother who preferred not to give his last name because he did not have permission from his superiors to speak with reporters, accompanied 400 members from the youth movement of his religious community, the Missionaries of Divine Mercy, to the event.

He told EWTN News that it is very moving to be surrounded by young people “wanting to say, ‘Here I am, I’m Catholic and I’m proud to show it.’”

The young religious, who is also studying for the priesthood, said he hopes Leo’s visit to France “will contribute to the missionary awakening that needs to happen in France.”

While the primarily secular country is seeing a surprising surge in baptisms, he said he thinks “Catholics still find it difficult to go out and meet people, to be missionaries in their daily lives.”

“I think this could become a significant moment in the life of the Church in France.”

In his message during the prayer, which included religious hymns and a Litany of Saints, Leo invited young people to shun evil and strive for good.

“God is the Lord of history, and no matter what happens, he guides its course toward salvation. In Christ, every evil comes to an end, precisely because that end becomes the beginning of a new and eternal life,” he said.

“The work well done, the work that is good, is the redemption that Jesus accomplishes for us,” Leo said. “Through his struggle against sin and death, Christ’s victory sets us free. He saves us from all evil and invites us to all that is good.”

The pontiff also answered the questions of two young French people as part of the evening’s program.

Chloé, 25, talked about her involvement in her parish and in a group of young Catholics “eager to live out and share their faith with others.” But she lamented that society “is founded on different principles” and sometimes has “no regard for the question of God.”

Pope Leo responded that, “It is true, as you say, that the society in which we live seems indifferent to God. But the Lord is not indifferent to us! This is what matters, and what always gives us hope.”

Chloé, who is from Saint-Denis, described the vitality of Catholic life there. Saint-Denis is often described as a quartier sensible (“a vulnerable neighborhood”). Her testimony echoed what EWTN News heard from local Catholics in the crowd, including people from immigrant backgrounds, about the life of the Church in their neighborhoods that have a strong Muslim presence.

A young man from Burgundy, named François, also addressed the pope and asked him how young people can discern how the Lord is calling them to serve.

Leo’s advice to young people was to keep their hearts open to the suffering of their peers, to follow Jesus, and to draw inspiration from the examples of the saints.

“Even in the face of persecution, these brothers and sisters of ours opened paths of peace. Look to those priests who were passionate about Christ, such as St. Eugene de Mazenod and St. John Mary Vianney. Look to the mystical beauty of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus; the fervor in charity and mission of Blessed Pauline Jaricot; and the courage of the 50 martyrs of the apostolate who served their brothers and sisters even to the point of sacrificing their own lives during the Second World War,” he said.

“These saints changed the course of history by leading many people from hardship to hope, since they first changed their own hearts, transforming them in the light of faith.”

The youth vigil was the pope’s last event on a packed first day in France. The Sept. 25-28 journey will also take him to Lourdes and Metz.

Tierra Walker, 37, died of preeclampsia in December 2024 after multiple hospitalizations due to her high-risk pregnancy. She suffered from high blood pressure, seizures, severe pain, and deep vein thrombosis. Two days before she died, doctors sent her home from the emergency room, saying she was “stable enough.”

Her family has since filed a lawsuit dated Sept. 15 against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as Walker’s doctors, the Texas Medical Board, and the University of Texas health system, claiming that she was denied an abortion that could have saved her life and blaming Texas’ abortion law for her death.

“Tierra Walker is dead and those responsible must be held accountable,” the complaint begins. “At every turn, Texas’s political and medical establishments not only failed but actively harmed Ms. Walker.”

Texas law allows abortions to save the life of the mother; all pro-life states in the U.S. make this exception. Responding to claims that the pro-life law is to blame, pro-life leaders contend that the tragedy was caused by a failure of the medical system.

The head of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), Dr. Christina Francis, said that Walker likely would have survived if she had been given standard medical care — care that is already legal in Texas.

“My heart goes out to Ms. Walkerʼs family, and I hope that this devastating loss is a wake-up call to the medical community and our society to invest in better maternal health care,” Francis told EWTN News.

“The tragic death of Tierra Walker highlights significant problems in maternity care in the United States today, including poor healthcare coordination and insufficiently treating severe medical conditions,” Francis said. “As healthcare professionals, we take an oath to care for our patients, even when it requires extensive hospitalization and extended monitoring.”

“Her death was likely preventable and the result of inadequate medical care; it was certainly not the fault of Texas' abortion law,” Francis said.

Francis said that according to court records Walker “needed coordinated, standards-based medical care.”

“This wouldʼve included controlling her blood pressure more aggressively, diagnostic testing that appeared to be erroneously denied, and continued hospitalization until her condition stabilized,” Francis said.

“Preeclampsia at 20 weeks of pregnancy is, by definition, severe,” Francis said. “If Ms. Walker had been stabilized immediately and then delivered rather than being sent home, she would likely still be alive today. Texas law would have allowed this standard medical care.”

“Induced abortion is not a blanket solution,” Francis said. “Better healthcare is.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America spokeswoman Kelsey Pritchard cited failure of medical care and noted that the lawyer in charge of the case has strong pro-abortion-access ties.

“Tierra Walker’s death is tragic and it’s clear there was a failure on multiple levels to provide the high-risk pregnancy care she needed,” Pritchard said. “SBA Pro-Life America has strongly advocated Med Ed policies that make it clear no law anywhere in the country blocks doctors’ duty to act to save lives in pregnancy emergencies.”

“The career pro-abortion activist lawyer behind this lawsuit, who boasts about facilitating an out-of-state abortion on the very same day the Dobbs decision came out, and the inclusion of Senate candidate Ken Paxton give away that there is a political agenda separate from families’ understandable pain and anger,” Pritchard added.

“Attorneys general enforce the law, they don’t make it, but Ken Paxton has vigorously upheld state law protecting both unborn babies and women,” Pritchard said. “Activist lawyers seeking a test case as a pretense to attack the laws is nothing new, it’s how we got Roe v. Wade. That cynical strategy will not succeed in Texas.”

“Abortion activists would rather spread fear about pro-life laws than address complex disparities in care, and their misinformation has consequences that put real women in real danger,” Pritchard said.

The same study also found that in Spain specifically, the percentage of couples marrying in the Catholic Church is down 83% since 1975.

To address the high divorce rate, the Family Guidance Center (COF, by its Spanish acronym) of the Diocese of Cuenca has developed the Niño equilibrista (Child Equilibrist) program which, following a mutual support group model, provides care for the children of separated and divorced parents.

Marta Guillén Tena, director of the COF, explained in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that the program’s name alludes to the “balancing of loyalties” that a child must deal with when their parents separate, a process that also often involves a legal dispute in which the child is caught in the middle.

“They need to have enough freedom and awareness to know that they can love both their father and their mother equally,” she noted. The children “basically need to feel heard and have their pain acknowledged,” as well as to convey to them that their parents, “come what may, will always be their parents.”

The situation of these children poses a challenge for the Church, given that it preaches the sanctity of marriage and its indivisible unity. What the children go through also presents difficulties when it comes to explaining to them the concept of God the Father.

“Child Equilibrist,” Guillén added, is a broad concept that also refers to adolescents, young people, and even adults who “can identify that child equilibrist that they carry in their hearts.”

‘It seems like they don’t notice, but they do’

The origins of the project lie in a common response from parents seeking help at the Cuenca Family Counseling Center (COF) when they are asked about their children. “What the parents conveyed to us was that their children were doing fine,” the director explained.

However, the reality is that “children, it seems like they don’t notice, but they do” pick up on what is happening around them, which is why the center launched this special, year-long program.

The program is designed to provide these children with tools to communicate with their parents, peers, and other key figures such as grandparents, teachers, or catechists. They are taught to distinguish between what happens within their family and what defines them as individuals.

‘No one is going to judge them’

Teresa Sarabia, coordinator of the Cuenca Family Guidance Center and the program itself, explained that the children are also helped to “understand the grieving process and what they are going through,” to manage their emotions, and to address their relationship with God and the concept of forgiveness, “since they sometimes waver between assigning blame and forgiveness,” Sarabia indicated.

“This is a setting of absolute confidentiality where all the children and their parents are free to express themselves openly. No one will judge them. We welcome them with authenticity and sincerity — nothing is feigned. We do this out of love, for the greater glory of God, not for our own greater glory,” Guillén explained.

For the time being, the program involves adult children partly because, at times, one parent will not give consent, but also because “we felt it was the most urgent priority, since they are the ones who will soon be starting families of their own,” Sarabia noted.

The coordinator said that the focus is the child, “but the idea is to work with the whole family,” so parents are kept informed of the path their children are on, “so that they can talk about it at home later. The idea is to build bridges between them and make this something that can be discussed openly.”

A program for the Church

The program for “The Child Equilibrist” was launched after eight years of preparation involving numerous experts from Spain and abroad. The aim is for the program to be widely adopted and to serve “to give visibility to the very specific pain experienced by these children, regardless of their age. We want them to know that their pain matters to us,” Guillén emphasized.

At the same time, the goal is for other dioceses to adopt it as well: “This is not a program we want to implement solely for ourselves. We are part of one Church, and everything we do is for the whole Church,” she concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Engstrom was the recipient of the miracle in 2010 for Sheen’s beatification. Minutes after being born, he was not breathing nor could emergency workers or hospital staff help him. He was dead for 61 minutes — and as doctors were about to record his time of death, James came to life. As the Church has officially proclaimed, through Sheen’s intercession, the baby began breathing and was healed of any abnormalities that could occur in a way medical science could not explain.

The mandible was chosen because of Sheen’s speaking prowess.

“Using the jawbone is very significant because of his ability to communicate the faith,” Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, Sheen’s home diocese, told the National Catholic Register, a sister publication of EWTN News.

“And, of course, his ability to proclaim the faith, to speak out, the faith to preach and to teach” was paramount for Sheen, Tylka, who concelebrated the beatification Mass, said.

“It’s pretty common for the one who was healed, if they’re available, to have some part to play,” Msgr. Jason Gray, the executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria, Illinois, told the Register.

Part of preparing for a beatification or canonization is obtaining first-class relics of the new blessed or saint. Msgr. Gray explained how the Diocese of Peoria obtained these first-class relics that are always parts or fragments of the body.

Now-Blessed Fulton Sheen died on Dec. 9, 1979.

“The important thing is to know that he’s been buried for 47 years at this point, and the body does decompose,” Msgr. Gray noted. “In his case, we’re not dealing with an incorrupt body, so after 47 years, essentially, all the soft tissue had decomposed. When we did the actual canonical recognition, which is always done in a very respectful way and following the norms that are laid out by Rome, and we did open the casket, essentially, it was just bones. Pretty much everything else had disintegrated. We were able to take some bone that we could use for first-class relics.”

The diocese received permission from Rome to take something more sizable because Bishop Tylka wanted to make sure that there was a significant relic given to the Archdiocese of New York, where Sheen served as an auxiliary bishop from 1951 until 1966, and to the Diocese of Rochester, New York, where Sheen served from October 1966 to October 1969. “Both [Rochester] Bishop John Bonnici and [New York] Archbishop Ronald Hicks have been very happy to have that news,” Gray said.

Gray described those relics as the longest bones in the palm area of both right and left hands (the second metacarpal bone of the index finger).

“Those are going to be given to Rochester and New York,” he said. “They will have a significant relic.”

Tylka explained that they were “taking the relics from particularly his right hand because he was right-handed. It was always an iconic image of him writing, especially the ‘JMJ’ on the blackboard as part of his" “Life Is Worth Living” television program. It seems a significant opportunity to use bones from his right hand. That was such a familiar and iconic image of him that so many people knew.” 

“The reality is that although Fulton Sheen was a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, his episcopal ministry and much of his life centered around being in New York,” noted Tylka to the Register.

“And, of course, he was the diocesan bishop of Rochester. So it seems important to me that those two dioceses, in particular the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rochester, each have a significant relic for their use and veneration in the diocese. And knowing that they’ve been supportive of our efforts to move the beatification forward and the cause of Fulton Sheen, I just thought it would be an important gesture that I, myself, as the bishop, would go and present those relics.”

Tylka will personally present the relics to Bishop Bonnici in Rochester next Tuesday and to Archbishop Hicks in New York next Thursday.

“Each of those dioceses are planning celebrations on those days,” he said. “They both have great devotion and support of the cause for Fulton Sheen, so they’ll be the first two dioceses to receive a relic, a substantial relic,” Tylka explained.

He elaborated on the particular choice of relics for these two dioceses. “Knowing that Fulton Sheen was so demonstrative in not only writing ‘JMJ,’ but often he would make his gesture pointing up to heaven, each of them will receive a bone from his hand. One gets the left and one gets the right.”

In addition to these bones, Msgr. Gray explained another longer bone was also taken to prepare small relics. Each will be in a theca (small round reliquary) in which a tiny chip of bone is placed with the inscription ex ossibus Beati Fultoni Sheen — from “the bones of Blessed Fulton Sheen.” None could be distributed until Sept. 24.

Gray clarified these relics are not for private collections but meant for public veneration. Requests from Catholic institutions such as a parish, seminary, religious house, convent or shrine must include a testimonial letter from a diocesan bishop.

“We need to know that this is a legitimate request from an institution that will respectfully preserve the relic and that it is meant to be made available for veneration by the faithful,” he said.

Second-class relics — an item the blessed or saint owned, wore or touched, such as a shirt or book or pieces of these — are available from the foundation, which has a number of Sheen’s vestments (ex indumentis, “from the clothing”). Such second-class relics can be given to private individuals.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Gray said. “We just ask people to make some sort of a donation because it takes us time to prepare these things — either a relic card, where we actually tape the fragment of vestment inside a holy card; or if people have contributed and been more generous, we’ve prepared an actual theca with a fragment of cloth in it from the vestments of Fulton Sheen.”

“We have an ample supply, so there’s no difficulty in honoring that,” he said. Because of the many requests the foundation receives, “we do ask people to be a little patient because we’re trying to fulfill them as best we can.” (People may make requests and include a donation by mail to the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, 419 NE Madison Ave., Peoria, IL, 61603, or via the website CelebrateSheen.com.)

There are also third-class relics — items like holy cards, religious medals and rosaries that have been touched to a first-class relic.

“Right now, the principal means of creating a third-class is by touching something to the tomb,” explained Msgr. Gray of the current resting place of Bishop Sheen’s mortal remains in a side chapel at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria. “The tomb itself is a first-class relic.” People touch their “rosaries and holy cards all the time when they come to Peoria and make a visit in front of the tomb.”

During the beatification at St. Louis’ The Dome at America’s Center, more than one first-class relic was available for the faithful to venerate.

Another major relic will also travel to Rome — and will be presented to Pope Leo XIV. “That is planned,” Tylka confirmed to the Register. “I’ve received confirmation that I will be given an audience to do so on Oct. 5.”

Because Leo grew up only about 168 miles from Peoria, he might have visited Bishop Sheen’s home diocese and cathedral church growing up.

“Quite possibly,” said Tylka. “He grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, as I did. And certainly, as an Augustinian, we did have a parish where the Augustinians were serving for a part of some time. So it’s very likely that he probably could have come down for a visit.”

This article was first published by the National Catholic Register, an EWTN News sister publication, and has been adapted for EWTN News English.

“It is humbling to know that we stand in a moment of history that the Holy Spirit has chosen to be able to bring forth Monsignor Joseph Buh, not only for days past, but for the present moment, as we are experiencing once again a Catholic revival in the Diocese of Duluth,” Bishop Daniel Felton said at the opening of the Sept. 22 Mass for Buh’s cause for canonization.

Felton celebrated the Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth. He was joined by a representative of the Slovenian government, a representative of the Catholic Church in Slovenia, representatives for local indigenous communities, and representatives of the Slovenian American community.

A person’s official cause for canonization typically begins at the local level, with the diocesan bishop launching the investigation. In June, Felton consulted with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which voted to support Felton’s inquiry into Buh’s cause.

Buh, who was born in 1833 and died in 1922, ministered to poor immigrants and indigenous people, including the Ojibwe, and helped establish more than 50 parishes in the area. If Buh were canonized, he would be the first saint from Minnesota.

“As Monsignor Buh is with us, he would be the first one to say, ‘this isn’t about me — it’s about the way that God chose me to bring the healing, to bring the hope, to bring the joy of Jesus to others,’” Felton said. “And so we too acknowledge tonight, it’s not about us. It’s all about Jesus.”

In his homily, Felton said there is no better description of Buh than “servant of God,” which now is his official title. He said, “that was his one desire, [it] was to be a servant of God.” He said Buh “wanted to be a disciple of Christ, just growing closer to Jesus in all ways.”

Felton referenced the Gospel reading of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and “would carry them to the place that the Holy Spirit desired for them.” He said in the early 1900s, “that same Spirit was hovering over the Diocese of Duluth in a great moment of revival.”

The bishop noted that Buh, when ministering to the indigenous communities and others, would always live with that community and learn the language, “and it was only when he knew that language, the language of the people, that ultimately he would know their hurts and their pains, he would know how they were filled with despair, he would know their tribulations in life.”

“And only when he actually knew that in his heart and he could speak that language of the people, only then secondly, did he always begin to talk about Jesus, to put Jesus on center stage, to say Jesus is healing to your hurts, Jesus is hope to your despair, Jesus is joy to your tribulations,” Felton said.

Now that Buh is a servant of God, the diocese will perform an inquiry into his life and submit its findings to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which will determine whether to move forward with his cause.

On Sept. 25, he celebrated Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, becoming the first pope to visit the church since it was rebuilt after the devastating 2019 fire.

Less than two years after its reopening, Leo reflected on the iconic cathedral, which, “more than any other [place], has invited the people of Paris for centuries to lift their eyes towards heaven.”

“Seven years have passed since the whole world, holding its breath, watched as the cathedral was engulfed in a terrible fire,” he said in his homily. “That pain was felt not only by Catholics, nor only by believers.”

“In that tragic moment we came to realize that Notre-Dame is more than a monument,” the pope said. “The collective effort to rebuild it, and the splendor of the result reveal that the heart of a people beats here, and that here we stand at the living center of a civilization, where past and future embrace, where heaven and earth meet.”

The prayer service at the famous Gothic cathedral was Pope Leo’s first meeting with the Catholic Church of Paris during his Sept. 25–28 visit to France.

Here Leo spoke to the country’s Catholic clergy and religious — the rebuilt church providing a fitting setting for his message that “this cathedral has been reborn so that you too may be reborn with it in a new impetus towards holiness and daily mission.”

Leo addresses France’s Catholics at a critical juncture in their history, as they welcome rising numbers of converts. This Easter, France recorded more than 20,000 adult and adolescent baptisms, a 20% increase from the already record-high number in 2025, which saw a 45% increase from 2024 figures.

Despite the encouraging trend, the country continues to grow more secular. The latest data on religious identity in France, in 2019-2020, found that 51% of adults in France say they have no religious affiliation, an 8% increase from a decade before. While 29% of the population identifies as Catholic, the survey found only 8% say they go to Church regularly, according to the Institut National D’Etudes Démographiques.

Notre-Dame Cathedral reopened in December 2024, a little over five years after people around the world watched the church’s blaze in horror. Restoration work of the Gothic cathedral continued into 2026.

In his homily, Pope Leo reflected on the symbolism of the architecture of the cathedral, the seat of the archbishop of Paris.

“The cathedral’s cruciform layout, where stone and light come together, evokes the meeting of earth and heaven. It gathers and orders the events of history, woven with human joys and sufferings. It holds them together in a symbolic dynamic that transforms these diverse expressions into a living language, uniting them into a whole,” he said.

Before evening prayer, Pope Leo approached the cathedral on foot to greet those gathered outside.

Mariana González, 31, was one of hundreds of people who caught a glimpse of Pope Leo as he arrived for evening prayer.

González, who with her husband and 7-month-old daughter waited about four hours to see the pope, told EWTN News that “it’s very special for [Pope Leo] to be here, not only to see him but to listen to the message he has for all the French people, those of us living in France and the whole world.” González, who is Colombian-American and lives in Paris, said she believed “his visit will also touch many hearts here and I look forward to seeing all of the fruits his visit will bring.”

Local authorities estimated that 300,000 people lined up to greet Leo outside Notre-Dame and along the two-and-a-half mile road from his previous event at UNESCO headquarters to the cathedral, the Vatican said.

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Upon entering the cathedral, the pope visited a chapel to pray before the Blessed Sacrament and then venerated a relic of the Crown of Thorns. The cathedral, which just moments before had erupted into applause and cries of “Pape Léon,” was silent.

After putting on vestments for the prayer, Leo approached the altar to the dramatic tones of the cathedral’s grand organ, the largest pipe organ in France.

“We must not forget that this cathedral, like every other church, was built for the purpose of prayer and the worship of God,” the pope recalled in his homily. “This cathedral is not merely a stone structure to be admired; instead, it lives by the sacred mystery celebrated within it. Without the liturgy, it would lose its soul.”

He encouraged priests and consecrated men and women to never neglect their friendship with Christ, to nurture their interior lives and spend time in personal, silent prayer.

“Your mission flows above all from this intimate relationship with the Lord, who awaits you there,” he said.

Reflecting on the cathedral’s purpose of prayer and the worship of God, Leo said: “Today, more than ever, we live in an age that seems deprived of fullness, depth, and promise. The noble simplicity of song, spoken word, and liturgical gesture can be for many a glimmer of hope, an oasis of peace in a hyper-connected and noisy society, where we can experience the presence of the Author of the greatest love.”

In his message of welcome to Leo, Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich said: “Just over a year ago, when I took the liberty of inviting you to Paris, you told me that you wanted to see Notre-Dame! … You have come as a pilgrim among all these visitors.”

The pontiff visited the headquarters of UNESCO — a specialized U.N. agency that preserves cultural heritage sites and promotes peace, sustainable development, and human rights — on the first day of a Sept. 25–28 journey to France.

“A fundamental question deserves to be explored, one that urgently calls for a response: What does it mean to be human?” Leo said in a speech delivered half in French and half in English.

“Every culture is challenged by this question, which lies at the heart of every form of knowledge, every art, and every religion. Even in the 21st century, after all, we cannot take for granted that we know who the human person is or what it means to live as a human being,” the pontiff said.

He contrasted the domination and confusion of the Tower of Babel, to which he has previously likened AI, with the peace and unity found at Pentecost.

“The corruption of culture which we are considering finds its redemption in the public square of Pentecost,” he said. “There, a message of peace is received as good news by people of every nation. This message proclaims the resurrection of Jesus, that is, the victory of life over death and the salvation that gives hope to the world.”

Leo also spoke about the development of communications and the risk of spreading false information, and “words devoid of meaning,” thereby “hindering dialogue rather than fostering it.”

“Artificial intelligence amplifies this problem,” he continued. “Although such systems can correlate data, they cannot answer questions that concern the meaning of human life, which is rooted in lived experience.”

He condemned oppressive power, pride, injustice, and conflict.

“Science itself, when reduced to a technique of power, no longer serves to elevate the human person but instead risks degrading the fruits of human endeavor,” he said.

The pontiff devoted significant portions of his speech to underlining the care due to every human life, especially the most vulnerable, such as “children in their mothers’ wombs and in the various theaters of war, persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, the elderly, migrants and refugees, and all those arrogantly excluded as unproductive.”

They are the true test of our claims to respect human dignity, and their protection and promotion extend also to creation,” he said.

On technological advancements, the Holy Father said, “the paradox has become increasingly evident: While ‘intelligence’ is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognize the inalienable dignity of human persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, are rejected and discarded.”

Pope Leo’s arrival at UNESCO was met by a warm applause from the audience.

Before his address, the pope was given a brief tour of the headquarters, including the library, which houses UNESCO’s diplomatic archives. Leo also received a loud applause when he watered an olive tree as a sign of nurturing peace.

He was also given a copy of the Book of Peace Memorandum, an archival document submitted to the fourth session of the UNESCO General Conference in 1949 to support its mission to prevent global conflicts after World War II.

Leo underlined that he was visiting UNESCO “as a pastor, to speak to you on behalf of the Church, which continually seeks to enter into dialogue and has a message to share with every people, with all women and men of goodwill,” and praised the agency’s mission to build a just world and favor authentic human development

Citing his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he said the Holy See looks “upon this Organization as a privileged partner in the service of the common good, which is the ‘social expression of the dignity’ shared by all of us from the very beginning and in equal measure.”

The pope emphasized the importance of truth, without which language becomes subject to violence and power, and noted that “corruption of the law begins with the corruption of the heart.”

A report published by Institute for Family Studies on Sept. 25 found that churchgoing Catholic couples are happier than other couples. In fact, happiness more than doubled among spouses who attend church compared with their peers.

Among the report’s most notable findings is that despite cultural challenges to faith and a decline in marriage, people who attend church consistently report higher levels of happiness and their marriages are strong.

The report drew on data from the General Social Survey (GSS), CARA data, YouGov, Pew Research, and other sources.

Report co-author Brad Wilcox, senior fellow and director of the Get Married Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, noted that “churchgoing Catholics and Protestants marry more, have more children, and divorce less than their secular peers.”

“The good news in the report is that the happiest and most sexually satisfied husbands and wives are churchgoing Catholics,” Wilcox told EWTN News. “For instance, 79% of churchgoing Catholics and 74% of churchgoing Protestants are very happily married, compared to 66% of nonreligious husbands and wives.”

“Among churchgoers, 55% of Catholics and 45% of Protestants report being satisfied with their sex lives. (i.e., rating one’s sex life as “excellent” or “very good”), compared to just 45% of nominal Catholics, 35% of nominal Protestants, and 40% of Nones,” Wilcox said.

Also, churchgoers are 39% more likely to be married than their peers, the report found.

“Men and women tethered to the institutions of faith and marriage are more than twice as likely to be very happy today compared to their peers who are not,” read the report, authored by Wilcox along with Grant Bailey, Richard Dell’Isola, and Jane Lankes Smith.

“There’s a ‘faith-family paradox’ where the role of faith, marriage, and family life has shrunk since the 1970s (with Catholic weddings falling by 74% since 1970 to the present),” Wilcox said. “But the believers who remain are more likely to enjoy strong, stable families.”

Belief in the teachings of the Church makes a difference in marital happiness, the study found.

“Couples who embrace classic Catholic teachings about marital permanence and openness to life are most likely to be happily married and sexually satisfied,” Wilcox continued.

The report found that churchgoing couples have "significantly more sex, and more sexual satisfaction, than their secular peers,” the report read.

“Catholics and Protestants who believe marriage is a permanent commitment are more likely to be sexually satisfied than their counterparts who do not hold this view (60% versus 46% for Catholics, with a smaller 43% versus 40% difference among Protestants),” Wilcox said.

Given what the data showed, the authors of the report called for greater attention to faith and family.

“Strengthening faith and family is therefore not a matter of nostalgia but of necessity: it could mean the difference between a society that sustains the foundations of personal and social well-being and one that leaves its people to drift alone and unhappy,” the report read.

But the report also shed light on problems in churchgoing couples and families, like pornography consumption and lack of community support for big families.

“It’s not all good news,” Wilcox said. “Men who are struggling with pornography are more likely to get into trouble in their marriages.”

Churchgoing husbands still view porn at similar rates to their secular counterparts (a quarter of religious husbands compared with one-third of nonreligious husbands).

In addition, a significant minority of Catholic spouses “worry their marriage may not last.”

Catholic parents of families of three or more children reported lower happiness in their marriage. The report cited a lack of community support as a major reason.

“Catholic parents of large families (three or more children) report lower marital happiness, in part, we think, because they don’t get enough support from their local church communities,” Wilcox said. “Unfortunately, only 46% of churchgoing Catholic parents report receiving even ‘some help’ from their church community.”

The report, which was commissioned by the Catholic group FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), also compared the data with a group of 1,219 respondents who were FOCUS alumni. This group was more likely to get married and to be happily married than other Catholic couples, while also less likely to be sexually satisfied than other Catholic couples.

The authors recommend in the report an active faith life, intentional marital discernment, family support at the parish level, and marriage formation for adolescents and young adults.

“In an age marked by unprecedented digital distraction and loneliness, the value of faith and family is powerful and may well be growing,” the report concluded.

Addressing French President Emmanuel Macron and other government members at the Élysée Palace, the head of state’s official residence, on Sept. 25, the pontiff said he was concerned “by those trends in society that risk turning science and technology into profit-driven ventures promoting genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs, or the possibility of arranging one’s own death.”

“Let us not forget that mutual respect and the protection of every human life is a duty incumbent upon each and every one of us,” he said.

End-of-life questions are among the most sensitive issues the pope is expected to address while in France Sept. 25–28. France legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia this summer, becoming the fifth European country to do so after Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain. In addition, Switzerland and Austria permit assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is the intentional ending of a person’s life to relieve suffering. It differs from assisted dying, in which the patient takes life-ending drugs himself, under a physician’s guidance. Both practices are prohibited by Catholic teaching.

The duty to protect and respect life, Leo continued, is “an expression of the authentic ‘secularity’ (laïcité) of the earthly city” since a “Christian engaged in public service and guided by the light of his or her conscience illumined by faith cannot be considered a proselytizer or a threat to the unity of the nation.”

“Laïcité” is a legal principle strictly separating Church and state in France.

Leo urged the country’s political, civil, and cultural leaders, as well as French and foreign diplomats, to see that “an authentic secularity” does not exclude religion but values it as an educational resource.

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Leo echoed a 2018 speech by Macron in which the president told the French bishops that “a Church that claims to be uninterested in temporal matters would not be fulfilling her vocation; and that a president of the republic who claims to be uninterested in the Church and in Catholics would be failing in his duty.”

“An authentic secularity, then, consists not in excluding religion from the public sphere or from education but in striving to ensure that the state and religious institutions maintain dialogue and join forces in the service of the common good, that the world may have life,” the pope said.

Speaking before the pope, Macron said that “it is precisely because France is a homeland of freedom and intellect that it is diverse. It is a nation that nurtures a particular passion for constant debate. One must understand it in this way in order truly to love it.” The two leaders met privately for 50 minutes before delivering their speeches.

Leo noted France’s “deep Christian roots” but also praised the French national motto of “liberty, equality, and fraternity” as a set of “ethical imperatives” and guides to follow as technology — including artificial intelligence — advances.

He cited the French Catholic author Georges Bernanos, who “saw the threat that blind obedience and irresponsibility could lead to a ‘Paradise of Machines,’ and pointed out that French civilization had instead sought for centuries to form free men and women who are fully responsible for their actions.”

The pope, who earlier in the day told reporters accompanying him on the flight from Rome that he was traveling to France “as a follower of Jesus Christ who wants to bring peace of Christ throughout the world,” called in his speech for a ban on nuclear weapons and lamented war in the Middle East.

Also present for the pope’s address were firemen who responded to the 2019 fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral and artisans and architects who worked on the landmark’s subsequent restoration. The pope celebrated that undertaking, which he said “showed that something considered irreparably destroyed can be reborn through mutual cooperation.”

Pope Leo XIV landed in Paris on Friday for a four-day visit to France that began with a packed first day with stops at UNESCO headquarters, Notre-Dame, and the French national stadium for a prayer vigil with 80,000 young people. Leo is the first pope to visit Paris since Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

Curious Parisians stopped what they were doing to watch the pope pass by in a car on his way from the airport to the center of Paris.

After a break for lunch, the Holy Father will visit the headquarters of UNESCO — the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization — a specialized U.N. agency that preserves cultural heritage sites and promotes peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

His journey will also bring him to the towns of Lourdes and Metz before returning to Rome on Sept. 28.

The convoy was reportedly carrying 41 metric tons of food for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region. The attack injured the driver and a young girl. The humitarian assistance was operating under the Joint Emergency Operation Program (JEOP) and contracted through the Adigrat Diocesan Catholic Secretariat (ADCS).

The Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat condemned the strike and called for “protection of humanitarian workers, supplies and aid routes in accordance with international humanitarian law.”

Kazakhstan abolishes death penalty in new constitution

Kazakhstan’s new constitution has abolished the death penalty, according to Fides News Agency. The change was approved by referendum on March 15 and officially became law on July 1.

Father Gabriel Jocher, an Austrian priest of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus and Mary and national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Kazakhstan, told Fides: “Kazakhstan has once again explicitly confirmed the ban on the death penalty. From a Christian perspective, this is a reason for joy. Human dignity is not lessened even when a person has committed a serious crime. At the same time, respect for human life does not mean turning a blind eye to unlawful acts: justice, accountability, and the protection of society remain fundamental.”

South African archbishop condemns killing of 9 women

Archbishop Zolile Peter Mpambani of South Africa’s Bloemfontein Archdiocese has condemned violence against women in the country, urging men to respect and protect women following the discovery of nine women’s bodies and the arrest of three related to the killings, according to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa.

Police confirmed that the bodies of the women were discovered in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, beginning in July with the ninth body found on the morning of Sept. 17.

In a video recording published Sept. 21, the archbishop said the killings are “a sign of the brutality and cruelty faced by women,” noting that there could be other victims whose bodies have not yet been discovered. He called on South African men to respect women and reiterated the Catholic Church’s condemnation of gender-based violence, saying women should not be subjected to violence in either private or public spaces.

Decision for Catholic schools in France to mark pope’s visit sparks criticism

Euro News reported that a “compulsory day” in Catholic schools celebrating the upcoming papal visit to France has sparked controversy.

According to the report, the General Secretariat for Catholic Education (Sgec), headed by Guillaume Prévost, “asked state-funded private schools under contract to treat Friday 25 September, the day Leo XIV arrives, as a special day and to replace regular lessons with activities focused on the Pope, the Catholic Church and various social issues.” 

The move, however, has been critized, in part, because “state-funded private schools under contract are required to follow the national curriculum,” according to the report.

Debate in France around religion in the public square is common. After criticism of President Emmanuel Macron’s presence at a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Marseille in 2023, the head of state will not be attending any papal Masses celebrated by Leo XIV during his visit.

Lebanese and French dioceses unite in prayer for Pope Leo’s visit

A 35-year relationship between the Maronite Diocese of Antelias in Lebanon and the Diocese of Lyon in France is taking on new meaning as Catholics in both countries pray a novena to accompany Pope Leo XIV on his apostolic journey to France, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported.

The nine-day prayer, which began Sept. 20 and will end Sept. 28, began simultaneously at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière in Lyon and in Antelias. Regina Karam, who prepared the prayer text, said the initiative grew from a desire among Lebanese Catholics to stand spiritually with the French, recalling the material and moral support France offered Lebanon through periods of hunger, war, and the Beirut port explosion.

Each day carries a different intention, including prayers for the pope and priests, the universal Church, political leaders, young people, and the spiritual fruits of the papal journey. On Sunday, participants will unite their prayers with Pope Leo during his time at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Antelias Bishop Antoine Bou Najem backed the initiative and later personally presented the novena text to Pope Leo in Rome.

Music and prayer in Bahrain mark Franciscan jubilee

Catholics in Bahrain marked the Franciscan jubilee with an evening of music, storytelling, and prayer at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, ACI MENA reported. The celebration, titled “San Francesco 800: A Musical Journey of Faith,” brought together clergy, parishioners, diplomats, and other guests under the guidance of Bishop Aldo Berardi, apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia.

Prepared by Capuchin Father Marcus Fernandes, the performance retraced the life and spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi through hymns, narration, and dramatic scenes. Adults and children took part alongside musicians, with the program focusing on Franciscan themes including simplicity, humility, fraternity, prayer, peace, and care for creation.

Berardi used the occasion to emphasize the Christian understanding of peace as first a gift from God rather than simply a human achievement, recalling St. Francis’ commitment to carrying that peace to others.

Caritas Indonesia officially hands over 100 homes to flood victims

Caritas reported that the Caritas Indonesia network on Sept. 16 "officially handed over permanent housing to residents affected by the flash floods and landslides that struck the Sumatra region in November 2025.”

Over 100 completed houses were provided, and the organization, according to Caritas’ website, is currently finalizing the construction of approximately 200 more homes. The initiative is part of the “Gerakan Rumah Belarasa” (Compassionate Home Movement) — a humanitarian initiative of the Caritas Indonesia network.

Eastern Canadian bishop, local Catholics seek to save historic cathedral

The bishop of Bathurst, New Brunswick, an eastern Canadian province, said he plans to meet with the city’s mayor to seek ways to prevent the loss of the Catholic cathedral there.

Bishop Michel Proulx, O Praem, told Canadian Catholic News he wants to save the city’s historic Sacred Heart Cathedral, currently slated for demolition next spring. After Masses on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, Oct. 10–12, the church will close for the winter due to heating costs.

Local Catholics are also moblizing to save the cathedral, according to the report. Bathurst Catholic and rally organizer James Risdon is planning a prayer event in front of the cathedral on Oct. 10 “as part of the 2026 Public Square Rosary Crusade across Canada to pray for the revitalization of the Church in Canada.”

“We can’t just keep closing down church buildings, shrug our shoulders, and pretend this is normal and inevitable. It’s not,” Risdon said in a statement.

Catholic business leaders “can’t just check a box” when it comes to faith, Pierre LeCocq told attendees on Sept. 17 after the event’s opening Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “You’re in charge of a community of persons. Every decision you make has to be done with that in mind. You’re not here to check a box … you’re here to love.”

In his remarks, LeCocq, past president of UNIAPAC, the International Christian Union of Business Executives, along with other conference speakers, often cited Mensuram Bonam: Faith-Based Measures for Catholic Investors — A Starting Point and Call to Action, a 2022 document from the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

While not a binding magisterial text, the document offers faith-based guidelines for finance and investment drawn from Catholic social teaching.

Conference founder and chairman, Roger Aguinaldo, a Wall Street veteran, said in his opening address that “most Catholic institutions inherited their investment processes from the broader market, which was never built with Catholic social teaching in mind. Your consultantʼs model portfolio doesn’t know what Mensuram Bonam (“A Good Measure”) is. Your benchmark doesn’t scream for human dignity.”

He told EWTN News he organized the summit after a “reversion” to the Catholic faith several years ago, saying he believes “Jesus wants me to dedicate the last third of my career to helping Catholics align institutional dollars with the Catholic faith and create real social impact … not the ESG screens [environmental, social, governance] Wall Street pushed on us. That was virtue signaling. We have 2,000 years of Church teaching to guide us.”

Aguinaldo, who is a former member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Advisory Council, said Catholics do not have to sacrifice returns when they invest in alignment with their faith and values.

“Without a deliberate act of will,” however, he said “a portfolio drifts toward whatever the market calls responsible, which is not the same thing as what the Church calls faithful.”

Exclusion, engagement, impact

Several speakers discussed the three-part investment process of exclusion, engagement, and impact.

Exclusion, or negative screening, means ruling out companies whose products or practices contradict human dignity, such as abortion drugs and contraceptives, pornography, and gambling, among others.

Engagement means using ownership: writing to management, voting proxies, and filing shareholder proposals under Securities and Exchange Commission rules so a resolution can appear on a company’s proxy ballot.

Aguinaldo said Catholic investors need not “just throw away oil stocks. You can engage with the companies as a stockholder,” asking them to bring practices into line with Catholic principles.

Father Séamus Finn, who served on the working group that produced Mensuram Bonam with Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, told attendees that stockholders can file proposals under SEC rules and use their ownership to press for change.

Engagement sometimes changes policy. When it does not, investors may sell the stock, thus creating impact. Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, executive vice president of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, described that sequence from her work.

She said many of the group’s members, including non-Christians, have welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which focuses on human dignity as economies are reshaped by rapidly advancing technologies like artificial intelligence. That concern also ran through a summit session on new financial infrastructure.

Eddie Cullen, who with Karl Kilb cofounded a digital assets firm that has issued a stablecoin called Catholic USD, told attendees that AI automation of finance “is coming like a freight train” and Catholic financial professionals should be prepared.

The question, as he framed it, was not whether the rails get built but who writes the rules. Cullen said Catholics must get out in front of emerging technologies.

Blockchain, Cullen said, can make transactions faster and more transparent and “will empower the poor” who have been shut out of ordinary banking — an impact play that speakers contrasted with the ESG screens they called insufficient.

Financial consultant Carolyn LaRocco, who works largely with women religious, discussed the challenges of bringing financial products aligned with Catholic social teaching to investors, who might fear making less money with such investments.

“You can make money and do good at the same time,” LaRocco said. “You can keep up with the indexes, but you have to push your financial adviser or consultant, to prove Catholic products do not yield worse returns.”

She said a problem with her industry is "we want it to scale. We love capitalism; we want to make a lot of money, but it takes time.”

In the long run, “how much money do we need?” she went on to ask. “Are we just trying to make money, or are we trying to do good?”

LaRocco said Catholics should challenge themselves and “drive their whole portfolios to mission.”

James Good, the chief investment officer at an investment advisory firm, told EWTN News he was “impressed to see a remarkably diverse group of financial professionals converge with a unified mission” centered on aligning faith and financial management, saying “this demonstrates that Catholic values can influence our world for good … while also fulfilling fiduciary and stewardship responsibility.”

Leo was welcomed at Paris Orly Airport by President Emmanuel Macron. Two local children presented flowers as the pontiff was given military honors — a formal ceremonial tribute — before entering a room of the airport with the French president for a private conversation.

During the flight from Rome, the pope told reporters that he would address “a number of very important topics” during his visit. “I above all am traveling to France, as anywhere else in the world, as a follower of Jesus Christ who wants to bring peace of Christ throughout the world,” he said.

The pope’s first stop in the French capital will be the Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French president, an 18th-century mansion surrounded by elaborate landscaped gardens.

There, Leo will again have time to speak with Macron, before delivering the first official speech of the trip, addressed to political authorities and members of civil society, the business world, and the diplomatic corps.

Among the most sensitive issues that the pope is expected to address are end-of-life questions. France legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia this summer, becoming the fifth European country to do so after Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain.

After a break for lunch, the Holy Father will visit the headquarters of UNESCO — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — a specialized UN agency that preserves cultural heritage sites and promotes peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

Blessed Fulton Sheen’s feast day will be Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. That date also marks the first apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in 1531.

Via his decree, Pope Leo announced Blessed Sheen’s feast day will be on Dec. 9, the anniversary of his death. His feast day is expected to be on the calendar of the Catholic Church in the United States.

Cardinal Luis Tagle, the pope’s representative and the principal celebrant of the beatification Mass, reflected on the meaning of “blessed” during his homily — noting that throughout history many who shared the Christian faith suffered persecution, yet their lives were still marked by joy. It is Sheen’s deep, humble relationship with Jesus Christ and his radical solidarity with the poor and vulnerable that characterized his life as a missionary, one that all Catholics should emulate, Tagle said.

Despite his massive worldly popularity and the fact that he personally accompanied countless converts in their journey to become Catholic, Tagle noted that Sheen did not “claim” the converts as his own but rather described himself as a mere “porter” who led people to the “open door of the house of God.”

“It is for being a zealous and creative evangelizer, an advocate for mission that Fulton Sheen is called ‘blessed’ or ‘fortunate’ or ‘happy’… Blessed is the Evangelizer, converted by beholding and touching the wounds of the risen Christ in wounded brothers and sisters, blessed is the missionary who digs deep into the heart of the poor to meet Jesus there. Blessed Fulton J. Sheen!” Tagle proclaimed.

Jam-packed crowds of Catholics of all ages — from the elderly who were around when Sheen’s shows first aired, to numerous families with small children — had descended on the stadium for the Mass, which began with a lengthy procession of some 1,000 priests, 89 bishops, and hundreds of seminarians and deacons.

The actual moment when Sheen became “blessed” happened early in the proceedings, following the proclamation of a decree signed by Pope Leo XIV. As is customary at beatifications, the decree was read first in Latin by Tagle, the pope’s representative and the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and afterward in the vernacular — in this case English — by Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, in whose diocese Sheen was born.

Immediately following the reading, a portrait of Blessed Sheen was revealed showing him with a halo, to thunderous applause. The same portrait was simultaneously unveiled at his tomb at the Cathedral St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria.

Earlier in the day, Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, announced that six purported miracles are attributed to the intercession of Sheen as part of the process that could lead to his canonization. Any purported miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession that has taken place since Pope Francis announced his beatification in July 2019 can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward.

James Fulton Engstrom, recipient of the confirmed miracle that cleared the way for Sheen’s beatification, survived in spite of having spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat. The healthy 16-year-old presented several of Sheen’s relics during the beatification Mass today.

Catholics from all over the world hailed Sheen’s example as a highly creative and effective missionary, who used every means available to him to share the love of Christ.

Father Solomon Patrick Zaku, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, flew to the U.S. for his first-ever visit to the country to attend the beatification of Sheen, who previously served as the Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director for the U.S.

“While I was in the seminary, I read about his book and about his life, and I was somewhat touched by his life. One of the things I have learned from him is the Holy Hour, spending an hour daily, and that has been part of my daily routine, which has been my source of inspiration,” Zaku said. “As the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Nigeria, [we] promote the Mission Rosary, which Archbishop Fulton Sheen introduced … I pray it daily.”

Two parents, two Catholic parishes, and the Archdiocese of Denver are suing the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and the state’s Universal Preschool Program. The USCCB’s amicus brief argues Catholic schools should be allowed to participate without compromising their faith.

Although Colorado permits secular and faith-based schools to participate in the program, schools are prohibited from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in the admissions process. The schools argue that this prevents them from only admitting children if their parents agree with Church teachings on those issues.

The USCCB’s amicus brief said the case was the latest example of states and cities using nondiscrimination rules to quietly pressure or sideline certain religious beliefs.

“If this trend continues, it will impair the ability of Catholic organizations and other faith-based service providers to partner with state and local governments to serve the public,” it adds. “The resulting harm to the nation’s social support infrastructure would be immense.”

The bishops urged the court to rule in favor of the Catholic schools and provide “clear instruction to courts across the country that religious organizations cannot be barred from participation in public life merely because they live out their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

“[This] will ensure that these organizations can continue providing vital, irreplaceable services in partnership with the states while freely exercising their faith,” the court filing adds.

Benedictine College gets candidate status for medical school

Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, announced that its proposed School of Osteopathic Medicine received candidate status by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

“Achieving Candidate Status is a significant milestone for Benedictine College. It reflects the dedication and hard work of many people who have helped bring this vision forward,” Dr. Marla Golden, the founding dean, said in a statement. “Our attention now turns to the next major step of achieving Pre-Accreditation Status.”

According to a news release, receiving candidate status allows the college to move forward toward the process of being accredited.

Study shows economic impact of Franciscan University

A study by the analytics company Lightcast found that Franciscan University of Steubenville generates $81.2 million in its annual economic impact and supports 1,146 jobs in the Ohio Valley.

According to a news release from the university, Franciscan’s economic impact was equal to about 1.6% of the Ohio Valley’s gross regional product. It found the university and its students supported 1 in every 45 regional jobs.

“Franciscan University’s first mission is to form men and women in Christ and prepare them to serve God and others through their families, professions, and communities,” Father Dave Pivonka, university president, said in a statement.

“This study gives us a remarkable glimpse at another dimension of that mission,” he said. Franciscan is also an economic anchor for the Ohio Valley — providing jobs, supporting businesses, bringing students and visitors to the region, and sending graduates into the world prepared to contribute and serve.”

New Catholic head of Intercollegiate Studies Institute

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) — founded by William F. Buckley and Frank Chodorov to support conservative college students — named Christopher Fisher, who has a background in Catholic education, as its new president.

Fisher serves as superintendent of Catholic schools at the Archdiocese of San Francisco and previously worked as the executive director of the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture at Portsmouth Abbey, a Catholic monastery and boarding school.

“Chrisʼs deep commitment to the enduring ideas of the Western tradition, his record of institutional leadership, and his passion for forming the next generation of thoughtful, engaged citizens make him exceptionally well-suited to lead ISI into its next chapter,” read an ISI post on X.

In a post on X, Fisher said he is “honored and humbled to be chosen as the next President of ISI, and am deeply grateful to the Board for the opportunity to lead an institution that shaped my own education and vocation.”

Tennessee school district adds Ten Commandments in schools

The Hamilton County School Board in Tennessee voted 6-4 to require all public schools in the county to display the Ten Commandments, joining at least five other counties that have adopted similar rules.

These mandates come less than three months after a state law became effective, which expressly allows public schools and charter schools to display the Ten Commandments alongside the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Father David Sanchez resigned as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and School in St. Matthews, Kentucky, after a civil lawsuit filed last week accused him of dismissing janitor Gladis Garcia Gomez’s claim that she was sexually assaulted by her supervisor, former facilities manager Cesar Barahona.

Archbishop Shelton Fabre accepted Sanchez’s resignation and the priest has been placed on administrative leave, according to a letter the archbishop wrote to the parish Sept. 23. He wrote that Sanchez “does not want to be the source of further unrest in the parish” and remains a priest in good standing.

Father John Schwartzlose, the parish’s associate pastor, has been named temporary administrator. Fabre said he plans to appoint a new pastor in July 2027.

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 17 in Jefferson County, names the Archdiocese of Louisville, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and School, Sanchez, and Barahona. In it, Garcia Gomez says she was hired as a janitor in April 2025 and that Barahona sexually harassed and assaulted her at work over subsequent months. According to the lawsuit, he regularly forced her into the boiler and maintenance room, where he would rape and sodomize her.

Gladis Garcia Gomez v. Archdiocese of Louisville, et al.

She alleges in the lawsuit that when she reported the attacks and sexual abuse to Sanchez in June 2025, he told her he was a close friend of Barahona, did not believe her, and warned her against speaking further. She claims she met with the archdiocese’s human resources department in October 2025, which told her to file a police report, which she did that same month.

Her attorney, John Spalding, said in a statement shared with EWTN News: “It is deeply regrettable that this case exists at all. No person should have to wonder whether a report of sexual violence will be taken seriously and promptly investigated and acted upon. Justice for victims requires more than policies. It requires truth, accountability, and the courage to protect people rather than institutions.”

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Louisville told EWTN News it does not comment on pending litigation.

Police received a report at 9:30 a.m. local time that a Ukrainian man stabbed someone with a knife at the Benedictine Abbey in Jarosław, Poland, a small town near the border with Ukraine.

The police report states that initial findings indicate that the 31-year-old man stabbed four men and one woman. It also states that all five were taken to the hospital and three of the men had serious injuries.

Local media reported that one of the injured men died in the hospital, citing the hospital and the police. Some outlets identified the victim who died as a Catholic priest, but EWTN News has not been able to independently confirm this information.

EWTN News reached out to the police and the convent but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Gray made the announcement at a press conference with Bonnie Engstrom, whose newborn child was miraculously healed after she prayed for Sheen’s assistance. That confirmed miracle led to Sheen’s beatification.

Any purported miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession that has taken place since Pope Francis announced his beatification in July 2019 can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward.

Gray said efforts were underway to gather documentation.

“There’s a potential healing from Stage 4 cancer that resolved itself instantaneously. That one sounds pretty good,” Gray said. “There’s another one of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy of a newborn child. I have no idea what that is but it sounds really bad. So we have a couple different candidates, one for healing a cancer, and healing of another child. And that’s why it’s premature to say anything more than that. We’ll investigate and leave it in the hands of the Holy See.”

James Fulton Engstrom, in what medical experts characterize as a miracle, survived in spite of having spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat. The healthy 16-year-old will present several of Sheen’s relics during the beatification Mass today.

When asked why she chose to call upon Sheen specifically in such a dire moment, Engstrom noted that Sheen had been a favorite of their family for years — a “local boy” with a down-to-earth Midwestern air, a “warm character” who reminded Engstrom of her own grandfather and great-grandfather.

In an on-air interview with EWTN on Thursday, his mother said she and her husband, Travis, were impressed with how thorough the Vatican’s investigation into the miracle was.

“Travis and I felt very reassured that, wow, when the Catholic Church says something is a miracle, it is a miracle,” Engstrom said during the press conference.

The Mass, which can be viewed live on EWTN with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET,  will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s representative.

Magyar also formally invited the pope to visit Hungary and presented him with a book of memoirs by Cardinal József Mindszenty, the former archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary who resisted both fascism and communism.

Following the audience, Magyar, who won Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, ending Viktor Orbán’s 16 consecutive years in power, described the meeting on social media as “an honor” and “inspiring.”

Magyar said the two spoke about the situation in Hungary, challenges facing Europe, the growing impact of artificial intelligence on society, and loneliness among young people.

He also explained his approach to politics, which he said is based on “honesty, genuine human connection, and hard work.”

“At the end of our meeting, I asked for a papal blessing for our country and invited the Holy Father to visit Hungary,” Magyar said.

The Vatican said the discussions covered Hungary’s socioeconomic situation as well as education and “the protection of the most vulnerable Christian communities in various regions of the world.”

The two sides also exchanged views on Ukraine and the Middle East and expressed hope for greater international efforts to promote peace and negotiated solutions to ongoing conflicts.

Magyar gave the pope a book of memoirs by Mindszenty, one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century Hungarian Catholicism. The cardinal, who lived from 1892 to 1975, faced imprisonment and persecution for his opposition to both fascism and Hungary’s communist regime.

Portuguese president meets Pope Leo

Pope Leo also received Portuguese President António José Seguro on Thursday in their first official meeting since Seguro became head of state.

Seguro subsequently met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

The Holy See said the talks covered Portugal’s socioeconomic situation, the promotion of the common good, and international affairs.

“Some regional and international issues were addressed, with particular reference to the repercussions of conflicts around the world, migration, the importance of multilateralism and respect for international law, as well as the urgent need for a constant commitment to peace,” the Vatican said.

The private audience lasted about 40 minutes. Seguro presented the pope with a porcelain sculpture of the crucified Christ made by Portuguese manufacturer Vista Alegre and designed by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira.

Seguro had said Wednesday that he planned to convey “the friendship of the Portuguese people” and renew an invitation for Pope Leo to visit Portugal in 2027, when the country will mark the 500th anniversary of the apostolic nunciature.

Pope Francis visited Portugal twice during his pontificate: in 2017 for the centenary of the Marian apparitions at Fátima and in 2023 for World Youth Day in Lisbon.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

The Sept. 24 Mass will be “a foretaste of heaven,” she predicted, “where we are all going to be worshipping God together and celebrating the Church as a whole, and the power of the body of Christ and every good grace that God has given us. I am so looking forward to it,” Engstrom said at a Thursday morning press conference.

Engstrom spoke to the media along with Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, and Monsignor Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria. Gray said it is a relief, after years of technical investigations and paperwork, to see their work finally come to fruition and be able to join in the celebration of Sheen with the faithful.

That said, Gray admitted he has been surprised during the process at how much attention Sheen has attracted, particularly among young people.

“One question that came up early on [was]: Whoʼs going to care? All the people who knew him when his program was on are very old. But weʼve discovered young people are inspired by Sheen, because heʼs a voice of integrity that inspires people who did not know him in life, that have discovered him in the years since,” Gray said. “So itʼs just exciting to see how much enthusiasm there is,”

Tylka agreed, highlighting the fact that Sheen pioneered “new media” in his day — attracting wide attention, including from non-Catholics — serving as an inspiration to those looking to do the same in 2026. He also showed how to bridge divisions in the Church and in the world because he “always spoke with the truth of the Gospel, with charity and with clarity.”

“Sheenʼs message is timeless because he spoke the truth and he spoke the truth with clarity and charity. I think a lot of people in the world, especially young people, are searching for purpose and meaning and to have a voice that so convicted, he presents the truth of our faith, our belief in Jesus Christ, the truth that God loves us and that life is worth living. I think thatʼs very appealing,” Tylka said.

‘Local boy’

The beatification Mass Thursday afternoon will include 89 bishops, about 1,000 priests, about 850 each of seminarians and religious, and 250 deacons, along with about 50,000 total attendees, Gray said. The Mass, which can be viewed live on EWTN with coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, will be celebrated by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s representative.

James Fulton Engstrom, the third of Bonnie and Travis’ eight children and the recipient of the confirmed miracle that led to Sheen’s beatification, will play a part in the Mass by presenting several relics of Sheen onstage. Gray and Tylka both displayed two of the relics during the press conference: one of Sheen’s zuchettos — the reddish-purple skullcap worn by archbishops — and Sheen’s pectoral cross.

James Fulton, who was born in 2010, spent 61 minutes without a heartbeat while his mother prayed fervently to Sheen to help her child — whom she and her husband had already named after the famous archbishop. Almost exactly 16 years later, James is a happy and healthy teenager. The fact that James’ healing was a miracle was attested to unanimously by the medical experts, cardinals and others at the Vatican tasked with investigating it. In a later on-air interview with EWTN on Thursday, his mother said she sees a connection between Sheen’s devotion to spending an hour before the Blessed Sacrament every day and the 61 minutes her son lie lifeless.

“As a laywoman, I was so impressed with how thorough the investigation was. And Travis and I felt very reassured that, wow, when the Catholic Church says something is a miracle, it is a miracle,” Engstrom commented during the press conference.

When asked why she chose to call upon Sheen specifically in such a dire moment, Engstrom noted that Sheen had been a favorite of their family for years — a “local boy” with a down-to-earth Midwestern air, a “warm character” who reminded Engstrom of her own grandfather and great-grandfather. In that context, calling on Sheen during the worst hour of her and her husband’s life made complete sense, she said.

Despite his highly unusual birth story, James himself is an ordinary kid, a “punk teenage boy,” Engstrom joked, who didn’t ask to be thrust into the spotlight. Nevertheless, he is also a “delightful young man” who is excited — albeit a little nervous — to play a part in the beatification Mass for the intercessor who helped save his life, Engstrom continued.

“For all of our children, weʼve put all of our kids under the patronage of a saint and have really built a culture where we are celebrating feast days. We are calling on their intercession. I want all of my kids to feel like they have a squad that surrounds them, that is following them through life, praying for them, interceding, cheering them on,” she said.

Gray noted that because the late Pope Francis originally announced Sheen’s beatification in July 2019, any purported miracle attributed to his intercession that has taken place since then can count toward his eventual canonization, which typically requires a second miracle to move forward. Gray said the Vatican is considering six different potential miracles involving Sheen’s intercession, including an alleged instantaneous healing from cancer and a healing of another newborn from a condition similar to James’. Pope Leo, a native of Illinois like Sheen, is well aware of the archbishop’s cause, Tylka added.

Both Tylka and Gray said they have no doubt that Sheen will one day be canonized.

“Americaʼs bishop, as Sheen was known, is being beatified during the 250th anniversary of our nation,” Tylka said. “And we have a pope from Chicago, a native son of Illinois, who gave the green light for this to move forward. So I think all of those things say itʼs pretty opportune … I hope that the time between now and actual canonization wonʼt be that long.”

More than 1,000 people gathered for the service, as the cathedral’s schola sang the psalms and canticles and Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of the Archdiocese of St. Louis presided. Bishop Robert Barron of Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, preached.

Barron began by recalling Sheen’s extraordinary influence as a preacher and communicator, including the millions who watched his television programs at the height of his career.

But Barron said he wanted to focus on a different question: What made Sheen “blessed, a saintly man of God”?

His answer, according to Barron, was friendship with Jesus Christ.

From the beginning of his own work in evangelization, Barron said, Sheen had been his “motto and inspiration.” Sheen repeatedly insisted that Christianity was not an abstract philosophy or simply a set of moral convictions but a relationship with a living person — Jesus Christ, who told his apostles that he no longer called them servants but friends.

Barron found a window into that friendship in Sheen’s autobiography, “Treasure in Clay,” particularly in Sheen’s reflection on the prophet Isaiah’s encounter with God.

The passage offered a template for the spiritual journey, Barron said. It begins with an encounter with the holiness of God, moves through a recognition of one’s own unworthiness and ends with a willingness to be sent on mission.

The first movement, he said, is grace.

“Sheen’s life was marked through and through by signs of unmerited divine love,” Barron said. That grace was closely connected to Sheen’s devotion to Mary, whom Scripture describes as “full of grace.”

“Mary, as it were, haunts the spiritual life of Fulton Sheen,” Barron said.

He traced that devotion from Sheen’s baptism at St. Mary Church in El Paso, Illinois, through his priestly ordination in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, his devotion to the rosary, and his more than 30 journeys to Lourdes. Sheen went there, Barron recalled, to visit “the woman I love.”

For Sheen, Mary was the supreme example of a human being receiving the unmerited love of God.

That understanding of love for God also shaped Sheen’s approach to the Eucharist. Barron pointed to Sheen’s lifelong commitment to the Holy Hour, when he would spend an uninterrupted hour each day in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Sheen saw the Holy Hour not as a task to be accomplished but as time spent in the presence of Christ. “Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way,” he wrote.

Barron also recalled Sheen’s image of the person who faithfully sits before the tabernacle as “like a dog at the master’s door ready to see” where the master will send him.

That preparation would lead Sheen to radio and television, where he saw new opportunities to bring the Gospel to a much wider audience. His academic formation, Barron noted, was always directed toward that apostolic purpose. Sheen wanted to bring the Catholic intellectual tradition to bear on the questions of his time while communicating it in ways ordinary people could understand.

He repeatedly heard, Barron said, Christ’s command to “go out into the deep.”

Sheen answered that call through decades of preaching, writing, broadcasting, and missionary travel. Yet “Treasure in Clay” also reveals the fragility of the person carrying that treasure.

Sheen openly acknowledged his weaknesses, including his enjoyment of titles, prestige, and popularity. “I was popular,” Sheen wrote. “I was sought after, I was a friend of both royalty and the masses.” Then came the question: “How close was I to the cross?”

For Barron, that honesty was part of Sheen’s holiness. The closer a person comes to the holiness of God, he said, the more clearly that person sees his own need for forgiveness and healing.

“God is holy. I am not. Woe is me,” Barron quoted Sheen as saying.

Sheen’s sufferings, including those that came from within and outside the Church, became part of that purification. As Sheen put it, “Since I would not take up the cross, the Lord would lay it on my back.”

Through that process, Barron said, Sheen became more deeply conformed to Christ and more ready to be sent. Those themes were reflected in the way people at the cathedral spoke about Sheen and his continuing influence.

Sister of Life Maria Augustine, who traveled from New York with other members of her community, called Sheen “a great teacher and a great evangelist.”

“We look to him for his inspiration and his intercession as we go out into the world,” she said, “to proclaim the good news of human life and love.”

For Cardinal Raymond Burke, Sheen’s example has particular significance for the priesthood. Burke said Sheen inspired his own priestly vocation, and he continues to read Sheen today to deepen his “knowledge and love of the holy priesthood.”

Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, pointed to Sheen’s deep Eucharistic devotion as the source of his evangelizing work.

“To me, Fulton Sheen is a man who was so deeply in love with Jesus in the Eucharist, that he just let that shine out in everything that he does,” Cozzens told EWTN News. “And that’s what I try to do too.”

Barron returned at the end of his homily to the Church’s continuing work of evangelization. The beatification, he said, does not make Sheen any greater; rather, it brings him “in a powerful way before the attention of the world.”

Those seeking “fresh language” to bring the Gospel to modern culture, Barron said, are indebted to Sheen. So are those who preach the “ancient faith with a heart on fire” and those willing to use the communications technologies available to them.

For them, Barron said, Sheen is “a powerful heavenly friend and intercessor.”

EWTN will provide live coverage of the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Sept. 24, with broadcast coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET with a “Beatification Pre-Show” from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, followed by the “Mass of Beatification” at 2:30 p.m. ET. Live updates will also be available through the EWTN News live blog.