Organized by the Finnish pro-life group Oikeus elämään ry, the “Muistamme” (“In remembrance”) event featured 8,645 candles, one for each abortion performed in Finland in 2024.

Johannes Laitinen, one of the eventʼs organizers, said approximately 100 preselected participants were invited to light the candles, chosen because of their personal connection to the loss of children through abortion. Members of the public were also given the opportunity to take part in the candle lighting during the vigil.

After the candles were lit, participants observed a minute of silence, while volunteers remained through the night as the display continued glowing in central Helsinki.

A public witness in the heart of Helsinki

Speaking to EWTN News, Kirsi Morgan-MacKay, chairman of Finlandʼs Right to Life Association, said the vigil sought both to honor the unborn and to confront the public with the scale of abortion in the country.

“The event created a visual that touched peopleʼs hearts and perhaps made them stop and think about how many children are actually lost every year through abortion,” she said.

Morgan-MacKay added that the vigil also aimed to acknowledge the often-unspoken grief experienced by women and families affected by abortion.

She noted that leaders from multiple Christian denominations attended the event, which organizers viewed as an encouraging sign of broader ecclesial engagement.

“We have always hoped that churches would come together to defend the lives of unborn children,” she said, explaining that abortion is not merely political but “a spiritual, ethical, and moral issue.”

A prayer gathering was also held in connection with the vigil at Luther Church in Helsinki, where clergy from Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Catholic communities offered prayers. Representing the Catholic Church, Jean Claude Kabeza, vicar general of the Diocese of Helsinki, conveyed greetings from Bishop Raimo Goyarrola.

Finlandʼs welfare state and the limits of social support

While happy about Finlandʼs reputation for its strong social welfare system, Morgan-MacKay noted that many women facing crisis pregnancies still experience profound isolation. “Many women and families are still left alone in the midst of a crisis,” she said, adding that loneliness and lack of support often persist even within families.

She also observed that in Finland, the lives of unborn children often go unvalued when a pregnancy is unwanted. She pointed out that women confronted with an unplanned pregnancy, sometimes in shock, may see abortion as an “easy” way out, particularly since medical abortion is frequently presented as a simple “procedure.”

Morgan-MacKay also drew attention to Finlandʼs liberalized abortion framework, particularly the increased accessibility of medical abortion, arguing that women may be pressured into rushed decisions without adequate counseling.

“Sometimes the health care system offers abortion as the only option,” she said. “Many times, these women need space to pause, think everything through, and receive real support.”

She added that while Finlandʼs pro-life movement remains relatively small, it is gradually growing, with increased awareness of abortionʼs broader social and personal consequences. She expressed particular encouragement at the involvement of younger supporters, especially young men, saying she believes “God is raising up a new generation of pro-lifers” as more Finns begin speaking openly about the issue.

A bishopʼs medical perspective on abortion

EWTN News also spoke with Goyarrola, who said he remains hopeful that Finland can become more receptive to pro-life values, despite abortion remaining a sensitive and often taboo topic in public life.

Goyarrolaʼs comments carry added weight in Finlandʼs abortion debates because of his medical background. Before entering the priesthood, he trained as a physician, graduating with a degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Navarra in Spain in 1992, and has pursued doctoral research in palliative care at the University of Eastern Finland since 2022.

Drawing on his medical knowledge, he has also written extensively on social issues for general audiences, authoring “Ihmiselämää äidin kohdussa” (“Human Life in the Womb”), on abortion, and “Arvokas kuolema” (“A Dignified Death”), on euthanasia. Both books were widely praised for making complex bioethical questions accessible to ordinary readers.

Reflecting on his experience, Goyarrola said that with regard to discussing abortion, conversations require clarity and compassion rather than confrontation.

“I believe that positive language is what truly reaches people and opens hearts to reflection,” he said. “The Church speaks in defense of life by offering real solutions to real problems and proposing ways to prevent abortion.”

“No one celebrates abortion as a joyful experience,” he added.

Signs of change among younger Finns

Assessing the broader cultural climate, Goyarrola said abortion has historically remained difficult to discuss openly in Finnish society. “Abortion has long been a taboo subject in Finland, and to a large extent it still is,” he said, noting that public discourse is often narrowly framed around “the womanʼs right to her own body.”

Yet the bishop said younger generations appear increasingly willing to engage the issue more thoughtfully. “Among young people, the topic is beginning to be discussed more openly, and with many serious questions,” he noted.

Goyarrola explained that because over 90% of abortions in Finland are carried out for social rather than medical reasons, the underlying causes must be addressed socially as well. He called for “better education, access to information, healthier lifestyles, and more personal responsibility and support for marriage and family life.”

He added that the Church must continue promoting a concrete vision of family and human dignity, saying: “We aim to promote a culture that values life, family, and hope.” He also noted that the Catholic Church in Finland tries to speak about the “need for more children in society,” not for economic or labor-related reasons but rather for the future of Finnish society itself.

“I hope that we can speak about abortion and about life in the motherʼs womb without prejudice, in a rational and thoughtful way,” Goyarrola added. “Only through open and respectful conversation can we better understand the complexity of the issue and seek humane and responsible solutions.”

According to official information released by the shrine, the celebrations will be marked by liturgical observances and moments of prayer in response to the request of St. Faustina Kowalska, who conveyed the words of Jesus: “I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the feast of mercy.”

Mass and vigil celebration

Under this year’s theme, “God, the Merciful Father... To You We Entrust the Destiny of the World,” the organizers invite the faithful to the commencement of celebrations on Saturday, April 11, with a vigil Mass in the basilica to be celebrated by the archbishop emeritus of Kraków, Marek Jędraszewski.

After the Mass, a prayer vigil will take place, continuing through the early morning hours. At midnight, another Mass will be celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Janusz Mastalski of Kraków. Afterward, the faithful will continue to participate in the vigil until 5 a.m.

On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Mass will be celebrated at the outdoor altar by the archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, who also serves as the honorary patron of the event.

During this celebration, the so-called “Bell of Hope” destined for the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius, Lithuania, will be blessed.

One of the most significant moments will be the solemn hour of mercy, a practice deeply connected to this devotion, which will be observed in the basilica at 3 p.m., coinciding with the hour of Christʼs death.

A shrine marked by history and faith

The shrine’s current basilica was built from 1999 to 2002 and was consecrated on Aug. 17, 2002, by St. John Paul II, who at that site entrusted the entire world to divine mercy.

The basilica is noted for its symbolism: Its shape evokes an ark, a sign of salvation for those who place their trust in God. Inside, a tabernacle shaped like a globe representing humanity in need of mercy is situated alongside the image of the merciful Jesus.

It also houses depictions of St. Faustina Kowalska and St. John Paul II — great apostles of this devotion — as well as one of the largest stained-glass windows in Kraków, which symbolizes the light of divine mercy radiating upon the world.

Mass schedule

The shrine has scheduled multiple Eucharistic celebrations throughout the day:

6 a.m. (basilica), celebrated by Father Tomasz Szopa

8 a.m. (basilica), celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Damian Muskus

10 a.m. (outdoor altar), principal Mass with Cardinal Ryś

12:30 p.m. (basilica), celebrated by Father Robert Woźniak

4 p.m. (outdoor altar), celebrated by Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who served as secretary to St. John Paul II for over 40 years.

6 p.m. (basilica), with the participation of young people

7 p.m. (convent chapel)

Broadcasts and global participation

All celebrations will be broadcast on television and digital platforms. The main Mass will be aired on TVP1, while the hour of mercy can be followed on EWTN.

Additionally, the shrine will offer online broadcasts via its official website and YouTube channel, enabling the participation of the faithful from around the world.

The shrine has implemented various logistical measures to accommodate the crowds expected to attend the celebration.

Confessions will be available throughout the night and on Sunday, including in several languages, and Communion will be distributed between Masses.

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.

“We disagree with the decision of the majority of judges at the Constitutional Court but accept it,” the Czech Bishops' Conference wrote in a press release. The episcopate finds it “positive that the court did not reject the idea of the existence of a treaty with the Holy See but only limited itself to partial passages.”

The agreement on certain legal issues was signed in 2024 by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and then-Prime Minister Petr Fiala. It was later approved by both chambers of the countryʼs Parliament and was submitted to the president of the country for ratification.

However, a group of senators filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, which on April 1 stated that two parts of the accord are problematic.

The ruling says that the concordat would “give Catholic Church legal entities a powerful tool to prevent their documents (archive materials) from being made available.” Church archives are important sources of cultural wealth and history, but the accord would “exempt Catholic churches from the obligation to respect the Archives Act, which would, however, continue to apply to all other churches,” the court explained.

The second objection deals with the seal of confession, which would be enacted without any exceptions and would be “a clear violation of the neutrality of the state and the principle of equal treatment of different churches.”

Each side of the treaty understood it differently, the ruling observed, adding that the seal of confession would be more protected than professional secrecy.

Dissenting opinions

Three out of 15 judges of the Constitutional Court presented a different position, arguing the court did not deal with an important part of the legal file presented by senators, such as objections to “the alleged privilege of the Catholic Church in the provision of pastoral care in various types of institutions and facilities.”

However, they admitted that “the Holy See is a subject of international law, which the Czech Republic has recognized,” and so it is “undoubtedly an objective reason for the different treatment of the Catholic Church in various issues.” They further argued that the two problematic passages in the majority decision are not in conflict with the constitution.

Another two judges presented a different position each. One of them, Judge Tomáš Langášek, argued that “the dissenting opinions show that it was possible to adopt a rational interpretation of the concordat in good faith that would not in any way conflict with the constitutional order.”

He said he considers the decision “a paradigmatic change in the role and function of the constitutional judiciary.” The Constitutional Court opposed the intention of the Parliament “to take on an international legal obligation to maintain” the already existing and “legally guaranteed standard of protection of fundamental religious rights and freedoms in [the] future,” Langášek opined.

“The courtʼs concern for equal treatment among churches and religious communities is only a proxy problem,” the constitutional judge added.

‘A legal defeat for people who consider religious freedom an important value’

“It is a political victory for some, and a legal defeat for people, believers and nonbelievers, who consider religious freedom an important value,” commented Jakub Kříž, a lawyer who teaches at the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University in Prague.

At the same time, he said he believes “the absence of a concordat is not a tragedy” either for religious freedom or “for Catholics who, after all, always benefit the most when the state does not get along with them.”

The proposal “would have had no chance of success if” Czech President Petr Pavel “had not intervened and introduced new arguments,” for example suggesting that “the agreement contradicts the sovereignty of the state and its secular and republican character,” the scholar underscored.

The negotiated agreement was “poor in content, innocent, almost devoid of substance,” and the Czech side did not try to “negotiate anything beyond what is already in force today,” Kříž said, adding that it had “more a symbolic” value.

‘A big disappointment’

The decision was a “big disappointment” and “a very unfortunate event,” lamented Father Jiří Rajmund Tretera, a Dominican and professor of canon law at the Faculty of Law of Charles University.

On the seal of confession, there would be “no change to the current situation,” as all believers “were guaranteed that the current legal provisions” regarding “confessional secrecy could not be so easily eliminated” if a religion-averse group “came to power in our democratic state,” the priest said.

Tretera also said he believes the Constitutional Court committed “an unintentional attack against the ecumenical movement.” It argued that the proposed agreement “was not in accordance with the principle of equality of all churches,” yet “this is in conflict with the reality commonly recognized in non-Catholic churches.”

Kříž clarified that “non-Catholic churches did not” oppose the treaty, and “many even welcomed it, seeing its role as a stabilizer of guarantees of religious freedom.”

The only way to proceed is “to start negotiations from the beginning,” as this is not “a bill where a sentence can be deleted,” the lawyer warned.

Yet he said he is skeptical that the Holy See would risk another “embarrassment,” as “the Czech Republic showed to be a rather unreliable international partner.”

Born on Sept. 29, 1931, he founded the public association of the faithful, which is characterized by a Dominican spirituality, in 1981 together with “Little Sister Marie.” The community is composed of missionary brothers and sisters who live out a contemplative vocation and an evangelizing presence, particularly among the poor.

He entered the Franciscan novitiate at the age of 21 and professed his first vows on Sept. 17, the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis.

While serving as a parish priest in the villages near the French town of Vézelay, he met a group of Dominican sisters from the Roman Congregation of St. Dominic, to whom he preached during a retreat in 1974.

That encounter was providential: Among those attending the retreat was Sister Marie, with whom he shared a conviction regarding the urgency of returning to the Gospel, a sentiment in harmony with the spirit of renewal of the Second Vatican Council.

As a result of this experience and encouraged by his Franciscan brothers, who encouraged him to attend to the spiritual needs of the sisters, the foundations were laid for what would, over the years, become the Community of the Lamb.

Living with the poor on the streets

Nevertheless, Chupin never ceased to be a Franciscan. In fact, he was known as “the little brother who wears brown,” as he continued to wear the habit of the Franciscan friars. It was not until 1994 that he assumed an official role within the Community of the Lamb.

His love for the poor played a decisive role in his life. After repeatedly requesting permission from his superiors, from 1982 to 1993 he was sent on mission to the streets alongside two Franciscan brothers.

During the 11 years he spent preaching and living alongside the poor of the streets, he never failed to attend the chapters of the Community of the Lamb in the French Pyrenees, becoming for the brothers and sisters a true spiritual father.

The community noted that his health had been in decline since last January, which allowed many brothers to accompany him, including spiritually, during this final stage of his life.

“Until the very end, in a way that edified us all, Brother Jean-Claude laid down his life, drawing on his last reserves of strength to offer each and every one of us his smile, a word of friendship, his kind gaze, and his fraternal and paternal attention,” read the statement released following his passing.

The brothers and sisters of the Community of the Lamb highlighted their deep union with Jesus and the Gospel as well as their love for St. Francis of Assisi. “Gospel, Gospel, Gospel!” the friar used to say.

They also gave thanks for his life, which was “filled with the light of the Gospel,” and for the gift “that he was and will always continue to be, for all those he accompanied with his faithful friendship: a father, a brother, a friend.”

Currently, the Community of the Lamb consists of approximately 170 sisters and 40 brothers, present in countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Poland, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. Currently, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop emeritus of Vienna, is the bishop responsible for the community.

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.

A new report published by the French Bishops’ Conference presents the latest statistical data from Easter 2026, during which approximately 8,200 adolescents and 13,200 adults embraced the Catholic faith.

The report indicates that the majority of converts are young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, closely followed by the 26-to-40 age group. Women constitute the largest segment, accounting for approximately 62% of the total.

In general, the new catechumens have no prior religious tradition, driven primarily by difficult life experiences, a profound search for meaning, or spiritual encounters that left a lasting mark on their lives, according to the report.

The ecclesiastical provinces with the highest number of baptisms were Paris, with 3,184, followed by Marseille with 1,437 and Lyon with 1,200. The report highlights a notable increase in the military diocese, headquartered in the French capital, particularly during the military pilgrimage to Lourdes.

The ‘magnitude of the thirst for God’

Olivier de Germay, archbishop of Lyon and the official responsible for the catechumenate in the country, reflected on this new reality, one that “never ceases to surprise and challenge us.”

Although society has long been aware of the world’s failure to provide answers to “the deep aspirations of the human being,” the French prelate expressed his surprise at the “rapidity and magnitude of the thirst for God manifesting itself today.”

This phenomenon opens up a new horizon and presents a “major challenge” for the Church, he said, which must offer appropriate guidance for initiation into the Christian life.

For De Germay, the situation also calls upon the “seasoned veterans of the Christian life,” who are invited “to once again become aware of how God can break into [a person’s life] and transform it.”

Among some new initiatives to address the increasing numbers, the regional council launched by the eight dioceses of the Île-de-France region stands out. Titled “Catechumens and Neophytes: New Perspectives for the Life of Our Church in Our Dioceses,” the council will run until May 2027. After gathering feedback from Catholics, including the newly baptized, the council aims to develop an appropriate response to the growing number of converts and to establish common guidelines at the provincial level.

The provincial council is encouraging the other dioceses outside the Île-de-France region to launch other initiatives focused on specific proposals to increase the participation of the newly baptized in the liturgy.

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.

Flanagan, who was born and raised in the small village of Ballymoe, Ireland, before emigrating to the United States, was declared venerable on March 23 by Pope Leo XIV.

Fidelma and Alan Croghan of the Father Flanagan Group in Ballymoe provided insight into the Irish priest’s formative years to EWTN News. “He was the fourth-youngest of 11 children. His father was a herdsman looking after an absentee landlord’s livestock on the estate. They lived in a cottage here at Leabeg,” Fidelma said.

“From birth Father Flanagan’s life was bathed in the warm embrace of a loving family. On the night he was born, they didn’t think that he would survive because he was quite ill. He was a very sickly person all of his life in terms of bad lung health. The story goes that his grandparents also lived in the house with them. So the grandfather took the tiny newborn baby and put the baby skin to skin, against his own heart for the night, and Eddie survived.”

Fidelma shared that from the moment of his birth, Flanagan “knew love and the loving bond of a family; he had a very happy upbringing. Their home was full of music and happiness, neighbors came in and they played music and danced on the stone flagstones of the kitchen floor before a big open fire.”

She added: “He worked with his dad as a shepherd boy tending to the sheep. He was into prayer and reading from a young age, and he wrote about going out on the land with his rosary beads and reading Dickens.”

Following primary education at the nearby Drumatemple National School, Flanagan attended the Diocesan College of the Immaculate Conception, Summerhill College, Sligo, to complete his secondary education and prepare for life as a priest.

Alan Croghan said he has no doubt that the future priest’s upbringing and the family values he espoused throughout his life were formed by his origins and his upbringing in Ireland.

“Our purpose in Ireland here is to educate people and tell them about this man, going on to America to do what he did in Boys Town. He took what he learned here in Ballymoe, how a family should be run,” he said.

Bishop Kevin Doran of Achonry and of Elphin told EWTN News: “Father Flanagan’s life and virtue have much to say to us today, in a wealthy country where so many children are forced to live with homelessness, and in a world in which we still find it so easy to define people as ‘hostile aliens.’”

Boys Town families and descendants often visit Ballymoe and the Father Flanagan Visitor Centre to see the famous priest’s hometown. Fidelma Croghan said: “We had a woman come two or three years ago, and she knelt on the floor of the house, and she cried, and cried, and cried, and said, ‘Only Father Flanagan saved my father; I wouldn’t be here.’ Another visitor told me: ‘I would have been dead as a young man, or would have spent my life in jail, only for Boys Town.’”

If Flanagan’s experiences growing up in Ireland shaped his compassionate approach to the social issues he encountered in Nebraska, his experiences there dealing with troubled boys and young men subsequently influenced his reactions during a return trip to Ireland in 1946, when he visited the country’s reform schools.

He was profoundly troubled at the desperately poor conditions and treatment they encountered. Speaking about the schools in Cork, he told the audience: “You are the people who permit your children and the children of your communities to go into these institutions of punishment. You can do something about it.” He described his country’s penal institutions as “a disgrace to the nation.”

Flanagan had received letters from Ireland drawing attention to the brutal regimes in these schools and wanted to see for himself how bad conditions really were.

In response to his prophetic warnings, the Irish government minister for justice at the time, Gerald Boland, told the Dáil (Irish legislative chamber) “that he was ‘not disposed to take any notice of what Monsignor Flanagan said while he was in this country, because his statements were so exaggerated that I did not think people would attach any importance to them.’”

The schools Flanagan visited included Artane and Letterfrack, institutions that became notorious after the truth of the abuses inflicted on students there eventually emerged.

Messori was the author of the books “The Ratzinger Report” (1985) — produced after interviewing then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI — and “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” (1994), written after interviewing St. John Paul II. Both works became global bestsellers and were translated into a number of languages.

In a post on X, Spanish Bishop José Ignacio Munilla remembered Messori as “a journalist to whom we owe a great deal in the Catholic Church” and highlighted that “The Ratzinger Report” is a book he has “underlined and reread many times, and which has helped me enormously to understand the postconciliar crisis and to navigate through turbulent waters.”

Messori first gained international recognition in 1976, when he published his book “Hypotheses on Jesus,” a work that sought to counter skepticism using historical and rational arguments regarding Christ, thereby becoming a global touchstone for the Catholic faith.

Messori was born on April 16, 1941, in Sassuolo, Italy. He was raised in an agnostic family, with a mother who put him “on guard” against priests.

Between June and August 1964, while studying political science at the university, he decided to convert to the Catholic faith.

“I entered into what felt like a new dimension, where the truth of that Gospel, which until then I had known nothing about, became crystal clear and tangible to me. Even though I had never attended church and had never undertaken any religious studies, I discovered that my perspective — previously secularist and agnostic — had suddenly become Christian. More than that: Catholic,” Messori told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, in a 2009 interview.

The Italian journalist made the comments in Spain, where he had gone to present his book “Why I Believe,” in which he recounted how he went from being an agnostic to becoming the most prestigious Catholic apologist of the era.

Messori also authored “They Say He Is Resurrected,” in which he delved into the facts and data that substantiate the historicity of the Gospel passages concerning the Resurrection.

He also wrote “Black Legends of the Church,” in which he responded to various historical myths concerning the Church, such as those related to the Inquisition, Galileo, the conquest of the Americas, and the Crusades, among others.

In a 2022 statement to ACI Prensa, Messori emphasized that being a convert “has been my drama, but it has also been my advantage, in the sense that I cannot be swayed by human respect when, in reality, for me, the discovery of the Church has been the discovery of a home.”

He further underscored that in his books and articles, faith in Christ has “never” been an “ideology, or something cultural or sociological. It has been a living person.”

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.

On March 23, Pope Leo XIV recognized the heroic virtues of the newly declared venerable, who maintained that couples are made for happiness and that marriage is a path toward it.

With this deep conviction, and conscious of the challenges faced by couples, Caffarel, who was born in Lyon, France, in 1903, founded the movement for marital spirituality known as “Teams of Our Lady” in Paris in 1939.

The beginning of a living legacy

Spaniards Alberto Pérez Bueno and Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer Lozano, the couple in charge of the Teams of Our Lady internationally, have been married for 35 years and have three children. In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, they said the ministry started “with four couples who approached Father Caffarel to ask him how they could live out their faith as a couple.”

“He didn’t have an answer at that moment, so he proposed that they embark on a journey of discovery together rooted in the sacrament of holy orders and the sacrament of matrimony. And that‘s how it all began,” Alberto explained.

Following World War II, the movement, which is primarily lay-led, grew rapidly; today, it is present in 92 countries and is comprised of more than 15,000 teams.

Marital communication and prayer

Mercedes emphasized that from the very beginning, Caffarel saw the need to foster the essentials of marital communication and prayer, convinced that by sharing their problems with one another, many couples could avoid estrangement that sometimes occurs in marriage.

The priest, Alberto recalled, said that “the sacrament of matrimony is an image of God” and “probably the most perfect one there is.” The priest said married couples are called to holiness through a life of “work, personal growth, love, patience, and building a life together.”

“It‘s not an overnight process but rather a journey undertaken over the course of a lifetime. Father Caffarel invited couples to embark on this path and to attain holiness through their work and their life together,” Alberto emphasized.

Mercedes said the priest thought of marriage as a sign “that reflects the love of God” because the relationship of communion that exists between spouses is analogous to the relationship existing among the three Divine Persons: Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

In the priest’s view, the image of marriage allowed for a clearer expression of the idea of ​​a God who is love “and who communicates and expands within his own nature.” From this perspective, “holiness ceases to be understood as a matter of individual effort or moral perfection and is situated instead within the dynamic of love that transforms and animates life,” Mercedes explained.

A continuous path of spiritual growth

The organization of the Teams of Our Lady is based on a specific methodology “that goes beyond monthly meetings,” encompassing prayer, dialogue, and personal commitment. Each team consists of five or six married couples, fostering “listening to the word, personal prayer, prayer as a couple and family prayer, and a profound dialogue in the presence of the Lord that we also have every month,” Mercedes explained.

Ultimately, it is a matter of “having a rule of life, a set of elements through which you strive to improve your Christian life,” she said. There is also a yearly retreat and a specific study theme each month.

Alberto emphasized that the Teams of Our Lady are, in a sense, “precursors of the synodality” promoted by Pope Francis. “It’s a movement that is very nonclerical — though, it must be said, the accompaniment of married couples by priests is essential.”

He also noted that “married couples place their time, their skills, their charisms, and their gifts at the service of others in order to build community.”

Mercedes, who had the opportunity to meet the now-venerable, recalled that in 1973 he stepped aside after founding the teams, convinced that “if it was a work of the Holy Spirit and possessed a charism for the Church, there was no need for him to stay on.”

Leaving the ministry in the laity’s hands, he retired to a house of prayer on the outskirts of Paris, where he began his other “great work”: teaching people how to pray. Mercedes noted that “one of the things he desired most was to teach people how to draw closer to Christ and to serve as an intermediary so that every person could have a personal encounter with God.”

The challenges facing married couples today

Alberto and Mercedes explained how married couples today confront new challenges stemming from the pace of life, particularly the “massive entry of women into the workforce,” which has brought different challenges, such as “finding time to be together and talk.”

They highlighted Caffarel’s enduring counsel: “Seek out these moments; don’t let them slip away,” for life “sweeps us along like a fast-moving river.

They also highlighted the movement’s impact in countries such as Lithuania, with a past marked by communist repression, or in African nations where the teams foster equality, participation, and changes such as abandoning polygamy. This is also true in Europe, where the Teams of Our Lady help strengthen families within increasingly secularized societies.

Both highlight the universal impact of the movement: Couples from diverse cultures agree on the benefits received, particularly the “opportunity to pray together” and the realization of “how difficult it would have been without the presence of Christ in their married life.” Ultimately, this is a way of life that responds to a profound desire: Even as sacramental marriages decline, “there is no diminishing of people’s desire to live as a couple.”

Mercedes also warned of a growing way of dealing with problems: “At the slightest setback, people are right off tempted to give up,” and the couple is not taught how to “persevere and forgive.” Added to this is “a great fear of commitment” and a tendency to avoid lasting bonds or communities despite the fact that, deep down, people “want to be happy and want to stay together.”

For this reason, she emphasized the importance of mutual support and community life: “It‘s fundamental to allow oneself to be helped,” since in her view navigating married life in isolation “is extremely complex.”

The teams offer precisely the necessary tools and support: a setting where married couples share their problems and solutions. Drawing upon their own experiences, they particularly encourage young couples to embark on this path of holiness.

Both expressed their joy that Caffarel has been declared venerable, a long-awaited recognition following nearly 20 years of going through the beatification process, which continues, awaiting a miracle wrought through his intercession.

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 documentary, directed by Andrés Garrigó, is set to premiere in Spain on April 10. It is headed to Mexico and Central America later this month, followed by distribution in the United States later in the year.

The film traces the journeys of figures from both the present day and recent history who, from their Jewish origins, traveled the path toward recognizing Jesus as the Messiah.

The film takes an approach that is in keeping with the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate. That document emphasizes that “the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospelʼs spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”

Following that declaration, St. Paul VI became the first pope to travel to the Holy Land in the modern era. Subsequently, St. John Paul II visited Rome’s synagogue and established diplomatic relations with Israel. Both St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI visited the Auschwitz death camp. Pope Francis and Leo XIV further developed the path charted by Nostra Aetate.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Goya Productions indicated that in the version of the film to be distributed in the United States, “only the testimonies originally in French, Spanish, and Portuguese will require dubbing” and that “more than half of the film will remain in its original English.”

The U.S. version will also feature an additional testimony from Dr. Robin Pierucci, a Jewish convert and neonatologist who lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Other testimonies to be highlighted inlude those of French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj, Harvard Business School professor Roy Schoeman, Brazilian philosopher Edgar Leite Ferreira, British literary critic Robert Asch, American author Dawn Eden Goldstein, and Argentine professor of biblical pastoral studies Luciana Rogowicz.

Garrigó told ACI Prensa that the subject of the film is one “that hasn’t been explored in cinema; people are a bit wary of it.”

He said the idea for the film originally came from a person in Mexico. “We didn’t think it would be possible, but after reflecting on it and later conducting research, we discovered that there were amazing people who had things to say about the Messiah and about discovering [him] from the point of view of Judaism,” he said.

‘Our greatest loves are Jewish’

Garrigó said the core narrative theme of the film is particularly captured in a recording of St. Josemaría Escrivá. In it, the Spanish saint, during one of his well-known informal gatherings, responds to a question from a young Jewish girl whose parents will not allow her to be baptized.

“As St. Josemaría himself says, our greatest loves are Jewish, aren’t they? They are Jesus and the Virgin,” Garrigó observed.

From that standpoint, “everything else is an attitude of openness; and they — the moment they discover Jesus — become deeply committed, the ones who feel called to fulfill an eternal design: that of a chosen people who in the end complete their journey,” the director said.

“They still feel Jewish after their conversion, yet Jewish in a way that fulfills what Jesus had envisioned for them,” he added.

“Searching for the Messiah” also explores other figures of Jewish origin who embraced the Catholic faith, particularly during the last century: Rome’s chief rabbi, Eugenio Zolli; St. Edith Stein, a German philosopher who became a Carmelite nun and was canonized by St. John Paul II, who named her a patroness of Europe and a doctor of the Church; Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who before his conversion was known as one of the most staunch abortion advocates in U.S. history; and the French poet Max Jacob, whose baptismal godfather was his friend Pablo Picasso.

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.

Cerro noted that questions about the seminary’s success lead him and his team to live in “profound humility and sincere gratitude” for what God has granted them through “the heart of Jesus Christ, eternal high priest,” both for the good of the Church and for “a humanity incapable of finding a way back to the Lord, marked by apostasy and, above all, weary and burdened because it lacks the Love of loves.”

In a recent letter, Cerro offered 10 points he said have shaped the seminary’s strong vocation culture — points “strengthened by the pastors who have served this primatial see, watered by the blood of martyrs, and sustained by the witness of holiness of so many lives.”

1. “Reasons of faith”

“We enter the seminary for reasons of faith, not for human reasons, and we remain for reasons of faith,” explained the prelate, who — drawing inspiration from the words Pope Leo XIV addressed to Spanish seminarians in February — added that “when we lose the supernatural dimension of our vocation, we lose everything.”

2. The Church confirms the vocation

Cerro explained that “in the seminary, the vocation — which we place in the hands of the Church — is discerned.” Thus, priestly ordination “takes place when that call has been confirmed by the Church, which is the body of Christ.”

3. A transformed heart

The archbishop of Toledo, recalling his days as a seminarian, said: “I must allow the seminary to pass through me, to enter deep within me, and to gradually form and transform me. Formation must help us to live with the sentiments of the heart of Jesus. We cannot be like those smooth stones we see in mountain rivers: The water flows over them, but it does not penetrate their interior.”

4. Human, not worldly

Another factor contributing to the success of the Toledo seminary is awareness of having “seminarians who are deeply human, yet not at all worldly,” Cerro said, men who share in “the joys, hopes, sorrows, and anxieties of our brothers,” for “the world awaits holy priests who know how to accompany people on the journey of life.”

5. Solid in-depth formation

The prelate said the Toledo seminary offers “solid in-depth formation,” grounded in the magisterium of the Church, “so as not to turn our seminaries into a laboratory for all manner of experiments, the outcome of which we all know.”

6. Based on the word of God and the lives of the saints

“Based on the living word, on the doctrine of the Church, on the experience of the saints, and in dialogue with a world that needs the Redeemer of the world more than ever” — this is how the formation process is carried out, the prelate emphasized.

7. Living in the present

Cerro said the seminary approaches its work “without nostalgia for a past that will not return. With eyes of faith, living in the present in communion with Peter, we form ourselves to live out what is essential: to be holy and blameless before God out of love.”

8. Fraternity and unity in diversity

“The seminary — as a presbyterate in formation — must be a community that lives like a family,” the prelate added, “for this fraternity strengthens that which unites us, enabling us to live with one heart while respecting the healthy plurality of sensibilities that reaffirm one faith, one baptism, and one Lord, in communion with Peter in [Christ’s] Church.”

9. Devoted to Mary

“We place the seminary in the heart of the Immaculate One. She watches over every seminarian so that he may attain the goal of a life of priestly dedication and generosity,” the archbishop shared.

10. Entrusted to the saints and martyrs

Finally, Cerro said he considers the final characteristic of the seminary is that it is entrusted to “St. Ildefonsus, to Blessed Sancha, and to so many holy pastors who have passed through it” as well as “to the martyrs of the religious persecution in Spain.”

He appealed to them to “grant us many holy vocations, so that the Church journeying in Toledo may never lack pastors after the heart of Christ.”

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 Bishop’s Brewery at St. Stephen’s took home top honors at the Czech Brew Star 2026 competition held in Brno on Feb. 6, the diocese announced March 16.

The brewery’s amber lager, Jezule 15%, won gold, while its flagship Czech pale lager, Děkan 11%, was named the overall winner in the Czech light lager category and received a diamond medal — the competition’s highest distinction.

Days later, the brewery’s Easter special — a dark stout brewed from five types of malt — won a gold medal at an international beer festival in Litoměřice, along with the main prize for best beer among all microbreweries in the Ústí nad Labem region of northern Bohemia.

Archbishop-designate Stanislav Přibyl of Prague blessed the Easter stout a few days before the fifth Sunday of Lent, March 22.

“God, you never cease to care for what you have created, you send the abundance of your blessing and give the earth its fruitfulness. We praise you for your infinite goodness and ask your blessing for this batch of beer,” Přibyl prayed. “Beer is a precious drink; through it, people meet and friendships deepen. Grant that whoever drinks it may receive protection of body and soul.”

Why a stout?

Head brewer Robert Kříž said the choice to brew a stout as the Easter special was deliberate.

“Everyone makes green beer before Easter, so we said we’d do something completely different — and the decision fell on a strong dark beer,” Kříž explained.

The stout, a bottom-fermented dark beer made from five types of malt, draws its distinctive flavor primarily from chocolate malt. Kříž described the result as similar to Guinness but noted: “We definitely don’t want to compare ourselves with them. We have our own taste, and that needs to be tried.”

Not 1 but 3 awards

The Czech Brew Star is an international competition that evaluates exclusively unfiltered and unpasteurized beers. The 2026 edition in Brno attracted 113 breweries from six countries — the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Cyprus, Greece, and Italy — with 52 tasters from nine countries judging 444 entries.

The Jezule 15% lager takes its unusual name from the affectionate Czech diminutive for the Infant Jesus. The name was inspired by the children’s book “The Flight Into Egypt Through the Kingdom of Bohemia” by the German-Bohemian author Otfried Preußler, a favorite of Přibyl’s. The beer was originally brewed as a Christmas special and was produced for only the second time in the brewery’s 11-year history.

“The judges praised the perfect harmony of flavors, aroma, and overall quality of this beer,” Kříž said.

Richard Kirbs, the brewery’s director, called the Děkan lager’s diamond medal “a fantastic success in unprecedented competition.”

“This is also the best reward for our brewer and the whole team,” Kirbs said. “The 11-degree Děkan can be tried in the brewery restaurant practically at any time.”

The Bishop’s Brewery at St. Stephen’s was established in 2015 in the Diocesan House of the Diocese of Litoměřice. It is one of a small but growing number of Church-owned breweries in Europe, continuing a monastic and ecclesial brewing tradition that dates back centuries in the Czech lands.

Přibyl, a Redemptorist, was named archbishop of Prague by Pope Leo XIV on Feb. 2 and remains administrator of the Diocese of Litoměřice until his installation in Prague on April 25.

On the night of the Easter Vigil, April 4, more than 700 adults across the French capital will be received into the Catholic Church as part of a sudden nationwide surge.

Across France, more than 13,000 adults will be baptized this Easter, according to data released by the French Bishops’ Conference — an increase of 28% compared with 2025.

The “boom” in adult baptisms in France is a relatively recent phenomenon. It has intensified over the past decade, with a marked acceleration following the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching record levels since 2024.

Within this national picture, Paris stands out as a beating heart of such renewal. According to figures provided by the archdiocese, 788 adult catechumens will be baptized in the city during the Easter Vigil, a 17% increase from the previous year.

These baptisms will take place across 94 parishes and several communities, mobilizing more than 1,000 accompanying members, mostly laypeople. The age distribution is characterized by a predominance of younger people, with nearly one-third under the age of 25, about half between the ages of 26 and 40, and 1 in 5 over the age of 40, with candidates ranging in age from 18 to 73.

Women remain the majority among catechumens, accounting for 58% in Paris, a proportion consistent with national patterns.

The list of Parisian parishes with particularly high numbers of catechumens reveals a landscape that cuts across ecclesial sensibilities and social geographies. Parishes where the Traditional Latin Mass is regularly celebrated such as Saint-Roch in the 1st arrondissement or Saint-Eugène Sainte-Cécile (9th) stand alongside parishes in more working-class or mixed neighborhoods, including Notre-Dame de Clignancourt (18th), Notre-Dame de la Gare (13th), or Saint-Ambroise (11th).

Many of these communities, often led by young and dynamic clergy, have become vibrant centers of parish life.

Robin, a 30-year-old catechumen preparing to be baptized at Saint-Ambroise this Saturday, embodies this trend. Raised in a nonbelieving family with no religious background, he began his spiritual journey through a gradual process of questioning the purpose of life. 

“In a world where everything moves so fast, where we lose sight of what matters, the Church has done me a world of good,” he told EWTN News. “It has helped me put the ‘why’ back at the center of everything.”

His path has been shaped by a growing desire for silence and contemplation as well as a yearning for beauty. “I would go to churches to find a moment of calm, where time would stop,” he explained. “I was looking for a place where you can listen to yourself and reflect on what you want to do with your life.”

“What moves me deeply,” he added, “is the beauty that surrounds my church — its architecture, its music… that’s where I feel something powerful.”

Like many catechumens, Robin described an experience of welcome that proved decisive. At an early stage in his journey, he met a young parish priest who, despite a busy schedule, took the time to speak with him.

“We talked for an hour. It was incredibly reassuring,” he recalled. He was then introduced to a group of parishioners who accompanied him throughout his catechumenate, forming what he describes as a “deep bond of humanity.”

This communal dimension appears to be a key factor in the current surge. While the French model of catechumenate has traditionally been more individual, the growing number of candidates is prompting parishes to rethink their approach, often favoring group dynamics that foster a sense of belonging from the outset.

Many catechumens come from families with little or no Christian background, reflecting a broader shift from cultural Catholicism toward a more deliberate, conviction-based faith. On a national level, the number of catechumens identifying as having no religious tradition now represent a proportion comparable with those from Christian backgrounds.

The scale of the phenomenon is now prompting serious reflection among French Church leaders. In response to the steady increase in adult baptisms, the eight dioceses of the Île-de-France region, together with the Diocese for the Armed Forces, have convened a provincial council set to open on May 31 at Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Under the theme “Catechumens and Neophytes: New Perspectives for the Life of Our Church,” the council will seek to discern how local structures and pastoral practices should adapt to this unexpected growth.

“There are people, politicians, and countries that continue to actively help our country, Ukraine, stand its ground,” the bishop told “EWTN News Nightly” on April 1. “Will there be fewer such people now that the war in the Middle East has begun? Most likely, yes.”

He continued: “I believe that this situation in the Middle East could demonstrate that if we do not put an end to this war and end it justly, then in reality, the conflict could spread even to countries that never even imagined it reaching them.”

Christian town in Lebanon mourns father and son killed in strike

In the Christian town of Debel, Lebanon, grief deepened after an Israeli strike killed a father and his son, an attack residents described as another blow to a civilian population already living under constant fear, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Sunday.

Eli Zognoun, a 27-year-old architect from Debel, said the community is reeling with shock and sorrow over the deaths, adding that the local priest called for prayers for the victims and for the protection of civilians who have stayed behind. He said the two men, George and Elie Soueid, were peaceful civilians deeply attached to their land and families and had been using the only humanitarian road open between Debel and Rmeish in an effort to return home safely.

The Israeli army and Hezbollah have been clashing for days near Debel, where more than 1,700 people still live, according to L’Orient Today, which reported that the Christian villages in south Lebanon remain mostly populated “despite the ongoing Israeli invasion and intense skirmishes with Hezbollah in many regions.”

The report also said “the president of the Dibil municipal council, Akl Naddaf, told the LBCI channel that the residents had ‘asked the authorities to grant them permission to move about safely, but without success.’ Naddaf added that the situation in the village is deteriorating day by day and that the residents are no longer able to meet their most basic needs.”

Chinese cardinal’s Easter message urges hope, care for young people amid wars

Cardinal Stephen Chow, SJ, has called on the Chinese government to give young people who have committed minor crimes a “second chance” and for parents to protect their children from the country’s competitive culture.

“Allow me to call on parents and schools to protect our children by not allowing them to go under the life-sapping and blindingly competitive culture, although a relatively small number of students may thrive in it,” Chow said in his Easter Message 2026, which was addressed to the faithful of Hong Kong. Citing steadily high suicide rates among young people, Chow also called on the government to “reduce the use of ‘Key Performance Indicator’ (KPI) so as to allow our educators more time and space to better accompany their students.” The message came as Chow noted “the spreading of hate and violence” on social media and around the world ahead of Easter.

Cameroon airport carries out test flights ahead of Pope Leo’s visit

Two aircraft operated by Cameroon’s national airline, Camair-Co, successfully landed at Bamenda Airport on Sunday, March 29, in a major step toward final preparations for the planned apostolic visit of Pope Leo XIV to the country planned to take place April 15–18.

“This deployment serves as a convincing full-scale rehearsal to ensure maximum safety during the visit of the sovereign pontiff, scheduled for April 16,” said Adolphe Lele Lafrique, governor of the Northwest Province of the Republic of Cameroon, after the test, according to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Tuesday.

Missionaries travel 2 by 2 into Albania countryside

Missionaries with the National Direction of the Pontifical Mission Societies traveled across the the Diocese of Rrëshen to provide pastoral care to rural communities throughout March.

Traveling in pairs — one religious priest and either a religious or layperson — the missionaries traversed to rural areas across the mountains of northern Albania, where only six priests minister to a region of about 10,000 people, according to a Fides News Agency report.

“A blessing, a word of comfort, a simple gesture are essential tools that have made the mission concrete,” said Father Agustin Margjoni, a Vincentian missionary and Pontifical Mission Societies national director. “In a time dominated by digital communication, human contact has once again proven irreplaceable.”

Irish diocese apologizes after visiting priest says ‘evil demons’ cause autism

The Diocese of Kerry issued a statement after a visiting member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal said during a homily at a local parish that “evil demons” were the source of autism.

“At the recent parish mission in Boherbue Parish, a visiting missioner, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal based in Limerick, made a comment during a talk,” the diocese said, according to a report from the Irish Times on Wednesday. “The remark, which referenced autism, was intended as an illustrative example but was poorly expressed and inappropriate. It was acknowledged that the comment was not appropriate, and a sincere apology was offered at the time for any hurt or offense caused.”

The statement said the priest in question “deeply regrets that the remark caused upset,” adding: “We again apologize to anyone who may have been hurt by it.”

Church in India offers praise for country’s new climate objectives

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India Chairman Bishop Allwyn D’Silva is celebrating India’s new plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2070.

“I commend the government’s updated climate commitments as they build on the success of surpassing renewable energy targets ahead of time and commit to increasing carbon sinks through expanded forest and tree cover,” D’Silva said, according to an UCA News report Wednesday.

Under the new plan, India said it plans to achieve 60% non-fossil-fuel electricity capacity, expand carbon sinks through forests and tree cover, and reduce the intensity of emissions by 47% by 2035, the report said.

Mozambique bishop urges solidarity with flood and conflict victims during Holy Week

Bishop Osório Citora Afonso of the Quelimane Diocese in Mozambique is calling for the faithful to approach Holy Week with mercy toward those impacted by natural disasters and ongoing violence in the country.

“The celebration of Holy Week should be marked by a spirit of solidarity, especially toward those affected by the recent floods and the conflict in Cabo Delgado,” he said in a March 28 statement, according to an ACI Africa report on Monday.

The bishop urged the faithful to support the vulnerable through visits, assistance, and acts of charity. “Christ walks with us,” he said. “In the cross, we see the pain of families who have lost everything, the cries of children, and the exhaustion of those trying to rebuild their lives.”

St. Martin’s Day tradition officially recognized by German UNESCO commission

Martinsfest, held on St. Martin’s Day (“Martinstag”) on Nov. 11 every year, is a major cultural tradition in the Rhineland and is now officially recognized by the German Commission for UNESCO, according to a report by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News.

“The Conference of Ministers of Culture of the Länder and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media have today included five further traditions in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage,” the commission announced on March 27.

St. Martin’s traditions include lantern parades, traditional songs, bonfires, and the telling of the story of St. Martin. “Today, the Martin’s tradition is a firmly anchored part of the public and cultural life of many places in the Rhineland,” the UNESCO commission said.

The altars of repose are a popular devotion in the Catholic Church during Holy Week. The practice begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday, when Catholics commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood.

Afterward, a priest carries the Eucharist in solemn procession from the altar where Mass was celebrated to a decorated side altar lit with candles and sometimes plants and flowers, where it remains for adoration until midnight.

In Rome, many churches open their doors at night to welcome pilgrims to pray before the Blessed Sacrament at the altar of repose.

The tradition recalls Jesus’ request to his disciples to “keep watch with me” in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion.

Lucía Dero Herrero, a pilgrim to Rome from Madrid, Spain, described her experience of the tradition at the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare as a profound moment of connection with God.

“The ceremony and the church were so beautiful,” Lucia told EWTN News. “It helped me to pray and to realize that this is the night it all begins. In a sense, [Jesus] has already been captured, and the next day, he will be crucified.”

Many pilgrims participated in the tradition for the first time. Maureen Finnegan, a 75-year-old woman from Liverpool, United Kingdom, was one. She described visiting the altar of repose at the Venerable English College as a true testament to our faith.

“It was lovely to see the church just absolutely packed. The singing was amazing. It’s certainly a different experience from back home in Liverpool. The whole thing was traditional, and I feel so privileged to have been a part of it.”

As originally reported by the official Vatican News outlet, the recent study, now available as a preprint, was made by several geneticists, including Dr. Gianni Barcaccia of the University of Padua.

In their study, researchers explained that DNA testing could not definitively date the Shroud of Turin but revealed its extensive handling by many individuals over its centuries-long existence. They described it as a “diverse mosaic of genetic traces,” including those from the Mediterranean, India, and even from North America.

“In brief, a reappraisal of those outcomes from the analysis of the DNA traces found on the Shroud of Turin suggests the potentially extensive exposure of the cloth in the Mediterranean region,” the researchers wrote. “DNA traces from various species and regions, including the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe, America, and Asia, indicate that the shroud was exposed to different environments and peoples.”

The Shroud of Turin has been venerated for centuries by Christians as the burial shroud of Jesus and is among the most famous relics associated with his passion. The authenticity of the Shroud of Turin and its connection to Christ have been the subjects of scientific debate.

In 1988, researchers traced it to medieval origins around 1350, casting doubt on whether it was the actual burial cloth of Christ and on whether it came from the Holy Land.

However, the researchers assert in their recent article that the presence of H33, a rare genetic strand, supports their claim that the relic passed through the Middle East at some point in its history.

“H33 is a rare haplogroup found today mainly in the Near East, especially among the Druze, an Arabic-speaking ethnoreligious minority currently present in the Holy Land, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. In particular, the Druze population shares common genetic ancestry with Jews and Cypriots and has historically intermixed with other Levantine populations, including Palestinians and Syrians,” they said.

The Catholic Church has no official position on the relic’s authenticity. It is presently located at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy.

At the center of the route stands the Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross, located in the city’s Jeruzalė (Jerusalem) neighborhood. Unlike the familiar 14 Stations of the Cross found in many Catholic parishes, Vilnius Calvary leads pilgrims through 35 stations, making it one of Europe’s largest outdoor Stations of the Cross ensembles.

A Lithuanian ‘Jerusalem’ built for pilgrims

The devotion of the Stations of the Cross, strongly promoted across Europe through Franciscan tradition, developed in part as a spiritual alternative for Christians unable to make the long, costly, and dangerous journey to the Holy Land.

Vilnius Calvary gave that tradition a local form by integrating prayer with geography: Pilgrims walk a route laid across hills and valleys, with places bearing biblical names creating a pilgrimage experience shaped by movement as well as meditation.

In practice, planners modeled the route using pilgrimage accounts, devotional guides, early maps of Jerusalem, and traditions preserved by the Franciscans, who long served as custodians of holy sites in the Holy Land. These descriptions were then adapted to Vilnius’ natural landscape so that pilgrims could experience the Via Dolorosa not only through prayer but also through the physical rhythm of walking, ascent, and pause.

Founded in gratitude

Vilnius Calvary took shape in the late 17th century following the wars that brought severe destruction to Vilnius and the surrounding region. At the time, Vilnius belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was seized during the mid-1600s conflicts involving Muscovite (tsarist Russian) forces. Lithuanian forces and their allies later recaptured the city, and Church leaders established the Calvary as a public act of thanksgiving for the restoration of the capital.

The project was initiated by Vilnius Bishop Jurgis Bialozoras, who allocated roughly 140 hectares of land from his Verkiai Manor estate to build a church, various chapels, and the pilgrimage path. The area was chosen because its terrain allowed for a symbolic “Jerusalem” in Lithuania: Hills were assigned biblical names such as Golgotha, Zion, and the Mount of Olives, while a nearby stream recalled the Kidron Valley.

The church and the Way of the Cross were solemnly consecrated on June 9, 1669, on the feast of Pentecost.

Why 35 stations of the cross?

The 35-station structure reflects an older “Passion route” tradition in which the devotion extends beyond the standard 14 stations. In such traditions, the pilgrimage includes additional moments associated with Christ’s final hours as well as devotional scenes linked to the Church’s meditation on the Passion.

In Vilnius Calvary, the route begins not with Christ’s condemnation but reaches back to earlier moments of the Passion, including the Last Supper, Christ’s journey toward the Mount of Olives, and his interrogation before Annas and Caiaphas.

The pilgrimage then continues through the later stages of the Passion and extends beyond the Crucifixion. It also draws meaning from the church’s title, the Discovery of the Holy Cross, linking the devotion not only to Christ’s suffering but  also to the Church’s proclamation of the cross as the source of salvation.

Destruction and rebuilding

For centuries, Vilnius Calvary served as a major site of popular devotion, especially at Pentecost, when large crowds traditionally gathered for prayer and preaching along the route.

The site was damaged during the Napoleonic Wars, when French forces occupied the Verkiai forest area and used the church as a barracks and a hospital. Some chapels were damaged, and the church was plundered during the army’s retreat following their failed invasion of Russia.

The most severe destruction came under Soviet rule. In 1962, communist authorities demolished most of the chapels, leaving only a small number of structures nearest the church intact.

After Lithuania regained independence in 1990, reconstruction began. The restored chapels were solemnly blessed again at Pentecost in 2002. Over roughly a decade, the ensemble was rebuilt with 16 masonry chapels, seven wooden gates, one masonry gate, and a bridge structure, restoring the route as a full pilgrimage path.

The church at the center of the pilgrimage

The Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross is not simply a landmark along the route. It is also the spiritual center of the ensemble and the culmination of the pilgrimage. Its position on a high hill is intended to correspond symbolically to Golgotha, and the main altar, dedicated to the crucified Christ, is treated as the central devotional point of the Way of the Cross.

The church also contains an 18th-century silver gilded reliquary containing a relic of the holy cross, which is decorated with rhinestones.

A living devotion in modern Vilnius

Vilnius Calvary remains active as a place of prayer. The route is used throughout the year for organized Stations of the Cross, including regular Friday devotions and monthly pilgrimages. The Secular Franciscans in Vilnius also unite their prayer with the Franciscans in Jerusalem, reflecting the devotion’s historical connection to the Holy Land.

Elzbieta Uckuronyte, a lifelong parishioner at the church, told EWTN News that the Stations of the Cross at Vilnius Calvary had become deeply personal to her over time.

“The first time I went, I didn’t fully understand it,” she said. “But as my faith has grown, I’ve come to see the value in the discomfort — kneeling on stones, walking in rain or snow, crossing hills and streams. It isn’t easy, but it reflects the hardship Christ endured, and there is a quiet beauty in that.”

For many pilgrims, Vilnius Calvary offers something rare in a modern European capital: a sustained Passion pilgrimage shaped not only by texts and stations but also by distance, landscape, and public religious memory.

Preaching at the chrism Mass at Cologne Cathedral on Monday evening — the annual liturgy at which priests renew their ordination promises before their bishop — the archbishop of Cologne urged the priests of his archdiocese to resist what he described as a troubling trend: the replacement of Sunday Mass with Communion services.

“I am concerned that Communion services — often with the distribution of holy Communion — are increasingly replacing the celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays,” Woelki said. “That, dear brothers, is no longer Catholic, and I urgently ask you to counteract this from the outset!”

The services in question are Liturgy of the Word celebrations in which previously consecrated hosts are distributed to the faithful but no Mass is celebrated.

A call to daily Mass

Woelki devoted much of his homily to the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the priest. The celebration of the Mass is “ultimately irreplaceable and cannot be substituted,” he said, according to Cologne’s Domradio.

The daily Mass is not merely a devotional practice but is “constitutive of our priestly being and activity,” Woelki told the priests gathered in the cathedral, Domradio reported. He cautioned that if priests neglect the daily celebration, they risk further distancing the faithful from the opportunity to participate in the Eucharist.

“Even if only a few faithful or even no faithful at all should come to celebrate, its daily celebration is meaningful for us priests and spiritually essential for our very survival,” the cardinal said.

Woelki appealed for a conscious return to the central role of the Eucharist, pointing to the practice of the early Church in which the community gathered around a single Sunday celebration. Reviving that spirit, he said, could strengthen parish unity and set in motion a “spiritual and Eucharistic renewal.”

Cologne’s challenges

By the number of registered Catholics, the Archdiocese of Cologne is one of the largest dioceses in Germany. Yet only about 6% of its Catholics regularly attend Sunday Mass, below the German national average of 6.8%.

Sunday Communion services have been an option in the archdiocese only in recent years. Woelki himself proposed the step as early as April 2022, according to reports from June 2023. The services were introduced in 2024.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

After his mother died, he paid tribute on Instagram to her, writing under a photograph of them together: “You’ll always be the boss.”

The Requiem Mass for Marie Keane took place in the Church of the Resurrection in Farranree, Cork City, the same church where she and her late husband, Mossie, were married in 1963. He died in 2019. Their wedding photograph was placed on her coffin during the Mass.

In his eulogy, Keane said: “From a selfish point of view, we weren’t ready for my mam to go yet. Today, we feel like the heart has been ripped out of our chest. Our mam would not want us to make a fuss today.”

He continued: “Our mam played so many different roles in our lives. She was a wife, mother, sister, daughter, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She was pretty cool at all of them. We can take comfort in knowing she was so deeply loved. We mourn her, but we have to celebrate her life as well. Ultimately, our mam and dad were at their happiest when they were together. And they are together. God bless, mam — and thanks for everything you did for us.”

Marie Keane passed away peacefully in the presence of her family at Marymount Hospice in Cork after suffering a long illness.

Roy Keane, who captained Manchester United during their most successful era and played for Ireland at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, is one of Ireland’s most famous sportsmen. He grew up in Cork City. After a period managing and coaching at club and international level, he is now a soccer pundit on television.

In his autobiography, Keane talked about his faith. “Sometimes I don’t know what’s best for myself, and that’s why I’ve got great faith; the man upstairs looks after me. I just have to trust him a bit more.”

Notoriously private, Keane previously said in an interview that he attended Mass most Sundays. “I have to drag the kids along sometimes, but they are all very well-grounded because that is what my life is,” he said.

In his address, he looked back on the parenting skills of his late mother and father with great affection: “Our mam didn’t always [give] what we wanted but always gave us what we needed. She was pretty strict with us, and if we were up to no good, she had an amazing skill of throwing a shoe, and no matter where we were in the house, she would always hit the target.”

Recalling a happy childhood growing up with his parents, Keane said: “Summer holidays to Garretstown were always special. In the evening, we would get a bag of chips. We thought life was great, just so simple. They would both be in great form. It was like going to Australia. We would also enjoy trips up to Dublin to the All-Ireland back in the days when Cork used to win. The only disappointment was our dad telling us once we got up to Dublin that we had no tickets for the match. But you can’t have everything.”

Thanking the wider family circle for their care, Keane said: “I have never known a closer family. Your help and support over the last couple of years has been a great example to us all. We will never be able to thank you enough. The turnout today has not surprised us. Our mam always looked out for other people. Not only was she kind and caring, but she had a good sense of humor, right up until the end.”

Father Sean O’Sullivan, who celebrated the Requiem Mass, told mourners that Marie Keane was everything to her family. She cherished them “not for anything they had done or achieved” but simply for who they were.

“While our hearts expand to love others as we grow, there is a place in our hearts that forever belongs to our mother. That is what makes them so special. It also makes it hard to lose them,” O’Sullivan said.

Keane’s praise for his family, faith, and upbringing follows the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood last month where his fellow Irish star, Best Actress winner Jessie Buckley, paid a warm tribute to her parents and the beauty of motherhood in her acceptance speech.

When thousands of Muslims took part in a prayer service in London’s Trafalgar Square in March to mark Iftar, the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, the event was hosted by London Mayor Sadiq Khan. It was also welcomed by political leaders, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighting the Trafalgar Square event as an example of “the great strength of our diverse city and country.”

Starmer added that he would sack anyone from his “team” who said “Muslims praying in public … are not welcome.” Defending the event against outside criticism, Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Stella Creasy said: “Muslims should be as free as Christians, Sikhs, and Jews to celebrate their faith in Trafalgar Square.”

Criticizing the response to the event, Paul Sapper, ADF International communications officer, told EWTN News: “There is a two-tier bias in how many in our political class view public prayer and freedom of religion. Mass Islamic prayer is defended and celebrated as characteristic of ‘our tolerant and diverse country,’ while the silent prayer of solitary Christians is criminalized.”

Many Catholics have taken particular issue with the comments made by Creasy, the pro-abortion MP who was responsible for pushing a law that banned silent prayer outside abortion facilities. Under Section 9(1)(a) of the Public Order Act, which became law in October 2024, “influencing” any person wishing to access an abortion facility became illegal, leaving pro-life activists concerned that silent prayer would be considered a crime.

These concerns were realized when British army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was found guilty of breaching a local buffer zone in October 2024 by praying silently outside an abortion clinic and given a fine of almost $12,000. This was followed, in December 2025, by police charging Catholic campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, 48, from Worcestershire, for silently praying in an abortion clinic “buffer zone” under the Public Order Act 2023. The date for her trial has been set for October.

Sapper complained that the celebration by “the political establishment” of “mass Islamic prayer” while supporting buffer zones “shows a clear bias against Christianity,” adding: “The undeniable reality is that ‘buffer zone’ legislation is being used in this country to ban silent Christian prayer in what is the most egregious example of censorship in Britain today. ‘Buffer zones’ are used to censor not only speech but also people’s most intimate thoughts, as the examples of Adam and Isabel show. This is real-life thought-crime.”

ADF International is a Christian legal advocacy organization that defends fundamental freedoms. ADF has legally supported Vaughan-Spruce and Smith-Connor as victims of ‘buffer zone’ censorship, with Sapper describing them as “peaceful Christians who merely silently prayed in a public space, as is their lawful right in a free country.”

Highlighting Creasy’s role in particular, Sapper added: “Stella Creasy introduced Section 9 of the Public Order Act (POA) 2023, which introduced ‘buffer zones’ around all abortion facilities in England and Wales. Creasy also voted against a specific amendment to POA 2023 which would have made it clear that silent prayer is not a crime.”

“ADF International and many others warned that this would lead to the criminalization of silent prayer, and we sadly have been proved right. If anyone supports the criminalization of silent prayer and pretends to care about freedom of religion, they simply should not be believed,” he said.

Backing Sapper’s point, Vaughan-Spruce complained of the praise given to the Islamic event. She told EWTN News: “Politicians suddenly seem to be lining up to defend the right to pray in public — but only when it’s Muslims doing the praying. I’ve been charged three times in connection with my silent prayers, arrested twice, and am now facing court again. Where are those same voices when it comes to defending my rights as a Christian?”

“We were told that buffer zones were needed to prevent harassment and intimidation, yet the only people being charged under this law are peaceful, prayerful Christians.”

Responding to Creasy’s comment that “buffer zones don’t ban prayer,” Vaughan-Spruce said: “If Ms. Creasy truly believes buffer zones don’t ban prayer, then why has she been silent throughout my ordeal? I face court again for doing nothing more than silently praying on a public street. I would welcome support from Ms. Creasy if, true to her word, she believes buffer zones don’t ban prayer.”

Looking to the future, Vaughan-Spruce urged Catholics “to recognize the rights we do have and use them,” adding: “So often it’s our own fear or complacency which limits us. God himself tells us in Joshua 1:9: ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’”

The case follows a Europa League match between Red Star Belgrade and LOSC Lille (Lille Olympique Sporting Club) on Feb. 26, when UEFA’s Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Body imposed multiple fines on the Serbian club totaling 95,500 euros (about $110,000). These included a 40,000-euro penalty for transmitting a message deemed not fit for a sports event and bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute.

The sanction drew political attention after reports suggested it may have been connected to a stadium display featuring an Orthodox Christian icon alongside a religious message invoking faith and victory.

In response to an inquiry from EWTN News, UEFA said the fine was linked to a banner containing the phrase “F*** UEFA” and not to the religious display. It added that there is no sanction related to the choreography itself.

MEP raises concerns

Greek member of European Parliament (MEP) Emmanouil Fragkos said the case raised broader concerns about the application of rules governing religious expression in European football.

“UEFA and all UEFAs must learn to be accountable to the football fans and all the real people,” Fragkos told EWTN News, adding that he supports religion, tradition, and the right of people to speak freely. He also emphasized the need for greater awareness among supporters of their “collective power” in shaping how such decisions are received.

In a letter to Glenn Micallef, the European commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture, and sport, Fragkos said the case “raises serious concerns” about UEFA’s approach, questioning how “a peaceful expression of faith and identity” could be deemed inappropriate and calling for “consistent and transparent application” of the rules governing messages displayed at matches.

Christian symbolism debate

Reports had also pointed to a separate sanction involving LOSC Lille following its Europa League match against Aston Villa on March 12, where a banner depicting St. Joan of Arc was displayed. UEFA told EWTN News those claims were inaccurate, stating that any sanction in that case was related to insulting chants directed at an opposing goalkeeper and not to the imagery.

The episode comes amid ongoing debates in Europe over the place of religious symbols in public life, including a case before the European Court of Human Rights, Union of Atheists v. Greece, concerning the display of Orthodox Christian icons in Greek courtrooms. The applicants argue that such imagery may affect perceptions of judicial neutrality and religious freedom.

The agreement does not establish specific parameters for financial compensation — neither minimums nor maximums — because it is not intended to be the sole avenue for reparation. Furthermore, as agreed upon by the signatories, the aim is to address each case on an individualized basis.

The signing of the new protocol, which will enter into force on April 15, took place at the ombudsman’s office on March 30. Present at the ceremony were the president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), Archbishop Luis Argüello; the president of the Spanish Confederation of Religious (CONFER, by its Spanish acronym), Dominican Father Jesús Díaz Sariego; the minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Cortes (legislature), Félix Bolaños; and the people’s ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo.

Alluding to the liturgical season, Argüello expressed at the beginning of his remarks the hope that the agreement would serve to “alleviate the passion (suffering) of so many victims of abuse,” specifically those whose cases have passed the statute of limitations or whose abusers have died.

The prelate underscored that this new system is an extension of the efforts undertaken for years by ecclesiastical institutions, efforts that more than a year ago took concrete form in the PRIVA plan for the comprehensive reparation of abuse victims. This plan has already resolved over a hundred cases, offering, among other measures, financial compensation to more than 80 individuals, totaling 2.5 million euros ($2.86 million).

Under this new protocol, the system implemented by the Catholic Church “is never replaced; rather, it is complemented by collaboration with the public authorities,” an arrangement whose concrete realization has been delayed beyond initial expectations, yet which Argüello views as “an opportunity for collaboration, while naturally respecting the scope and jurisdiction” of each signatory institution.

Sariego remarked that “an agreement — even an imperfect one — is preferable to no agreement at all” and expressed the hope that this day would “serve to alleviate that pain and suffering which we know is immense and runs deep.”

Bolaños noted that this constitutes a model “that involves the victims,” in which “comprehensive reparation is guaranteed” and which is structured as “a collaborative effort”; however, he underscored that “the final say will rest with the state” in the event of a disagreement between the experts from the Catholic Church’s PRIVA Plan and the team appointed by the people’s ombudsman.

Bolaños also commended and acknowledged the work of the experts appointed by the Catholic Church, “even though the PRIVA Plan contained an ‘original sin,’” namely, that it was the Church itself that determined what compensation victims of abuse within its own ranks would receive, a factor that led “many victims to lack confidence” in the system.

During his remarks, Gabilondo stated that the signatories had debated “every comma” of the 14-page protocol. “I cannot recall anything that was not complicated, nor anything that proved insurmountable,” he stated when asked about the difficulties encountered during this process.

End of a phase

The signing of the protocol marks the conclusion of a phase that began in March 2022, when the legislature tasked the ombudsman with investigating abuses within the Catholic Church. In October 2023, the ombudsman presented his report, which included a recommendation to establish a state-run reparations system.

In April 2024, the executive branch approved an implementation plan for measures proposed by the ombudsman, a plan that the CEE rejected on the grounds that it was based on “a condemnatory judgment of the entire Church, rendered without any form of legal safeguards,” and amounted to “the state publicly targeting the Church in a discriminatory manner.”

Despite this rejection, a preliminary agreement was reached in January 2026, an agreement in which the Vatican secretariat of state was reportedly involved, as acknowledged by both Argüello and Bolaños. The minister confirmed on March 30 that on March 20 he held a further meeting at the Vatican Secretariat of State while in Rome accompanying the king and queen of Spain, who were received by Pope Leo XIV.

How the system will work

Effective April 15, any victim of abuse within the Church may contact an office established for this purpose within the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Cortes, which will forward the information to the ombudsman.

The Ombudsman’s Victims Unit will review the case within a maximum period of three months — extendable by one additional month if necessary. If the case is accepted, the Ombudsman’s Victims Unit will submit a proposal for redress to the PRIVA Plan Advisory Commission, which will have a maximum of two months to evaluate and respond to it.

The ombudsman will then have 15 days to convey these assessments to the victim.

If all parties are in agreement, the decision shall be deemed final. Otherwise, the dispute is referred to a joint body comprising representatives from the ombudsman, the CEE, and CONFER as well as associations of abuse victims, which will have an additional 15 days to reach a resolution.

If an agreement is still not reached, “the ombudsman and the representatives of the ecclesiastical institutions will make a final attempt to reach a consensus within a maximum period of one month.”

Ultimately, it would be the Ombudsman’s Victims Unit that makes the decision, which the Catholic Church must abide by.

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 position focuses on promoting FoRB in the EU’s external relations, including engagement with third countries, international organizations, and civil society.

McGuinness brings senior institutional experience to the role. During her time in the European Parliament, she led dialogue with churches, religious organizations, and philosophical groups under Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which provides a formal framework for engagement between EU institutions and faith communities.

The European Parliament’s Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief welcomed the appointment, with co-chairs Miriam Lexmann and Bert-Jan Ruissen saying it was “high time” the post was filled after remaining vacant for over a year.

Ruissen pointed to ongoing global challenges, including serious violence and persecution faced by Christians in Nigeria and surrounding countries, the situation of religious minorities in Syria, and anti-conversion laws in Pakistan and India.

Lexmann emphasized the envoy’s importance in today’s turbulent world: “In the rough sea that characterizes today’s geopolitical reality, the protection of freedom of religion or belief, which is a fundamental human right, must remain our compass. It is precisely in moments of global uncertainty and conflict that the European Union must stand firm in defending human dignity, religious freedom, and the values on which the European project was founded.”

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) welcomed the appointment. The COMECE president, Italian Bishop Mariano Crociata, noted that the bishops’ conferences have worked closely with McGuinness in the past.

Crociata underlined that the role is a key component of the EU’s external action and is essential for advancing the protection and promotion of freedom of religion or belief worldwide.

COMECE reiterated its call for the position to be supported by a strong mandate and adequate resources, especially amid rising global discrimination and persecution of religious communities.

The special envoy post was created in 2016 following calls from the European Parliament to strengthen the EU’s response to global religious persecution, including attacks by ISIS against Christians and other religious minorities.

The first holder was Slovak politician Ján Figeľ, who served from 2016 to 2019. He was actively involved in international advocacy efforts on behalf of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row after being falsely accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted in 2018 and now lives in Canada.

While previous popes had carried experiential “baggage” with respect to the Orthodox church into their pontificates, Weigel said Pope Leo XIV “gets it in terms of what is actually going on” and predicted renewed promise for Orthodox-Catholic relations under his pontificate.

While he acknowledged Leo has only been pope for less than 11 months, Weigel said: “This is a deliberate man. I believe that he will work deliberately to try to reformulate this, but we’re going to have to give him time.”

Weigel’s remarks came during a panel at an event organized by the Center of Ukrainian Studies at The Catholic University of America, the Ukrainian University, and the St. Gabriel Institute titled “The Pseudo-Sobor 80 Years Later: The Persecution Continues.”

Weigel said in his own interactions with the Holy Father, he has suggested that the approach to dialogue with Orthodox churches should not center on theological primacy as heavily as in the past.

Rather, he said, it should focus on the fact that Orthodoxy “does not have a credible 21st-century church,” with a fully formed approach to church-state relations, particularly in light of the Russia-Ukraine war.

“It needs to get one,” he said. “And the people who actually have a fully developed social aspect are the Catholics, and that should be where the focus should be,” Weigel said.

“It would be a matter of Rome saying, ‘Look, it took us 200 years at least to figure out the post-Constantinian period to understand religious freedom within our own theological framework as a fundamental human right … Maybe we can help you with this. Maybe we can learn something from you,” he said.

Weigel said the dialogue will need to happen outside of formal settings and that with Leo, he believes “there will be over time an opening” to such discussions.

Under this approach, he said, Rome can move on from previously unsuccessful efforts to engage with the Orthodox church.

The panel discussion comes amid the 80th anniversary of the 1946 Pseudo-Sobor on March 8–10.

After Ukraine came under Soviet control during World War II, the Stalin regime began a campaign against the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), arresting its leader, Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj, in April 1945 along with other bishops in the Slovak territory, panelist Katerina Budz recounted.

With their bishops imprisoned and faced with their own arrest if they refused to comply, priests and lay members of the UGCC were summoned by a Soviet initiative group to participate in the 1946 Pseudo-Sobor, in which a vote was cast to officially sever ties with the Vatican and “reunify” with the Russian Orthodox Church.

“Imagine,” Budz said, “your bishop is imprisoned, and unless you agree to join the initiative group, most likely you will be too. After your arrest, the church will be closed, your parishioners will have no pastoral care, and your wife and children will no longer be able to count you as a family provider.”

“It was in this particularly challenging environment that the Greek Catholic clergy had to make life-changing decisions,” she said, noting the clergy also faced backlash from the nationalist underground forces and from their parishioners.

Tucked along the Mediterranean coast, the principality of Monaco — whose official language is French — is often associated with Formula 1, wealth, glamor, and the famed Monte Carlo Casino. Yet beneath its polished exterior lies a profoundly Catholic heritage that continues to shape its laws, culture, and monarchy.

Here are 10 key things to know about Monaco and its enduring Catholic identity:

1. Monaco is the last European country that is Catholic by law.

Unlike many modern European nations, Monaco officially recognizes the Catholic Church as the state religion. Only a tiny handful of countries still have Catholicism as their official state religion in law including Vatican City, Malta, Costa Rica, and Liechtenstein. Monaco is the last European country whose constitution declares “the Catholic, apostolic, and Roman religion” as the state religion, making Pope Leo’s visit a spotlight on Europe’s final officially Catholic state.

Currently, more than 90% of the population — roughly 38,000-39,000 people — identifies as Catholic.

Monaco also has an older population. Roughly a third or more of residents are over 65. Life expectancy in Monaco is among the highest in the world — often estimated in the late 80s — which means the Church here walks with a very elderly population.

2. The current sovereign has deep Catholic roots.

The ruling family of Monaco, the House of Grimaldi, has long been closely tied to Catholicism. Prince Albert II of Monaco, the current sovereign, was baptized and raised in the faith, as were his predecessors. Prince Albert is the son of Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly, who was also Catholic.

Prince Albert II is 68 and has been married to Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic swimmer, since 2011. They have two children — twins Jacques and Gabriella.

Before marrying Wittstock, Albert had two children out of wedlock — Jazmin and Alexandre. While both are recognized as children of Prince Albert, they are not in the line of succession for the throne because their parents never married.

3. Monaco is the second-smallest country in the world.

Believe it or not, Monaco is smaller than New York City’s Central Park. Only Vatican City is smaller than Monaco. The principality covers just about 2 square kilometers (less than 1 square mile), yet it packs in a dense population and world-class infrastructure.

It should be noted that Monaco is both a principality and a country. It is a sovereign, independent city-state and its status as a “principality” relates to its form of government — a constitutional monarchy ruled by a prince.

4. Monaco has only one Catholic diocese and one archbishop.

The small country only has one diocese, the Archdiocese of Monaco, and the Guiness World Records recognizes it as the smallest diocese in the world by territory.

During his visit, Pope Leo will meet with Archbishop Dominique‑Marie David — a French priest ordained in Nantes, France, and appointed to Monaco in 2020 — the only archbishop in the country.

5. Catholicism by the numbers in Monaco

Monaco has a surprisingly rich parish life: Six parishes and about 15 churches and chapels serve this tiny country.

There are 29 priests in active ministry — including one official exorcist: Canon Alain Goinot, who was appointed in 2015 — as well as 14 religious sisters. The four communities of religious sisters include Dominicans, Oblates of the Virgin Mary of Fátima, Filles du Saint‑Cœur de Marie, and Sœurs de Notre‑Dame de l’Incarnation.

Additionally, if you were to look at a map of Monaco you would see that on each corner of the principality there is a church: the Cathedral on the Rock, Saint‑Charles with the Dominicans, Saint‑Martin–Sacré‑Cœur, Sainte‑Dévote, Saint‑Nicolas in the port, and the Prince Palace’s own chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

6. Monaco is where a billionaire and a housemaid can sit in the same pew.

Monaco has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. Its economy thrives on luxury tourism, banking, and real estate, attracting millionaires and billionaires from across the globe.

One major reason the wealthy flock to Monaco is that it does not levy personal income tax (with a few exceptions). This has helped establish it as a global tax haven.

Abbé Christian Venard, episcopal vicar for communications of the principality’s archdiocese, told EWTN News in an interview that “while there are very wealthy people, ordinary people, sometimes even very simple ones, are also needed to make the system work. This social mix gives our diocesan Church a truly unique character. Sometimes in church, a billionaire and a housemaid can sit on the same pew. The Church is one of the rare places of social intermingling in the principality and must take this important aspect into account in its daily apostolate.”

7. Monaco hosted one of the most-watched royal Catholic weddings.

The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate — formerly the Cathedral of St. Nicholas — is where Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly were married in 1956 and where many princes and princesses, including Kelly, are buried. Their wedding Mass is still one of the most-watched royal Catholic weddings in history.

8. Monaco’s patron saint is St. Devota.

Monaco’s patroness, St. Devota (Sainte Dévote), is so important that her feast — Jan. 27 — is a solemnity and day of precept in the archdiocese. Her relic is even kept in the palace chapel.

St. Devota is a revered early Christian martyr believed to have lived in the late third or early fourth century. According to tradition, she was born in Corsica and killed for her faith during Roman persecution. Her body was said to have been placed on a boat by fellow Christians, which miraculously drifted to Monaco, where she became the principality’s patron saint.

9. It is a pro-life country.

One of the clearest reflections of Monaco’s Catholic identity is its legal stance on abortion. Influenced by Catholic moral teaching, the country has historically prohibited abortion except in very limited circumstances. This legal framework reflects a strong cultural commitment to the dignity of human life.

Last November, Prince Albert refused to sign a bill that would further liberalize abortion in the principality, even though it passed in Parliament 19-2. Albert said he understands “the sensitivity of this issue” but insisted the current law better respects Monaco’s Catholic identity and the special place of the Church while still ensuring “safe and more humane” support for women.

10. A princess was removed from the British line of succession for becoming Catholic.

In 2018, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, a member of the royal family of Monaco, was removed from her distant place in the British line of succession after becoming a Catholic.

Princess Alexandra was born in Austria and baptized a Lutheran two months after her birth. She is the daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Prince Ernst August of Hanover. Through her father she is descended from Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Alexandra is the granddaughter of Grace Kelly, who in 1956 became Princess of Monaco when she married Rainier III. So in addition to having been in the British line of succession, Alexandra was the 12th in line to the Monegasque throne.

Because the British monarch is head of the Church of England, which is the established church there, British law bars Catholics from succeeding to the throne.

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 allowed heirs to the throne to marry Catholics, among other changes. However, the law still stipulates that the acting British sovereign must not be a Catholic. Catholics have been barred from the English throne since the Act of Settlement 1701.

During the brief visit to the chapel, the pope will meet with young people and catechumens from Monaco outside the church.

Located in the Ravin de Sainte-Dévote, the chapel devoted to St. Dévote dates back to before 1070 and is a key site for Monegasque traditions, including the annual burning of a boat and the royal bride’s bouquet-laying.

Although relatively unknown beyond Monaco, St. Dévote remains a deeply admired figure in the small city-state where her legacy has been honored for centuries after her martyrdom. But who was this beloved young woman whom Monaco still celebrates?

Legend of St. Dévote

The sources of the legend of St. Dévote have survived in the form of manuscripts. The oldest known version dates back to the early 12th century and is now housed at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

According to the ancient legend, Dévote lived in the third century in Corsica, a small mountainous Mediterranean island. She was a young Christian when openly following Jesus could mean prison, torture, or death. As a devout follower of her faith, she consecrated her virginity and life to Christ.

When persecution rose, Dévote was arrested. The young woman refused to deny Christ, so she was brutally tortured and killed. It is believed she was martyred by the prefect Barbarus during the reign of Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303 or 304.

Her persecutors planned to burn her body so Christians would have no relics or body to venerate, but a small group of Christians secretly recovered her body. They placed it on a boat sailing to North Africa, hoping to bring her relics to a community that would bury her with honor and invoke her as a martyr.

The legend says that as the boat journeyed, a mysterious dove appeared and guided it along the coast, but a violent storm broke out and the sailors prayed for Dévote’s intercession and the storm suddenly calmed. The boat finally made its way to a port in Monaco.

The Christians believed the diversion was a sign that God had chosen Monaco as Dévote’s final resting place. She was buried there and a small and simple oratory was built over her tomb.

The faithful in Monaco never forgot the teenage martyr whose body arrived on their shore in the storm‑tossed boat. St. Dévote became the patron of Monaco and of the ruling Grimaldi family — which has reigned in Monaco since 1297.

She is also a protector for sailors, fishermen, and all who travel by sea.

Monaco’s deep devotion to the young martyr

The legend of St. Dévote is one of Monaco’s oldest traditions, influencing a deep devotion to the faith and to the saint. It has also shaped national life in Monaco including its literature, arts, music, coins, and stamps.

The Chapel of St. Dévote, where Pope Leo will visit, is first mentioned around  1070 as belonging to the Abbey of St. Pons. The chapel was rebuilt and expanded several times. It became a priory in the 13th century and then was acquired by Honoré I, Lord of Monaco, in 1536. It later became a parish church in 1887.

St. Dévote’s feast day falls on Jan. 27 and has become an important day for Catholics in Monaco. It is celebrated as a solemnity and a national public holiday.

Her feast day is honored in many ways, but most notably with the burning of the boat. On the evening of Jan. 26, the prince and royal family, the archbishop, clergy, locals, and visitors gather at the chapel. The group prays as the prince and archbishop set a small wooden boat on fire outside the church. The crowd prays, sings, and watches the boat burn, which serves as a reminder of the boat that once carried the martyr to safety and the fire that threatened to erase her memory.

The day after the burning of the boat, on Jan. 27, the faithful continue to celebrate. Catholics attend Mass and then process with relics of St. Dévote past the Prince’s Palace of Monaco and through the Rock of Monaco.

Throughout the year the saint is also honored with statues, artwork, and symbols around Monaco, especially near the port where her legend is centered.

In St. Dévote’s honor, it is also customary for brides to offer their wedding bouquet to the saint as a way of asking her to bless their marriages. It is a long-standing tradition for the bride of the sovereign prince to lay her bridal bouquet at the Chapel of St. Dévote after the royal wedding ceremony.

At the outset of her message, Postigo acknowledged that the young woman’s story has deeply affected her: “I have been profoundly moved,” she noted, before summarizing the tragedy of Castillo’s life.

“A young woman — the daughter of divorced parents facing severe difficulties — was taken into the care of Social Services and placed in a juvenile detention center. There, she was gang-raped and received neither the psychological care nor the human support she so desperately needed. Following a failed suicide attempt, she was left wheelchair-bound, plunging even deeper into her pain,” Postigo explained.

This story “lays bare the deepest fissures within our system: It reveals a victim of institutional abandonment who was left utterly alone to face her suffering,” the specialist asserted.

Her request for euthanasia “is presented as an act of freedom, yet in reality, it expresses the hopelessness of someone who was never truly embraced or treated with the dignity she deserved. We are not dealing with a case of euthanasia here but rather one of assisted suicide.”

‘A grave failure that sets a precedent’

The Pontifical Academy of Life member emphasized that Castillo did not “suffer from a terminal illness but rather from profound depression stemming from unhealed trauma. Even so, the law permits opening that door without distinguishing between irreversible physical suffering and psychological suffering that can be treated and alleviated.”

In her view, this consideration constitutes “a grave failure that sets a precedent: a regulation that is today being applied to individuals who could regain their lives if they received the appropriate help, therapy, and support.”

The law — rather than offering genuine compassion — ends up legitimizing the renunciation of life by those who most need support and hope.

Elena Postigo

corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life

“The law — rather than offering genuine compassion — ends up legitimizing the renunciation of life by those who most need support and hope,” Postigo observed. “Noelia didn’t need to be offered death but rather someone to restore her sense of purpose, provide assistance, and offer the possibility of healing.”

Postigo further maintained that Castillo’s case is “the reflection of a profound collective failure. When life hurts, what is truly human is to care, to accompany, and to sustain — not to kill.”

Sharing her personal perspective, the bioethics specialist said that in such cases, compassion “ought to translate into presence, accompaniment, and care, not into authorization to die.”

“The fact that the state would even contemplate assisted suicide for such a young person strikes me as a grave error and, above all, a moral defeat.”

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.

In the 3-2 decision, the court said Räsänen’s criminal conviction over the distribution of a 2004 pamphlet alongside her Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola was for “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group” under a section of the Finnish criminal code titled “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.”

“I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression,” Räsänen said in a March 26 press release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International. “I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith, and will continue to defend my and every person’s right to share their convictions in the public square.”

The court acquitted Räsänen of charges related to the 2019 Bible verse tweet that sparked the parliamentarian’s legal battle.

In it, she quoted Romans 1:24–27 and questioned how the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland could sponsor an LGBT Pride event, asking how what Scripture calls “shame and sin” could be presented as “a matter of pride.”

Räsänen said she is looking into appealing her case to the European Court of Human Rights.

“This is not about my free speech alone but that of every person in Finland. A positive ruling would help to prevent other innocent people from experiencing the same ordeal for simply sharing their beliefs,” she said in a statement.

The latest decision comes after Räsänen was previously acquitted on all charges by two lower courts in early 2022 and 2023 over the tweet, pamphlet, and a 2019 radio debate.

The Supreme Court heard Räsänen’s case again in October 2025 following a third appeal by the prosecution regarding the tweet and pamphlet, delivering its latest decision on March 26. The prosecution did not appeal the radio debate.

Social media reactions

ADF Senior Legal Counsel Sean Nelson described the Finnish Court’s decision as “Truly Year Zero, Orwellian thinking” in a March 26 social media post.

“I can’t express how enraging and unjust this decision is,” he said. “No one ever filed a complaint about her pamphlet written 20 years ago. The prosecutors only found out because of a witch hunt after her Bible tweet, dredging anything they could up.”

Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, reacted to the news on social media, describing the conviction as “part of a broader trend I’ve been warning about where Western countries are prosecuting Christians.”

“As a Christian country, the U.S. cannot stand idly by and watch as the Christian foundations of the West are destroyed,” he said.

Father Benedict Kiely, founder of Nazarean.org, also weighed in on the decision, writing that Räsänen “is the canary in the coal mine for freedom of expression and religious freedom in Europe.”

“And now the canary — and the Bible — have been found guilty,” he said.

Since it became known that Castillo was scheduled to undergo euthanasia on March 26 at 6 p.m. local time, the Catholic Church in Spain expressed its views on the case in various ways. Prayer vigils were held outside the hospital where she was injected with a lethal cocktail of drugs.

In a statement, members of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference’s Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life expressed that they view “with deep sorrow the situation of Noelia — this 25-year-old young woman whose story reflects an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional failings that challenge the whole of society.”

Her situation, the prelates added, “cannot be interpreted solely through the lens of individual autonomy; rather, it demands a deeper perspective — one capable of recognizing the weight of psychological suffering, loneliness, and hopelessness.”

The Spanish bishops underscored that “euthanasia and assisted suicide are not medical acts but rather a deliberate rupture of the bond of care; furthermore, they constitute a societal defeat when presented as a response to human suffering.”

In Castillo’s specific case, “we are not dealing with a terminal illness but rather with deep wounds that cry out for attention, treatment, and hope,” they added.

Secondly, the prelates recalled that “the dignity of the human person does not depend on their state of health, nor on their subjective perception of life, nor on their degree of autonomy” but rather is “an intrinsic value that demands to be recognized, protected, and promoted under all circumstances.”

Consequently, the response to suffering “cannot be to bring about death but rather to offer closeness, accompaniment, appropriate care, and comprehensive support.”

The bishops further expressed their closeness to Castillo and her family members, assuring them of their “prayers, affection, and commitment to a culture of care that abandons no one.”

Finally, they issued “an appeal to society as a whole to strengthen resources for psychological care, human accompaniment, and support networks — especially for the most vulnerable.”

“When life hurts, the answer cannot be to cut the journey short but rather to walk it together. Only in this way can we build a truly just society, where no one feels alone or cast aside,” they concluded.

Archbishop Argüello: ‘Your true relief is not suicide’

The president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Luis Argüello, stated via his personal account on X that “if induced death is the solution to problems, then everything is permitted.”

“A physician cannot serve as the executing arm of a death sentence, no matter how legal, empowering, or compassionate it may appear. Let us pray for Noelia; her suffering is harrowing, but her true relief lies not in suicide,” he emphasized.

Through their account on the same social network, the country’s Catholic bishops summarized the case by noting: “Today in Spain, death is presented as the solution to suffering — an infinite dignity consigned to death by a ‘welfare society’ incapable of caring and loving. In contrast to this stands the hope that springs from an encounter with life.”

Meanwhile, Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante shared three reflections “in the face of Noelia’s euthanasia, which has been turned into a spectacle,” to which he added a prayer.

The prelate noted that “when the law sanctions the taking of a life, something essential within the law has been broken” and offered another consideration he deems fundamental: “While the matter is being debated on social media, Jesus Christ draws near to everyone and offers his mercy... It is our duty to embrace it and to pray that it may be embraced by others.”

Consequently, he invited the faithful to join in a prayer asking for the Lord’s merciful gaze upon Castillo, her parents, the politicians and social workers involved, the judges who ruled in favor of her death, and the health care professionals involved in carrying it out.

He also prayed for those who “wounded this young woman’s heart throughout her life — especially those who raped her”; for the media outlets “that view this news story as an opportunity to boost their ratings”; and, finally, for “all of us, who run the risk of becoming frivolous spectators, forgetting that we, too, will soon stand before you.”

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.

According to Spanish law, to request euthanasia, an individual must be of legal age and be both mentally capable and fully conscious at the time of the request; they must also hold Spanish citizenship or have maintained legal residency for more than 12 months and “be suffering from a serious and incurable disease or a serious, chronic, and disabling condition, as certified by the attending physician.”

On March 24 it was reported that the European Court of Human Rights rejected the interim measures requested by Castillo’s family to halt her euthanasia, bringing an end to a legal battle spanning nearly two years.

The following day, an interview with Castillo aired on the Spanish television network Antena 3 in which she described how she feels: “I have no desire to do anything — not to go out, not to eat, not to do anything at all. ... Sleeping is very difficult for me; furthermore, I suffer from back pain as well as leg pain.”

“I have always felt alone, because I have never felt understood; no one has ever empathized with me, and I have always struggled with interpersonal relationships,” she recounted.

“Even before requesting euthanasia, I viewed my world as very dark; I saw a very dark ending ahead of me. I had no goals, no objectives — nothing at all — and I still have no goals, no objectives,” she acknowledged.

Life challenges

Castillo’s life has been full of many challenges. While under the guardianship of public services following her parents’ separation, she was subjected to multiple sexual assaults.

According to Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers) — the organization representing Castillo’s father in his efforts to prevent his daughter’s euthanasia— at that time, the young woman had been officially recognized as having a 67% disability due to mental illness.

In October 2022, she attempted suicide by throwing herself from a balcony, sustaining injuries that left her in a wheelchair; this increased her disability rating to 74% — a fact that, according to the Christian Lawyers organization, “demonstrates that the underlying issue is psychiatric.”

“This is key: The Constitutional Court itself (Ruling STC 94/2023) makes it clear that euthanasia cannot be administered when the source of suffering is a mental illness and that the state has an obligation to protect these individuals from the risk of suicide,” Christian Lawyers emphasized to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Although reports have circulated claiming she was left paraplegic, Castillo herself refuted this: “I am not bedridden or anything of the sort; I get out of bed. I shower all by myself. As you have seen, I apply my own makeup and manage my own affairs,” she stated.

According to her own testimony, Castillo had been admitted to psychiatric facilities at least twice previously, and during those stays, she made several suicide attempts. She was discharged in June 2023.

In April 2024, she requested euthanasia in accordance with the procedure established by law, and it was approved for August 2024. This marked the beginning of a legal battle waged by her father, supported by the Christian Lawyers organization.

During the proceedings, they succeeded in halting the procedure and securing recognition of the family members’ right to object to the euthanasia request.

Concurrently, Christian Lawyers filed a criminal complaint against the physician and the lawyer who had initially evaluated Castillo’s request in accordance with the protocol.

The organization alleged that, despite agreeing to authorize the euthanasia, the two “feigned disagreement in order to refer the decision to the Guarantees and Evaluation Commission, thereby ‘forcing’ a supposedly higher level of assurance in the decision-making process” — a point noted by the Supreme Court in a ruling.

In September 2025, Christian Lawyers also filed a complaint against seven members of the guarantees commission for conflict of interest as well as against the former Catalan minister of health, Josep María Argimón, for having appointed them.

Subsequently, in January of this year, the Supreme Court upheld the request for euthanasia — a decision that was appealed to the Constitutional Court, which rejected the appeal in February.

The Christian Lawyers organization also took the case to the European Court of Human Rights, which rejected the request for interim measures without ruling on the merits of the case on March 24.

Following this, it was announced that the euthanasia procedure would be carried out on March 26 at 6 p.m. local time. The procedure lasts approximately 15 minutes and involves the use of three chemical substances. Per Castillo’s decision, her parents were not permitted to be present.

‘This case exposes the failure of the euthanasia law’

According to Christian Lawyers, “this case exposes the failure of the euthanasia law. It facilitates suicide without the individual having received prior mental health treatment.”

Consequently, the legal organization emphasized that “it is imperative to establish protocols mandating an attempt at psychological and psychiatric treatment before authorizing euthanasia. Without treatment, there is no free decision; there is abandonment.”

Finally, they hold the health authorities of the Catalan regional government responsible: “Before offering death, they must ensure that they have offered every alternative for life. In cases of mental illness, they should be investing in the most advanced psychiatric treatments and in recovery.”

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.

“This happens a lot,” Steven Moore, executive producer of the war documentary “A Faith Under Siege,” told “EWTN News Nightly” on March 25, live from Kyiv. 

Russia carried out missile strikes on March 24 that hit the UNESCO-protected Bernardine Monastery and its St. Andrew’s Church.

Moore said Russia’s targeting of Christian churches — even Orthodox ones — in Ukraine is a regular occurrence. St. Andrew’s, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, “is probably the most historic church they have targeted so far,” he said.

Moore described Russia’s targeting of churches as part of the Kremlin’s “holy war,” noting that the Russian Orthodox Church and its Patriarch Kirill of Moscow act as an extension of the Kremlin.

“Patriarch Kirill, their version of the pope, has said, ‘If you die fighting in Ukraine, all your sins will be washed away,’” he said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the Russian Orthodox Church as having more in common with Islam than Catholicism.

Intersection of Ukraine and Iran wars

Moore said there are concerns the war involving Iran will drive up the price of oil, leaving Russia — “a gas station with an army” — with an increased revenue stream that Putin may in turn use against Ukrainians.

“We’re in a mess as a world right now,” he said, citing the war in the Middle East and in Ukraine. “And you know, China is backing all of this,” he said. “North Korea is waiting to go into South Korea; there’s tens of thousands of North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine right now.”

“The good news, though, about this invasion into Iran is that the Iranians have been supplying the Russians with drones, these Shahed drones, and it will limit their ability to cooperate with the Russians in the future,” he said.

Shahed drones are Iranian-developed unmanned combat aerial vehicles.

Ukrainians have sent drone experts to help Middle Eastern nations to cope with these Russian drone attacks. “American weapons are built with an innovation cycle of months or years. Here in Ukraine, the innovation cycle is days or weeks. And they’ve been fighting against the same weapons in Ukraine that Russia has sent to Iran,” Moore said. “No one in the world right now is as good at drone warfare and anti-drone warfare as the Ukrainians.”

Moore further noted the Trump administration’s toppling of the Venezuelan regime, a Russian ally, as well as Syria. 

“When we’re looking at a global war, taking pieces off the board for the bad guys is a really positive thing in the long run,” he said.

The policemen — one of whom is stationed at the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See — were off duty when they intervened in response to a priest’s call for help.

After hearing the priest’s shouts, they managed to intercept the suspect, who — according to the clergyman — had just stolen several items.

After questioning the suspect, the policemen recovered from the alleged thief two lockpicks (used to open locks), 480 euros (about $555), two watches, and five lottery tickets.

The officers then proceeded to notify the Italian State Police of the incident, who took over the case.

Home of Passion relics

The Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem is one of the most renowned churches in the Eternal City, owing to the spiritual treasures it holds within its walls.

Access to the basilica’s “Chapel of Relics” is gained through one of the church’s side aisles; there, several relics associated with Christ’s passion are preserved, protected behind a glass display case.

These objects were transported from Jerusalem to Rome thanks to St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine.

According to tradition, the chapel houses three fragments of the cross of Christ — displayed in a reliquary dating from 1800 — as well as one of the nails with which soldiers affixed Christ to the cross and two thorns from Christ’s crown.

Also venerated here is the sign known as the “Titulus Crucis,” which Pontius Pilate ordered to be placed at the top of Christ’s cross. It bears the inscription in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

There is also a fragment of the cross of the good thief, along with a relic of the finger of the apostle Thomas — the very finger with which he touched Christ’s wound to believe that he had risen.

Additionally, in another side chapel — located next to the Chapel of the Relics of the Passion — a modern reproduction of the Shroud of Turin is on display.

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.

At the Radiodays Europe conference in Riga, Latvia, EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn on March 23 asked Studio Brussel hosts Sam De Bruyn, Eva De Roo, and Dries Lenaerts about the January segment, which featured the violent destruction of several objects including the Christian statuary.

Tweet

De Roo said the segment was in observance of “Blue Monday.”

“We were beating the blue out of the Monday,” she said. “So people could text us like, ‘I’m having really a blue Monday because my car broke and everything.’ OK, I will smash something for you!”

Asked by Flynn if Christian viewers might find the destruction of the Jesus and Mary statues “deeply offensive,” De Bruyn acknowledged that it “might” be offensive, but “in Belgium, not really.”

“We’re not a very religious country, definitely not the listeners of Studio Brussels,” he said. He noted that “all the things we smashed” were “all things that were already broken.”

De Bruyn admitted he would have been “more careful in another country, definitely.” But “in Belgium, it is not a big issue.”

Asked if the hosts would consider smashing a statue of the Islamic prophet Muhammed, De Bruyn said such a proposal was “dangerous.”

De Roo argued that the hosts were “all from the Christian tradition,” and De Bruyn pointed out that they were all “raised Catholic,” which, he claimed, “gives us a little more credit to do this.”

De Roo directly apologized during the interview, and the news network formally issued an apology on March 24, telling media that the company “misjudged” the segment.

“Eva and Dries offer their apologies. The video was intended as a humorous piece, and they underestimated how sensitive religious symbols can be,” the network said.

The station said it “considers it important that all its staff show respect for every religion. We are not concerned with comparing religions but with treating everyone’s beliefs with care.”

Data show that Belgium is a majority-secular country. About 59% of the population says it does not belong to any religion.

The majority of religious adherents in the country identify as Roman Catholic, while 15% identify as Muslim.

On the occasion, Pope Leo XIV wrote a letter to the Diocese of Banská Bystrica, saying: “The diocesan community has remained faithful also in a time of trial, protected the Gospel, and passed it on from generation to generation.” The pope expressed hope the diocese will grow as a community and in mission “to witness Christ, serve the weakest, and pass on the joy of the Gospel.”

The letter was presented on March 14 as Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, apostolic nuncio to Slovakia, celebrated a Mass in Banská Bystrica.

The three dioceses were officially established on March 13, 1776, carved out of the vast territory of the Archdiocese of Esztergom.

“It was not just an administrative decision but a pastoral response” to be “closer to people, to their daily lives,” and “to preach the Gospel more effectively and with greater proximity,” the current bishop of Spiš, František Trstenský, wrote in a pastoral letter. On March 13, he inaugurated a special diocesan jubilee.

He hopes for his parishes to become “places of closeness” and “united community.”

“Let us not be afraid to talk about faith and the Gospel in public life,” as it is not a private matter, he said. Faith “manifests concretely in forgiveness, honesty, service, and peace in the midst of turmoil,” the bishop underscored.

Events are also planned in the other two dioceses, including historical conferences, special Masses, pilgrimages, and an exposition of a replica of the Shroud of Turin.

The empress, the archdiocese, and a dubious document

Back in the 18th century, “The Esztergom Archdiocese did not want to separate,” Cardinal Jozef Tomko (1924–2022), former prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, noted in his book “Na životných cestách” (“On Life’s Roads”).

The reorganization was the initiative of Habsburg sovereign Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary. She was a devout Catholic who “had information from good priests that it was absolutely necessary for effective pastoral work of those territories,” wrote Tomko, who as a priest completed doctoral research on the question.

At the time, some invoked a dubious claim regarding the “right” of the Hungarian sovereigns: that Pope Sylvester II had allegedly granted in a bull the right to the first king of Hungary, St. Stephen, and to his successors, to found dioceses and nominate bishops. The document is now generally considered a forgery.

Yet, “it credibly imitated the style of the Roman Curia, which could have easily misled people,” Tomko wrote.

“A custom had existed since the Middle Ages, respected by the Apostolic See, that a Hungarian king appointed bishops who were subsequently confirmed by the Apostolic See,” Dominican Father Viliam Štefan Dóci, president of the Historical Institute of the Order of Preachers in Rome, told EWTN News.

Over time, “the kings increasingly claimed not only the right to appoint Church dignitaries but also to regulate Church affairs in other ways,” Dóci continued.

Although the title “apostolic king” for King Stephen “does not correspond to historical reality, the fact is that Pope Clement XIII granted this title” to Maria Theresa and “to her successors in 1758,” the Dominican priest explained.

Maria Theresa was thus “encouraged” to pursue the reform of the Church’s organization in the Central European monarchy, where she also founded other dioceses, Dóci said.

The whole matter “was complicated from a Church and legal viewpoint,” since the monarchs asked the popes “for the confirmation of their acts.” At the same time, “the founding documents, issued by the Apostolic See, were formulated” in a way that made it appear “as if it was the pope who came up with the initiative,” stressed Dóci, who teaches at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Both the historian and Tomko agree it was primarily Maria Theresa who drove the creation of the three dioceses — and that formal approval from Rome followed.

Similar patterns existed in other monarchies, where sovereigns at times intervened “even more radically” in Church affairs “out of the conviction that it was part of their royal authority — and that it also belonged to their duties — to take care of the functioning of the Church on their lands,” Dóci concluded.

8 centuries of faith

Slovakia has another ancient Church province worth noting: the Diocese of Nitra, founded — according to historians — in A.D. 880 as the oldest Slavic diocese and later renewed as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Esztergom.

Today, there are eight Roman Catholic dioceses and three Greek Catholic church provinces in Slovakia.

During the communist regime in Hungary in the 20th century, certain historians took an interest in the question of the Hungarian royal “right,” Tomko recalled. They attempted, he said, to “prove” that the dubious privilege of the kings had passed, after the end of the monarchy in 1918, to the leaders of a totalitarian regime in Hungary — which “would be a strong argument for communists,” Tomko said, implying they could have used it to legitimize state control of the Church.

“I cannot imagine in the long run how a Church can survive if half of the people of God suffers because they have no access to ordained ministry,” Hollerich said Thursday at a symposium on synodality and Praedicate Evangelium at the University of Bonn, according to news agency KNA.

The archbishop of Luxembourg, who previously described himself as more conservative on the question, said his views had changed. “I have also learned as a bishop that this is not just a desire of a few left-wing women’s associations,” he claimed.

While calling for patience with other cultures who may see the ordination debate as an “artificial problem,” Hollerich cited what he asserted was widespread support for women’s ordination in his parishes.

“When I speak with the women in the parishes, 90% among us have the same opinion,” he said, adding that bishops are obliged to listen to such voices.

Church’s definitive teaching

In his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II declared definitively that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”

Since holy orders is a single sacrament with three degrees, that ruling covers the diaconate and episcopate equally.

Curia reform and papal succession

Hollerich also praised the late Pope Francis’ impact on the Roman Curia. Through his apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Francis — who served as pope from 2013 until his death in 2025 — opened leadership positions in the Vatican to women. Hollerich said this trajectory would continue under Pope Leo XIV. “It would be my deepest wish that the whole Church rejoices in this,” he said.

The symposium was organized by the University of Bonn’s Department of Moral Theology under theologian Jochen Sautermeister. Also speaking were Cardinals Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga and Oswald Gracias, along with Bishops Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, and Klaus Krämer of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

St. Francis’ bones were on display in the church from Feb. 22 to March 22, when they were returned to the stone tomb in the crypt, located at the foot of the altar in the lower church.

The bones are not usually visible to the public. Pilgrims can visit and pray at the tomb itself, but the actual skeleton stays sealed inside the sarcophagus (protected within the nitrogen-filled plexiglass case since 1978).

According to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, more than 370,000 pilgrims from all over the world were able to pray before his bones during that month.

Simoni, who studied at a Franciscan seminary from 1938 to 1948, was described by Pope Francis as “a living martyr” of the bloody communist persecution in Albania during the era of communist dictator Enver Hoxha.

The cardinal said: “I give thanks to the Lord for having allowed me to be a pilgrim in Assisi and to pray for peace and fraternity in the world before the remains of the great St. Francis — for me, a protector, father, and teacher whom I have always looked up to from my beloved Albania,” Vatican News reported.

The cardinal, who will celebrate the 70th anniversary of his ordination on April 7, described the day as “moving, seeing thousands of pilgrims of all ages, as well as so many young people who represent the hope and future of the Church arriving from all over the world to the city, which is par excellence a symbol of peace and faith, to pray and encounter the seraphic St. Francis, his great disciple St. Clare, and St. Carlo Acutis, a saint of our own times.”

Simoni, who was secretly ordained in 1956, 12 years after the rise of communism in Albania, personally endured the regime’s brutal persecution.

The priest was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted to forced labor. He spent 18 years in prison and was released in 1981. However, still considered “an enemy of the people” he was afterward forced to work cleaning out the sewers in the city of Shkodrë. He carried out priestly ministry clandestinely until the fall of the communist regime in 1990.

Ingenious ways to celebrate Mass in prison

During his imprisonment, the priest celebrated Mass daily, employing ingenious subterfuges to outwit the prison system in Albania, the world’s first officially declared atheist state, which prohibited all religious practice.

He offered Mass in Latin and his jailers believed he was merely babbling nonsense. His testimony moved Pope Francis to tears during his visit to Albania in 2014. Two years later, the pope named him a cardinal.

Despite his mobility issues, Simoni did not want to miss the immense grace of venerating the skeletal remains of St. Francis of Assisi in the year marking the 800th anniversary of his death. The cardinal recounted that this was one of the first pilgrimages he has undertaken.

Simoni was only 10 years old the first time he crossed the threshold of the Franciscan convent in Shkodër, taking the name Friar Enrico, thus fulfilling his desire to live in poverty, following St. Francis’ example. During the communist regime, Simoni’s Franciscan formators and superiors were shot — accused of being enemies of the people — often right in front of the young novices.

In Assisi last week, Simoni celebrated Mass at the Protomonastery of St. Clare, prayed at the saint’s tomb, and met with the nuns inside the cloistered monastery.

370,000 pilgrims venerate remains of St. Francis

During the four weeks St. Francis’ body was on display, small groups of pilgrims filed beneath the frescoes of Giotto and Cimabue in the dim light to venerate the saint’s remains.

“We have been a fraternity gathered around Francis,” stated Friar Marco Moroni, custos of the Sacred Convent. “A fraternity of 370,000 people gathered here, and of many others throughout the world. A serene and prayerful fraternity, which sought to discover in the sign of a few poor and fragile bones, the full power of a life animated by the Spirit, which continues to bear fruit.”

“Many have asked me,” added Friar Giulio Cesareo, director of the communications office of the Sacred Convent, “whether I expected such a significant turnout, and I must say that I did: I had no doubt that there would be a great many of us. However, something I did not expect was the atmosphere — at once recollected and joyful: silence, patience, mobile phones in pockets”

“The only explanation is that none of us came to see Francis; rather, it is he who, being alive, has called out to us to speak to our hearts and minds. This is therefore an opportunity to express our gratitude — also on behalf of the press office team at the Sacred Convent — to our many journalist colleagues and communications professionals: We have experienced a high degree of collaboration and immense professionalism. One of the keys to the exhibition’s success has been precisely this transparent, far-reaching, free, and organized work by the communication media,” he noted.

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.

According to the police, at the time of the attack “the demonstration comprised approximately 500 participants,” including families with young children and babies. The man approached the scene and “hurled an improvised incendiary device — a ‘Molotov cocktail’ containing gasoline — in the direction of the people present; the device struck the ground but failed to ignite, thereby averting potentially more serious consequences.”

The suspect was apprehended and arrested at the scene. The police stated that other “individuals who were allegedly part of a group with anarchist leanings” fled, but three members were subsequently identified.

The authorities also seized the device, “consisting of a glass bottle containing flammable liquid and textile material — as well as other items of evidentiary value.”

Commenting on the case, Portugal’s minister of internal administration, Luís Neves, said on social media: “We do not tolerate any form of violent extremism, and we will continue to act firmly to prevent and combat it, safeguarding democratic values.”

Act of terrorism

The Portuguese Federation for Life, which organized the March for Life, issued a statement on March 23 classifying Saturday’s incident as a “terrorist attack.”

In recounting the event, the federation emphasized that while the incendiary device did not ignite, “the fuel used in the device” splashed on “several people, including two babies.”

“Had the ignition not failed, we would be talking today about the deaths of children and infants,” the federation stated. However, the group emphasized that “the failure of the attack cannot obscure the fact that a political organization planned and sought to carry out an attack using an incendiary device against a public event packed with families, youths, and children.”

The Portuguese Federation for Life urged “that this attack be treated by the authorities as the act of terrorism that it is.” The group also requested that if any link between the attackers and a political organization is established, that organization should “be declared a terrorist organization, as provided for in the counterterrorism law.”

Furthermore, the federation called upon “all those who, especially in the exercise of public office, have in recent years employed a tone of hatred against the pro-life movement, accusing us of countless evils, to search their consciences and understand the consequences of their rhetoric.”

The federation announced that it will request a meeting with the minister of internal administration and the prosecutor general of the republic to address the incident and that, “at the appropriate moment,” it will “join as an amicus curiae [friend of the court] in the ensuing judicial proceedings.”

Gravely unacceptable incident

The patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Manuel Sousa Valério, condemned the attack against the March for Life.

“Such events are gravely unacceptable,” Sousa Valério said. He emphasized that “violence is never the way,” that it “harms human dignity and does not serve the truth.”

“And it becomes even more painful when it threatens the most vulnerable, especially children, who should always be a sign of hope and never exposed to fear,” he pointed out.

The patriarch expressed “his closeness to all those who participated in this initiative and, in particular, to the families and children who may have felt fear and insecurity.”

“The Church is close to everyone; it accompanies and prays for each person. No incidence of violence can erase the good accomplished, the witness given, and the hope sown,” he said.

The March for Life

The March for Life took place in 12 Portuguese cities on Saturday. In addition to Lisbon, demonstrators took to the streets to take a stand against abortion and euthanasia in Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Coimbra, Faro, Guarda, Lamego, Porto, Setúbal, and Viseu.

This year, the March for Life adopted the theme “The Pro-Life People Take to the Streets” and aimed to be a march “for the dignity of all human beings, for life from the moment of conception until natural death, and for families.”

Abortion was legalized in Portugal in 2007 after a national referendum.

Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the participants of the March for Life, stating that “the family is, by divine design, the natural guardian of life” and therefore, it is necessary “to ensure that it does not lack the conditions required to welcome nascent life and to care, with renewed commitment, for that which is in decline (ailing or elderly persons).”

“May public resources sustain Portuguese families, specifically supporting women who are about to become mothers and fostering the implementation of authentic policies of solidarity that draw citizens closer to the most needy, the marginalized, the lonely, and migrants in whom the face of Christ shines,” the pope said.

Of the culture of death, Leo said that “mere declarations of good intentions, and least of all, illusory forms of compassion such as euthanasia and, ultimately, abortion, do not serve the development of our societies.”

In his view, “ideas and words that inspire actions and gestures that raise up human dignity are indispensable, a goal to which friendship with Christ, fostered through the prayerful reading of the Gospel within the family, contributes immensely.”

The pope also encouraged newlyweds to “welcome God’s love and allow it to bear fruit, thereby mirroring the joy of marriage and parenthood.”

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

Bishop Johan Bonny, head of the Diocese of Antwerp since 2009, noted that the topic of ordaining married men was discussed in the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality (2023-2024). Although the topic was openly discussed, neither the late Pope Francis nor the authors of the final document authorized the ordination of married men or recommended any future changes to canon law to authorize it.

Despite this, Bonny wrote in the pastoral letter that in every synodal discussion “the question arises of ordaining married men … for the priesthood.” He claimed “the consensus on this question is almost total … especially among the most faithful and devout” and “has existed for many years.”

“The question is no longer whether the Church can ordain married men as priests but when it will do so, and who will do it,” the bishop said. “Any delay comes across as an excuse.”

Contrary to the asserted consensus, Canon 1042 prohibits the ordination of married men in the Latin rite under most normal circumstances. It states clearly that the only holy orders “a man who has a wife” is eligible for is the permanent diaconate — not the priesthood. A married man can enter the permanent diaconate with the consent of his wife if he is at least 35 years old, but a permanent deacon who is a widower cannot remarry.

The rule is not completely universal in the Catholic Church. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches permits the ordination of married men in Eastern-rite Catholic Churches, which have long practiced it.

There are also limited exceptions in the Latin rite. A married Anglican priest who converts to Catholicism is allowed to be ordained as a Catholic priest and remain married. The Church makes some limited exceptions for other Protestant ministers who are married and also wish to convert to Catholicism and be ordained into the priesthood.

However, apart from rare exceptions, married men are not permitted to be ordained into the priesthood in the Latin rite.

Bonny does not address the relevant canons in his letter. He also did not cite any approval from the Vatican or reveal any insight about a potential change in canon law.

The bishop did not state that he will first seek approval before the ordinations, but he did say he would ensure “the necessary communication and arrangements” with the Vatican and Belgian Bishops’ Conference, “as we can learn from each other’s experiences and insights.”

“I will make every effort to ordain married men as priests for our diocese by 2028,” he said. “I will approach them personally and ensure that by then they have the necessary theological training and pastoral experience, comparable to that of other priest candidates. This preparation will be transparent but discreet, away from the media spotlight.”

“For many a bishop, the ordination of married men has become a matter of conscience,” he wrote. “At that level, too, transparency, accountability, and evaluation are important for the credibility of the Church.”

Bonny makes several cases for why he intends to ordain married men, such as the “historical shortage of local priests in many dioceses.” He said many foreign-born priests fill the gap now, but “it would not be fair to place the burden of our shortages on their shoulders.”

He noted that the Church in Belgium already works “with a number of married Catholic priests,” citing the Eastern-rite Catholic priests and converts who fell under the limited exceptions.

Bonny also said “there is a cluster of experiences related to the psychosocial health of priests and the transparency of their lifestyle.” He said “the issue of sexual abuse continues to weigh heavily” and “clerical subcultures and lifestyles have had their day.”

“The fact that almost no domestic candidates are coming forward for ordination seems to me undoubtedly related to the absence of synodal discernment in classical vocation ministry,” the bishop continued. “When I visit parishes or pastoral unities, I regularly meet people whom the community would consider to be a good priest. Just as I myself know several co-workers who would be well suited as candidates for ordination.”

Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, told EWTN News that he hopes Bonny “is docile to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.”

“It is the pope alone, the successor of St. Peter, who has God-given primacy in definitively teaching on faith and morals, and also the divinely given primacy of authority in binding and loosing on matters of discipline, and thus one must be very wary of going forward in a manner that would gravely violate that divinely ordained papal primacy of governance,” he said.

Nash explained that married men can be validly ordained to the priesthood, as one can see in the Eastern rite and the rare exceptions in the Latin rite. However, without approval from the pope and a change to canon law, such ordinations would be “illicit” under the circumstances discussed by the bishop in the pastoral letter.

If Bonny ordained married men to the priesthood, Nash said the situation would be similar to the Society of St. Pius X, which illicitly consecrated bishops in 1988 and are threatening to do so again. Such consecrations, he explained, were “valid but illicit.”

A priest who is ordained validly but illicitly would be a real priest and could validly celebrate Mass, according to Nash. However, such celebrations would be illicit, and in defiance of the Holy See, and sinful, he said. Other priestly faculties, however, may not be valid, he said.

“Just because such ordained priests could validly but illicitly celebrate Mass, they would need delegated priestly faculties from the pope to validly absolve sins in the confessional and also to receive the consent of the parties during the Church’s marriage rite, lest they marry each other invalidly,” Nash said.

“It’ll be interesting to see how this matter develops in the coming two years, and I pray that Bishop Bonny is docile to the Holy Father,” he added.

David Long, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America and a canonist, told EWTN News that the question of ordaining married men “does not lie within the authority of a diocesan bishop acting on his own.”

“Any current change in practice in a Latin diocese would require action by the Holy See and could not be accomplished by a unilateral decision by a diocesan bishop, no matter how pastorally urgent the circumstances may be,” he said.

Young people are seeking something transcendent

Father Gian Strapazzon, rector of St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in France, arrived in the country 12 years ago from his native Brazil. In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he said there he encountered exemplary priests whose witness confirmed his vocation: “They were like lights amidst the darkness.”

St. Vincent de Paul Seminary serves as the primary formation center for the Institute of the Good Shepherd, founded in 2006 in Courtalain within the French Diocese of Chartres. It is distinguished by its formation of priests utilizing the traditional Roman rite.

The record number of conversions in France, particularly among young adults, stems from “reaction to a society that’s not finding answers,” reflecting a spiritual awakening in Europe, according to Strapazzon.

“These are young people seeking something transcendent who find answers in preaching rooted in the tradition of the Catholic faith — just as it has always been done. This encourages many adults to take a more radical step and live out their faith more intensely,” he noted.

The eight dioceses comprising the ecclesiastical province of Paris have convened a council that opened Jan. 25 and will continue through May 2027 with the aim of discerning an appropriate response to the growing numbers of younger people coming into the Church and establishing common guidelines at the provincial level.

This is indispensable, according to Strapazzon, who said “it is necessary to understand the source of this surge in order to offer good solutions.”

“People want Our Lord Jesus Christ,” he explained, “and this must be taught correctly. People are already weary of the superficiality they encounter in the world; they are seeking the true God, the revelation of God.”

The rector of the French seminary underscored the importance of teaching sound doctrine and noted that many adults who wish to receive the sacrament of baptism — even those raised in non-Catholic environments — attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

“This is what attracts people today: this truth and this search for something concrete, serious, and profound, something that stands in contrast to what they have become accustomed to in the modern world, as they realize that the latter does not quench the thirst of their souls,” Strapazzon said. “For this reason, obviously, it is essential that there be sound doctrine.”

Increase in applications to enter the seminary

Strapazzon has also witnessed an increase in applications to the seminary in recent years: “At the seminary, we have a young man who was baptized five years ago as well as another who converted from Islam.”

He noted, however, that the Church encourages “a certain prudence” regarding the acceptance and formation of newly baptized young men, who must wait at least two years after their baptism before entering the seminary.

“One can become confused in one’s fervor and fail to discern. It’s one thing to be a Christian and quite another to have a vocation to the priesthood. For this reason great prudence [is always exercised]. But yes, here we receive many inquiries every year from individuals who have been baptized only recently, individuals who require guidance to discern whether to enter the seminary.”

The priest emphasized that this unprecedented phenomenon in France “demonstrates to us that the Church of Our Lord is always alive, that our faith is truly catholic — that is to say, universal — and that it is always enduring and life-giving.”

He said this will continue to happen as long as there is a “faith preached with fidelity” on the part of the priests. “Even if there are no priests, the Lord has told us that the stones will preach,” he reminded.

Strapazzon explained that the correct way to interpret this phenomenon “is that the Catholic Church is always alive, will always be fruitful, and when it dies in one place, it revives in another. Moreover, in her resides a soul which is the Holy Spirit who constantly moves it and builds it up.”

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.

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, primate of all Ireland, told EWTN News: “There has been a lot of talk recently about the so-called quiet revival in religious practice in recent years. The [report] looks at some of the research studies that have been carried out north and south of the island of Ireland into religious practice, religious awareness and spirituality, and interest in religion, and asks a question by comparing this with European social studies: Is there actually any uptake [in] religious practice and awareness and interest in Ireland?”

Drawing on research from the European Social Survey, the Iona Institute’s two recent surveys conducted by Amárach Research, and a variety of relevant academic studies, the report seeks to provide an integrated, relevant, and current look at religious practice in Ireland.

“The report very interestingly points to some type of uptick, as they call it, particularly among young people around the ages of 16 to 30 and the fact that they are taking a new interest in religion and in spirituality.”

Encouraged by the positive trends emerging across different studies, Martin sounded a note of caution, highlighting the challenges that these findings pose for the Catholic Church in Ireland.

“I don’t think we should get ourselves too enthusiastic thinking this is a complete reversal of the very obvious decline and religious practice over the last 10 or 20 years,” he said. “However, it is saying something on the turning tide.”

The archbishop pointed to the implications for the Irish Church: “It’s asking us to reflect on this phenomenon in the light of research, and for instance what does this mean for us as Church, as parishes, as dioceses? How are we responding to this growing body of young people who want to know more more about God, about church, and about religion?”

The report, co-authored by Stephen Bullivant, professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, and Emily Nelson, a doctoral student of sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, examined the overall religious profile of the island of Ireland, including areas of convergence and divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The authors drew together research studies on patterns in belief, practice, and religious identification between generations, with particular attention to differences within young adult cohorts. The work also provided insight on  dimensions of religiosity, religious transmission, and attitudes toward Church teaching and institutions among both men and women.

Ireland remains among the more religious countries in Europe, on measures of religious affiliation, religious service attendance, and frequency of prayer. Among western European countries, it is one of few outliers with a relatively high level of overall religiosity. It also ranks toward the higher end of (especially western) European countries on measures of weekly Mass attendance and daily prayer.

While key measures of Irish religiosity have declined significantly since the European Social Survey began in 2002-2003, the most recent round in 2023-2024 shows a strong uptick in religious affiliation and religious practice.This effect is most strongly evident among those aged 16–29 years, across both Catholics and Protestants.

Northern Ireland is both the most religious region of the United Kingdom, by a large margin, and the most religious part of the island of Ireland, in terms of both affiliation and religious practice.

Although women in the Republic of Ireland are equally as likely as men to be religious, they continue to play an influential role in transmitting faith, even as they express higher levels of moral dissent and institutional dissatisfaction. The report revealed that 74% of Irish Catholic women were found to believe that the Church did not treat them with “a lot of respect.”

According to the report, 51% of Irish adults — and 27% of Irish young adults —pray at least once a week, and 31% say they attend Mass at least once a week, placing them fourth overall, alongside Italy (32%) but well behind Poland (49%) and Slovakia (46%).

There is a significant drop-off among young adults, whose reported religious practice is roughly half that of older adults. Irish 16- to 29-year-olds rank sixth overall compared with other countries, at 17%, though that is at least double the rates of the same age group in Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, at 5%, and in Austria with less than 1%.

The Irish report also pointed to a 2023 Barna study that found in certain respects, Irish teens are more religious than their global peers. Just over 3 in 5 (62%) Irish teens identify as Christian with nearly a third identify as atheist, agnostic, or of no faith.

On average, 18- to 24-year-olds in the Republic of Ireland aren’t particularly positive about both Christianity and the Catholic Church in Ireland, but they are more positive than those in the 25–34 age range, and fewer have a negative attitude toward priests and nuns.

In 2023, EWTN News’ Colm Flynn traveled to Ireland with the question “Is Ireland still Catholic?” He explored the various reasons for the decline of the faith in Ireland and the challenges the Church faces there today. In the three years since, and after many emails and messages pointing to signs of a “quiet revival” of faith in Ireland, Flynn recently returned to the country to explore those signs of renewal. In his report, he refers to the “Turning the Tide” report:

Still lucid “in thought and word,” and with 36 years of life in cloister, the nun belongs to the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, the Italian newspaper Il Giorno reported. Despite her advanced age, she continues to participate daily in Eucharistic adoration even during the night and assists in the monastery’s infirmary, caring for elderly or ailing nuns.

Her birthday celebration took place with a Mass of Thanksgiving and a gathering with family members, experienced through the grilles of the cloister where Sister Anna Maria remains dedicated to prayer.

“I do this like so many other things, out of love for Jesus who continually asks me to love my neighbor,” the religious, whose name before entering the convent was Anna Perfumo, said in a video shared by her community.

“The years are many, but ... with patience, God’s will shall be fulfilled. Pray for me, and I will always remember you on earth and in heaven,” she added.

According to Il Giorno, the nun’s life was marked by hardships from the very beginning. At 4 months old, she contracted bronchopneumonia — a condition that was practically fatal in 1920 — and at age 4 she came down with scurvy, a disease that was incurable at that time. “The doctor told my mother: ‘I won’t be coming back tomorrow, because the child will be dead.’ Yet I was miraculously healed,” she said.

Before entering the monastery, she worked for years as a governess and schoolteacher in addition to caring for elderly and infirm priests. Nevertheless, she always harbored in her heart the desire to consecrate herself to God in the contemplative life.

That longing was finally realized at the age of 70, following the death of her mother. After several attempts, she was admitted to the Adorers’ monastery in Genoa, from where she would be transferred years later to Seregno, where she currently lives.

In a video, Sister Anna Maria expressed her gratitude for the expressions of affection she had received and spoke about her late vocation: “It’s true; I had to wait quite a long time before fulfilling God’s will. But when it is God who desires something, it will always come to pass. That’s why one must have great confidence, great faith, great hope, and great patience.”

In her message, she also shared a reflection on the passage of time and on faithfulness: “My grandfather used to tell us that it’s faithfulness that keeps us young and that it’s necessary to keep our eyes and souls open to what is beautiful, good, and true; in this way, one will experience a serene old age. Love keeps the heart young.”

Finally, she extended a greeting for the Easter season: “Life is Christ — the Way, the Truth, and the Life. May the Lord grant you peace and joy... and also peace among peoples, for the sake of fraternity among nations.”

The Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament are a contemplative, cloistered order of women whose life is centered on the continuous adoration of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Their mission is to intercede for the Church and the world from the silence of the monastery, offering their lives as a constant prayer.

The congregation was founded in 1807 in Rome by Blessed Maria Magdalena of the Incarnation (Caterina Sordini) with the charism of Eucharistic adoration.

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 French-born priest, chancellor of the Diocese of Reykjavík, strongly maintained that his duty is to defend the truth and “fight for the Lord.” In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, he said his aim is to awaken citizens to what he characterizes as an “LGBT dictatorship” against which many are afraid to raise their voices.

The persecution begins

In early March, Rolland was invited to a radio program where the host asked him about the requirements necessary to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. Specifically, she wanted to know whether homosexual individuals could receive Communion. The priest simply explained the Catholic Church’s doctrine on the matter.

“If a person has a tendency or inclination toward homosexuality, that’s not a sin. It becomes a sin when such an inclination is lived out in a sinful manner. First, one must undergo conversion, go to confession, and truly consider the possibility of changing one’s life and living in chastity in order to receive Communion,” he explained.

Rolland also noted that many people with same-sex attraction turn to the Church seeking help and that they “are in the process of changing their lives.”

“Of course, we are there to help people,” he added.

In response to questions from the host, the priest clarified that the Church does not speak of “conversion therapies” but rather of spiritual accompaniment. It was at that point that the controversy erupted.

Since 2023, Iceland’s penal code has stipulated that anyone who attempts to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation may face prison sentences of up to three years.

Following the broadcast of the interview, LGBT groups across the country launched a vigorous campaign demanding that the priest be sanctioned. The case has garnered media attention and was even brought up for parliamentary debate.

The Samtökin ’78 National Queer Organization of Iceland is leading the campaign against Rolland. According to its arguments, even if the measures the priest alluded to do not constitute “conversion therapy,” the law would also prohibit providing support or assistance to homosexual individuals seeking spiritual guidance within the Church.

Socialist member of Parliament Sigmundur Rúnarsson denounced the priest’s remarks before Parliament, emphasizing that Icelandic society “has nothing to do with the Catholic Church.”

The Ministry of Justice came to the priest’s defense, arguing that “never in Iceland’s history has an accusation been leveled against an individual in Parliament, an institution whose mandate is to enact laws.”

The priest maintains that from a legal standpoint, “there are no grounds for arrest.”

A duty to speak the truth

In Iceland, between 8% and 10% of the population identifies as Catholic. “Most of the reactions to my statements have been positive; there are even people who have written to me because they wish to draw closer to the Church,” noted the priest, 70, who maintains that he does not fear a potential prison sentence for his words: “I must fight for the Lord,” he emphasized.

“If we don’t speak up, no one does. Everyone is afraid to do so even if they disagree due to the laws and prevailing mindset here in Iceland; and because the country is so isolated, the outside world remains unaware of what is happening,” he said.

The priest also lamented that the Church no longer has a place in schools to teach catechism, whereas LGBT ideology, he pointed out, is being introduced into classrooms at ages as young as 5.

“I believe we have a duty to speak the truth and to protect children. That’s the great danger in Iceland: People are sleeping amidst a dictatorship. They don’t dare to speak out,” he lamented.

Rolland lamented that the prevailing mentality in the country “is destroying our youth,” though he remains hopeful seeing that every year, more young people turn to the Church and wish to receive baptism.

The priest said that his faith and the support he has received from Catholics and other religious groups in the country keeps him going, as well as his love for the people of Iceland, his adopted homeland for over four decades.

“I want to bring the Church and the message of Christ to them, so that they may draw closer to the Lord. It’s not easy, because this is a highly secularized country, but I see that it is yielding results,” he noted.

“I thought it was necessary to speak the truth. People are being pushed toward a wrongful lifestyle, and we must help them wake up. I have always been this way since childhood. I have fought for the faith, so I see no reason to stop now,” he stated.

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 clause does not change the 24-week abortion limit but aims to remove criminal liability for women who end their own pregnancies at home.

The move comes after more than 100 women were prosecuted under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act in recent years, which campaigners argue is outdated and harmful.

Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool said he was “deeply distressed,” saying “this move is likely to lead to more late-term abortions putting pregnant women and their babies at risk. Many women could likely also face even greater risks of isolation, coercion, and pressure.”

He added: “I also recognize the many organizations who accompany women with practical support when faced with an unexpected pregnancy. The genuine hope they provide is now more urgent than ever. As we prepare to face this challenge, I encourage the faithful to support them in practical ways, including through prayer.”

Baroness Rosa Monckton, MBE (member of the Order of the British Empire), tabled the amendment in the House of Lords, which aimed to overturn support for a previous amendment in the Commons, telling peers it had been “added to the bill after less than an hour of debate by MPs [members of Parliament], and without the necessary scrutiny required for an issue of such seriousness.”

Her amendment was rejected by 185 votes to 148.

She told EWTN News: “I am profoundly sad but not surprised. Much emphasis is put on the vulnerability of the mother [but] almost none on the vulnerability of the unborn infant who has no voice. I will fight on.”

Previously, if a woman was arrested for having an abortion after the 24-week limit, even when no charges had been brought, the arrest might still show up in an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, because abortion offenses are classed as violent crimes.

Archbishop John Wilson of the Southwark Diocese said: “This is a truly tragic moment for our nation. How can this frightening legislation, which, following royal assent [the approval of the monarch], will permit the abortion of children right up until the moment of birth for any reason, have any place in a civilized society?”

“We can never underestimate the challenges [of] women and men facing difficult decisions,” he continued. “There is, however, another life involved which is now to be ignored and silenced.”

Wilson added: “There are also serious concerns for the safety of women. While there is an even more difficult journey now to protect the unborn child, we must continue to speak up for the voiceless and work to protect the most vulnerable who are no longer protected by the law.”

Louise McCudden, head of external affairs at MSI Reproductive Choices UK, said it would be “a huge relief to the women who have faced traumatic investigations as well as those still living with the anxiety and uncertainty created by the current law.”

Peers also rejected a bid to move back to compulsory in-person consultations by 191 votes to 119, which would have reinstated a requirement for pregnant women to have an in-person consultation.

It is currently legal for a woman less than nine weeks and six days pregnant to take prescribed medication to terminate a pregnancy.

The change was made permanent in 2022 after being introduced as a temporary measure during COVID-19 in 2020 to allow women to have medical abortions at home following a virtual consultation.

Sarah Mullally, archbishop of Canterbury, said in the debate: “The Church of England’s view on abortion is one of principled opposition, recognizing that there can be limited conditions under which abortion may be preferable to any available alternatives.”

“The infinite value of human life is a fundamental Christian principle that underpins much of our legal system and has shaped existing laws on abortion.”

She continued: “We therefore need to recognize that women confronted with the very complex and difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy deserve our utmost understanding, care, and practical support as they face what is often a heart-wrenching decision.”

The figure represents a decline from the previous year’s total of roughly 19.77 million, meaning Catholics now make up 23% of the total German population. Only 6.8% of those Catholics practice their faith by regularly attending Sunday Mass — less than 2% of the country’s overall population.

The share of practicing Catholics rose from 6.6% to 6.8%, but a closer look reveals that fewer people actually attended Mass in 2025 than the year before: 1.304 million compared with 1.306 million. The percentage increase is a statistical effect of the sharp drop in the total number of Catholics.

Six dioceses now have a double-digit percentage of Massgoers, up from five the previous year: Dresden-Meissen, Eichstätt, Erfurt, Görlitz, Magdeburg, and Regensburg. Four of the six are East German diaspora dioceses, and two are in Bavaria.

While the number of confirmations and first Communions remained stable between 2024 and 2025, only about 109,000 people were baptized — a decrease of more than 7,000 baptisms.

The number of readmissions and new entries into the Church increased slightly, though still fewer than 750 people in each category.

At the same time, formal departures from the Church — a legal process in Germany that exempts individuals from the country’s church tax — fell from over 321,000 to around 307,000, continuing a downward trend in recent years.

Bishop Wilmer’s response

Bishop Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, of Hildesheim, chairman of the DBK, commented on the latest figures.

“I am grateful for the committed work of the full-time staff in our Church and also for the quality of pastoral care,” Wilmer said. “It is a welcome sign that Mass attendance is once again slightly increasing. And I see it as a positive sign that the numbers for first Communion and confirmation have remained stable.”

Nevertheless, Wilmer said he regrets “the still high number of departures from the Church.”

“The motives are different, and yet I say — because we are a community of believers through baptism and confirmation — that every Church departure hurts us,” he said. “We are becoming fewer Christians in Germany, which does not stop us — with all the necessary measures that this entails — from giving witness to our faith with great personal commitment.”

Wilmer expressly addressed “a word of thanks to all volunteers in our Church.” They are “not captured by the statistics,” he said, but there are “around 600,000 who ensure that the Church with its diverse offerings is made possible in society in the first place.”

He added: “Despite all the upheavals, I encourage us not to bury our heads in the sand but to look forward and seek together — also in ecumenical solidarity — ways in which being Christian today can lead to greater acceptance in society.”

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Reacting to the result immediately after its announcement on March 17, Scotland’s bishops told EWTN News: “Prayer is what moved hearts on this important issue. We are over the moon. Glory be to God that life has triumphed tonight!”

Bill sponsor Liam McArthur and his supporters were confident of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill becoming law. In the first vote in May 2025, Parliament voted 70 to 56 in favor of the bill progressing to Stage 2. The bill was then amended at Stage 2 before moving to Stage 3 for a decisive vote. in the end, however, MSPs rejected it, voting 69 to 57 against the bill.

After an emotional debate, 12 MSPs changed sides, moving from supporting the Bill at Stage 1 to opposing it. Notable MSPs who swapped sides included Jamie Hepburn (Scottish National Party), Daniel Johnson (Labour), and Brian Whittle (Conservative), who publicly announced their decisions during the debate.

This followed other notable announcements in the buildup to the vote by Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay and Scottish National Party MSPs Audrey Nicoll and Collette Stevenson, who had initially supported the bill and then shared their decisions to vote against it.

Commending MSPs for voting against the legislation, Bishop John Keenan, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said after the vote: “I would like to express my gratitude to all MSPs for their serious engagement with this issue and for the thoughtful and considered attention they have given to the bill. I am especially grateful to those who upheld the principle of human dignity and advocated on behalf of the vulnerable.”

The Catholic Church teaches that assisted suicide is inherently immoral. In advance of the final vote, Keenan commented that a vote against the bill would “protect some of Scotland’s most vulnerable individuals from the risk of being pressured into a premature death.”

“Every human life possesses inherent value,” he said. “Genuine compassion is not expressed through ending a life but through accompanying those who suffer and ensuring they receive the medical, emotional, and spiritual support that recognizes their dignity.”

Pro-life groups opposing the bill also highlighted the importance of the vote for the vulnerable. In a message to EWTN News, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, chief executive of pro-life charity Right To Life UK, called the result “a great and deeply significant victory for the most vulnerable people in Scotland.”

Hungerford-Morgan told EWTN News: “People nearing the end of their lives, no matter what their condition, need love and support, not a pathway to suicide, which is exactly what the Scottish assisted suicide bill would have done."

The vote followed an intense and long debate over five sessions, culminating in the final debate and vote on March 17.

Hungerford-Morgan said: “If this bill had passed in the Scottish Parliament and gone on to become law, it would have ushered in an irrevocable change that would have put the vulnerable at risk and seen the ending of thousands of lives through assisted suicide in Scotland.”

He added: “After two years of debate, and the most intense scrutiny that the question of assisted suicide has ever received in Scotland, Holyrood, which is widely regarded as one of the world’s most socially and politically progressive legislatures, has come to the conclusion that introducing assisted suicide is unsafe and dangerous.”

Paul Atkin, pro-life officer at the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, highlighted “the strength of engagement across our archdiocese” due to the fact that, from the 12 MSPs who changed their votes to opposing the bill, eight represent constituencies within the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

Atkin told EWTN News: “The defeat of this bill is a welcome result, reflecting the strength of engagement across our archdiocese. From the archbishop’s leadership to parishes who organized hundreds of letters, this was a united effort which made the difference.”

Praising the “remarkable contribution” of the archdiocese, Atkin paid tribute to the “polite, persistent engagement from the Catholic community,” which helped “shape outcomes and protect the most vulnerable.”

Opponents of the bill called for attention to now move away from assisted suicide toward investment in palliative care. “Our next priority must be to strengthen palliative care by ensuring that it is properly funded and accessible to all who require it,” Keenan said.

Echoing this viewpoint, Hungerford-Morgan urged MSPs to “unite to focus on renewed efforts to promote and improve palliative care.”

Following the defeat of the bill, Hungerford-Morgan turned his attention to a separate bill currently being debated in the House of Lords in London that would legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales, initiated by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.

Calling on the Leadbeater Bill’s sponsors to “reject assisted suicide,” he said: “This victory will have an impact far beyond Holyrood as the Leadbeater Bill is being debated in the House of Lords. Instead of pushing ahead with this dangerous bill, its sponsors should follow Scotland’s example and reject assisted suicide.”

Grünwidl delivered the sermon on March 11 at the Austrian Bishops’ Conference spring plenary in a Styrian parish church, Kathpress reported.

The Vienna archbishop said he was firmly convinced that “what comes from the Holy Spirit, canon law cannot hold back.” He said this applies also to the role of women in the Church.

Listening to women’s voices

Grünwidl addressed the recent Vatican report on “women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Church,” the final report of the synod study group, published March 10.

The document recalled the great female figures of Scripture and the example of Jesus, who in many ways did not conform to the patriarchal norms of his time, Grünwidl said.

Women were among Jesus’ followers, a publicly known sinner was permitted to touch him, and it was not an apostle but Mary Magdalene — a woman — who was the first witness of the Resurrection, the archbishop said.

“I trust that our Church will become more in keeping with Jesus and the Gospel when we walk together synodally, listen more to the voices of women, and include them in decision-making processes,” Grünwidl said.

“When we as a Church heed the demands of the Sermon on the Mount and look to the example of Jesus, renewal and change become possible,” the archbishop said. “When during Lent we try day by day not merely to serve by the book but to live love, then Easter will happen within us.”

Former member of controversial ‘Priests’ Initiative’

Grünwidl was a member of the controversial “Priests’ Initiative,” according to ORF, Austria’s public broadcasting service. The group issued a “call to disobedience” that explicitly advocated for the admission of women and married men to the priesthood.

The Austrian newspaper Der Standard also described him as a former member of the initiative who is “open to reforms.” Grünwidl’s name no longer appears on the group’s official membership list, but he was still presented as a “supporter” on a television broadcast as recently as 2023.

At the start of his tenure as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna in January 2025, Grünwidl addressed his former membership, Kathpress reported.

He said he had left the group for two reasons. He felt Pope Francis had “overtaken” the initiative’s proposals and ideas, and he could no longer support its banner slogan of disobedience. “Critical obedience” was important to him, he said, adding that he “cannot imagine open opposition to the bishop in the Church.”

Austrian broadcaster ORF reported in October 2025 that the new Vienna archbishop was “open to reforms.” He had recently emphasized that celibacy was for him personally a deliberately chosen way of life but “not a matter of faith” and should therefore not be a mandatory requirement for priests.

On the topic of women in the Church, Grünwidl identified “an urgent need for clarification,” ORF reported. He said the female diaconate should continue to be discussed and that admitting women to the College of Cardinals was conceivable.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Bishop Viliam Judák of Nitra, Slovakia, who is also a historian, co-authored a book titled “Our Saints: Lexicon of Saints and Beatified Connected With the Soil of Slovakia” featuring the young martyr. Though Slovakia does not have many proclaimed saints, it has many real saints “according to the understanding of the Gospel,” the bishop wrote, lamenting that the faithful lack “spiritual binoculars and a healthy historical memory” if they do not see them.

The book came out at the beginning of 2026, shortly after the bishop blessed a commemorative plaque on the house in Nitra where Havlík lived.

Havlík was born on Feb. 12, 1928, in what was then Czechoslovakia and became a seminarian of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians). When the communist regime began its persecution of the Church, he continued to study secretly but was arrested, accused of treason, tortured, sentenced to 14 years — later reduced to 10 — and transported to labor camps. For evangelizing his fellow prisoners, he received an additional year behind bars.

After his release, Havlík spent his final years “preparing children for their first holy Communion, visiting the sick, and translating religious texts.” He died on Dec. 27, 1965, at the age of 37 as a consequence of torture and hard labor. Testimonies recounted that he never complained nor blamed his persecutors.

Havlík was beatified on Aug. 31, 2024, at the national shrine in Šaštín — the same site where Pope Francis celebrated Mass during his apostolic visit to Slovakia in 2021. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presided over the beatification rite and described Havlík as a model of faithfulness to Christ.

“In many cases and even in different contexts it is difficult, sometimes heroic, to remain faithful to Christ,” Semeraro said at the ceremony.

A new book on the beatification, “Three Days with the Unbreakable,” has also been published. Co-writer Silvia Lehutová said the beatification “was not just a one-time event or a technical gesture.”

She added: “In silence and prayer, we were touching something sacred,” stressing that Havlíkʼs heroism is not “reserved for the past, but a challenge for us today.”

The English, French, Spanish, and Italian dubbing of the 2024 documentary “On the Way to Perfection” was released in 2026. Director Branislav Valko said the dubbing was done “to bring his life and testimony of faith to an international audience,” adding that Havlík’s story must “also inspire today’s generation and show that faith and courage have timeless value.”

A new reliquary containing part of Havlík’s bone was also presented this year, along with a portrait by artist Terézia Sedláková, who said she was inspired by St. Carlo Acutis. “I tried to capture youth, purity, and deep faith that transcend suffering,” the painter said.

Semeraro noted at the beatification that Havlík had met Blessed Titus Zeman, a Salesian priest who was also persecuted under the communist regime and beatified in 2017, while both were imprisoned.

St. Cyril is also remembered for his exhaustive biblical knowledge and his endurance in the face of misunderstanding and opposition.

Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, who likewise celebrate him as a saint on March 18, also remember him on May 7 — the date of a miraculous apparition said to have occurred soon after his consecration as a bishop.

Cyril was most likely born in Jerusalem around the year 315, shortly after the legalization of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

Although that legalization put a stop to many of the persecutions that threatened the Church for two centuries, it indirectly gave rise to a number of internal controversies — both in regard to theology and to the jurisdiction of bishops — in which Cyril would find himself involved.

Cyril received an excellent education in classical Greek literature as well as in the Bible. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Maximus of Jerusalem and succeeded him as bishop in 348.

During his early years as a bishop, most likely around 350, he delivered a series of lectures to new initiates of the Catholic Church. Twenty-four of the lectures have survived and are studied today.

In a 2007 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI praised the saint for providing an “integral” form of Christian instruction “involving body, soul, and spirit.” St. Cyril’s teaching, the pope said, “remains emblematic for the catechetical formation of Christians today.”

In 351, three years after Cyril became the bishop of Jerusalem, a large cross-shaped light appeared for several hours in the sky over the city — an event that many interpreted as a sign of the Church’s triumph over heresy. It could also, however, be understood as a sign of the suffering the new bishop would undergo in leading his flock.

Unlike many other Eastern bishops and priests of the fourth century, Cyril did not allow his classical learning to lead him away from believing in the full humanity and divinity of Christ.

However, the man who consecrated Cyril as a bishop, Archbishop Acacius of Caesarea, was an ally of the Arians, who claimed that Jesus was a creature and not God. Because of his connection to the archbishop, Cyril himself was unjustly suspected of heresy by many of his brother bishops.

But he also found himself at odds with Acacius, who claimed to have jurisdiction over the birthplace of the Church. Altogether, these disputes led to Cyril being exiled from Jerusalem three times in the course of 20 years, with his longest exile lasting more than a decade.

Eventually, however, the Eastern bishops came to acknowledge Cyril’s orthodoxy and legitimacy as a bishop — both of which they confirmed in a letter to the pope in Rome, in which they also expressed their admiration of his pastoral efforts.

In 381, St. Cyril participated in the Second Ecumenical Council, which condemned two different forms of Arianism and added statements about the Holy Spirit to the Nicene Creed of 325.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem died in 387 and was named a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.

This story was first published in March 2011 and has been updated.

Habermas emerged from the so-called Frankfurt School, which linked its philosophical and sociological ideas to Karl Marx and figures such as Sigmund Freud. The Frankfurt School was a pioneer and source of ideas for the 1968 revolution, and Habermas later broke with the movement.

The German philosopher’s willingness to take religious thought seriously — rare among secular philosophers of his stature — made him a valued interlocutor for Catholic thinkers.

In a statement Saturday, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, commemorated the late thinker’s dialogue with Joseph Ratzinger.

“With Jürgen Habermas’ death, an exceptional philosopher leaves us,” Wilmer declared. “The breadth of his thinking and the visionary power to build bridges between philosophy and religion will remain.”

He added: “Unforgettable is his dialogue with Joseph Ratzinger, which showed that theology cannot exist without philosophy and philosophy cannot exist without theology. We will not forget the power of his intellectual achievement.”

The two thinkers discussed the “dialectical foundations of secularization” at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in Munich in 2004. At that time, the later Pope Benedict XVI was still a cardinal serving as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Habermas, who maintained that the Enlightenment was an “unfinished project” that could be corrected through improved communication, found himself opposite a Bavarian prelate and theologian who maintained that the natural law tradition offers the surest path to overcoming the “pathologies of reason” and the twin dangers of political and religious fanaticism.

The Catholic weekly Die Tagespost noted in a March 14 obituary that their meeting demonstrated that the supposed opposition between enlightened reason and religious faith need not end in enmity. Both recognized the necessity of a mutual learning process, seeing the conversation itself as its own reward.

“Habermas, who described himself as ‘religiously unmusical,’ recognized in Christianity an important source of moral intuitions,” Henry C. Brinker wrote in the newspaper. “And the later pope drew out hidden resonances in Habermas that the philosopher himself probably did not suspect.”

The film on St. Patrick spans the period of time from Patrick’s abduction to Ireland by slave traders to his eventual escape of the island by boat.

Miller shared with EWTN News the inspiration behind his latest project, which he cowrote with his wife, Kristi.

“Not a lot of people know what actually happened to [Patrick] during this period,” Miller said. “They know that he was brought to Ireland, but they don’t understand what he had to go through. We made sure that we got that across to the audience so that they can understand his conversion.”

He added: “It wasn’t until he had to go through hardship and endure working as a shepherd on remote Slemish mountain that he took ownership of his faith and turned towards God.”

There is a lot that has been written about St. Patrick over the years, but Miller said he anchored his script and story in Patrick’s own autobiography. “We built the story on what he said in his ‘Confessio,’” he said.

Miller explained: “Patrick came from a Roman family. His grandfather and father were both clerics, and his father worked in collecting taxes for the Roman government of the time. Patrick’s family would have had slaves themselves. They would have treated them much better than the way the Irish treated slaves. He would have had teachers come in for him and his family.”

“So he ate very well. He dressed very well. He came from a lovely family. Being torn abruptly away from that when he was 16 and brought to Ireland to live on his own, looking after sheep on Slemish mountain, would have been a major change.”

Miller said a number of people were very helpful the the process of making the film.

“I managed to get help from the St. Patrick Centre, Tim Campbell, who manages the center and is a fountain of knowledge on St. Patrick, as well as Martina Purdy and Elaine Kelly, and Father Feargal McGrady. They are all historians, knowledgeable about St. Patrick and what Ireland and Britain were like at that time. Their contribution is invaluable.”

Miller also said that the cast and crew are from Ireland. “St. Patrick is played by two actors — the young Patrick is played by Kasper Andreasen, and older St. Patrick by Michael Sullivan. I worked with them before and I knew how capable they are.”

He added: “We had a very talented crew that have worked on major productions here in Ireland on the likes of ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Hope Street,’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ To be able to get that quality of workmanship in EWTN projects, I feel absolutely blessed. It’s the exact same crew that work with me in every production, it’s like a family coming back together again, and that makes it all somewhat simpler. I would also thank John Elson and the acquisitions team at EWTN.”

Scriptwriting was a joint effort between Campbell and his wife, of whom he said admiringly and simply: “She put a lot of time and effort into writing this.”

Most of the docudrama scenes were shot on location at the former British army barracks in Ballykinler County Down. Miller said the remaining army personnel there were incredibly helpful and accommodating, providing every assistance Miller and his team required. They also filmed in the scenic mountains of Mourne and in Donard forest, literally outside Campbell’s back door.

Although St. Patrick has been the best known saint of Ireland for many years, Miller spoke about the importance of his story for today’s Catholics.

“St. Patrick is very relevant today. There we have someone who was brought to his knees. He was taken away from his family. He had to live alone. He was made a slave, enduring ridiculous amounts of hardship that we just couldn’t fathom.”

He added: “And at that point when you’re at your lowest, like Patrick, there’s only one person you can turn to and that is God. God gives you hope that things will get better, and I believe that’s a message that people need to hear today, that things can get better. Just turn towards Christ and ask for his help. Patrick did that, he called out, and God answered, directing him: ‘There’s a boat there to take you home.’”

Hope is a distinct theme that runs through Miller’s work.

“It’s not intentional; it’s something that seems to be there with the characters and situations we end up making films about,” he said. “Hope is something that we all need and no matter who you are, when your back is against the wall, when you’re down on your knees and you feel there’s nothing else, that’s what a lot of people turn to at that point.”

He added: “God sees everything at one time, he knows that it’s going to get better for us. We need that faith in him and we need that hope.”

Miller’s next project is a new TV series for EWTN for later 2026, which will be based in Ireland. “It involves two priests working out of a small rural parish. One being a priest of 40 years, and the other just out of seminary. There’s going to be a lot of comedy moments within it,” he said.

Watch “Saint Patrick: The Hidden Years” here.

Looking back, he said, he feels great gratitude. Even if he had not become a priest, he “would do everything to become one,” the bishop of Reykjavik, the only diocese on the island, said in a conversation with EWTN News in Rome.

He was ordained in Slovakia, then communist Czechoslovakia, but “even if communism had not fallen, and thank God it did, a priest would still do what he was supposed to do,” he stressed. He had good priests in a seminary and in a parish who worked a lot and were able to eschew the imposed limits of the regime, the prelate explained.

The priests collaborated and were pastorally active, confessing and forming parishioners privately, outside the supervision of the state apparatus. Consequently, when the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, “an enormously powerful — or rather beautiful — Church arose in Slovakia,” Tencer told EWTN News.

“I am not just interested in what a priest does but in what he is — by transforming bread and wine,” the Slovak prelate explained.

Before he was ordained a bishop in 2015, he recalled it is “the fullness of priesthood and likeness to the Lord Jesus.”

He became a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins in 1990. In the light of the current 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, he said he sees the order’s spirituality “applicable everywhere, and we in Iceland appreciate it very much,” as it brings “the charism of the brotherhood.”

It “creates bridges and not barriers,” which is especially important on this island northwest of Europe, “as its nature and the way of life” constrain its inhabitants to be “very dependent on themselves,” Tencer said.

The bishop recently came to Rome to ordain a seminarian of Brazilian origin a deacon where he studies, one of the two seminarians in his diocese. The other one is a native Icelander who has been Catholic for seven years and came to faith through organ music, Tencer shared.

“He liked to listen to the organ and when he started going to the Catholic church, he saw that we use it as a means. We mostly do not go to concerts and listen to Bach, but it is simply an instrument for accompaniment during liturgy,” the bishop said, adding that the seminarian is now “a pretty good organist.”

Other Icelanders discover faith thanks to their spouse. For example, a Catholic Filipino woman might marry an evangelical Icelander. Since there is not much public transport in the country, he takes her to Mass by car and accompanies her also during the liturgy. “And so he also experiences the Catholic atmosphere,” the bishop of Reykjavik said.

Due to its small population of around 400,000, “a normal priest knows the majority of people by name.” People are very grateful, as this direct contact suits them very well, he clarified.

Interest in faith is rising

Yet the diocese does not just grab people and “make out of them some kind of Catholic so you do not even know what you have fallen into,” Tencer joked. Even for baptized Christians, the diocese requires that they experience Mass ideally every Sunday and spend the whole liturgical year with them.

“If they say no, it is OK, because we can live without them.”

The most beautiful thing about the Church in Iceland is that it does not impose but “offers,” he said.

When Tencer came to Reykjavik in 2015, the parish hall after Mass at the Reykjavik cathedral was always half full. The Icelanders who travel from great distances eat something and drink coffee after the liturgy to warm up. Nowadays, the hall and surrounding rooms are so full after Mass that he cannot find a place to sit.

“I am usually in the corridor where a few Indian fathers chat in their native Malayalam. It became their spot,” the Slovak bishop said, marking the rising number of Massgoers.

Regarding new ways to attract people, the Slovak bishop takes the example from communism when a priest would once a year on a given Sunday say: “If someone feels a calling to be a priest, go to the parish office.”

“When my school-leaving exam approached, I did,” he shared. The bishop was surprised no one did that in Iceland, so he took up this method.

“When I speak Icelandic in church, half of the congregation does not understand. If I speak English, another half does not understand. We are from 172 countries and are not united by culture or language.”

Yet it is not a reason to abstain from taking part in the liturgy, “since you go to a Mass to receive grace, not to understand the language,” Tencer clarified further.

“Even a blind person gets suntanned in the sun.”

Pope Leo XIV was a surprise in Iceland

Iceland sits between Europe and Greenland — a former Danish colony like Iceland was in the past. When geopolitical tensions arose over Greenland earlier this year, it did not create much stir in the society at large. People rather viewed it as a joke. “Anyway, who would be interested in us?” the bishop said jokingly, reminding that the Catholic community is overwhelmingly immigrant in a foreign land.

A few Greenlanders who are mostly fishermen in Iceland did not make a big deal out of it. However, the diocese has a fairly large group of Chaldeans, Syrians, and Ukrainian refugees, so when the problems hit Syria and Ukraine, “we felt for them and were afraid of their families in their homeland.”

The election of Pope Leo XIV was seen as “a very big surprise” in Iceland, he revealed. Since the Cathedral of Christ the King in Reykjavik will turn 100 in 2029, Tencer said he wants to invite the pope to visit the island on the occasion. The Holy Father usually sends papal legates for such occasions, but “if he came himself, that would be amazing for the local community,” the bishop said.

Iceland is part of the Nordic Bishops’ Conference together with Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Bishops from these countries “are considered ours as if they were in one country,” Tencer said.

He was glad that fellow Nordic bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, Norway, gave the Lenten spiritual exercises to the Roman Curia this year. They must have been “very lively and the cardinals were not bored,” Tencer said.

He also revealed that when Varden met Pope Francis, the Holy Father told him he had read his book. “Which one?” the prolific Norwegian author and prelate responded.