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Vatican News
Pope at Angelus: God’s table is set for everyone
Pope Leo XIV reflects on the faith of the Canaanite woman, urging the Church to recognise how God’s grace works beyond established boundaries and to overcome discrimination and barriers that violate human dignity.
Caritas Indonesia mobilizes in response to Flores earthquake
Following Saturday's 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia, Catholic relief agency Caritas Indonesia has mobilized resources throughout the country to assist those affected by the disaster.
Pope: Young people, embrace Christ and your call to holiness
Pope Leo XIV reminds young people participating in the Third National Youth Day taking place this weekend in Monterrey, Mexico, that the purpose of our lives is to unite ourselves to Jesus and thus, by sharing in His life, attain the holiness to which we are called.
Earthquake in Indonesia kills 38; Catholic festival cancelled
At least 38 people have died and thousands have been displaced after a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s predominantly Catholic island of Flores. The Diocese of Labuan Bajo canceled the closing celebrations of the Golo Koe Maria Assumpta Nusantara Festival, while a major priestly formation celebration in Ledalero was moved outdoors after earthquake damage made the chapel and reception hall unsafe.
Lord's Day Reflection: Good luck ignoring mom
As the Church marks the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jenny Kraska reflects on the theme: "Good luck ignoring mom!"
Poles on the Road: The remarkable appeal of pilgrimage to Jasna Góra
Thousands of people, hundreds of miles, and successive generations walking the same road. On August 15, the season of walking pilgrimages reaches its peak at Jasna Góra – a tradition that remains a vivid expression of faith and community in Poland.
Europe’s tallest statue of Mary blessed in Poland. “She directs us toward God”
The Europe’s tallest statue of Mary was blessed on August 15 in Konotopie, Poland. During the ceremony, Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski said the more than 55-meter (180-foot) monument is meant to turn people’s thoughts toward God and serve as a place of prayer.
Pope at Angelus: Mary’s Assumption reveals our eternal destiny
Pope Leo XIV reflects on how Mary’s Assumption reveals humanity’s destiny of eternal life, and prays for those suffering in the Holy Land, Ukraine, Russia and earthquake-stricken Colombia.
Pope: 'The purity of Mary's soul leads us toward glory of Heaven'
During Mass in Castel Gandolfo for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV marvels how the Blessed Virgin Mary, through God's grace, leads us toward Heaven, insisting that love is "humanity’s most beautiful adornment," stressing that it "transfigures, transforms, ennobles and lifts us up, making us light, free and close to God, even amid life’s ups and downs."
Hope for a wounded Amazon: “The Pope knows where it hurts us”
In the communities of the Peruvian Amazon, anticipation is growing over Pope Leo's arrival in the country that shaped his missionary journey. The bishops of Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado hope that the papal visit to Pucallpa will be much more than a celebration: a call to conversion, unity, and renewed defense of the peoples of the Amazon.
Record-low Danube forces nuclear shutdown in Romania
Romania and neighboring Hungary are facing an energy crisis linked to a record heat wave and the related low level of the Danube River, with Romania forced to shut down its last operating nuclear reactor while Hungary struggles to keep the only one of its four Paks reactors still operating online.
Church condemns the execution of three death-row inmates in the U.S.
Three death-row inmates were executed by lethal injection in the United States on Thursday, August 13, in three different states. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), an organization that advocates for the abolition of the death penalty, this was the first time in more than sixteen years that three executions had taken place in the country on the same day.
Church and organizations in Peru defend human dignity and human rights
The Church, representatives of social organizations, Indigenous peoples and communities, grassroots groups, and human rights defenders from nine regions of southern Peru gathered in Cusco to share experiences, hear about the different realities across the territories, and develop common proposals in favor of dignity, justice, peace, and the common good, as part of the Southern Macro-Regional Meeting, “Weaving Voices for Dignity.”
Pope: Sunday Mass must form Catholics through reverent worship
Pope Leo XIV encourages priests to respect the liturgical norms for the celebration of Mass, in a message to participants in a Vatican-organized meeting in the US state of Oregon.
Pope Leo XIV: 'The cry of displaced children rises to God'
In his Message for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees to be observed 27 September 2026 on the theme "Even Just One of These Children," Pope Leo XIV says that the cry of displaced appeals to the conscience of all.
Papua New Guinea: 125 Years of the Catholic faith
From August 14 to 17, 2026, the diocese of Bougainville is celebrating 125 years of Catholic missionary presence in the North Region of the country. They honor the generations of missionaries, catechists, and local faithful who sustained the Church through war, crisis, and social change.
Australian Bishop pledges healing after predecessor’s abuse conviction
Bishop Timothy Norton of Broome Diocese expresses his deep sorrow to victims and survivors following the conviction of Australian Bishop Christopher Saunders, pledging a diocesan path marked by listening, accountability, and hope.
At the 'Courtyard of Francis', life is “good news”
From September 10 to 13 and September 17 to 20, the cultural event promoted by the friars of the Sacred Convent returns. In the 800th anniversary year of St. Francis' death, this edition places life at the center, explored through relationships, culture, spirituality, well-being, and new technologies.
Abortion is never a real choice
Our Deputy Editorial Director, Massimiliano Menichetti, reflects on the value of human life, contrasting a mother’s rescue beneath the rubble in Colombia with changing abortion laws and the question of what constitutes a genuine choice.
Pope names new members to the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences
The three new members are historians Umberto Longo, director of the Italian Historical Institute for the Middle Ages in Rome (Italy); Francesco Cesareo, president emeritus of Assumption University in Worcester (USA); and Anna Barańska, associate professor at the Faculty of Humanities of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland).