Edition of Tuesday, September 15

Pope Leo XIV has granted a Guadalupan Jubilee Year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the New Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the transfer of her sacred image. The Archdiocese of Mexico City announced the declaration, which marks the half-century milestone of the basilica.

The jubilee will run from October 12, 2026, to October 12, 2027. Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, the Archbishop Primate of Mexico, reported the specific dates for the year-long celebration. ACI Prensa noted that the jubilee includes a plenary indulgence.

The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued decrees in 2025 permitting the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in parish churches across 34 dioceses. These permissions allow for the use of the 1962 Missal.

The number of permitted dioceses remained the same as in 2024. Of the 34 decrees issued in 2025, 24 applied to dioceses in the United States. According to Catholic World News, seven of these decrees were issued during the reign of Pope Francis, while 27 were issued following the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8.

Twenty-nine of the 2025 decrees extended permission for the celebration in parishes for two years. Some decrees allowed for the celebration in multiple parishes within a single diocese.

Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Francis I. Malone from the Diocese of Shreveport in Louisiana on September 15, 2026. Bishop Malone is 76 years old and has led the diocese for more than six years.

The Pope appointed Bishop Robert W. Marshall of Alexandria to serve as the apostolic administrator for the diocese. Bishop Marshall will lead the community until a new bishop is appointed and installed. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the changes in Washington, D.C.

Church leaders say Pope Benedict XVI's 2006 address at the University of Regensburg was misinterpreted but prophetic. Cardinal Bertone noted that the speech concluded with a clear rejection of using religion to motivate violence from any side.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urged President Donald Trump to demand the release of religious prisoners, including Jimmy Lai, during Chinese President Xi Jinping's scheduled visit to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24. The commission also requested that Trump call for an end to the persecution of believers in China.

The Archdiocese of Chicago has paid more than $400 million to survivors of sexual abuse.

The announcement follows a settlement with Jeff Anderson and Associates, a law firm based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Along with the settlement, the firm launched a national database on its website that tracks priests and clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

Franciscan University of Steubenville held its sixth annual Truth of Love Conference from Sept. 4 to 6 in Gaming, Austria. The conference, titled Toward a Theology of Healing, examined the meaning of Christian healing and the Church's call to heal.

During the event, provost and professor of theology Stephen Hildebrand spoke on Sept. 5. Katharina Westerhorstmann, a professor of theology and medical ethics at the university, noted that the need for healing within the Church and the world has become increasingly apparent in recent decades.

President Donald Trump expressed support for Irish unification during a Sept. 12 meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians, a U.S. Irish Catholic fraternal organization, thanked the president for his remarks supporting a united Ireland. This position departs from several decades of precedent regarding the official neutral stance of the United States on the matter.

The Diocese of Arlington is beginning the information gathering stage of the sainthood cause for Tom Vander Woude. This initial phase of the process allows the diocese to collect evidence regarding his life and virtues.

Vander Woude was a Catholic farmer and airline pilot from Virginia. He was a father of seven sons and died while saving the life of his youngest son, Joseph, who has Down syndrome.

Pope Gregory XI left Avignon on September 13, 1376, to begin the journey that would return the papacy to Rome, marking the 650th anniversary of the event.

Vatican News reports that the young religious woman Catherine of Siena persuaded the pope to make this decision, despite her having no official office or political power.

In Rome, a monument dedicated to Catherine of Siena continues to attract tourists who photograph it from an angle that makes the saint appear to be kissing the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

Bukavu held funerals on September 14 for 27 people killed in a school fire that occurred on September 10 in the Cimpunda district. The victims included six adults and several minors who were students at the school.

The provincial coordination of the Civil Society of South Kivu described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe. The group reported that a series of fires over the past week destroyed hundreds of homes, two schools, a church, and 66 shops in the Kadutu market. In Ponzi, 40 homes burned down and three people died, while 174 families in Nyamugo were left homeless. The group also cited Congolese administration figures from Uvira stating that 2,500 homes were destroyed by fire between July and August.

The civil society group called on the M23 rebel administration, which currently controls Bukavu, to explain the lack of fire services and the failure to investigate the causes of these fires. They also noted that the administration is collecting taxes from the local population without providing services.

The Church commemorates Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. This feast day honors Mary and her connection to the suffering of Jesus during his work of redemption.

The title of Our Lady of Sorrows refers to seven specific moments in Mary's life where she experienced profound suffering. The commemoration invites the faithful to reflect on pain, compassion, and hope, while encouraging Christians to respond to the suffering of others with compassion.