Catholic news today

The Dominican Priory of St. Nicholas in Gdańsk has started autumn commemorations marking the anniversary of its foundation. The celebrations lead up to a jubilee year in 2027.

The priory recently held a retreat from Sept. 14 to 21 in Caleruega, Spain, the birthplace of St. Dominic. Participants attended daily Mass and conferences on Dominican spirituality while visiting sites including Gumiel de Izán, Burgos, Palencia, Osma, Santo Domingo de Silos, Peñafiel, and Segovia. The retreat included meetings with Dominican friars and nuns to study the spiritual heritage of the Order.

The Master of the Order, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner, will visit the community on Oct. 18 to join the opening celebrations. He is scheduled to preach at the 11:30 a.m. Mass that day.

The Dominican community is linked to the missionary work of St. Hyacinth of Poland. Friars are believed to have arrived in Gdańsk in the autumn of 1226, and Duke Świętopełk of Pomerania formally established the community by entrusting them with St. Nicholas’ Church on Jan. 22, 1227.

Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Lexington celebrated its 80th anniversary on Oct. 7 during the feast day of its patroness. The celebration included a Holy Hour, the Rosary, Mass, a procession, and a reception. More than 200 parishioners attended the event, which featured the Eritrean Catholic Community of Charlotte as special guests.

Parochial Administrator Father Huver Navarro presided over the Mass alongside Ge'ez Rite priest Father Michael Debesay. During the liturgy, the community blessed a new tabernacle funded by parishioner donations and money raised by the Lady’s Guild.

In his homily, Father Navarro spoke about the parish history, noting it was founded in 1946 by 15 families. He encouraged the congregation to maintain spiritual renewal through daily prayer of the Rosary.

Pope Leo XIV describes the current global tension as a struggle between a culture of power and a civilization of love in his encyclical letter Magnifica Humanitas. In the fifth chapter of the document, the Pope argues that reviving dialogue is the primary way to build a civilization of love and serves as the main alternative to open conflict.

The Pope states that dialogue is a standard part of human life that extends beyond relations between states. He suggests that dialogue requires an attitude aimed at creating bonds of fraternity to allow for coexistence between people and nations.

Frédéric Manns describes the biblical city of Magdala and its connection to Mary Magdalene in a feature for L’Osservatore Romano. In his work, Raccontando la Bibbia, Manns depicts Magdala as a fortified city on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus visited a newly inaugurated synagogue to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Manns suggests that Jesus may have encountered Mary Magdalene on a pier in the port. He describes the meeting as a moment when the luxurious boat of the wealthy Mary Magdalene crossed paths with the humble boat used by the Apostles during the period of preaching known as the Galilean Spring. The feature notes that the Gospel of Luke identifies Mary Magdalene as one of the women who accompanied Jesus after she was healed of seven demons and various infirmities.

Pope Leo XIV met with French bishops in Lourdes on Sunday, September 27, to encourage the growth of faith in France. During the meeting, the Pope told the bishops to use missionary creativity and courage to address modern challenges and human errors. He advised them to acknowledge failings with truth and to heal wounds through charity.

The Pope stated that the Church has a right to be heard in the public square due to its historical role in building French society. He urged the bishops to defend the rights of the Church to evangelize, educate, and worship publicly. He noted that the Church must act as a sign of renewal as the world faces rising violence, polarization, and a decline in fraternity.

To renew the mission in France, Pope Leo XIV said the only roadmap is to make Jesus Christ known and loved authentically. He also encouraged the bishops to provide young people with doctrinal clarity regarding the Gospel and to work with them to pursue what is true, good, and beautiful.

Pope Leo XIV visited the Maison Bakhita center in Paris on Saturday, September 26, to meet with migrants and refugees receiving social integration services. During his visit to the facility, which is run by the Archdiocese of Paris, the Pope thanked the staff and volunteers for providing support and friendship to those assisted by the center.

The Pope cited the center's patron, Saint Josephine Bakhita, as an example of how to recognize the dignity of every person. He noted that women play a fundamental role in building a civilization of love that serves as an alternative to cultures that cause loneliness and community division.

Pope Leo XIV stated that the history of the Church and humanity is shaped by those who build trust and peace rather than those who seek to dominate others. He described the poor as the flesh of Christ and encouraged people to share both spiritual and material gifts, noting that everyone has something to give regardless of their wealth.

More than 13,000 adults were baptized in France during Easter last year, marking a 28 percent increase compared to 2025. This figure represents more than triple the number of baptisms recorded in the country ten years ago.

During a visit to the Catholic University of Paris on September 26, Pope Leo XIV met with several newly baptized members and catechumens. Robin, a 24-year-old student baptized in 2023, told L'Osservatore Romano that the Church in France is transitioning from an inherited faith to one that is chosen. He noted that while post-World War II society attempted to build a culture indifferent to God, many young people today are seeking a relationship with God. Robin, who was raised in an Evangelical Protestant family, said he was drawn to the Catholic Church by its communal dimension of faith.

André Finot, the communications manager for the charity Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, reflected on the cathedral's reconstruction and the fire that destroyed its roof and spire. Finot, who served as the cathedral's communications manager for nearly a decade and witnessed the fire firsthand, has spent the last six years following the work of architects and craftsmen during the restoration process.

The charity was founded in 2016 following discussions between Finot, art history professor Andrew Tallon, and then-Archbishop of Paris Cardinal André Vingt-Trois. Tallon had warned that the cathedral was in poor condition and risked collapsing within ten years if funds were not raised to save it. The organization currently works to preserve the historic site.

Pope Leo XIV traveled to France on Friday, September 25, to proclaim peace and honor the nation's spiritual and cultural history. After departing Rome's Fiumicino airport on an ITA Airways flight, the Pope landed at Paris Orly Airport and held a private meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.

During an address to civil authorities, diplomats, and members of society, the Pope spoke about his French heritage and the country's role as a spiritual beacon for Europe. He noted that French Catholic scholars have historically used science, art, literature, and philosophy to serve humanity. He also connected the national motto of liberty, equality, and fraternity to the inspirations found in the Gospel.

Angie Allen of Catholic Exchange notes that many modern perspectives view love as a fluid, intense feeling rather than a formal commitment. Using examples such as Pamela Anderson and Britney Spears, Allen observes a common belief that love is a spontaneous emotion that can run its course or disappear unexpectedly.

The article contrasts this view of love as a transient feeling with the concept of love as a formal process. Allen points out that while many see love as something that flows without constraint, this perspective often treats love as something that exists only as long as the feeling remains.

John Henry Newman, a prominent nineteenth-century Anglican theologian and Oxford graduate, converted to Roman Catholicism after years of opposing the faith.

Born in London in 1801 and raised in the evangelical Protestant tradition, Newman initially viewed the Church of England as the true Church. Anglicanism maintained many Catholic rituals and a similar hierarchy, but Newman identified theological divides regarding the authority of the pope, the veneration of Mary and the saints, and the Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Newman documented the spiritual journey that led to his conversion in his autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua.

Fr. Evance, a Franciscan Capuchin friar in the Diocese of Kimbe, is warning residents to be careful with fire as the El Niño dry season increases the risk of spreading flames. The parish priest of Bitokara St. Theresia of the Child Jesus noted that fires are breaking out frequently, with dry grass and oil palm catching fire rapidly.

Fr. Evance, who also serves as the coordinator for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation for the Capuchins in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, warned that smoke from these fires is putting public health at risk.

Sister Nancy Usselmann visited the filming set of the seventh and final season of the series The Chosen.

Students from Timika, Papua, who study at Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang, Indonesia, participated in a spiritual retreat in mid-August 2026 to reflect on their roles in faith and service. Held at the Sanjaya Pastoral Center in Muntilan, Central Java, the program encouraged the students to explore how the missionary spirit applies to their lives and higher education.

The retreat taught that missionary work is not limited to traveling to remote areas for healthcare or socioeconomic development. Instead, participants learned that they can live out this spirit in daily life by fostering solidarity and making the love of Christ present to others.

The location in Muntilan provided historical context, as the town is a significant site for the history of the Catholic Church in Indonesia regarding education and evangelization. The program used this heritage to help students recognize the missionary identity as an essential part of being a Christian.

The feature film "Mistyczka" (The Mystic) drew 160,000 viewers in Poland during its first two weeks in theaters. The film, which opened on Sept. 11, 2026, depicts the life and spiritual conversion of Alicja Lenczewska, a lay Catholic and teacher from Szczecin.

Written and directed by Jan Sobierajski, the production stars actress Dorota Chotecka-Pazura. The story follows Lenczewska, who turned to the Catholic Church at age 50 following the conversion of her older brother. Her spiritual journals, totaling 900 pages, document what she described as years of interior conversations with Jesus.

The film's release coincides with a Polish archdiocese beginning a broad examination of Lenczewska's life and writings. Sobierajski stated that the production took three years to complete.

Franciscan Media explores whether John the Baptist doubted Jesus based on biblical accounts in Matthew 11:2-3 and Luke 7:18-23. In these passages, John sends his disciples from prison to ask Jesus if he is the one they should expect or if they should look for someone else.

While the question suggests uncertainty, the report notes that John had previously testified that Jesus was the Son of God and the Lamb of God. The text suggests John may have been preparing his disciples to follow Jesus after his own death rather than expressing personal doubt.

Writing in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Benedict Viviano, OP, suggests that the verses in Matthew 11:2-6 may reflect an early Christian debate regarding the nature of Jesus' mission. This debate likely occurred between followers of John the Baptist and early Christians, as Jesus did not fulfill the specific expectations of a Messiah held by many people during that era.

Children and youth in the Diocese of Surat Thani participated in the Missionary Childhood Association Camp from Oct. 6 to 9. The event used the theme "Heart of Francis" to lead participants through spiritual formation activities based on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Participants visited eight interactive learning stations covering topics such as compassion, forgiveness, environmental stewardship, service, perseverance, generosity, action, and inner peace. The camp opened with a liturgy at Mary Help of Christians Hall at Upatham Wittaya Phanom School in Surat Thani province, presided over by Father Sitthichok Saewaengkan, the assistant bishop for evangelization.

The Missionary Childhood Association originated in France in 1843 after Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson founded the Holy Childhood Association to help starving and abandoned children in China. Working with Pauline Jaricot, the bishop established the "Children Helping Children" movement, which encouraged young people to support others through prayer and small monthly donations. The association now operates in 120 countries.

Francis X. Maier writes that the modern era of mass murder began in Turkey just over a century ago with the unrepented crimes committed against Armenians.

Maier notes that by the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire faced political decay and financial ruin. While Islamic law allowed Christians a degree of autonomy, they lived under a culture of permanent discrimination involving arbitrary violence and special taxes. This environment made the position of Christians within the empire increasingly unstable as regional powers struggled for dominance.

The Holy Cross Preparatory Academy boys soccer team has reached its highest win total since 2023, entering an October 18 game against Palmyra with a 7-3 record. The Delran school is seeing improved results after returning to the Burlington County Scholastic League’s Freedom Division this season following six years in the Patriot Division.

Coach Zach Jepson said the team is finding more success now that they are playing in a division with schools more comparable to their own size. During their time in the Patriot Division, the Lancers competed against much larger powerhouse schools. Jepson noted that while the team struggled to secure winning records against those larger opponents, the players gained experience by competing through high-effort battles. The current squad is composed largely of seniors.

Forty-two representatives from the AFM Province of the Salesian Cooperators, covering Lesotho, eSwatini, and South Africa, gathered for the Salesian Cooperators Congress 2026.

James Katende asks what questions the Catholic Church in Southern Africa needs to address as 2026 nears its end, according to a report by The Southern Cross.

Fr. James Mallon spoke at the Renewed and Sent national Parish Renewal Summit held from October 1 to 3 at St. Gregory’s College in Campbelltown. The event, co-hosted by Divine Renovation Australia and the Diocese of Wollongong, brought together bishops, priests, deacons, parish teams, and lay people from 26 dioceses across Australia.

The summit included a dedicated clergy day on October 1. Mallon, the founder of Divine Renovation, joined other speakers including Bishop Brian Mascord of Wollongong, Divine Renovation Global CEO Brett Powell, coaching director Matt Regitz, and Sr. Mary Immanuel of the Immaculata community.

Participants attended sessions on prayer, Mass, adoration, and keynotes designed to help parishes move from maintenance to mission. Mallon noted that during the clergy session, priests engaged in mutual encouragement and shared wisdom regarding their ministry.

The ABC Ombudsman, Fiona Cameron, dismissed a formal complaint from Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP regarding the broadcaster's coverage of voluntary assisted dying in July.

Archbishop Fisher alleged that the broadcaster lacked impartiality and failed to present alternative viewpoints during a period coinciding with the ALP national convention. In a letter reported by The Australian, the Archbishop argued that the ABC repeatedly gave Andrew Denton, the founder of the advocacy group Go Gentle Australia, multiple opportunities to promote law reform across television, radio, online, and social media within nine days. Fisher noted that the ABC's own editorial standards require the broadcaster to avoid advocating for specific outcomes in contentious social debates.

Cameron denied that the ABC's coverage lacked impartiality.

Students at St. Ann School gathered for a living rosary on Oct. 8 to celebrate their Catholic faith and honor Hispanic Heritage Month. During the schoolwide assembly, the school choir performed sacred music while students participated in the prayer.

To recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, the students recited one decade of the rosary in Spanish. The event allowed students to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary while celebrating the various languages and cultures within the universal Church.

The Catholic Spirit reflects on the biblical connection between meals and the afterlife, noting that the prophet Isaiah describes a future feast provided by the Lord for all people. This imagery of a heavenly banquet serves as a way to understand the life to come.

The publication connects this theme to the experience of holiday celebrations and Sunday dinners, where food often serves as a way to nourish relationships. It also notes that the passage from Isaiah is frequently used during funerals to offer comfort regarding the life after death.

The article further compares Isaiah's prophecy to Exodus 24, where Moses and 70 elders of Israel saw a vision of God on Mount Sinai and subsequently ate and drank. While some interpret this event as a sign that the elders survived the vision, some scholars suggest it represents a unique way of experiencing God's presence.

Jesse Covington defends the book Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics against critics who question its stance on pluralism. Writing for Public Discourse, Covington addresses recent reviews from postliberal perspectives that describe the work as uncritical of the American liberal regime.

Covington uses the concept of illegitimate totality transfer to explain the need for precision in interpretation. He notes that seminary students are cautioned against this error, which occurs when a person attributes every possible meaning of a word to a specific context without using grammatical or contextual clues to narrow the definition. Covington argues that just as biblical interpreters must attend to technical details to avoid making meaning too flexible, scholars in theology and political theory must address interpretive details to maintain clarity.

Becoming a parent is not an automatic cure for self-centeredness, according to a commentary from The Catholic Spirit. The author, writing six months after becoming a father, argues against the idea that starting a family serves as a quick fix for people stuck in prolonged adolescence or self-preoccupation.

The author notes that parenthood does not instantly remove the temptation to prioritize oneself over others, including a child. Personal examples of this struggle include choosing social media over interacting with a daughter or prioritizing immediate indulgence over the long-term health required to care for a child.

Rather than an immediate transformation, the author describes parenthood as a continuous demand to choose selflessness. The role serves as a constant invitation to use one's freedom to put a child's needs above personal desires through daily tasks such as middle-of-the-night wake-ups and feeding.

The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, features a ceiling in its entryway painted to replicate the specific constellation alignment over Peoria on February 11, 1875, the day the church was founded.

A writer for The Catholic Spirit noted that the blue-painted night sky, decorated with stars and planets, resembles heaven descending to earth. The author connected this imagery to the prayer in the Our Father for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, describing it as a missionary prayer intended to help the world draw closer to God.

The commentary further linked this theme of divine presence to the ministry of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen. The author observed that Sheen dedicated his preaching and mission to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, following a pilgrimage to his beatification in St. Louis and a visit to his tomb in a side chapel at the Peoria cathedral.

Tim Staples discussed methods for proving the existence of God, engaging with atheists, and the history of the Black Mass during a Catholic Answers Live broadcast.

The program addressed how to respond to requests for absolute proof of God and how university students can interact with atheist associations without compromising their beliefs or becoming overly confrontational. Staples also examined the history of the Black Mass and the reported reactions of demons to Jesus.

Trevor Cribben Merrill has released a new Catholic novel titled The Comforts of Exile. Published by Wiseblood Books, the 311-page book serves as a sequel to Merrill's previous work, Minor Indignities.

The story follows 22-year-old Colin Phelps, a recent graduate and convert who moves to France to teach after a breakup. While living abroad, Colin pursues literary ambitions and develops a relationship with a devout woman named Laure. Despite these developments, the novel explores Colin's struggle to write effectively due to what he describes as an angelic imagination, a tendency to focus on abstract ideas rather than the realities of daily life.

St. Mary-Basha Catholic School in Chandler held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for a new 17,000-square-foot Art and Athletics Center. The $9 million project, developed in partnership with Shea Homes, follows a capital campaign titled Building on Faith: Our Future, Our Tradition, which began last year.

The facility will include a full-size gymnasium, a performance stage, a music classroom, an art classroom, a theater classroom, and a dedicated STREAM classroom for science, technology, religion, engineering, art, and math. Principal Katie Lyon said the center is intended to help students discover their gifts and provide a space for the community to gather.

During the ceremony, Bishop John Dolan offered a blessing and led a prayer for the construction team, the campus expansion, and future students.

Bishops, priests, and parishioners from across New Jersey gathered at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton on Oct. 8 for the third annual Mass for Life. The liturgy, led by Bishop David M. O'Connell, preceded the New Jersey March for Life.

During his homily, auxiliary bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau of the Archdiocese of Newark told the congregation that the death of Jesus Christ demonstrates the value of every human person. He noted that the crucifix represents the price paid for every individual.

Attendees from various dioceses joined the clergy for the prayer service before participating in the subsequent rally and march.

Pam Patnode published a book last month titled Beyond Burnout: Learning Balance from The Rule of St. Benedict through Our Sunday Visitor.

The book uses the teachings of St. Benedict to offer practical steps for combating burnout while remaining aligned with the Catholic faith. Patnode, a teacher at the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute at The St. Paul Seminary, wrote the book after experiencing her own exhaustion. She noted that people who work or volunteer for the Church often feel stretched thin.

Patnode, a member of Holy Name of Jesus in Medina, said she wants readers to know they are not alone in their struggles. She intends for the book to help people find balance and reach human flourishing through their faith.