Daily Readings

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Laurence O'Toole (1128-1180) today, but in Ireland it is an Optional Memorial (although a feast in Dublin). Laurence (also referred to as "Lawrence") was the Archbishop of Dublin during the takeover of Ireland by the Normans and King Henry II. His efforts in the peace process and his frustration with ... read more

Pope Leo XIV returned to Chiclayo, Peru, on Nov. 13, visiting the South American diocese he led for nearly a decade and celebrating Mass there as pope for the first time. The Holy Father led the Chiclayo Diocese from 2015 to 2023 before then-Pope Francis appointed him as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. ... read more

CHICLAYO, Peru — Pope Leo XIV returned on Friday to his former diocese, where he received an ecstatic welcome and seemed equally moved to be back.“What a joy it is to return to Chiclayo! It is a blessing for me to be with you once again,” Leo said at the start of his homily at ... read more

On Oct. 28, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a delegation of French lawmakers who belong to a study group on Eastern Christians that “there is no danger to the Christian presence in Lebanon.” He pointed to the country’s tradition of Christian-Muslim coexistence and argued that what had happened in neighboring countries could not happen in ... read more

Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania, will acquire Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, the schools announced this week.Pending institutional, canonical, and accrediting approvals from Church authorities and the U.S. Department of Education, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, which owns Marian University, said it plans to “gift” the school to Alverniaʼs founders, the ... read more

Today the dioceses in the United States celebrate the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), virgin, born in Lombardy, Italy, one of thirteen children. She came to America as a missionary, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children in schools and hospitals. She is the first American citizen ... read more

LIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV called on Peru to support the traditional family, respect cultural diversity, and defend the rights of women — all in fidelity to the social doctrine of the Church.“At the center of every social, economic, and political organization must be the human person, created in the image and likeness of ... read more

ACCRA, Ghana — Members of the Accra Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women in Ghana have called for prompt investigations into child sexual abuse and legal accountability for perpetrators, urging stronger protection for children in schools, homes, and communities.In a statement condemning sexual abuse, harassment, bullying, and exploitation of children, the council members urged authorities to ... read more

The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Josaphat (1580-1643), a Catholic of the Ruthenian rite. He was an apostle of the return of the Orthodox schismatics to the Church of Rome. Born in the then Polish region of Lithuania of Orthodox parents, he became a Catholic and a Ukrainian Basilian monk. Chosen bishop, he worked ... read more

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Octavi Vilà Mayo of Girona, Spain, as the new archbishop of Barcelona, succeeding Cardinal Juan José Omella, who turned 80 in April.This is the first in what is expected to be a long list of pending episcopal appointments in the Catholic Church in Spain. With Barcelona now filled, attention ... read more

The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Martin of Tours (ca. 316-398). St. Martin is the first bishop and confessor honored by the Church in the West. He was a principal apostle of Gaul, where his feast was celebrated as a holyday of obligation with an octave and popular celebrations. ... read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investigating potentially elevated levels of radiation at a New York Catholic school that sits just a few miles from a World War II-era nuclear disposal site. Data collected by the agency alongside state investigators in September from the property of the Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls showed some ... read more

The Catholic bishops of Massachusetts have rebuked Gov. Maura Healey for enacting an unrestricted abortion bill into law and citing her Catholic faith while doing so.On Nov. 6, Healey attached an emergency preamble to an all-nine-months abortion bill she signed Aug. 10, which under the state constitution made the new law take effect immediately.Her action ... read more

Throughout the last two millennia, the Catholic Church has only granted the title “doctor of the Church” to 38 saints, one of whom we celebrate today on Nov. 10: St. Leo the Great, the 45th bishop of Rome.Pope Leo I, who was the first pope to be remembered posthumously as “the Great,” began his papacy ... read more

The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Leo the Great (400-461), during whose pontificate the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined that Christ is one divine person with two natures, divine and human. It was a confirmation of his Epistola Dogmatica (Tomus) to the Patriarch Flavian of Constantinople. He vigorously defended the unity of the Church. ... read more