Daily Readings

The Holy See emphasized the need to place human dignity at the center of migration policies during its May 6 address to the Second International Migration Review Forum being held at United Nations headquarters in New York.In a statement, Monsignor Robert D. Murphy, interim chargé dʼaffaires of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the ... read more

Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia has appealed to the international community to urgently intervene and halt the planned execution of 200 Ethiopian nationals reportedly facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.“The cry of the poor and the marginalized must reach the ears of the international community. We cannot remain ... read more

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Vaticanʼs apostolic nuncio to Ukraine, arrived in Kyiv six months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. More than four years later, he is still there.In an interview with Sister Faustina Elena Andrulytė, editor-in-chief of the Lithuanian magazine Kelionė, the Lithuanian archbishop opened a window into ... read more

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Pachomius of Tabenna (290-346), founder of the cenobitical life, born near Esneh, Egypt; died at Phebôou around the year 346. After spending some time with the hermit Palemon, he withdrew to Tabennisi where he introduced community life among the hermits who gathered around him. Before he died he had established ... read more

NAIROBI, Kenya — Catholic Church leaders across Africa have described the first year of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV as a period marked by pastoral closeness, missionary renewal, peace advocacy, and renewed attention to the peripheries of the Church.In separate reflections shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on ... read more

Pope Leo XIV on May 8 visited the historic Italian cities of Pompei and Naples, meeting with local citizens and clergy and celebrating Mass on the first anniversary of his election to the papacy. The Holy Father visited the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei and met with the public ... read more

Caught in the war between Hezbollah and Israel, Christians in southern Lebanon have been paying a heavy price. Churches and monasteries have been destroyed, Christian symbols desecrated, and many families have lost loved ones, including a parish priest.Yet despite the violence and destruction, they have refused to abandon their homes and villages. Much of this ... read more

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. (John 15) ... read more

John Prevost, Pope Leo XIV’s older brother, said he, Leo, and Louis, the eldest of the three, talk every week, but “we keep politics to a limit.”CNN’s Erin Burnett on her show “OutFront” on May 6 asked Prevost to talk about how the brothers, who have differing political views, can still “be brothers and family” ... read more

On Thursday Pope Leo XIV met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican, with the meeting coming amid tensions between the Holy See and U.S. President Donald Trump.Trump has expressed his disapproval of Leoʼs public statements denouncing the U.S.-led war on Iran. The Holy Father has repeatedly called for peace amid the ... read more

A decision by the administration of the Palmyra region in Syria to adopt new names for a number of the city’s schools has reopened debate over a growing trend in Syria: the removal of names of national and cultural figures from public spaces and their replacement with neutral or religious names reflecting a single identity.While ... read more

Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Guadalajara in Jalisco state in Mexico, warned this week that “at the level of many municipalities, at the level of several states, the government, the decisions, are in the hands of organized crime.”In a May 3 press conference, the Mexican cardinal noted that “this is nothing new; it’s what ... read more

Today the Roman Martyrology commemorates the feast of recently-canonized Italian educator Saint Rosa Venerini (1656-1728), who founded Catholic schools for girls and young women during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. St. Rosa (also known as St. Rose) was declared a saint in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI, who spoke in his canonization homily ... read more

Ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV, President Donald Trump told “EWTN News Nightly” that one message he wants to get to the Holy Father is: “Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.”"Well, I can tell you this, that as far as the pope is concerned, itʼs very simple, whether I ... read more

The Holy See made public on May 6 the official program for Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Spain, which will take place June 6–12, when he will visit Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and the Canary Islands.The pontiff will depart from Rome on June 6 at 8 a.m. local time and is scheduled to arrive in Madrid ... read more