Daily Readings

Ireland celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Knock, celebrating the apparition of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, a Lamb and cross on an altar on the wall of the parish church in the village of Knock in County Mayo on August 21, 1879. See August 21 for more ideas to celebrate ... read more

KANO, Nigeria — A federal high court in Nigeria has restrained authorities in the country’s Kano state and the Islamic religious police, known as Hisbah, from arresting a 22-year-old woman because she converted from Islam to Christianity and rejected a forced marriage.In its May 26 ruling, the court described the actions taken against the woman, ... read more

From Sunday's Gospel: But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." ... read more

Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 15 called on Catholics to look to Mary, the Mother of God as an example of “true beauty,” with the Holy Father pointing to her youthful appearance in sacred art as a sign of “love that never ends.” The Holy Father delivered the homily during Mass at the Pontifical Parish ... read more

Spanish priest Father Fernando Cuevas has helped 1,280 single people find a spouse and get married over the past 15 years using WhatsApp and a simple questionnaire.“There are many people longing for true and everlasting love in Christ,” he told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.Now over 70, the priest, who is ... read more

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. On November 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption. Thus he solemnly proclaimed that the belief whereby the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the close of her earthly life, was taken up, body and ... read more

The Catholic Church and Indigenous Christian leaders in Bangladesh have called on the authorities to protect families terrified by an attack on a Christian village and to bring those responsible to justice.On Aug. 12, houses in the village of Gazarikura, a community in the Diocese of Mymensingh in the north of the Muslim-majority country, were ... read more

Pope Leo XIV has appealed to all people to recognize the suffering of child migrants, noting that they are often the most vulnerable during mass migration.In a message published by the Vatican on Aug. 14, the pope reflected on the theme for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, “Even Just One of These ... read more

Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), addressed the loss of federal grant money for refugee resettlement and ongoing deportation efforts from President Donald Trump’s administration during an EWTN interview Aug. 13.In 2024, the USCCB received more than $180 million in funding for government contracts, most of which supported services ... read more

Thousands gathered in the city of Chennai in southeast India on Aug. 8–9 for the country’s fifth National March for Life, bringing together Catholic bishops, clergy, religious, families, young people, and pro-life advocates for two days of prayer, formation, and public witness to the dignity of human life.Organized by CHARIS India and hosted by the ... read more

The Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe (1894-1941) is universally celebrated by the Church today. St. Maximilian was born in Zdunska Wola, Poland as Raymond Kolbe. He consecrated himself to the Lord in the Franciscan Order. Filled with love for the Virgin, he founded the Militia of the Immaculate Mary and, with his preaching and ... read more

Today is the Optional Memorial of Saints Pontian (Pontianus), Pope and St. Hippolytus, Priest (d. 235). St. Pontian was a victim of the persecution of Alexander Severus, who directed his attention particularly against the leaders of the Church. St. Pontian governed the Church from 230 to 235. He was exiled to the mines of Sardinia ... read more

Two hospitals in Texas have been ordered to provide lifesaving care for a soon-to-be-born baby at the center of an interstate surrogacy dispute. State Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced in an Aug. 11 press release that UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas were legally obligated to care for Gabriel, a ... read more

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it has implemented a final rule that formally bans using funds for “sex-rejecting procedures” for minors, which are drugs and surgeries used to facilitate “gender transitions.”According to a CMS news release, this includes puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations. It states these medical procedures cause ... read more

Father Benedict Chao, the worldʼs oldest Trappist monk and the last survivor of the community that suffered communist persecution in China, died at the age of 108 on July 31 in Lantau, Hong Kong.The Order of Cistercians of Strict Observance reported that Chao was born in 1918 in Chengting, Hebei Province, China. He entered the ... read more