Pope Leo XIV named Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the substitute secretary for general affairs at the Vatican Secretariat of State, as the apostolic nuncio to Italy and the Republic of San Marino, the Vatican said.
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Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York welcomed the mobile People of Hope Museum March 26, near Union Square in Manhattan. The tractor-trailer-sized traveling museum will tour under the sponsorship of Catholic Charities USA.
Elizabeth’s words to Mary form the bridge from the Annunciation to the Visitation in the Hail Mary prayer: “Blessed are you among women, and blest is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:42). After Mary’s hasty journey to her kinswoman, she, carrying Jesus in her womb-ark, receives an exuberant welcome from Elizabeth and John the Baptist. The unborn babies, Jesus and John, meet for the first time as their mothers embrace. Elizabeth explains what she has felt in her heart and in her womb:
Marking the start of Holy Week, Pope Leo XIV used his first Palm Sunday Mass to issue a forceful plea for peace, urging an end to war as he reflected on Christ’s Passion.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo, the custos of the Holy Land, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher by Israeli police on Palm Sunday, the Latin patriarchate said.
Bishop Edward J. Burns celebrated a solemn liturgy marking the 40th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way in the Diocese of Dallas on March 1 at SMU’s Moody Coliseum. More than 4,000 people attended.
Twenty‑one missionaries from the Diocese of Dallas traveled to the Diocese of Trujillo, Honduras, Feb. 20-27 for a medical and catechetical mission that served nearly 1,000 patients and provided formation for couples from parishes across that diocese.
Pope Leo XIV has shared his advice for how to discern one’s vocation, starting with the importance of creating space for interior silence to “hear what the Lord desires for our happiness.”
Over 20,000 catechumens in France are expected to be baptized during the Easter Vigil, marking a 20% increase compared to baptisms in 2025.
Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for a ceasefire in the ongoing U.S. and Israel-Iran war in comments to journalists in Castel Gandolfo on the night of March 24, urging leaders to pursue dialogue over military force.