Sacramental marriage and traditional family life increase joy in the good times, give strength during hard times, and are a path to true holiness, Pope Leo XIV said.
Saints
When Pope Leo XIV raises three women and four men to the altar Oct. 19, he will canonize a diverse group of religious and lay men and women, all bound by the virtue of holding on to their faith amid personal, spiritual, and external challenges.
Estonia celebrated a historic milestone Sept. 6 when Archbishop Eduard Profittlich, a German-born Jesuit, became the country’s first Catholic to be beatified.
The greatest risk in life is to waste it by not seeking to follow God’s plan, Pope Leo XIV said, proclaiming two new saints — two young laymen of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Thousands of Catholics across the country will unite in prayer for pregnant and parenting moms in need during an April 19-27 novena inspired by St. Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian doctor, wife, and mother who sacrificed her own life for the life of her child.
Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of three blesseds: an Armenian Catholic archbishop martyred during the Armenian genocide, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea killed during World War II, and a Venezuelan religious sister who dedicated her life to education and the poor.
Christian martyrs from across denominations hold a place of honor in the Church, Pope Francis said, highlighting their examples of faith and courage that continue to inspire Christians today.
In late October, while thousands gathered across the Polish capital to commemorate the 1984 kidnapping and brutal murder of Solidarity chaplain Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, patient work continued at the Jesuit order’s archive in Warsaw to document the fate of other communist-era victims.
Pope Francis called on the faithful to yearn to serve, not thirst for power, as he proclaimed 14 new saints, including Canada-born St. Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and 11 martyrs.