Close to half of the nation’s adults have a personal or family connection to Catholicism, but Mass attendance makes for significant differences in what Catholics say is essential to their identity.
United States
A habit worn by St. Pio of Pietrelcina and other rare relics are coming to the U.S., brought by Capuchin friars from the very monastery that was home to the beloved saint known as Padre Pio.
Catholic groups are welcoming Pope Leo XIV — the second pope from the Americas, and the first U.S.-born pontiff — who was elected May 8, the second day of the papal conclave.
For decades, Dominican Sister Francis Dominici Piscatella immersed herself in the ministry of teaching, not retiring until she was 84.
A small group of priests serve one of the largest archdioceses in the United States. But their parish could be as far away as a military base in Japan, or be confined to serving on a warship.