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.
United States
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.
As the U.S. and Israel-Iran war enters its fourth week, and amid a deep humanitarian crisis throughout the region, Pope Leo XIV appealed during his Sunday Angelus prayer March 22: “Persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths of peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person.”
Once a young teenager wearing a cap and gown for his eighth-grade graduation photo in Chicago, today the famous former-student posed for a reunion picture wearing his papal zucchetto and cassock at the Vatican.
Drawing inspiration from St. Carlo Acutis, a national shrine in Wisconsin is inviting Catholics to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States this summer by joining in prayer and learning about the holy men and women of America.
Catholics across the Middle East are reeling with shock and sorrow, and responding with prayer, amid joint strikes Israeli and U.S. forces launched on Iran Feb. 28, plunging the region into war.
In a revolutionary year, the spirited celebration of America’s 250th anniversary throughout 2026, the national shrine dedicated to the first U.S.-born saint is aiming to help patriotic revelers discover the place of “Mother Seton” among the pantheon of iconic nation-builders.
To celebrate three occasions — the worldwide Jubilee 2025; the 10th anniversary of the 2015 release of Pope Francis’ landmark environmental encyclical “Laudato Si'”; and the annual ecumenical Season of Creation Sept. 1-Oct. 4 — Catholics across America have committed themselves to spiritual expeditions not on the well-worn pilgrimage routes of Europe but in their own communities.
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.
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.