Most Popular News Within Last 30 Days
Franciscan friar describes ‘terrifying night’ in Jerusalem
A friar of the Franciscans’ Holy Land province described the night of March 5-6 in Jerusalem as a “terrifying night.” Father Ibrahim Faltas, OFM, director of schools of the...Nigerian archbishop calls on President Trump to give nation weapons to combat Islamist terrorism
The archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, said that he was grateful to President Donald Trump for drawing attention to Islamist terrorism in the West African nation but said that U.S. strikes there in December have proven counterproductive.“That incident, coupled with Donald Trump’s words, has greatly inflamed the passions of the Islamists,” Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama said during a briefing in Madrid. “The number of attacks, the number of kidnappings carried out by Boko Haram and other groups, has been rising ever since.”
“So we say to Donald Trump: give us intelligence reports, give us weapons, collaborate with our government, and then find a way to eradicate all these military groups,” Archbishop Kaigama added.
Russian attack damages historic Catholic monastery in Lviv
Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv, far from the frontline of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and damaged the historic Bernardine church and monastery. The attack...Nicaraguan regime bans ordinations in four dioceses
The regime of Nicaraguan strongman Daniel Ortega has banned ordinations to the priesthood and diaconate in four of the nation’s nine dioceses.The bishops of the four affected dioceses—Jinotega, Siuna, Matagalpa, and Estelí—are all in exile.
Jubilee year begins in Slovakia for Father Vendelin Javorka, first Russicum rector
Bishop Tomáš Galis of Žilina, Slovakia, inaugurated a jubilee year in honor of Father Vendelin Javorka, S.J. (1882-1966) as his beatification process beginsIn 1925, the Jesuit superior general summoned Father Javorka to Rome to prepare for missionary work in Russia. Father Javorka became the first rector of the Russicum College and subsequently ministered to Russian émigrés in China and Greek Catholics in Romania, where he was captured by the Red Army.
Following ten years in the Gulag for the crime of being a “Vatican spy,” Father Javorka spent the rest of his life under police surveillance in his native land.
Vandals set fire to Louisiana chapel
Vandals stole items from, and set fire to, St. John Chapel in Columbia, Louisiana.“Initial assessments indicate that portions of the church were desecrated in the incident,” the Diocese of Alexandria said in a statement. “Local authorities have confirmed that suspects have been identified and arrested in connection with the crime.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has documented over 400 acts of vandalism, arson, and other destruction at parishes and other Catholic sites in the United States since 2020. A tracker at CatholicVote.org lists additional attacks.
Vatican newspaper rues hospital airstrike in Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict
With the headline “Un’altra strage di civili” (Another massacre of civilians), L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent article in its March 17 edition to the Kabul hospital airstrike in the Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict.“Another war continues unabated: the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the newspaper reported. ‘The toll from a raid on a hospital in Kabul is tragic: over 400 dead. The Taliban accuses Islamabad, which, however, denies all responsibility.”
13-year decline in worldwide priestly vocations accelerates
The 13-year decline in the number of major seminarians worldwide accelerated during 2024, the last full year of Pope Francis’s pontificate, according to statistics published in the new...Cardinal Zen urges SSPX to trust Pope Leo
Cardinal Joseph Zen has issued an appeal to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to avoid a schism—while also voicing sympathy for the traditionalist group and criticizing the Vatican’s...Vatican cancels 2026 World Children’s Day
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life announced the cancellation of the Second World Children’s Day, originally scheduled to take place in Rome from September 25 to 27.“All initiatives aimed at the pastoral care of children may be celebrated, at the discretion of the Ordinaries, at a diocesan or parish level and with the involvement of families, the proper place for the human and spiritual growth of every child,” the dicastery said in its announcement.
Last November, Pope Leo announced the dates of the Second World Children’s Day. (The first was held in 2024.) In February, the Pope abolished the Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day.
