Stories for February 2026

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Saturday, Feb. 28

 Catholic health provider agrees to $42M settlement in class-action retirement lawsuit
 35% of Catholics in US have a bachelor’s degree
 Mauritania’s bishop pleads for missionaries
 Nigerian bishops condemn nation’s ‘bad leadership’
 Cincinnati sees highest number of conversions since 2009
 Prelates, in Minnesota, decry mass deportations
 Those who attend unapproved traditional Latin Masses are excommunicated, Brazilian archbishop declares
 Vatican announces 2026 stamps
 Pope thanks Bishop Varden for retreat, highlights references to Saints Bernard, Newman

Released Friday, Feb. 27

 Russian Catholic official calls says war with Ukraine ‘must end’
 Bishop Varden concludes retreat conferences to Pope, Curia with meditation on hope
 Controversial scholar withdraws from Notre Dame post [News Analysis]
 Syracuse diocese emerges from bankruptcy with $176M settlement
 Local bishop ‘grateful’ as pro-abortion professor declines Notre Dame institute post
 Arsonists attack church in Nigeria
 Christian woman denied burial in Indian village despite high court decision
 Vatican children’s hospital ranked among best in world
 USCCB, in Supreme Court briefs, argues against Trump administration on turnback policy, birthright citizenship
 Vatican diplomat calls for respect for rights to life, religious freedom; condemns focus on ‘new rights’
 Archbishop Gallagher urges Russia, Ukraine to respect international humanitarian law
 Cardinal Zuppi on Ukraine: Church calls for weapons to fall silent
 Bishop Varden preaches to Pope, Curia on God’s angels, ‘Bernard the realist’
 Vatican newspaper recalls migrant boat disaster

Released Thursday, Feb. 26

 Conversions surge in Melbourne, Australia’s largest diocese
 US bishops, Catholic organizations weigh in on Farm Bill
 Irish bishop criticizes synodality without doctrine
 India’s bishops condemn racial abuse, harassment
 Pontiff makes long-anticipated auxiliary bishop appointments in Rome
 Bishop Varden preaches to Pope, Curia on ‘fall of thousands,’ glory
 Pope Leo to visit 6 nations outside Italy this spring
 ‘We are all seekers of God,’ Pope writes in response to atheist’s letter
 Vatican spokesman criticizes those who see opposition between Pope Benedict, successors
 Ukrainian Catholic leader commemorates 4th anniversary of war
 ‘My country has become a dangerous place for priests,’ Mexican priest tells Vatican newspaper
 Pope Leo reflects on inculturation, offers Our Lady of Guadalupe as example

Released Wednesday, Feb. 25

 Record number of converts in Dublin
 Cardinals Müller, Sarah urge SSPX to submit to papal authority
 18 bishops suggest reforms to immigration enforcement
 USCCB urges Congress to act against ICE enforcement actions at churches
 Nigerian bishops elect new president from violence-plagued area
 Anglican bishop arrested in sexual assault inquiry
 Leading Philippine prelate recalls People Power Revolution, warns against moral fatigue
 Bishops call on EU to appoint coordinator against anti-Christian hatred
 Bishop Wilmer, proponent of changes to Catholic teaching, elected chairman of German Bishops’ Conference
 Peruvians recall future Pope Leo as disciplined, open-hearted man
 Bishop Varden preaches to Pope, Curia on ‘becoming free,’ ‘splendor of truth’
 Leading publishing house publishes book by Pope Leo
 Pope sends medicine, heaters to Ukraine
 Nuncio asks for prayer for Ukraine amid intensifying Russian attacks
 Vatican spokesman reflects on 4 years of destruction in Ukraine

Released Tuesday, Feb. 24

 Washington auxiliary bishop emphasizes that God is DEI
 Vatican cardinal: expand legal pathways to combat illegal immigration
 Record number of converts in Sydney archdiocese
 Christians may be buried in public cemeteries, India’s high court affirms
 Thousands venerate remains of St. Francis, exposed for first time
 ‘Stop the aggressor,’ Ukrainian Catholic leader pleads on 4th anniversary of invasion
 Christians must fight against evil, Mexican Primate says following drug lord’s killing
 Cardinal Parolin pays tribute to slain Italian diplomat
 Bishop Varden preaches to Pope, Curia on ‘entering Lent,’ ‘Bernard the idealist’
 Irish archbishop to lead 2 dioceses as consolidations continue

Released Monday, Feb. 23

 Nun murdered in Brazil
 Attack on Sacramento parish thwarted
 Central tower of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família completed
 Ukrainian bishop says local Catholic population has fallen by over 95%
 Archbishop Gallagher lauds example of Blessed Eduard Profittlich
 Pope, Curia begin Lenten retreat
 Pope Leo reveals he considered becoming a Salesian before joining Augustinians
 Pope Leo recalls Cardinal Pengo as ‘wise and gentle pastor’
 Nuncio steps down less than year after appointment
 5 beatification causes advance
 Hungary’s president meets with Pope, hails Vatican’s peace advocacy
 Vatican newspaper deplores Russian invasion of Ukraine on its 4th anniversary
 A sincere family spirit comes from the altar and the tabernacle, Pope tells religious institutes
 Pope offers encouragement to Italian bishops’ youth employment project

Released Sunday, Feb. 22

 Rediscover the grace of Baptism, Pope preaches on First Sunday of Lent
 Pope calls for prayer for people of Ukraine, renews appeal for peace
 Practice penance generously during Lent, Pope tells pilgrims

Released Saturday, Feb. 21

 Adult baptisms surge in Belgium
 Cardinal Dolan, in wide-ranging interview, discusses Trump administration, Mayor Mamdani, synodality
 Argentine archbishop declares marriage between transgender persons null
 USCCB: $38.3B ICE detention expansion is a ‘moral inflection point for our country’
 Pope encourages youth of Los Angeles to open their hearts to God’s love in the Blessed Sacrament
 American bombing of Castel Gandolfo recalled
 New Stations of the Cross on display in St. Peter’s Basilica
 Priest brutally murdered in DR Congo
 Pakistani prelate: Lent and Ramadan call Christians, Muslims to interfaith harmony
 Tanzania’s Cardinal Pengo dies at 81
 Synod establishes commission to propose revisions to Eastern canon law
 Pope fields questions from Roman priests, urges them to avoid AI in preparing homilies
 Franciscan friar describes widespread suffering in Gaza, departure of Christians from Bethlehem
 4 economists, in Vatican newspaper, reflect on Pope Leo’s Dilexi Te

Released Friday, Feb. 20

 Vatican message to Muslims: Do not yield to despair or violence, but seek peace
 Bishops from US, Latin America, Canada call for policies that safeguard migrants
 San Diego Chaldean bishop accused of embezzlement, brothel visits, amid Vatican investigation
 Georgia martyrs, slain for defending marriage, to be beatified in Savannah this October
 Gen Z men, highly educated lead return to religion
 Ghana’s bishops issue ‘urgent call’ to rescue nation’s cocoa sector
 ‘God does not need papers,’ Cardinal Cupich preaches on Ash Wednesday
 Jihadist fighters torch 7 villages in Nigeria
 Vatican prefect: Fast from ‘bulimia’ of words
 Ecumenical Patriarch’s Lenten message emphasizes asceticism
 Exhibit marks 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict’s birth
 Côte d’Ivoire bishop transferred, named auxiliary bishop after fallout with clergy
 Vatican announces 6 papal trips in Italy between May and August, including Lampedusa on July 4
 Cardinal Reina alludes to ‘growing difficulties’ for Rome’s priests
 Vatican spokesman reflects on ‘our sin and the burden of a world that is in flames’
 Rekindle the fire within you, Pope tells Rome’s priests

Released Thursday, Feb. 19

 Be faithful to your charism and exercise authority as service, Pope tells Legionaries of Christ
 SSPX rejects Vatican offer, will proceed with episcopal ordinations
 Cardinal Ruini speaks bluntly in 95th birthday interview [News Analysis]
 Church desecrated in DR Congo
 USCCB issues invitation to ecological conversion
 New Jersey diocese announces $180M abuse settlement
 Cardinal Zuppi issues message to Muslims for Ramadan
 Custos highlights importance of Good Friday collection for the Holy Land
 Papal encouragement for Brazilian bishops’ Lenten campaign

Released Wednesday, Feb. 18

 Pope Leo: Peter’s Successor must retain his sovereign freedom
 Pope Leo recalls Christ’s 1st appearance to St. Faustina
 Ukrainian women tell Pope of prisoners of war
 ‘We recognize our sins so that we can be converted,’ Pope preaches at Ash Wednesday Mass
 Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on the mystery of the Church
 US bishops, in religious liberty report, find 6 areas of ‘critical concern’
 Ohio diocese reports largest number of converts since 2014
 UK abortions at record level
 Remains of St. Francis to be visible for veneration in Assisi
 European bishops announce ‘Eucharistic chain’ for peace
 Holy Land’s Franciscan superior says young people are filling Syria’s churches
 New president of Pontifical Academy for Life defends focus on universal health care
 Cardinal Parolin praises financial giving, organ donation
 Jerusalem cardinal, in Lenten letter, calls for conversion and reconciliation
 Major Archbishop says Ukraine is converting to God, praises Pope Leo’s approach
 Holy See declines invitation to join President Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace
 ‘Still without peace’: Vatican newspaper publishes impassioned plea for Gaza

Released Tuesday, Feb. 17

 Opus Dei leader meets with Pontiff; revised statutes being studied
 Fresno bishop celebrates Mass in ICE detention center
 Vatican unveils initiatives to mark 400th anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica
 Harvard professor named to pontifical academy
 Cabo Verde cardinal retires; successor named
 Some laity may have charism of authority, Cardinal Ouellet writes in reflection on Roman Curia
 Pope calls for global, preventive approach to health care; decries bombing of hospitals
 Promote public order and act with integrity, Pope tells Italy’s prefects
 Pope Leo: God’s commandments are not oppression, but liberation
 Pope visits Roman parish, meets with young, elderly, parish council

Released Monday, Feb. 16

 9 abducted Catholic children released in Nigeria
 Vatican bank launches stock investment indexes
 Philippine bishops call for ‘digital media fasting’ during Lent
 Pope confirms 30 members of Dicastery for Bishops
 Retired cardinal named administrator of Texas diocese
 Cabo Verde PM discusses climate change with Pope, presses for resident nuncio
 Humanitarian catastrophe looms in South Sudan; Cardinal Mulla, UN plead for reconciliation
 Frequent the sacraments and be active in charity, Pope tells Misericordie movement

Released Sunday, Feb. 15

 Pope Leo: ‘Minimal righteousness is not enough; great love is needed’

Released Saturday, Feb. 14

 Arson attack on German Baroque church
 Nigerian priests protest against Fulani violence
 Argentinian archdiocese opens canonical investigation into transgender marriage
 USCCB president joins other bishops in outcry over Notre Dame appointment
 Federal court orders access for clergy, nun to ICE facility on Ash Wednesday
 Archbishop Moth, at Westminster installation Mass, calls for prayer, evangelization
 Irish bishops’ conference reports 16% rise in couples preparing for marriage
 USCCB invites parishes to 250 hours of adoration, 250 works of mercy for nation’s anniversary
 Cuba’s bishops postpone visit to the Vatican
 4 leading European prelates call on continent to ‘rediscover its soul’
 Vatican newspaper highlights plight of victims of Kenya’s environmental redevelopment projects
 Baltimore archbishop, in pastoral letter, calls for ‘renewed political culture’
 Pope Leo abolishes Pontifical Committee for World Children’s Day
 Embody the essence of Christianity and the ‘style of the early Church,’ Pope tells Rome’s military police
 Pontifical academy devotes annual assembly to universal health care; speakers differ on abortion ‘rights’
 Vatican to mark 400th anniversary of dedication of St. Peter’s Basilica
 2 months after release by abductors, Cameroon priest named a bishop
 Croatian sister named deputy director of Holy See Press Office

Released Friday, Feb. 13

 Pope Leo issues his 1st Lenten message, ‘Listening and Fasting’
 Following papal audience, Archbishop Sample weighs in on ICE actions
 Rescind appointment of abortion advocate, Indiana bishop urges Notre Dame
 After skipping installation, NYC mayor meets Archbishop Hicks
 SSPX reacts to meeting with DDF prefect, renews request to meet with Pope Leo
 Hope is ‘crucified’ in Myanmar, Cardinal Bo says
 Pope Leo to celebrate Mass, meet with children during 1st visit to Roman parish
 Vatican diplomat stresses importance of democracy, human rights in the Americas
 Founder of ESNE, Catholic media network, meets with Pope
 Ukrainian Catholic leader thanks Pontiff for support

Released Thursday, Feb. 12

 Vatican offers ‘dialogue’ with SSPX, warns against ordinations [News Analysis]
 Reconsider rollback of fuel-economy standards, USCCB asks Trump administration
 Israeli government backtracks, permits continued operation of Caritas Jerusalem in Gaza
 Students, teachers from vandalized California school meet with Pope Leo
 India’s bishops call for repeal of laws that violate religious freedom
 Stop the slaughter, Nigerian bishops’ conference pleads
 Marconi’s daughter recalls father’s role in establishing Vatican Radio
 Love God by loving the sick, Cardinal Czerny preaches on World Day of the Sick
 Citing Jesus and Muhammad, Philippine prelate calls on Catholics, Muslims to pray, work together during Lent and Ramadan
 Look to Saints Cyril and Methodius to overcome divisions, Pope tells pilgrims
 Pope Leo looks ahead to Lent
 Pope honors Immaculate Mary, prays with the sick

Released Wednesday, Feb. 11

 Pope Leo reflects on ‘profound and vital link’ between God’s Word and the Church
 Jimmy Lai, Catholic pro-democracy advocate, sentenced to 20 years in prison
 Netherlands sees rise in new adult Catholics; Sunday Mass attendance falls below 3%
 Cameroon prelate reflects on solidarity between bishops of US, Africa
 Vatican diplomat decries link between financial speculation, food prices
 Vatican: Pope Leo is considering visit to Monaco
 Cardinal Cupich calls for White House apology for Truth Social depiction of Obamas
 Vatican Radio announces podcasts on the future of radio
 Venezuela’s bishops call for release of political prisoners, respect for human rights
 Shroud of Turin: Medieval origin hypothesis challenged on scientific grounds
 Theme announced for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly
 Muslim, Hindu prayers included in prayer vigil for World Day of Prayer against Human Trafficking

Released Tuesday, Feb. 10

 Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification to proceed
 Vatican confirms pope will not visit US in 2026
 Background: World Day of the Sick
 ‘We mixed raw flour with water to stay alive’: Nigerian church abduction survivors recount ordeal
 Prelate denounces Truth Social depiction of Obamas
 Vatican diplomat called for investment in infrastructure of world’s poorest nations
 USCCB publishes update on Temporary Protected Status for Haiti
 Australian bishops issue statement on rising cost of living
 Vatican sends 80 generators to Ukraine
 Pontiff accepts resignation of 82-year-old bishop
 DDF publishes 4 Vatican documents from 1962-2004 on addressing sexual abuse accusations
 Pope Leo outlines his vision of the priests that the Church needs today
 Pope thanks floral, Vatican building services stafff

Released Monday, Feb. 9

 Westminster diocesan employee who stole $130K avoids jail
 USCCB publishes diocesan guide for evangelizing catechesis
 Archbishop Hicks, at New York installation Mass, calls for a ‘missionary Church, not a country club’
 Venezuelan cardinal calls on faithful to pray outside prisons
 In Nigeria, gunmen kill 3, abduct 11, including priest
 Pope approves new statutes for Pontifical International Marian Academy
 Cardinal Pizzaballa: ‘Concrete actions’ needed to rebuild trust in Holy Land
 19th-century Spanish priest beatified
 Bishop describes plight of Zaporizhzhia, under Russian attack
 Pope speaks of his devotion to Our Lady, asks the sick to offer their pain to God through Mary

Released Sunday, Feb. 8

 Pope Leo: Christ’s Beatitudes bring joy and healing

Released Saturday, Feb. 7

 Background: World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking
 Sierra Leone’s bishops condemn attacks on priests, missions
 Acknowledge spiritual assistance in addressing mental health needs, Vatican diplomat tells WHO
 New archbishop appointed for Denver
 Pope Leo is ‘very supportive’ of Courage, apostolate’s leader says after papal audience
 Ahead of elections, Nepal prelate welcomes ideals of youth protestors
 Pope renews Church’s ‘urgent call’ to end human trafficking
 Pope Leo issues ‘Life in Abundance,’ the most extensive papal document on sports
 Cardinal Poola, 1st Dalit cardinal, elected president of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India
 Pope Leo outlines his vision of Christian formation

Released Friday, Feb. 6

 Cardinal Farrell: Changing doctrine, structures is false ‘solution’ to problems in Church
 SSPX leader to meet with DDF prefect
 Pope, in video, prays for children with rare diseases
 Virginia bishop writes pastoral letter on mental health
 Ray Mouton, key figure in early days of clergy abuse crisis, dies at 78
 3 former Catholic Charities employees indicted in $2M fraud scheme
 New statutes approved for John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel
 Pope, Sant’Egidio founder discuss world conflicts, poverty
 Albania’s prime minister meets with Pontiff
 Let us ‘disarm our hearts’ to foster Christian unity, Pope tells Oriental Orthodox delegation
 Continue to speak out on behalf of the voiceless, Pope tells Catholic children’s advocates
 St. Agatha shows us true freedom, Cardinal Grech preaches in Catania

Released Thursday, Feb. 5

 Archbishop Weisenburger: ICE actions put America’s soul at risk
 Vatican diplomat weighs in on bioengineering, transplants of animal organs into humans
 Events announced for World Day of the Sick in Chiclayo, Peru
 Talitha Kum leader describes meeting with Pontiff as ‘sacred moment’
 Amid Russian bombings, Ukrainian Catholic diocese houses families
 USCCB president: New START’s expiration is ‘simply unacceptable’
 Restoration work begins on Michelangelo’s Last Judgment
 Bishop Varden to preach Lenten retreat to Pope, Curia
 Human fraternity is an urgent necessity, Pope writes in Zayed Award message
 Brazilian bishop transferred to smaller diocese
 Pope Leo exhorts pilgrims to read Sacred Scripture
 Pope Leo: St. Agatha recalls God’s goodness

Released Wednesday, Feb. 4

 Pope appeals for prayer for Ukraine, continuance of expiring Russia-US arms treaty
 Do not neglect Scripture’s human dimension or divine origin, Pope says at audience on Vatican II
 US Solicitor General backs Catholic parents and preschools in upcoming Supreme Court case
 Consider the lessons of history, US bishops write in Black History Month statement
 Cardinal McElroy warns that ‘the order of nature is eclipsing the order of grace’
 Vatican spokesman says talks with SSPX continue amid planned bishop consecrations
 California Catholic school holds reparation Mass following vandalism, desecration
 Pope Leo encourages India’s bishops to promote unity, brotherhood
 Nigerian bishop weights in on Christian persecution, US strikes on Islamic State militants
 Pope Francis’s secret decrees in spotlight in Vatican’s ‘trial of the century’
 Vatican announces commemorative medal for Pope Leo’s 1st year
 Bishop laments Russian actions in Central African Republic
 Zambia at a ‘crucial crossroad,’ bishops write in election pastoral letter
 Calendar of papal liturgies announced through Easter
 St. John Henry Newman added to General Roman Calendar as optional memorial

Released Tuesday, Feb. 3

 US bishops applaud expanded ‘Mexico City policy,’ back ‘robust funding’ for foreign assistance
 Catholic school ransacked, tabernacle desecrated in California
 Church attacked in Nigeria
 Cardinal Petrocchi named president of Vatican bank’s Commission of Cardinals
 ‘He felt my pain’: Irish abuse victim meets with Pope Leo
 Pope appoints 54-year-old as archbishop of Prague
 Cardinal Zenari, nuncio in Syria since 2008, retires
 Archbishop Gallagher concludes journey to Slovakia, hails Church-state relations
 Portugal’s president describes Pope Leo as ‘intelligent,’ ‘rational’ following meeting

Released Monday, Feb. 2

 Pope marks World Day for Consecrated Life, calls on religious to be prophets
 SSPX to ordain new bishops
 15 US bishops urge Senate to reject ICE funding
 Pontiff fills see that was vacant for 13 years
 Vatican newspaper laments ‘terrible situation’ in Myanmar, 5 years after coup
 Pope entrusts families of Swiss fire victims to Our Lady of Sorrows
 Cardinal Parolin marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between Malta, Holy See
 Papal prayer for victims of DR Congo mine collapse
 Pope expresses gratitude to his attendants
 Cuban bishops warn of risk of chaos and violence, call for greater political freedom
 Shun polarization, Pope tells Italian newspaper
 Pope sends 80th birthday wishes to Cardinal Christophe Pierre
 Papal prayers, solidarity for Portuguese storm victims
 Pope Leo: Images of saints remind us of universal call to holiness
 Reflecting on peace, Pope Leo says ‘greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion’
 Background: World Day for Consecrated Life

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Lent

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent; Opt. Mem. of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

Image for Saturday of the Second Week of Lent; Opt. Mem. of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

The parable of the prodigal son brings out even more clearly the free choice of God. This time his choice falls on one who is least worthy of it. The prodigal son of the parable is a figure representing us. We are the real prodigal sons whom God has forgiven and brought back into his love and made heirs of the…

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