Stories for week of April 26, 2026

Ordered from most to least recent.

Released Friday, May. 1

 South Korean Catholics hit 6 million, confront aging, declining vocations
 Ukrainian Catholic leader reflects on Chernobyl disaster, warns world is at ‘dangerous precipice’
 Vatican newspaper highlights suffering of Ethiopians who are fleeing for Yemen
 May papal prayer intention: that everyone may have food

Released Thursday, Apr. 30

 Pillar editor analyzes why Pope Leo won’t meet with SSPX superior general
 EU leader, Pope discuss Middle East, Africa
 Belarus frees priest, prominent journalist in a 10-person prisoner swap
 Minnesota diocese begins drastic reduction in parishes
 Minerva Dialogues build bridges between Vatican, Silicon Valley
 Priest attacked during Bangladesh parish robbery
 Colombian bishops decry election violence
 Oakland bishop announces closing of 12 parishes, 1 pastoral center
 Cardinal Farrell: Infant baptisms fell 31%, Catholic weddings fell 48% over 30-year period
 Retired Belgian bishop disciplined for mishandling abuse case
 Asteroid is named after Pope Leo XIII
 Pope Leo upholds St. Catherine of Siena as example for young people and the sick
 Pope laments Colombia violence, recalls Poland’s clergy martyrs of World War II
 Tulsa deacon charged with bank fraud
 Chernobyl cleanup crew members, grieving parents meet with Pontiff
 Westminster archbishop: Pope, Anglican primate well aware of differences

Released Wednesday, Apr. 29

 Pope, at general audience, reviews apostolic journey to Africa
 Archbishop Gänswein offers fresh account of Benedict and Francis years
 Jerusalem cardinal emphasizes centrality of liturgy, prayer amid war
 Number of Catholic weddings in Ireland falls by half in 10 years
 Cardinal McElroy sees 3 ‘major distortions of Catholic teaching on war and peace’
 Ghana’s leading prelate says the Church ‘cannot remain silent in the face of moral and social concerns’
 USCCB, Catholic organizations weigh in on agriculture appropriations bill
 Azerbaijan’s government demolishes Armenian cathedral
 Pontifical Mission Societies warn of ‘silent massacre’ of humanitarian workers
 Vatican diplomat: Don’t delegate scientific decisions to AI
 EU bishops issue peace plea, draw attention to plight of Christians in Northern Cyprus
 Vatican newspaper sounds alarm about jihadist advances in the Sahel
 500,000 children at risk of death in Somalia, L’Osservatore Romano warns

Released Tuesday, Apr. 28

 Pontiff grants ecclesiastical communion to new Chaldean Patriarch
 5 beatification causes advance, including religious sister who died in Missouri
 New Vatican document: ‘Integral Ecology in the Life of the Family’
 2 priests ordained in Laos, a nation with 20 priests
 Pope calls on Vatican diplomats to be servants of peace, truth, and justice
 Pope Leo, at blessing of heart center, recalls Pope Francis’s encyclical on the Sacred Heart
 Dog owners who shared the Eucharist with their pets are not excommunicated, Swiss bishop rules
 In North Carolina, Catholic Charities official charged with embezzlement, money laundering
 Vatican official comments on SSPX, Order of Malta; declines comment on Charlotte priests’ dubia
 In Germany, Church leaders defend blessing guidelines
 Bishops condemn violence after White House press dinner shooting
 California bishop’s role at Anglican consecration prompts questions
 South Sudanese bishop renews call for answers on missing priest, driver

Released Monday, Apr. 27

 Pope receives Anglican primate, calls for removal of stumbling blocks to Christian unity
 Pope names successor to 59-year-old Central African cardinal—reportedly after investigation by Cardinal Sarah
 Italian soldiers replace crucifix destroyed by Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon
 Cardinal Koch: The witness of martyrs is essential to the Church’s life
 Vatican newspaper warns of global food crisis
 Pope is committed to European unity, European Parliament ex-president says following audience
 Vatican releases schedule for 4 of Pontiff’s upcoming visits to Italian cities
 ‘Truth is the goal and personal relationship the path to achieving it,’ Pope tells Italian religion teachers

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Fri1 May
Easter

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter; Opt. Mem. of St. Joseph the Worker

Image for Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter; Opt. Mem. of St. Joseph the Worker

The Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to Christianize the concept of labor and give to all workmen a model and a protector. By the daily labor in his shop, offered to God with patience and joy, St. Joseph provided for the necessities of his holy…

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