Pope advances sainthood cause of famed Spanish architect, five others
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of one woman and five men, including Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect who designed...
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'Nothing is sacred': Religious leaders condemn Russia's Palm Sunday attack on Ukraine
(OSV News) -- Catholic and other religious leaders are condemning a Palm Sunday attack by Russia on a Ukrainian city that killed 34 -- including two children...
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Vatican updates norms on donations for special Mass intentions
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Catholic faithful do not "buy" Masses, but when a priest accepts an offering and promises to celebrate a Mass for that person's loved...
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On Palm Sunday, recovering pope says to carry the cross with compassion
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Carrying the cross means more than bearing personal suffering -- it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them,...
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Spanish bishops under scrutiny for church-government accord over Valley of the Fallen
(OSV News) -- Catholic groups have criticized Spain's bishops for consenting to government redevelopment of a key national memorial complex near Madrid,...
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Aiding migrants 'goes against the tide' today, top Jesuit says
ROME (CNS) -- Using forced deportations and detainment to deal with migration is "a scandal," said Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits. The...
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Papal preacher: Faith in Resurrection means not clinging to the past
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The temptation to cling to the past -- to hold on to what was, including something sacred -- can keep believers from truly embracing...
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Pope's visit to basilica is sign of improved health, press office says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' surprise visit to St. Peter's Basilica to pray and see ongoing restoration work is a clear sign that his condition...
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Britain's royal couple meet Pope Francis at the Vatican
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Although they postponed their official state visit to the Vatican because of Pope Francis' health, Britain's King Charles and Queen...
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The Little Flower and the Great Doctor: Àvila, Lisieux to hold events commemorating Carmelite saints
(OSV News) -- While millions of pilgrims hope to make their way to Rome for the Jubilee Year, Catholics in France and Spain will also have reason to stay...
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Vatican reports progress in flagging suspicious financial activity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican bank and other Vatican offices with financial dealings are getting more adept at identifying and stopping suspicious...
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Riches can be burdens, preventing people from following Jesus, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus loves people as they are, not based on their merit or righteousness, said the text for Pope Francis' weekly general audience. "Precisely...
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Franciscans in the Holy Land ask support through Good Friday collection
ROME (CNS) -- While pilgrimages to the Holy Land have been few and far between in the past 18 months, hundreds of Franciscan friars celebrate Mass at the...
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Tallest cross in the world will remain despite Spanish 'resignification' project
The spokesman for the Spanish Bishops' Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym), Bishop Francisco César GarcÍa Magán, stated Friday...
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British woman prosecuted for silently holding a sign by abortion clinic gets a backup from US State Department
LIVERPOOL, England (OSV News) -- The U.S. State Department has expressed concern over the prosecution of a British woman for holding up a sign outside...
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Ailing pope surprises pilgrims during Jubilee of the sick
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With thousands of infirmed people and those who care for them gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair...
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Disgraced former cardinal McCarrick dies at 94
(OSV News) -- The disgraced former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, removed from the clerical state in 2019 after revelations of credible allegations of...
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British church steps up opposition to 'deeply flawed' assisted suicide bill
OXFORD, England (OSV News) -- The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has urged renewed opposition to a draft law on assisted suicide, amid...
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Two women religious murdered in Haiti amid that nation's 'way of the Cross'
(OSV News) -- Two women religious were murdered March 31 by armed gangs in the city of Mirebalais, Haiti, as long-standing violence continues to further...
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Fatima shrine will not remove Rupnik mosaic, but suspends promotional use, spokesperson says
(OSV News) -- A representative of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal said it is not considering the removal of artwork by Father Marko Rupnik...
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Nicaea anniversary inspires faith, strengthens mission, theologians say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians should not see the Nicene Creed simply as a list of things they believe, but they should look at it with awe because it...
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Greenland's only Catholic priest calls his 'rewarding, demanding' mission a 'dream job'
(OSV News) -- Father Tomaž Majcen, a Conventual Franciscan, is the only Catholic parish priest in Greenland, working alongside two fellow Franciscan...
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St. Josemaría Escrivá tops the charts, a century after his priestly ordination
(OSV News) -- On the 100th anniversary of his priestly ordination, St. Josemaría Escrivá is topping the Amazon charts. The Spanish saint's book...
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Pope is following doctors’ orders for his convalescence, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During his second week back at the Vatican after a long hospitalization, Pope Francis continued to follow his doctors' orders to...
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Holy Spirit is source of peace, harmony, fraternity, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church is a new and reconciled humanity thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the source of communion, harmony...
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Lord always goes in search of the lost, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even when a person seems totally lost and unable to find a way back to God, the Lord is already looking for him or her, said the...
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Pope prays people stare less at screens, connect more face-to-face
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Technology should be used to improve people's lives and to connect people as members of one human family, Pope Francis said. However,...
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Tragic earthquake hits war-torn Myanmar, with massive death toll and little aid
(OSV News) -- On March 28, a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the Mandalay-Sagaing region in southwestern Myanmar, causing multistory buildings to...
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Pope continues to govern the church, says Vatican secretary of state
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even on his worst days in Rome's Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis was governing the Catholic Church, although on some days, he did...
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Pope clears way for three new saints, including first woman from Venezuela
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has cleared the way for the canonizations of three blesseds: an Armenian Catholic archbishop martyred during the Armenian...
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Myanmar death toll surpasses 2,000; cardinal calls for immediate ceasefire amid tragedy
(OSV News) -- People in Myanmar are in desperate need of humanitarian supplies and medical support as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that...
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Pope stable; his lung infection slightly improved, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' condition remains stable, and an X-ray showed there has been a slight improvement regarding his lingering lung infection,...
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Churches East and West celebrate Easter the same day in 2025; could it be a step to unity?
(OSV News) -- Does Easter belong to Jesus Christ, or to a calendar? For Pope Francis, the answer is clear: "Easter belongs to Christ!" the pontiff declared...
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Jesuits offer help to women who say they were abused by Father Rupnik
ROME (CNS) -- The Jesuits have written to 20 women who have accused Father Marko Rupnik of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse, offering to work...
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Vatican statistics: Baptisms down, but first Communions, confirmations up
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women...
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Jesus pursues brokenness to offer healing, pope's catechesis says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus seeks out people in their woundedness and isolation to offer healing and hope, even when they feel furthest from God, Pope...
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Pope knew he 'might not make it,' physician says
ROME (CNS) -- For Pope Francis' medical team at Rome's Gemelli hospital, Feb. 28 was the worst day. "For the first time I saw tears in the eyes of some...
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Spanish church rallies Catholics against 'demographic winter' of abortion
(OSV News) -- Spanish bishops marked International Day for Life March 25 by demanding a better environment for "stable families," as pro-life campaigners...
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Safeguarding is essential to being faithful to Gospel, papal message says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Those who work to keep children and vulnerable adults safe are serving and honoring Christ, Pope Francis said in a written message. "Abuse...
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Pope's return from hospital coincides with Vatican conference on aging
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even though its focus was mainly scientific, a Vatican-sponsored conference on aging and longevity could not ignore the ongoing convalescence...
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Pope returns to Vatican after long hospitalization
ROME (CNS) -- Immediately before leaving Rome's Gemelli hospital after more than five weeks of treatment for breathing difficulties, double pneumonia and...
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Pope to return to Vatican, prescribed to continue rest, doctors announce
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis will return to his residence in the Vatican March 23 after spending 38 days in Rome's Gemelli hospital for treatment...
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Ukraine war confirms humanity can 'rely only on God,' nuncio says
(OSV News) -- The apostolic nuncio to Ukraine said that recent events regarding Ukraine have shown that the only true weapon that can bring peace is prayer. “As...
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Papal preacher: Stay anchored in Christ, live hope during Holy Year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The papal preacher urged cardinals and senior officials of the Roman Curia to remain firmly anchored in Christ through lives of humility,...
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Kidnappers kill young Nigerian seminarian
(OSV News) -- A young seminarian has become the latest victim of killings in Nigeria, the West African country where attack and kidnapping of Catholic...
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Biographer: In 12 years since election, Francis demonstrates papacy is a mission, not a job
(OSV News) -- As Pope Francis celebrates 12th anniversary of his election in the hospital, the papal biographer told OSV News that the pontiff has "given...
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Vatican unveils 'lost' Renaissance painting of the deposition of Christ
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --A painting of Christ being laid in the tomb, long hidden under layers of overpainting and forgotten by history, will once again be...
Read MoreKing Charles, Queen Camilla hope to meet pope at Vatican in April
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla confirmed their plans to meet at the Vatican with Pope Francis in early April in an...
Read MorePope has reduced need for overnight supplemental oxygen, Vatican says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis spent the night without a breathing mask, the Vatican press office said March 18, indicating that his need for supplemental...
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Holy Land collection is sign of solidarity, faith, hope, cardinal says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While anchored in the hope that comes from Jesus' resurrection, Catholics should not forget the "tears, despair and destruction everywhere"...
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Speakers: Church has role in fight against AI-generated exploitation
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church needs to expand its safeguarding efforts to include the new threats and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence,...
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Lenten lectures are back at Notre Dame, marking a 'grand retour' of a Parisian classic
PARIS (OSV News) -- The traditional "Lenten Conferences" resumed at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this Lenten season, for the first time since the fire...
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European bishops address 'rising tensions' as Trump talks to Putin, Zelenskyy
(OSV News) -- As President Donald Trump held new talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin March 18, followed by a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy...
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Pope's doctors report more improvement, but no date for his release
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis no longer needs the "noninvasive mechanical ventilation" he has used most nights since experiencing a breathing "crisis"...
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Pope appeals to communicators to assist peacemakers by disarming words
ROME (CNS) -- People in the world of news and communications need to understand the full importance of words, Pope Francis wrote. While war offers no...
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Improved condition means pope can briefly go without supplemental oxygen
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has been able to spend brief moments of the day without any supplemental oxygen, which is yet another sign of the gradual...
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Shroud of Turin to be digitally showcased during Holy Year
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Shroud of Turin, one of Catholicism's most valued devotional items, will be digitally showcased during the Holy Year 2025, allowing...
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Vatican releases first photo of Pope Francis since his hospitalization
ROME (CNS) -- For the first time since Pope Francis was hospitalized in mid-February, the Vatican press office released a photograph of him March 16; the...
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Pope stable, has reduced need for oxygen overnight
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After more than a month in the hospital, Pope Francis' condition continues to be stable, the Vatican said March 15, and he gradually...
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Pope approves next phase of synod, setting path to 2028 assembly
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has approved the next phase of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, launching a three-year implementation process that...
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As ceasefire talk continues, Zelenskyy says he spoke with Cardinal Parolin
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the United States continues to attempt to broker a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy...
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Papal preacher: Neglecting Mass means losing sight of heaven
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Failing to attend or celebrate Mass is not just skipping a religious obligation -- it is a sign that one's spiritual hunger is withering,...
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