Month: June 2025

SCRANTON – Many people in the community may not know that located near the entrance of Cathedral Cemetery in West Scranton is a quiet, sacred space dedicated to the unborn.

Due to the efforts of the Knights of Columbus Council 12572, that space is now more visible and welcoming to the public.

On Saturday, June 14, 2025, the Knights of Columbus held a special dedication ceremony for a newly installed three-foot plaque at the Tomb of the Unborn, inviting the public to recognize the peaceful spot as a place of prayer, reflection, and healing.

“As people drive by seeing the plaque, knowing it’s the Tomb of the Unborn, they can offer a prayer quickly, or if they want to stop and kneel here at the foot of the monument, they can do so,” Master Brian Hallock, Knights of Columbus Pennsylvania Central District, said.

John Scandale, Knights of Columbus District Deputy, said prior to the plaque being installed there was only a small name plate at the top of the monument that often went overlooked.

“It got very little notice. People generally don’t look up, so it got missed,” Scandale explained. “We thought this needed identification.”

Through the generosity of Monuments by Parise, a company based in Lackawanna County’s Up Valley, the plaque was donated and installed.

“They did an excellent job,” Patrick Williams, one of the project organizers explained.
Williams said the Tomb of the Unborn was also power washed, and new shrubbery was planted around its base, including two new rose bushes.

“We’re working with J&L Construction on replacing some of the stone and pointing the joints of the monument because they’re starting to leak a little bit,” Williams added.

The work is very meaningful for Theresa Baux who visits the site regularly.

“I’ve come here for years and years, being a post-aborted woman,” Baux explained. “I would always come here and pray because I didn’t have a monument for my own child. I would just come here and pray.”

Baux now works with other women who have had abortions and provides information and resources to pregnant women hoping they choose life.

“The unborn that are killed in the womb in this day and age is a terrible tragedy,” Baux stated.

Father Michael Boris, assistant pastor, Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Clarks Summit, and Saint Gregory Parish, Clarks Green, attended the dedication ceremony and provided a blessing.

Located just to the first left as you enter Cathedral Cemetery on Oram Street, the new plaque at the Tomb of the Unborn now stands not only as a memorial, but also as a reminder of the Knights’ ongoing mission to support life and family in all stages.

“We’re trying to build up our activities, get more members and do more work in the community,” Scandale ended by saying.

SCRANTON – For Shannon Andres of Reading, this year’s Catholic Women’s Conference was more than just a day of spiritual reflection – it was a deeply personal journey of faith shared with her mother.

Andres, who currently lives in the neighboring Diocese of Allentown, attended the June 7 event at Marywood University alongside her mother, who had come alone the previous year.

In the months since, the two women have grown closer in their spiritual lives – so much so that Shannon invited her mother to a women’s conference in the Allentown area earlier this year. In a beautiful return gesture, her mother brought her to this year’s “Refresh Your Faith: Heart to Heart Prayer” conference in Scranton.

“It’s just nice to be in a room full of women who just know the importance of Christ and the importance of our faith,” Andres said.

The day-long event, filled with prayer, powerful speakers, music, and community, left attendees like Shannon and her mother renewed and inspired in their Catholic faith.

“It’s just so moving and it’s just so great to hear people express what we can do to be closer to our faith and what we can do to reflect how much Jesus loves us,” she added.

Several hundred women attended the conference, saying the event radiated energy, inspiration, and a renewed sense of purpose.

“It has been such an incredible experience. I’m very touched. It had amazing energy. I can feel the Spirit, I can feel God’s presence here today,” Lizbeth Lamont, a first-time attendee from Saint John Parish in East Stroudsburg said.

“It is great talking to people that we know and people that we don’t know and just sharing in the love of our Lord and just enjoying each other’s company for a great day of prayer,” Bridget Kennedy of Saint Paul Parish in Scranton added.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, kicked off this year’s conference with a special Mass, urging women to embrace the heart of prayer and the strength of their faith in today’s world.

“This gathering today, with its theme of Heart to Heart Prayer, is an invitation for all of us to engage in the vital practice of opening our hearts to God and placing before the Lord our lives – with all their blemishes, joys, blessings and brokenness – trust that God will ever and always receive us in his tender embrace,” Bishop Bambera said.

The day unfolded with a lineup of speakers that each offered a unique perspective on faith and spiritual growth.

Sister Maria Kateri of the Sisters of Life encouraged attendees to live with courage and conviction rooted in God’s love. Kara Kardell, host of the popular Draw Near podcast, encouraged the women to take time to listen to God speak to them in silence. Acclaimed Catholic musician Sarah Hart moved the crowd with her music and message, blending song and storytelling in a way that brought tears, laughter, and reflection.

“My favorite part is when Kara had us close our eyes and say our name to ourselves,” Danita Evans of Saint Ann Parish in Williamsport said. “If we’re quiet and we silence ourselves and we listen, we can hear His voice.”

“Kara’s message about making sure that we have the time to listen to God speak in silence to us, I think that is what I’ll take away from today,” Teresa James of Most Holy Trinity Parish in Cresco added. “Also, Sarah’s encouragement that none of us have this figured out but God is with us and all will be well.”

Throughout the day, women also took advantage of opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, fellowship during a community lunch, and spiritual conversations in the lively Catholic marketplace that featured vendors, local ministries, and other artisans.

As the day ended, many attendees left reinvigorated in their mission as women of the Church – ready to carry the light of Christ into their families, parishes, and communities.

That includes Shannon Andres and her mother – who shared the special spiritual journey together.

“The Holy Spirit works in mysterious and wonderful ways and just having a day where everyone can focus on how much they love Christ and love our faith is such an amazing thing,” she said.

SCRANTON – Despite all the rich symbolism and sacred rituals of a Diaconate Ordination Mass, it was just eight words that held the deepest meaning for Jan Carlo Perez.

“I testify that he has been found worthy,” Father Alex Roche, Diocesan Secretary for Clergy Formation/Diocesan Vocations Director, proclaimed during the Rite of Ordination on May 24, 2025, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

“When you’re on this road, you struggle a lot with unworthiness … To hear ‘we have found him worthy’ to the acclamation of God’s Church, that was something special,” Rev. Mr. Perez said just minutes after the Mass concluded. “It has been eight years since I started, three years in minor seminary, a pastoral year, theology, I left for a year and I came back, it has been a long road.”

A road that Perez admits was filled with prayerful discernment.

“I’ve grown a lot in ways that I never expected to grow. I just thank God. To God, be all the glory,” Rev. Mr. Perez added.

Perez, 26, is the son of Dr. Alex and Mrs. Liana Perez of Stroudsburg. He is a parishioner of Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg. Perez graduated from Notre Dame High School in East Stroudsburg in 2016 and attended Temple University for one year before transferring to Cathedral Seminary in Queens, N.Y., later graduating from St. John’s University in Queens in 2020.

For the last several years, Perez has been attending St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Md., where alongside his normal seminary studies he is getting a specialization in sacred scripture.

“God has given me everything and I can only give him so little back. I can give him back my life, that’s about it,” Rev. Mr. Perez added.

The Diaconate Ordination Mass was attended by clergy and seminarians, along with Perez’s family and friends, who gathered to witness and support him in this sacred moment.

“Honestly, I feel great. This has been awesome. There were so many people that I just didn’t know would come and support me on this day,” he explained.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant, homilist, and ordaining prelate at the Mass. During his homily, the Bishop explained that the responsibilities of a deacon encompass three main areas: Ministry of the Word of God; Ministry of the Liturgy; and Ministry of Charity.

“If you want your ministry as a deacon to be fruitful, Jan, you must root yourself in Jesus’ life and love. The disciplines of prayer, obedience, and celibacy that you are called to embrace this day are meant to enable you to grow in the same spirit of service and mercy that so characterized Jesus’ ministry,” Bishop Bambera said. “These disciplines are not obstacles, hurdles or distractions that are somehow detached from what it means to be an ordained minister of the Church. They are not meant to set you up as being better or greater than others. Rather, they are the vehicles that will carry you to a deeper union with Jesus.”

While Perez is excited to begin preaching homilies and proclaiming God’s Word, he readily admits needing to serve the poor in a greater way.

“I’ve been reflecting on service a lot because I think, if I can be a little vulnerable here, I think it’s probably one of the things I feel weakest in. I feel like I haven’t done enough for God’s Church and now I’ve been commissioned to do this by the Church, so I know I have to look for every opportunity to serve the homeless, the poor, and the suffering,” Perez added.

Perez was ordained as a transitional deacon, meaning he will now serve in various capacities within the diocese, gaining practical experience and deepening his spiritual life in preparation for priestly ordination, which is expected to take place next year.

His journey reflects the Church’s commitment to nurturing vocations and ensuring that those called to serve are well-prepared to lead and guide the faithful.

“I’m really looking forward to learning everything I can this year so that I can be as prepared as I can be for the priesthood,” Perez said. “The day of (priestly) ordination is just the beginning. It’s not like graduating where you’re done with school and now, you’re onto something completely different. No, it’s just the beginning of something and I look forward to being as prepared as I can be.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV will spend two weeks of July at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, bringing back a centuries-old tradition that had been suspended by Pope Francis.

Pope Leo also will celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary for the whole town and visitors Aug. 15 as per tradition, according to the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Pope Leo would be staying in the Villa Barberini, the former summer residence of the Vatican secretaries of state; Pope Francis turned the former papal palace on the town’s main square into a museum, which opened in 2016.

All private audiences with the pope will be suspended during July, including the Wednesday general audiences, which will resume July 30, the prefecture said in a communique June 17.

“On the afternoon of Sunday, July 6, the Holy Father Leo XIV will move to the pontifical villas of Castel Gandolfo for a period of rest” until the afternoon of July 20, it said.

While he is at the hilltop town south of Rome, Pope Leo will celebrate Sunday morning Mass July 13 in the parish Church of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castel Gandolfo’s main square, followed by the recitation of the Angelus prayer at noon in the square in front of the apostolic palace.

He will celebrate Sunday morning Mass July 20 in the cathedral of the nearby city of Albano Laziale. He will return to Castel Gandolfo to recite the Angelus at noon in the square and then return to the Vatican in the afternoon, the prefecture said.

Pope Leo will return to the papal summer villa for the three-day holiday weekend of Aug. 15-17. He will celebrate Mass Aug. 15 at the parish of St. Thomas, followed by the Angelus prayer in the square in front of the apostolic palace.

He will also recite the Sunday Angelus at noon Aug. 17 in the square before returning to the Vatican that afternoon, it added.

Castel Gandolfo was the summer residence of popes from 1626 until the election of Pope Francis, who chose to stay at the Vatican and not escape Rome’s summer heat at the cooler hilltop papal villa.

The town of close to 9,000 people about 15 miles southeast of Rome had relied on the massive influx of tourists and visitors during the period when popes would vacation there and greet the public at the Sunday Angelus. The highlight was always the feast of the Assumption of Mary Aug. 15 when the pope would celebrate Mass for the whole town and thousands of visitors.

To attract visitors back to the town year-round and not just in the summer, Pope Francis turned the palace into a museum and opened the villa’s gardens to tours.

Pope Leo spent several hours May 29 visiting the Borgo Laudato Si’ ecology project set up by Pope Francis in 2023 at the papal villa and farm in Castel Gandolfo, as well as the former papal summer residence there.

The papal property at Castel Gandolfo extends over 135 acres — surpassing the 108.7 acres of Vatican City. It includes 74 acres of gardens — 17 of which are formal gardens — 62 acres of farmland, three residences and a farm with chickens, hens, rabbits, assorted fowl, cows and a small dairy operation. There are also fruit and olive orchards, vineyards, hayfields, vegetable patches, aromatic herbs, flowerbeds and plants that often are used to decorate the papal apartments and meeting rooms at the Vatican.

(OSV News) – “No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard in communities throughout the country in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement actions,” said the leader of the nation’s Catholic bishops in a June 16 statement that assured all impacted of their shepherds’ support.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. military archdiocese, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a reflection ahead of the USCCB’s weeklong retreat in California, a triennial gathering that this year replaces the bishops’ usual spring plenary session.

The archbishop said the occasion of the bishops’ gathering seemed “appropriate to give voice to a profound concern in the hearts of the Shepherds of the Church in our Country” over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

While he commended law enforcement actions “aimed at preserving order and ensuring community security” as “necessary for the common good,” Archbishop Broglio said, “The current efforts go well beyond those with criminal histories.”

Following through on a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump has cracked down on immigration to the U.S. Among the administration’s efforts are terminating protected status for migrants from several conflict-wrought nations, fully or partly banning travel to the U.S. from several nations, ordering Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to meet daily arrest quotas of 3,000, halting visa interviews for foreign students, attempting to end birthright citizenship and deporting persons without permanent legal status in the U.S. to third countries in defiance of court orders.

While the administration claims to target criminal actors in its sweeps, several high-profile arrests and deportations have impacted individuals with no demonstrated criminal record. Some 44% of the more than 51,000 in ICE detention facilities as of June 1 are estimated to have no criminal record, other than entering the U.S. without permission, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

The USCCB and Catholic Charities USA are among some 200 non-governmental organizations named in a congressional probe for allegedly aiding immigrants its leaders call “inadmissible aliens” during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“In the context of a gravely deficient immigration system, the mass arrest and removal of our neighbors, friends and family members on the basis of immigration status alone, particularly in ways that are arbitrary or without due process, represent a profound social crisis before which no person of good will can remain silent,” said Archbishop Broglio. “The situation is far from the communion of life and love to which this nation of immigrants should strive.”

He pointed to Pope Leo XIV’s recent video address to the young people of Chicago and the world — in which, said Archbishop Broglio, the pope “reminded us that at the heart of the Christian faith is an invitation to share in the communion of life and love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the first community and based completely on love.”

“The Holy Father also challenged us to be a sign of hope by making the world a better place,” said Archbishop Broglio.

The archbishop noted the backlash sparked by Trump administration policies on immigration.

“The many actions of protest throughout the country reflect the moral sentiments of many Americans that enforcement alone cannot be the solution to addressing our nation’s immigration challenges,” he said.

“While protest and dissent can be a legitimate expression of democratic participation, violence is never acceptable,” Archbishop Broglio stressed.

At the same time, he observed that injustice can be a trigger for conflict, quoting Pope Francis’ encyclical “Evangelii Gaudium”: “Without equal opportunities the different forms of aggression and conflict will find a fertile terrain for growth and eventually explode.”

Archbishop Broglio said that “the chronic lack of opportunities for legal status for our immigrant brothers and sisters, together with the growing denial of due process to them, is injurious to human dignity and is a considerable factor in the breakdown of the rule of law.”

He added, “Likewise, unfounded accusations against Catholic service providers, who every day endeavor to provide critical support and care to the most vulnerable, contribute to societal tensions and a growing climate of fear.”

Speaking on behalf of the nation’s bishops, Archbishop Broglio said, “I want to assure all of those affected by actions which tear at the fabric of our communities of the solidarity of your pastors.

“As your shepherds, your fear echoes in our hearts and we make your pain our own. Count on the commitment of all of us to stand with you in this challenging hour,” he said.

He also acknowledged “those in our Catholic service and community organizations working to promote the common good by binding up the wounds of the afflicted.”

Archbishop Broglio assured “those motivated by the urgency of the current moment to work for just and humane solutions to these immigration challenges” of “the cooperation and goodwill of the Catholic Bishops of our country.”

(OSV News) – 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.

In addition, the share of U.S. Catholics who are Hispanic is growing, a significant number of conversions to the faith are prompted by marriage, and clerical abuse — though still widely perceived as an ongoing issue — is more broadly viewed as also problematic among other religious leaders, not only Catholic.

On June 16, Pew Research Center released its latest findings on Catholic life in the U.S., drawing on two surveys for data: its 2023-2024 U.S. Religious Landscape Study and in particular its Feb. 3-9 survey of 9,544 U.S. adults that included 1,787 Catholics. The latter survey included several questions “designed specifically for Catholics,” said the report.

The report found that 47% of U.S. adults indicated some connection to Catholicism.

Of those, 20% identified themselves as Catholic, while 9% described themselves as cultural Catholics, who identify with the faith for reasons “aside from religion,” such as ethnic, cultural or family ties or background.

Another 9% stated they were former Catholics, having been raised Catholic but no longer identifying themselves with the faith or with its cultural associations, and 9% said they were “connected to Catholicism in other ways” — that is, without cultural or religious ties to the faith, but having a Catholic parent, spouse or partner, or answering yes when asked if they ever attend Mass.

Among U.S. Catholics, just 13% pray daily, attend Mass at least weekly and go to confession once a year, although 50%, 28% and 23% respectively observe those individual practices.

Conversely, 13% seldom or never pray, and seldom or never attend Mass, and never go to the sacrament of reconciliation, which the report termed confession.

“The largest share of Catholics (74%) fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum of observance,” stated the report. “They may pray. They may attend Mass. They may go to confession. But they don’t regularly do all three (pray daily, attend Mass weekly and go to confession annually).”

For many questions, the survey found “large differences between Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week and those who don’t.”

Most weekly Mass attendees (83%) cited receiving the Eucharist as an essential part of being Catholic, compared to 56% of those who attend once or twice a month, 31% who attend a few times a year, and 15% of those who never attend.

Half of the nation’s Catholics report receiving holy Communion most or all the time when they attend Mass, with 82% of weekly Massgoers receiving. Forty-three percent of those who attend a few times a year or seldom report receiving holy Communion. Pew noted the preferred method of reception is by hand, with 44% of all U.S. Catholics and 62% of those who attend Mass at least weekly indicating such, while 14% of the nation’s Catholics and 21% of at least weekly Massgoers saying they prefer to receive on the tongue.

Most Catholics (87%) have not attended Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, the older usage of the Roman rite commonly called the “traditional Latin Mass,” within the last five years, with 13% reporting they had attended at least once within the last five years and 2% saying they attend at least once per week.

Most Catholics (71%) regard their parish priests favorably, with 32% very favorable in their opinion.

A majority of Catholics surveyed (62%) said clerical abuse remains an ongoing problem; however, that number is down from 69% in 2019. A majority (68%) also said that sexual abuse and misconduct are equally prevalent among other religious leaders, aside from Catholics. That share marks an increase from 61% in 2019.

Pew also asked participants to weigh in on 14 items related to Catholic belief and practice as “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not an important part” of being Catholic.

Baptism was not listed among the options provided by Pew. However, the research center told OSV News that the survey list offered a final open-ended question, to which “a small percentage of respondents (less than 1% of Catholics by religion) mentioned sacraments in their open-ended response,” including baptism. In addition, said Pew, many responses to the question from cultural Catholics “mentioned receiving the Sacraments of Initiation as children, including Baptism.”

Of the Catholic identity options offered by Pew, the most widely endorsed one was “having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” with 69% of U.S. Catholic adults describing the practice as “essential” to their Catholic identity.

At the same time, the phrase itself is not specifically a Catholic one. Scholar Benjamin Bennett-Carpenter of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, observed in a September 2017 journal article that the formulation, though extant in the 19th century, remains “relatively recent,” having been broadly popularized by Protestant U.S. evangelists such as Billy Graham from the 1940s onward.

Still, Gregory A. Smith, senior associate religion research director at Pew, told OSV News that the phrase “resonates with many Christians, including Catholics,” and that the view of it as critical is “especially common among Hispanic Catholics.”

Smith also pointed out that the phrase had figured in Pew’s 2015 survey of Catholics, where it also “topped the list,” with 68% of Catholics ranking it as essential to their religious identity. The previous survey also found that belief in Jesus’ actual resurrection from the dead — a question not repeated in the current survey — was cited by 67%.

Devotion to the Virgin Mary (50%), working to help the poor and needy (47%), and receiving the Eucharist (46%) were also listed by Pew. Forty percent listed getting married in the church as essential, while 33% pointed to the leadership of the pope and 32% stressed being part of the unbroken apostolic tradition — the latter of which tied with opposing abortion (32%).

Other markers of Catholic identity ranked as essential were taking care of the environment (31%), being part of a Catholic parish (30%), caring for immigrants (30%), celebrating feast days associated with national or ethnic heritage (26%), and opposing the death penalty (22%).

The least ranked marker was “going on pilgrimages,” which was cited as essential by only 9%.

Pew found that Hispanic Catholics represent 36% of all Catholic adults in the U.S., up from 29% in 2007, and are more likely than white Catholics to report participating in a variety of devotional practices such as wearing or carrying religious items (56% v. 39%), practicing devotion to Mary or a favorite saint (46% v. 31%), and praying the rosary (37% v. 22%).

Close to half of all Catholic converts (49%) said their decision was motivated by having a Catholic spouse or partner, or a desire to marry in the Catholic church.

Awareness of two major initiatives affecting the U.S. Catholic Church — the National Eucharistic Congress, specific to the nation, and the Synod and Synodality — was not found to be widespread, with about three in 10 U.S. Catholics saying they had heard at least a little about the congress, and 23% about the synod. Significant portions of weekly Massgoers were also unaware of both efforts, with 43% reporting they had not heard anything about the congress and 60% saying they had heard nothing about the synod.

(OSV News) – A U.S. bishop called for ardent prayer and robust diplomacy, as Israel and Iran traded strikes for the fourth day.

“We urge the United States and the broader international community to exert every effort to renew a multilateral diplomatic engagement for the attainment of a durable peace between Israel and Iran,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, in a June 16 statement.

The plea comes as hostilities between Israel and Iran – preceded by decades of tension and occasional clashes – threaten to become a wider regional conflict.

On June 13, Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion,” targeting nuclear and military sites and personnel. Israeli officials said the strikes were preemptive, citing rapid advances in Iran’s nuclear weapons development and that nation’s repeated threats to eliminate Israel.

In recent weeks, the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency had warned that Iran had increased its enriched uranium production. On June 12, the IAEA condemned Iran for violating its nonproliferation obligations — the first time in close to two decades — and passed a resolution as such.

Iran — which claimed the strikes had also killed civilians — has retaliated with ballistic missile attacks on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and central Israel.

Both sides have sustained casualties, with Israel reporting 24 killed so far and Iran stating that at least 224 have been slain. A sixth round of diplomatic talks in Oman between the U.S. and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program have since been shelved, with Iran’s foreign ministry refusing to participate until Israel halts its strikes, and describing the U.S. as “the biggest supporter and accomplice of the aggressor.”

Bishop Zaidan, who heads the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, warned in his statement that “the further proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, as well as this escalation of violence, imperils the fragile stability remaining in the region.”

He also echoed the words of Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran and Isfahan, Iran, who told Asia News, “We pray that peace through dialogue based on a consensus will prevail. May the Holy Spirit guide this process.”

With Iran counting some 22,000 Latin-rite Catholics amid its population of 84 million, the cardinal has previously said the Christian community, which includes faithful of the Chaldean and Armenian traditions. there is defined by “the cross and hope.”

“In the midst of this escalation, Pope Leo XIV has reminded us that ‘It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace by initiating paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that guarantee security and dignity for all,'” said Bishop Zaidan in his statement. “I call on Catholics and all men and women of goodwill in the United States and around the world to ardently pray for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. May the Prince of Peace move the hearts and illumine the minds of all for the attainment of peace in the region.”

CHICAGO (OSV News) – In what started out as a cloudy afternoon, the then bright and sunny stadium of Pope Leo XIV’s favorite baseball team, Chicago’s faithful cheered on one of their own’s election to the papacy. The June 14 celebration, organized by the Archdiocese of Chicago, included a series of short video clips and first-ever airing of Pope Leo XIV’s video message to the world’s youth at Rate Field on Chicago’s Southside.

In the message, Pope Leo encouraged young people to look inside themselves, recognize God’s presence in their own hearts and “recognize that God is present and that, perhaps in many different ways, God is reaching out to you, calling you, inviting you to know his Son Jesus Christ, through the Scriptures, perhaps through a friend or a relative… a grandparent, who might be a person of faith.”

He emphasized the importance of recognizing this, especially “that longing for love in our lives, for … searching, a true searching, for finding the ways that we may be able to do something with our own lives to serve others.”

Pope Leo also extended an invitation to join this Holy Year to the cheering crowd, which quieted down, eyes to the video monitors across the field. “In this Jubilee Year of Hope, Christ, who is our hope, indeed calls all of us to come together, that we might be that true living example: the light of hope in the world today,” he said.

The program before the scheduled Mass at the stadium included a three-way interview with the host Chuck Swirsky, known to locals as the announcer of the Chicago Bulls NBA team, and Pope Leo’s classmate Augustinian Father John Merkelis, president of the Augustinian Providence High School in a south Chicago suburb, as well as St. Agnes Sister Dianne Bergant, his former professor at Catholic Theological Union, who said he was a very good student.

Father Merkelis talked about his friend “Bob” Prevost’s down-to-earth and humble way. He shared his thoughts about what kind of pope his high school classmate and close friend would be.

“He’s deliberate, he’s thoughtful. He will listen to all sides, but he will make up his own mind. He’ll be clear… He’s a canon lawyer, and he knows how to pastorally apply the law. He’s a prayerful man. And having said all that, he’s a regular guy,” said Father Merkelis.

White Sox Senior Vice President Brooks Boyer addressed the pope directly, should he be watching the livestream.

“On behalf of the White Sox and all of our fans, we’d be honored to have you back here at Rate Field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. The mound is waiting. Your crowd is certainly ready and your team, the White Sox, is here with open arms,” he said.

The program included a music video produced by the archdiocese of Augustinian Brother David Marshall singing and playing piano to a song he composed about Pope Leo’s Chicago roots, “One of Us.” The song blends a mix of English, Spanish and Latin lyrics, highlighting the phrase “In Illo uno unum” (In the One we are one), Pope Leo XIV’s motto.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In a world marked by division and ideological conflict, Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to reject walls of separation and embrace Jesus as “a door that unites,” reminding pilgrims that true Christian hope lies in connecting rather than dividing.

Addressing thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica June 14 for a special Jubilee audience, the pope said the Holy Year 2025 must be lived as a mission of communion, rooted in the theological virtue of hope.

“To hope is to connect,” he said, stating that the Jubilee is an “open door” to the mystery of God’s connection with humanity which is rooted in Christ’s incarnation.

The audience continued a series begun by Pope Francis exploring a dimension of hope through the example of a spiritual figure. This time, Pope Leo focused on St. Irenaeus of Lyon, whom he described as a “master of unity” and a bridge between East and West.

Born in 130 in Asia Minor and later serving as bishop in present-day France, St. Irenaeus “carried with him the witness of those who had directly known the Apostles,” the pope said. His life and ministry reflected the way in which cultures, peoples and churches can mutually enrich one another — a dynamic the pope likened to today’s migrant communities, which he said often revitalize faith in their host countries.

Amid early church divisions, St. Irenaeus did not retreat in despair, but instead “learned to think more deeply, always focusing on Jesus,” the pope said. In a world fragmented by doctrinal disputes, political pressures and persecution, he found unity not by suppressing difference, but by recognizing how Christ reconciles opposites in his own person.

“Jesus is not a wall that separates, but a door that unites us,” the pope said. “He is life itself among us. He gathers the opposites, makes communion possible.”

Pope Leo warned against the dangers of ideology and verbal violence, noting that in the modern world “ideas can go mad and words can kill.” What grounds society, he said, is the shared human condition: “the flesh,” which “binds us to the earth and to other creatures.”

In this, too, Christ is central. “The flesh of Jesus must be welcomed and contemplated in every brother and sister, in every creature,” he said. “Let us hear the cry of the flesh. Let us be called by name through the pain of others.”

Hope, the pope said, is not a distant ideal but a daily commitment. It is a call to “move toward communion,” to become builders of bridges, not guards of gates. “Distinguishing is useful,” he said, “but never dividing.”

Echoing a line from the Lord’s Prayer, “on earth as it is in heaven,” Pope Leo said the Jubilee Year must inspire Catholics to act as agents of connection in a fragmented world. “Let us open doors,” he said. “Let us connect worlds and there will be hope.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati together Sept. 7, the Vatican announced.

Meeting with cardinals living in and visiting Rome for an ordinary public consistory June 13, the pope approved the new canonization date for the two young blesseds and set Oct. 19 as the date for the canonization of seven others. He announced the dates in Latin.

The canonization of Blessed Acutis, a teenager known for his devotion to the Eucharist and creating an online exhibition of Eucharistic miracles, had originally been scheduled for April 27 during the Jubilee of Teenagers. It was postponed following the death of Pope Francis April 21.

Born in 1991 and raised in Milan, Blessed Acutis used his tech skills to evangelize and was noted for his joyful faith and compassion for others before dying of leukemia in 2006 at age 15.

Blessed Frassati, born in 1901 into a prominent family in Turin, Italy, was admired for his deep spirituality, love for the poor and enthusiasm for life. A member of the Dominican Third Order, he served the sick through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He died at age 24 after contracting polio, possibly from one of the people he assisted.

The two Italian laymen will be the first saints proclaimed by the new pope, who was elected May 8.

Although the Vatican had never officially set a date for Blessed Frassati’s canonization, Pope Francis said last November that he intended to proclaim him a saint during the Jubilee of Youth July 28-Aug. 3. The official website of Blessed Frassati’s canonization cause had said the canonization would take place Aug. 3, when the pope is scheduled to celebrate Mass with thousands of young people on the outskirts of Rome.

Wanda Gawronska, Blessed Frassati’s niece and a longtime promoter of his sainthood cause, told Catholic News Service she was disappointed in the date change, noting that “thousands and thousands of people have tickets to come to Rome for the canonization in August.”

During the same consistory, Pope Leo also confirmed that seven other blesseds will be canonized Oct. 19, World Mission Sunday. The group includes men and women from five countries, among them martyrs, founders of religious congregations and laypeople recognized for their heroic virtue and service.

They are:

— Blessed Ignatius Maloyan, the martyred Armenian Catholic archbishop of Mardin, which is in present-day Turkey; born in 1869, he was arrested, tortured and executed in Turkey in 1915.

— Blessed Peter To Rot, a martyred lay catechist, husband and father from Papua New Guinea. Born in 1912, he was arrested in 1945 during the Japanese occupation in World War II and was killed by lethal injection while in prison.

— Blessed Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, Italy; she lived from 1802-1855.

— Blessed Maria Rendiles Martínez, the Venezuelan founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus. Born in Caracas in 1903, she died in 1977. She will be Venezuela’s first female saint.

— Blessed Maria Troncatti, a Salesian sister born in Italy in 1883 who became a missionary in Ecuador in 1922. She died in a plane crash in 1969.

— Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, a Venezuelan doctor born in 1864. He was a Third Order Franciscan and became known as “the doctor of the poor.” He was killed in an accident in 1919 on his way to helping a patient.

— Blessed Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer born in 1841. He had been a militant opponent of the church and involved in the occult, but converted, dedicating himself to charity and to building the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei. He died in 1926.