Month: September 2025

(OSV News) – The nation’s Catholic bishops have launched a new effort to more closely engage the faithful in addressing the issue of mental health, particularly at the local level.

In a Sept. 16 press release, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced its “Healing and Hope” initiative as a “new component” of the USCCB’s National Catholic Mental Health Campaign.

Unveiled in October 2023, the campaign is spearheaded by Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who leads the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Several organizations partnered with Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Barron in developing the campaign — among them Catholic Charities USA, the Catholic Health Association, the National Catholic Partnership on Disability and the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers.

In their introductory message for the effort, the two prelates said their goals were threefold: to raise greater awareness of the issue, to remove the sense of stigma for those suffering from mental illness, and “to advocate a clear message to all: everyone who needs help should get help.”

The “Healing and Hope” initiative takes its name from the campaign’s introductory statement by Archbishop Gudziak and Bishop Barron, who stressed that “anyone who is suffering from mental illness or facing mental health challenges” remains “a beloved child of God, a God of healing and hope.”

“Healing and Hope” — which is aimed at both those who suffer from mental illness, and those who support them — will feature three new elements to back that message.

A revived digital campaign for the effort will include bishops’ reflections, posted to the USCCB’s social media platforms, that will “invite all people into deeper conversation on the realities and stigmas of mental health,” said the USCCB in its release.

In addition, bishops, clergy, religious and lay people will gather for state-level conferences on “local mental health realities,” with the first such event scheduled to take place early next year in New Jersey, said the release.

Parishes are being encouraged to “raise awareness of mental health” by observing “Mental Health Sunday” and praying at Masses during the Oct. 11-12 weekend, which follows World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.

Resources for Mental Health Sunday are available at usccb.org/mental-health-sunday

The USCCB also urged faithful to pray the conference’s Novena for Mental Health, the nine days of which commence on World Mental Health Day and conclude on Oct. 18, the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist and a patron of health care, who in the Letter to the Colossians is referenced as “the beloved physician” (Col 4:14).

Each day of the novena, which opened the USCCB campaign in October 2023, focuses on a particular aspect of mental health, addressing stigma, social relationships, and the impact of factors such as racism and poverty. Saints and others invoked during the novena include St. Dymphna, patron of those with mental illness; St. Martin de Porres, who experienced racial discrimination throughout his life; and Dorothy Day, a servant of God who twice attempted suicide as a young woman.

Novena materials can be found online at usccb.org/mental-health-novena.

Close to 60 million U.S. adults, or one in five, experienced mental illness in 2021, with more than 14 million of them reporting a serious condition and well over 19 million battling both substance abuse and mental illness concurrently, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The nation’s youth have been particularly hard hit: In 2021, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued an advisory on the issue, citing data that showed in 2019, one in three high school students and half of female students reported feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness, a 40% spike since 2009.

Among U.S. adults, anxiety disorders (19.1%) top the annual list of reported mental health conditions, followed by major depressive episodes (8.3%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (3.6%), according to data cited by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Bipolar disorder (2.8%), borderline personality disorder (1.4%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (1.2%) and schizophrenia (less than 1%) each represented less than 3% of reported conditions, said the organization on its website.

Those experiencing a mental health crisis can call 911 or call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which also offers support in Spanish.

(OSV News) – If St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s life was written as a Hollywood screenplay, a script doctor might say it was simply too tragic for audiences to believe — let alone that the heroine would repeatedly persevere.

The death of her mother when she was 3. The separation of her father and step-mother, who practically shunned her and her older sister. The death of her father from contagious disease. The bankruptcy of her husband’s business and the loss of their home. The death of her husband in a foreign land. The opposition of some of her family and friends when she converted to Catholicism. The deaths of two of her children during her lifetime.

If it all seems a bit too much – truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and as she herself declared, “Faith lifts the soul. Hope supports it. Experience says it must. And love says let it be!”

Sept. 14 marked the 50th anniversary since the canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), the first American-born saint. And while it’s been more than 250 years since her birth, her admirers say Mother Seton is hardly a quaint figure from an antique past – she’s instead a vibrantly relevant woman who continues to have much to share with modern believers.

“One of the things that has always amazed me is just the breadth and depth of people who relate to her,” said Rob Judge, executive director of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The shrine is holding a three-day celebration Sept. 12-14.

Despite the distance of history, “the emotions, the struggle, the joys, and the yearnings of the heart — all of that is very much the same,” Judge told OSV News. “The first native-born American to be recognized by the universal church — that was a big deal 50 years ago. People were used to saints being Italian, or being in far-off lands, doing massively heroic things.”

“She’s an example of someone who just persevered, sought God in her daily life, and found him — and was recognized for that achievement,” he said. “It gives all of us hope.”

Born in 1774 to a prominent New York City Episcopalian family, Elizabeth Ann Bayley married William Magee Seton in 1794. She lived the contented life of a wealthy socialite and mother for a few brief years, until the 1799 bankruptcy of her husband’s business and his 1803 death. She converted to Catholicism in 1805 — and a courageous and pioneering life followed, as she founded the first U.S. community for religious women and planted the seeds of Catholic education in America.

On Sunday, Sept. 14, 1975, St. Paul VI canonized Mother Seton in St. Peter’s Square, declaring, “Elizabeth Ann Seton is a saint!”

He said, “Elizabeth Ann Seton was wholly American! Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her. And know how to preserve her fruitful heritage.”

Explaining in part her appeal, Judge said, “I think it’s that endearing American trait of perseverance — just sticking with it. You can see God’s providential hand in her life through all of that. But imagine being in the midst of it, and not knowing. And then,” he added, “still having the faith that she had.”

Sister Maryann Lopiccolo, a Sister of Charity and the episcopal delegate for religious in the Diocese of Brooklyn — has her own explanation.

“She was a New Yorker — she was a New Yorker, and she was going to get this done,” Sister Lopiccolo told OSV News.

Mother Seton’s practical approach still resonates, she added.

“What I think makes her effective is her vision and her works of charity — her works of being just a regular woman next door — which continue, through all of our congregations,” she said.

Six separate congregations trace their roots to the beginnings of the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg.

The sisters still educate, too.

“We fight and we struggle to keep the Gospel message alive, and to keep Catholic schools alive. How many are on life support? Because it’s such a value-rich education,” reflected Sister Lopiccolo. “That was something she believed in and provided — not just for those who could pay for it, but for those who couldn’t.”

Catherine O’Donnell, professor of history at Arizona State University, and author of “Elizabeth Seton: American Saint,” told OSV News she regards the Sisters of Charity foundress as something of a seeker.

“She lived, like we do, at a time when there were a lot of different faiths she was aware of; that she was interested in. And she thought and prayed for a long time, before adopting Catholicism,” O’Donnell explained. “I think that appeals to people in the modern world, who have choices to make.”

In everyday terms, “She was a working woman, raising children and also founding the community,” O’Donnell said. “So I think all of that draws people to her.”

O’Donnell also pointed to Mother Seton’s compassion.

“She just wanted to understand other people, very deeply. She listened to people. You can tell by the way she kept notes on her students or wrote to their parents; she was really attentive to their individual personalities,” she said.

Indeed, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s educational ideas were quite ahead of her time.

“For one thing, she thought it was important — knew it was important — for girls to be educated; for them to have an intellectual education, (and) not only a homemaking or a domestic education,” O’Donnell emphasized.

Anticipating contemporary Catholic education — where at least 21% and possibly as high as 39% of students are non-Catholics — O’Donnell noted, “She did insist the school was not only for Catholic children. And this was something she had to be quite firm about, because some of the clergy involved would bring it up with her.”

“Her view was that it should take in these other students — and that she would not actively try to convert the students,” O’Donnell said. “But she created this environment in which the students tended to want to convert to Catholicism on their own.”

Three decades after Mother Seton’s death, Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick of Baltimore told his fellow American prelates, “Elizabeth Seton did more for the church in America than all of us bishops together.”

Mother Seton’s dying words are reported as, “Be children of the church.”

Despite limited international travel — she only ever visited Italy — Mother Seton also declared herself a “citizen of the world.” It’s a viewpoint rather uncommon for her era, said Sister Regina Bechtle, charism resource director for the Sisters of Charity of New York and a member of the Seton Writings Committee and Project that collected the saint’s writings.

“I think her words are prophetic for us, too — that we, as citizens of America, need to be citizens of the world,” she said. “We are part of a world church. We are part of the universal church … the mission of Jesus is the mission of the universal church.”

Sister Bechtle shared that she takes comfort and encouragement from Mother Seton’s words “about meeting your grace.”

She feels it’s still a contemporary message.

“I think she would urge us to discern, to be faithful, to be open to meeting our grace,” said Sister Bechtle. “Meeting God’s grace in each moment — as it comes across our TV screen, or the phone call, or the person in need whom you meet on the street.”

(OSV News) – Catholics in the U.S. “like what they’ve seen so far” in Pope Leo XIV, with 8 in 10 viewing the new pope favorably — and significant numbers of non-Catholics agreeing, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.

On Sept. 12, Pew released results from a survey conducted July 8 to Aug. 3 in both English and Spanish among a nationally representative panel of U.S. adults selected at random. The 9,916 participants included 1,849 Catholics.

Pew found that on balance, 84% of the nation’s Catholics hold a favorable view of Pope Leo, with 4% disapproving and 11% stating they have never heard of him.

Among U.S. Catholics who attend Mass weekly, that approval rating is even higher, with 95% viewing the pope favorably. U.S. Catholics who are in the pews on a monthly or yearly basis largely approve of him (84%), and even most self-identified Catholics who seldom or never attend Mass give the pope a thumbs-up (77%).

Of the survey respondents who are Catholic, 67% said they know “a little” about the new pope, with 25% admitting they “know nothing at all” about him, said Pew. Only 7% claimed to know “a lot” about the worldwide Catholic Church’s leader.

Although respondents are still learning who he is, Pope Leo enjoys popularity on both sides of the political aisle, with Pew noting, “Vast majorities of both Catholic Democrats (89%) and Republicans (84%) view Leo favorably.”

Non-Catholics “are even less familiar with Leo than Catholics are,” according to Pew. It found 31% saying they “have never heard of him,” but a majority (56%) reported viewing the American-born pontiff favorably.

More than half (52%) of U.S. Catholics are either uncertain as to how Pope Leo’s leadership will compare with that of his predecessor, Pope Francis, or “say they don’t know anything about the new pope to begin with,” Pew said.

One third (33%) expect Pope Leo’s leadership to be “pretty similar” to Pope Francis’ style, while 13% believe the new pope will be “pretty different” from his predecessor.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – At a time when people feel powerless to help migrants and refugees, Christians must continue to insist that “there is no justice without compassion, no legitimacy without listening to the pain of others,” Pope Leo XIV said.

In a video message Sept. 12, the pope gave his full support to a bid by the people of the Italian island of Lampedusa to win UNESCO recognition for their “gestures of hospitality” to migrants as an example of an “intangible cultural heritage” that should be protected.

For decades the small island, which lies between Sicily and the northern African nations of Tunisia and Libya, has been a major arrival point for migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia seeking a new life in Europe. However, many migrants make the journey in unsafe vessels or without needed provisions. Shipwrecked boats and dead bodies have washed up on the island’s shores.

Pope Leo paid tribute to “the volunteers, the mayors and local administrations that have succeeded one another over the years,” to “the priests, doctors, security forces, and to all those who, often invisibly, have shown and continue to show the smile and attention of a human face to those who have survived their desperate journey of hope.”

But the pope also noted the political divisions and backlash that have accompanied the continued arrival of migrants and refugees on Lampedusa’s shores and to other nations.

“It is true that over the years fatigue can set in. Like in a race, we can run out of breath,” he said. “Hardships tend to cast doubt on what has been done and, at times, even divide us. We must respond together, staying united and opening ourselves once again to the breath of God.”

“All the good you have done may seem like drops in the sea,” Pope Leo told the island’s people. “But it’s not so — it is much more than that!”

Many of the migrants, including mothers and children, never made it to shore and from the depths of the sea “cry out not only to heaven, but to our hearts,” he said. Others died and are buried on Lampedusa “like seeds from which a new world longs to sprout.”

But, he said, “thank God, there are thousands of faces and names of people who today are living a better life and will never forget your charity. Many of them have themselves become workers for justice and peace, because goodness is contagious.”

Pope Leo said his thanks is the thanks “of the whole church for your witness,” and is meant to renew the thanks of the late Pope Francis, who made a trip to Lampedusa the first official trip of his papacy. He said he hoped he, too, would be able to visit the island soon.

The islanders’ hospitality and welcome, he said, are “a bulwark of humanity, which loud arguments, ancient fears and unjust policies try to erode.”

“The ‘globalization of indifference,’ which Pope Francis denounced beginning from Lampedusa, today seems to have turned into a globalization of powerlessness,” Pope Leo said.

Thanks to the media, people are more aware of “injustice and innocent suffering,” he said, but increasingly “we risk standing still, silent and saddened, overcome by the feeling that nothing can be done.”

People ask themselves, “What can I do in the face of such great evils?” he said.

“The globalization of powerlessness is the child of a lie: that history has always been this way, that history is written by the victors, which makes it seem that we can do nothing,” the pope said. “But that is not true: history is ravaged by the powerful, but it is saved by the humble, the just, the martyrs, in whom goodness shines and true humanity endures and is renewed.”

The antidote, Pope Leo said, is to work to create “a culture of reconciliation.”

“Reconciliation is a special kind of encounter. Today we must meet one another, healing our wounds, forgiving each other for the wrong we have done — and even for the wrong we have not done but which we still bear the consequences of,” the pope said. “So much fear, so many prejudices, so many walls — even invisible ones — exist between us and between our peoples, as consequences of a wounded history.”

While fear and evil can be passed from one generation to the next, he said, so can goodness.

“We must repair what has been broken, delicately treat bleeding memories, draw close to one another with patience, put ourselves in the place of others’ stories and suffering, and recognize that we share the same dreams and the same hopes,” Pope Leo said. “There are no enemies — only brothers and sisters. This is the culture of reconciliation.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV told 192 new bishops from around the world that they must respond promptly to allegations of inappropriate or abusive behavior by priests.

“These cannot be put in a drawer – they must be addressed with a sense of mercy and true justice toward both the victims and the accused,” the pope told the bishops Sept. 11, according to the Vatican press office.

The pope had spent the entire morning with the prelates, including 13 from the United States, who were in Rome for the Vatican’s annual formation courses for new bishops. The courses included sessions on handling abuse allegations.

Pope Leo read a prepared speech to the group, which was broadcast in the Vatican press office and published on the Vatican website. But, the press office said, he continued sharing his concerns and advice with the bishops before opening the floor to their questions.

The press office published a summary of the closed-door session Sept. 12.

Also Sept. 12 Pope Leo had his first official meeting with French Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, France, whom the pope had named president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in July.

In his meeting with the new bishops the day before, the pope asked them to be “be persevering disciples, not afraid when faced with the first difficulty, pastors close to the people and to their priests, merciful yet firm — even when it comes to making judgments –capable of listening and dialogue, not merely preaching,” the Vatican summary said.

“Be builders of bridges,” he told the bishops, including by embracing synodality, “which he described not as a pastoral method, but as ‘a style of church, of listening and of shared search for the mission to which we are called.'”

As he had done in his formal text, Pope Leo also told the bishops they must be creative in sharing the Gospel and ministering with their people, which can happen only if they are engaged and involved in the world and understand the questions people are asking today.

“Ready-made answers learned 25 years ago in seminary are not enough,” the pope told them.

The bishops must value the “pastoral and human experiences” that they have had in their local churches and allow them to “grow into a new ministry that brings bishops into contact with the universality of the church,” the summary said.

Pope Leo spoke to the bishops about the “fears, a sense of unworthiness, the various expectations each had for their lives” before being named a bishop, the summary said, and he “emphasized the necessity of staying close to the Lord, preserving time for prayer, and continuing to live with unconditional trust in the Holy Spirit, the source of their calling.”

Responding to a question about the challenge of beginning a new ministry, “the pope spoke personally about what it means for him,” the press office said.

“He urged trust in God’s grace and the grace of office, to recognize one’s gifts and limitations, including the need for help from others — perhaps relying on the valuable experience of a good emeritus bishop who can offer support or guidance,” it said. “He warned against the temptation to form one’s own group and isolate oneself.”

The bishops spoke about how some 1 million people attended the early August celebration of the Jubilee of Young People and their thirst for an authentic spiritual life, the summary said.

Pope Leo noted that young people have not found a response to that thirst in the virtual world nor “in the typical experiences of our parishes.”

Responding to a question, the pope urged bishops to be prudent in the use of social media, where “everyone feels entitled to say whatever they want, even false things.”

“There are times when reaching the truth is painful,” but necessary, he said, adding that bishops should “rely on communication professionals, trained individuals.”

He summarized his recommended approach to media by saying, “Calm, a good head, and the help of a professional.”

The Vatican said the pope and bishops also spoke about the importance of peacemaking, interreligious dialogue and safeguarding the environment.

PHILADELPHIA (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV’s fellow Augustinians have elected a Philadelphia-area native as the order’s new prior general.

The order’s Province of St. Thomas of Villanova announced in a Sept. 9 media release that Augustinian Father Joseph L. Farrell had been chosen “after much prayer and reflection” and “under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

The election took place Sept. 9 in Rome during the order’s 188th general chapter, with 73 brothers with voting rights participating, the Augustinian order noted on its main website.

Father Farrell, who had until the election served as the order’s vicar general as well as general assistant for North America, will succeed Father Alejandro Moral Antón, becoming the 98th prior general of the order, which was founded in 13th-century Italy.

Born in 1963 in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, Father Farrell attended Catholic elementary and high schools, then went on to receive his bachelor of science degree in business administration at Villanova University, one of the nation’s two Augustinian institutions of higher learning — and Pope Leo XIV’s own alma mater.

Father Farrell entered the Augustinian novitiate in 1985, the same year he graduated Villanova, professing his first vows two years later and his solemn vows in 1990. He completed his master’s degree in theology at Washington Theological Union and was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. Following studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he obtained his licentiate and doctorate in sacred theology in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

His pastoral assignments over the years have included parish, high school and college campus ministry, along with teaching and administrative positions at Villanova. In 2010, he was elected a counselor of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, and in 2013, he became the order’s vicar general and assistant general for North America.

The St. Thomas province and “the whole order are so proud,” said prior provincial Father Robert Hagan, adding that “Father Joe has served the order in many ways for so many years.”

Now, added Father Hagan, “he leads us all as the Augustinian Good Shepherd, helping us to stay one in mind and heart intent upon God.”

“At this time, we give thanks to God for our dedicated and committed servant leader, and offer prayers for wisdom, strength, and grace as he exercises this important responsibility on behalf of our Order and the Church,” said the province in its release.

SILVER LAKE TOWNSHIP – As the Diocese of Scranton continues to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, one faith community is preparing to mark a milestone that connects the past, present and future of Catholic life in northeastern Pennsylvania.

On Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, a special Mass will be held at Saint Augustine Church in Susquehanna County to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the beginnings of the church community.

Saint Augustine Church is the oldest Catholic church in the Diocese of Scranton.
The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will be the principal celebrant for the 10:30 a.m. liturgy.

“There is so much joy. Our people are really preparing to receive the Bishop,” Father Thomas Augustine, Administrator pro tem, Saint Brigid Parish, Friendsville, explained. Saint Augustine Church is a worship site of Saint Bridgid Parish.

The celebration comes as Saint Augustine Church is also recognized as one of the eight pilgrimage sites designated by Bishop Bambera for the Jubilee Year of Hope, inviting the faith to encounter Christ in historic places of worship and renewal.

“God has powerfully worked through this community,” Father Augustine added. “Since we are celebrating 200 years … this is a big blessing!”

LEGACY ROOTED IN MISSION

The roots of Saint Augustine Church stretch back to 1825, when Father Jeremiah Francis O’Flynn responded to an urgent invitation from Robert Rose, a prominent Catholic layman in the Silver Lake area.

With the blessing of Bishop Henry Conwell of Philadelphia, Father O’Flynn invested his savings into purchasing a farm at Silver Lake, on which the first Catholic church in Susquehanna County was built.

It was not until Oct. 2, 1828, that Father O’Flynn was able to celebrate the first Mass in the vestry of the partly built church of Silver Lake – but after that time the congregation increased rapidly.

Father O’Flynn died while on a sick call in Danville, approximately 80 miles from Silver Lake, on Feb. 8, 1831. His body was brought back to Silver Lake and laid to rest in the cemetery of Saint Augustine Church.

From these humble beginnings, the Catholic presence continued to grow in the region long before the Diocese of Scranton itself was officially formed on March 3, 1868, when the Pope signed a decree to separate 10 counties from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Lackawanna County was formed 10 years later, bringing the Diocese of Scranton to its current number of 11 counties.

PILGRIMS ON A JOURNEY

In anticipation of the bicentennial celebration, pilgrims from across the Diocese of Scranton have already started visiting Saint Augustine Church as part of the Jubilee Year of Hope.

On Sunday, Aug. 10, more than 50 parishioners from Saint John the Apostle Parish in East Stroudsburg made the two-hour journey from the Poconos to pray, worship, and learn about the sacred site.

Their pastor, Father Greg Reichlen, a native son of Susquehanna County, was excited to bring his parishioners to the oldest church in the diocese.

“It has been an incredible, beautiful and amazing day to celebrate our faith, to go on a journey, on a pilgrimage, to this very holy site,” Father Reichlen said.

The visit included participation in the Sunday Mass, a tour of the church grounds, and a shared parish picnic with the community.

“Parishioners are very thrilled to learn about this little piece of history,” Father Reichlen added. “Our life is a journey, and I think it has been an incredible experience for every single one of us to be together on this journey.”

OUR FAITH IS ALIVE AND LIVING

For those who made the pilgrimage, it wasn’t simply about history – it was about witnessing how the Church remains alive in small rural communities, just as much as in large parishes.

“I think it’s really nice. I like the more simple vibe,” Tha’riann Daurilas, a young adult from Saint John’s Parish who made the trip up with family members, said. “I know it’s an older church and I like to see other pretty churches around the diocese.”

Bill Montgomery, a longtime Eucharistic Minister from Saint John the Apostle Parish, shared a similar sentiment.

“It has been a very rewarding day,” he said. “My wife and I travel to a lot of shrines and different areas. It’s really nice to come to a rural area like this and to see the beauty in the older churches. They are magnificent.”

Montgomery appreciated the pilgrimage as an opportunity to grow in faith.
“There is something about the smallness and the beauty of this place, especially where our diocese grew from where it started. There is a lot of history there,” he added.

ALL ARE STILL WELCOME

Though smaller in size, Saint Augustine Church continues to be a place of active worship, prayer, and community.

“I welcome everyone to come and visit this church and receive the blessings as the Diocese has selected it as a few pilgrimage churches,” Father Augustine added.

All are especially welcome to attend the upcoming 200th Anniversary Mass celebration on Sept. 14 with Bishop Bambera to reflect on its history, mission, and the enduring presence of God.