Year: 2025

LARKSVILLE – Parishioners of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Larksville came together on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, for a long-awaited Mass celebrating 125 years of faith, family, and their church community.

Originally planned for 2024, the Anniversary Mass was postponed so the parish could wait for their pastor, Father Gerald J. Gurka, to recover from eye surgery.

“We have some really great seeds of faith planted here and growing,” Father Gurka said.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, was principal celebrant and homilist for the Anniversary Mass. Many parishioners described his homily as especially moving.

“Bishop hit it out of the park for me,” parishioner Paula Yozwiak shared. “I even choked up a little bit sitting there, remembering everything that has gone on in my family – the good, the bad. I’m just grateful to be here.”

Lifelong parishioner Charles Prohaska, 85, is hopeful that young people will continue to be involved in parish life.

“It is a great parish. It’s a very welcoming parish,” he said. “My hope is parishioners, especially the young ones, will take part in everything that we do here.”

The Anniversary Mass brought back a keen sense of tradition and history for parishioners.

Michael Novrocki, a fourth-generation parishioner, said the Anniversary Mass held a lot of personal significance.

“My family history goes back to 1903 so today is a particular moment of pride for me and my family,” he said.

“I wrote the history (of the parish) for the 100th anniversary back in 1999 and I just did an update for the 125th anniversary,” Novrocki added.

Novrocki recalled the early sacrifices of the Polish immigrants who founded the parish in 1898, including building a new church after the original was lost to fire.

“The parish really banded together, rolled up their sleeves and they each contributed $75 to the construction of the new church,” he said.

As the community looks to the future, many say the spirit of Saint John the Baptist Parish remains strong.

“My hope is that people remain faithful and inspire others to be faithful and go to church, and be active in their church and community,” Yozwiak said.

 

WILKES-BARRE – With deep gratitude for their decades of faithful service, three long-time educators in the Diocese of Scranton Catholic School System were recognized with the Saint John Paul II Award during the Diocesan Teachers’ Institute Mass on Sept. 29, 2025.

This year’s recipients are Colleen Gatrone and Kimberly Kanuik of Holy Cross High School in Dunmore, and Barbara Greenway of Saint John Neumann Elementary School in Williamsport.

The Saint John Paul II Award is given annually to educators who have dedicated 25 years of service to Catholic education in the Diocese of Scranton. The award honors the legacy of Saint John Paul II, who inspired generations with his unwavering faith, commitment to young people, and deep love for the Church.

For Gatrone, the award is a milestone in a vocation that has spanned far more than the 25 years she has been in the Diocese of Scranton. In total, she has spent a total of 40 years in Catholic education.

“I appreciate the Diocese, I appreciate the students with whom I’ve worked. I’ve taught at a number of schools in our Diocese, and I really do appreciate the support that we get,” Gatrone said.

Prior to her current position at Holy Cross High School, Gatrone also served at Bishop O’Reilly, Bishop Hoban, and Holy Redeemer. She says the secret to her longevity is simple.

“It’s the students, it’s the parents, it’s the families, and it’s the atmosphere,” she said. “I absolutely love coming in every single day. They make me feel young and it is the important part of my day – coming in and seeing their faces. It is all the motivation I need for the day.”

For Kanuik, who also teaches at Holy Cross, the award is a humbling reminder of how far her journey has come since first being at Bishop Hannan High School.

“It means a lot. As a child, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” Kanuik said. “Being at Holy Cross – I know I’m blessed. My students have been fantastic.”

Kanuik teaches freshman history, AP History, and AP Government, a schedule she has held for the past decade. She proudly pointed out that one of her former students, Father Tom Dzwonczyk, read the Gospel at the Diocesan Teachers’ Institute Mass.

Reflecting on her decision to stay in Catholic schools, Kanuik said, “I have many friends who teach in public schools and their experiences aren’t the same. They’re counting the days to retirement, whereas I’m blessed to go to work every day.”

Greenway’s journey into Catholic education was born out of personal conversion.
“Saint John Paul II is the reason why I’m Catholic,” she explained.

Greenway, who has worked primarily with elementary students and taught art, is currently serving in Saint John Neumann’s Champions After-Care Program. She said she is inspired daily by all her colleagues.

“I respect all of them,” she said. “I may get this honor, but it is for everybody.”

WILKES-BARRE – Catholic school educators from across the Diocese of Scranton came together on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, for the annual Diocesan Teachers’ Institute.

The purpose of the day is two-fold – to both spiritually ground and professionally nourish the educators who serve 4,500 students in our 19 Catholic schools.

Held on the Feasts of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the day began with a Mass celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, at Holy Redeemer High School.

In his homily, Bishop Bambera reminded the educators that just as the archangels are messengers of God’s healing and love, they too are called to be instruments of God’s grace.

“Our primary focus – as educators, administrators, clergy and as Christians – must be centered less upon on our own needs and plans and far more upon the lives that God entrusts to us in the work that we’ve been given to do,” the Bishop said.

Echoing the Diocesan Catholic School System’s mission to educate the whole child spiritually and academically, Bishop Bambera reminded the educators that their work is sacred and transformative.

“Like the angels who engage us along our journey of life, imparting to us healing, meaning and hope through God’s mercy and grace, continue to be signs of hope, grace and love to our children and families,” he added. “We are so grateful and blessed by your dedication.”

Following the Mass, educators were inspired by keynote speaker Sister Mary Persico, IHM, Ed.D., President Emerita, and Director of Special Projects at Marywood University.

Her talk, titled “Catholic School Culture: Neither An Accident Nor an Option,” challenged educators to be intentional about shaping school culture through faith-filled action and storytelling.

“The culture of Catholic Schools in this country is one of the most needed and compelling ideologies in the world today,” Sister Persico said.

She spoke passionately about how today’s students are spiritually hungry – seeking purpose and meaning in a fast-paced world. Teachers, she said, are in a unique position to walk with them in that search.

“They long for the Holy, the sacred, the spiritual,” she added.

After lunch, the afternoon portion of the day featured breakout sessions tailored to grade levels and subject areas. The workshops allowed teachers to collaborate, share best practices, and gain new insights as they returned to their classrooms with renewed focus.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Power, possessions and rank do not satisfy the deep desire for real meaning in life, Pope Leo XIV said.

“It is only the resurrected Jesus who can give the true and lasting peace that sustains and fills us,” the pope said in English Oct. 15 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“We are not truly satisfied with achievements and passing certainties of this world,” he said, “because we are created in the image and likeness of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit we recognize an inexhaustible longing in our hearts for something more.”

Greeting Polish-speaking visitors during the audience, the pope said he was joining them in asking for the intercession of St. John Paul II, whose feast day is Oct. 22.

Calling the Polish-born pope a “witness of hope and guide of young people,” Pope Leo prayed: “May he inspire teachers, catechists and educators to collaborate with parents in forming the consciences of the new generations.”

Before the general audience, the pope received a 12-year-old silver-gray purebred Arabian horse as a gift from a Polish-born horse breeder. Video showed Pope Leo holding its reins and comfortably leading the horse by its bridle in a small courtyard inside Vatican City. The pope often traveled by horse when serving as a missionary in Peru.

The horse, named Proton, was raised at a stud farm in Poland, the Vatican press office said in a statement. Sired by Kahil Al Shaqab, a renowned stallion and show horse, Proton’s maternal grandfather is Hlayyil Ramadan, a world Arabian horse champion, who was born and bred in Jordan by Princess Alia Al-Hussein.

Meanwhile, in his ongoing series of audience talks on the Jubilee theme, “Jesus Christ our Hope,” Pope Leo reflected on how Christ’s resurrection fulfills the desires of every human heart.

“We live busy lives, we concentrate on achieving results, and we even attain lofty, prestigious goals,” he said in his main address in Italian.

“We would like to be happy, and yet it is very difficult to be happy in a continuous way, without any shadows,” he said. “We feel deep down that we are always missing something.”

However, he said, “we were not created for lack, but for fullness, to rejoice in life, and life in abundance.”

“This deep desire in our hearts can find its ultimate answer not in roles, not in power, not in having, but in the certainty that there is someone who guarantees this constitutive impulse of our humanity; in the awareness that this expectation will not be disappointed or thwarted,” the pope said.

The risen Jesus “is the wellspring that satisfies our thirst, the infinite thirst for fullness that the Holy Spirit imbues into our hearts,” he said. “Indeed, the resurrection of Christ is not a simple event of human history, but the event that transformed it from within.”

Just like water quenches thirst, refreshes, irrigates and renders fertile “what would otherwise remain barren,” he said, “the Risen One is the living wellspring” that always “stays pure and ready for anyone who is thirsty.”

Only Jesus “responds to the deepest questions of our heart: is there really a destination for us? Does our existence have any meaning? And the suffering of so many innocents, how can it be redeemed?” he said.

“The risen Jesus does not bestow upon us an answer ‘from above,’ but becomes our companion on this often arduous, painful and mysterious journey,” he said. “Only He can fill our empty flask when our thirst becomes unbearable.”

Jesus is also “the destination of our journey. Without his love, the voyage of life would become wandering without a goal, a tragic mistake with a missed destination,” he said.

Human beings are “fragile creatures,” who make mistakes, Pope Leo said. But the faithful can “rise again” with the help of the Risen One who “guarantees our arrival, leading us home, where we are awaited, loved, saved.”

To journey with Jesus “means to experience being sustained despite everything, to have our thirst quenched and to be refreshed in the hardships and struggles that, like heavy stones, threaten to block or divert our history,” he said.

“In a world struggling with fatigue and despair, let us be signs of hope, peace and joy of the risen Christ,” he added.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – When the U.S. bishops gather for their fall plenary assembly Nov. 10-13 in Baltimore, they will elect the next president and vice president for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The president and vice president are elected from a slate of 10 candidates who have been nominated by their fellow bishops, the USCCB said in an Oct. 14 news release.

The candidates (in alphabetical order) are:

— Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.

— Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City.

— Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas.

— Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston.

— Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Illinois.

— Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia.

— Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana.

— Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon.

— Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis.

— Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Detroit.

The president and vice president are elected to three-year terms, which begin at the conclusion of this year’s plenary assembly.

The USCCB bylaws provide that the first election is of the president by simple majority vote of members present and voting. Following his election, the vice president is elected from the remaining nine candidates.

In either election, if a candidate does not receive more than half of the votes cast on the first ballot, a second vote is taken. If a third round of voting is necessary, that ballot is a run-off between the two bishops who received the most votes on the second ballot.

The current USCCB president and vice president, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, will complete their terms at the assembly.

During the meeting, the bishops will also vote for new chairmen-elect of six USCCB standing committees: Canonical Affairs and Church Governance; Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; Evangelization and Catechesis; International Justice and Peace; Protection of Children and Young People; and Religious Liberty.

The six bishops elected will serve for one year as chairman-elect before beginning a three-year term at the conclusion of the bishops’ 2026 fall plenary assembly.

If any of the candidates for committee chairmanship are elected to fill to a higher office, the bishops’ Committee on Priorities and Plans will convene to nominate a new candidate for that committee.

 

(OSV News) – When Pope Leo XIV raises three women and four men to the altar Oct. 19, he will canonize a diverse group of religious and lay men and women, all bound by the virtue of holding on to their faith amid personal, spiritual, and external challenges.

The canonizations, which were announced by the Vatican June 13 during the pope’s first ordinary public consistory, will elevate to sainthood seven candidates who hail from Venezuela, Turkey, Papua New Guinea and Italy.

Blessed María Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez, who was born without a left arm, overcame physical challenges and founded a religious congregation, the Servants of Jesus of Caracas, which was dedicated to pastoral ministry and education.

Blessed Maria Troncatti, an Italian Salesian, dedicated her life as a missionary to Indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest, earning her the informal title of “doctor of the jungle,” while Blessed Vincenza Maria Poloni dedicated her ministry to the sick and the poor, whom she deemed as “our masters.”

Others, such as Blessed Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, an Armenian Catholic archbishop, and Blessed Peter To Rot, were martyred for their faith.

Among the most well-known is Blessed Bartolo Longo, a former Satanist priest who, after his conversion, dedicated his life as a Dominican tertiary to promoting the rosary and Marian devotion.

For Dominican Father Joseph Anthony Kress, promoter of the rosary for the Province of St. Joseph and associate director of the Dominican Friars Foundation, the example of the challenges faced by Blessed Longo and the other six sainthood candidates shows “that this earthly pilgrimage is not a sanitized experience.”

Speaking to OSV News Oct. 10, Father Kress said that like Christ, who stumbled and fell “on his way to making that supreme sacrifice,” Christian lives reflect the same struggle.

“We don’t need to try to perfect or sanitize our lives before we offer them to Jesus, but we can invite him into the suffering and the struggle,” he said.

“All of these saints experienced different elements of struggle throughout their lives: physical struggles, psychological struggles, spiritual desolations. But in the midst of all of that, they maintained a constant relationship with the Lord and invited him into those moments.”

“That’s where holiness is,” Father Kress added. “Holiness, I think, is the most profound when there’s a struggle present.”

Another notable aspect of some of the candidates is the fact that they were lay members of the Catholic Church. Blessed Longo was a lay member of the Dominican order, while Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros of Venezuela was a Franciscan tertiary. Blessed Peter To Rot, a martyr from Papua New Guinea, was married and served as a lay catechist.

Father Kress told OSV News that those like Blessed Longo and Blessed Hernández prove that “we can still be inspired by the great charisms of these religious orders in the Catholic Church, and to be unafraid to pursue that; to be unafraid of committing to that.”

“We live in a society, man, that is just so fraught and afraid to make any kind of commitment to a specific thing,” he said. “And some of these saints who have been tertiaries have made those commitments, and it’s a great message of hope and confidence in the Lord, and confidence in our individual humanity and personalities to say, ‘This charism is something that attracts me, and I want to participate in that in ways that make sense.'”

Below are brief summaries of the seven candidates who will be canonized as the church’s newest saints Oct. 19:

— Blessed María Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez was a Venezuelan religious sister and founder of the Servants of Jesus of Caracas. Born without a left arm, her life exemplified overcoming physical challenges. She established the Servants of Jesus of Caracas in 1965, dedicating her community to education and spiritual outreach. She died May 9, 1977, in Caracas. Upon her canonization, she will be Venezuela’s first female saint.

— Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros was a Venezuelan physician and scientist known widely as the “Doctor of the Poor.” Born Oct. 26, 1864, in Isnotú, Venezuela, he was instrumental in introducing modern medical science to the country and founded its first bacteriology laboratory. A devoted layman and Franciscan tertiary, he provided free medical care to the poor throughout his career. He died June 29, 1919, in Caracas after being struck by an automobile while running an errand for a sick patient.

— Blessed Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan was the Armenian Catholic archbishop of Mardin. Born April 19, 1869, in Mardin, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey), he was consecrated as archbishop in 1911. During the Armenian Genocide in 1915, he was arrested by Ottoman authorities who demanded he renounce his Christian faith and convert to Islam. He refused and was subsequently tortured and martyred on June 11, 1915.

— Blessed Peter To Rot was a married father and lay catechist from Papua New Guinea. Born in 1912 in Rakunai, he took on a vital leadership role when Japanese forces imprisoned missionaries during World War II. He became the sole spiritual guide for his community and strongly defended Christian marriage against the Japanese-promoted return of polygamy. For this opposition, he was arrested. He was martyred in a Japanese prison camp in Rakunai, Papua New Guinea, in July 1945.

— Blessed Vincenza Maria Poloni (born Luigia Poloni) was an Italian religious sister and co-founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona. Born Jan. 26, 1802, in Verona, she dedicated her life to works of charity. She helped establish the congregation in 1840 to care for the sick, the poor, and orphans, emphasizing merciful love for the marginalized. She famously referred to the poor as “our masters.” She died Nov. 11, 1855, in Verona.

— Blessed Maria Troncatti was a Salesian nun and nurse who served as a missionary in the Amazon rainforest. Born Feb. 16, 1883, in Corteno Golgi, Italy, she arrived in Ecuador in 1922 and spent nearly five decades working among the Indigenous Shuar people. Known as the “doctor of the jungle,” she ministered to physical and spiritual needs, notably promoting the dignity of women and reconciliation among tribal groups. She died Aug. 25, 1969, in Sucúa, Ecuador, in a small plane crash while traveling to a retreat.

— Blessed Bartolo Longo was an Italian lawyer and lay Dominican tertiary. Born Feb. 10, 1841, in Latiano, he experienced a dramatic conversion after a period of involvement with a spiritualist cult, which included being consecrated as a satanic priest. He devoted his life to promoting the rosary and serving the materially and spiritually poor peasants near Pompeii, where he founded the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii and several charitable institutions for children. He died Oct. 5, 1926, in Pompeii.

(OSV News) – A 17th-century monastery in northern Italy where recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis received his first Communion was in ruins after a massive fire ravaged the historic building.

According to Italian news outlet Rai News, the fire broke out Oct. 11 at the Bernaga Monastery, located in the La Valletta Brianza municipality in the Lombardy region.

The fire spread rapidly through the monastery, which was primarily constructed of wood and suffered significant damage. While investigations are ongoing, Marco Panzeri, the mayor of La Valletta Brianza, suspected a short circuit may have caused the fire, Rai News reported.

In a statement published Oct. 13, Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan announced that all 22 Ambrosian-rite cloistered nuns residing at the monastery had survived the devastating blaze.

“The merciless fire destroyed a heritage of documentation, signs of devotion, and the few personal belongings the nuns lived with,” Archbishop Delpini said. “In this disaster, I want to express the solidarity of the entire Ambrosian Church and my closeness and prayer. I know the nuns will continue to pray and that faith in God will be the most necessary encouragement.”

The archdiocese also published a message on behalf of the Ambrosian-rite consecrated men and women who expressed their solidarity with the cloistered nuns at the loss of their home. The Ambrosian rite is a liturgical tradition particular to Milan.

“This unexpected and painful event occurred shortly after the Jubilee of Consecrated Life and on the eve of the liturgical memorial of Saint Carlo Acutis, who received his First Communion in the church of your monastery. May the example of his faith and the prayers of many sustain you, giving you consolation and hope,” the statement read.

Citing an interview with a person close to the nuns who chose to remain anonymous, local news site Lecco Today reported that the fire occurred while most of the nuns were gathered in a room watching a live broadcast of the Rosary for Peace presided over by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.

According to the source, a nun left to check on a fellow sister who was ill and saw the fire, alerting everyone at the monastery.

“If it hadn’t been for her, they would all have gone to heaven,” the source said, according to Lecco Today.

Firefighters fought the blaze until the following day and also managed to save several works of art and relics housed in the monastery, including a reliquary that housed a first-class relic of hair belonging to St. Carlo Acutis, who was canonized Sept. 7 by Pope Leo.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that rescuers are still searching for a crucifix that was gifted to the nuns by St. Paul VI.

The fire occurred on the eve of the first celebration of St. Carlo Acutis’ feast day, Oct. 12.

According to the archdiocese, from a young age, St. Carlo was “fond of the nuns” at the monastery. It was there that he was introduced to Bishop Pasquale Macchi. The bishop had once served as secretary to the former archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Giovanni Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI after his election to the papacy.

It was Bishop Macchi, the archdiocese said, that informed St. Carlo’s parents that the 7-year-old future saint was ready for his first Communion.

“Carlo remained deeply attached to the nuns: every time he returned to visit them, he entrusted himself to their prayers, asking them to help him accomplish what God wanted for him,” the archdiocese said.

“Many saw a further sign of his affection in the fact that on Saturday, the same day a Mass was celebrated in the same church and a relic of his was present, no nuns were killed in the fire,” the statement read.

(OSV News) – Scenes of joy, relief and tearful welcomes flooded media across the world Oct. 13 as the remaining Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.

As part of the U.S.-proposed deal, 250 Palestinian prisoners were also released by Israel, with 1,650 more to be freed.

Minutes before the U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the Knesset on Oct. 13, Joseph Hazboun of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission spoke to OSV News and said that with the deal reached, he was “very happy at long last” but “not optimistic enough to say” it’s “a peace agreement” but “a ceasefire.”

“This is the day that we’ve been waiting for for two years,” said Hazboun, regional director for CNEWA-Pontifical Mission’s Jerusalem office.

“The people that were ordered to evacuate and move all around the Gaza Strip for several times are finally going back to their … areas of residency,” he told OSV News. “I’m not sure what they will find there — probably the ruins of their homes, but at least they will be safe. There is no more bombing from air or from the sea or from the land.”

Addressing the Knesset before Trump spoke, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in English and turning to the U.S. leader, said: “Two weeks ago you succeeded in doing something miraculous. You succeeded in doing something that no one believed was possible.”

“You brought most of the Arab World — most of the world — behind your proposal to free the hostages and end the war,” he said, thanking the U.S. president. “May God bless the covenant between the two promised lands,” Israel and the U.S., he said, wrapping up his speech.

“We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope, of renewed faith, and above all, a day to give our deepest thanks to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” Trump said, starting his speech to the Knesset.

Hazboun, who spoke to OSV News from Jerusalem, said that Trump “deserves the credit for putting an end to the war” as he “basically informed Netanyahu he has to stop. And now Trump is the guarantor of the end of the war.”

He also warned that with earlier attempts to stop the war, the parties “on several occasions shifted position for whatever reason,” therefore in the Holy Land, “we have our hands on our heart praying that this agreement will last.”

Now, Hazboun said, all eyes are on Gaza, where tens of thousands began to make their way back to their homes, or what’s left of them.

Many Palestinians returned to see only mostly rubble left, with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of Gaza City’s Catholic parish, saying the entire enclave has experienced a “tsunami” of destruction.

Asked about the Christian community sheltering in the Holy Family Parish and St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church compound, Hazboun said they will for now “remain in the church compound, because most of them, they lost their homes and their apartments.”

However, Hazboun said, “people will have the freedom now to go and check on their homes,” but “it will take time” to see “who has his home or his apartment intact and can move back, who has minor destruction, who has full destruction.”

What gives people a sense of relief is that “there is no more bombing around them,” he continued, but at the same time “there is no infrastructure, there is no electricity, there is no water, there is no sewage” and “life is going to be complicated for the coming period.”

Hazboun said CNEWA staff was given instructions “to start asking, inquiring about what are the immediate needs as far as maybe not food, but maybe water, probably medicine, medical aid, medical supplies — all remains to be seen.”

“Were there plans before? No, because with this war, it was extremely impossible to plan ahead of time. We had to wait until the end of the war. And of course we have to wait also until the Rafah crossing is open to see who will decide to remain in Gaza and who will not,” Hazboun said.

He predicted that “we will witness an exodus from Gaza for the Muslims and for the Christians” and that for Christians it will be “more catastrophic because of the few, the little number of the Christian community that has remained in Gaza. So every person that leaves is a great loss.”

As hundreds of aid trucks were allowed to reach Gaza starting in the early morning hours of Oct. 12, in a hopeful sign “prices have dropped enormously,” Hazboun said, pointing out that the price of flour dropped to $2-4 from $25 per kilogram ( 2.2 pounds).

Hazboun said that most probably “will need tents. All those families that are coming back to Gaza and are looking for their destroyed homes will require tents to live in for the coming probably year or so. So I expect that that will be a big need,” he said, adding that to make more detailed assessments, two to three days are needed.

Trump, speaking in the Knesset, said that now that all hostages are home, “together we’ve shown that peace is not just a hope that we can dream about. It’s a reality we can build upon day by day, person by person and nation by nation.” Because of that, he said, “the Middle East is finally ready to embrace its extraordinary potential.”

Later in the day, Trump was scheduled to take part in signing of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, along with the other guarantors of the Gaza peace deal, in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Leaders and foreign ministers from Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Indonesia were expected to participate at the summit hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Asked how Catholics across the world can help, Hazboun said first of all, with prayers “that this truce, this ceasefire, will hold and move forward towards a permanent peace agreement where Gaza will have the opportunity to flourish.”

By flourishing, he meant open borders so goods can come in freely, access to the sea and freedom of movement. “Early this morning,” he said, “reports claimed that the Israelis are not allowing everything needed to go in, as was the case after every war since 2009. And this is one of the reasons why the situation in Gaza continues to be dramatic and why every now and then we have attacks and counterattacks. It’s because the people of Gaza have been denied the opportunity to have a decent life.”

He said that amid a sea of destruction, “bringing in all the materials that the strip requires without limitations” is crucial.

“Because how can you rebuild Gaza if wood is not permitted or iron is not permitted or cement is not permitted?” Hazboun asked, while admitting he’s hopeful that “it is possible to rebuild, maybe even much better than it was.”

“They say they require two to three years to remove the debris. The hundreds, thousands of tons of destroyed material … but it all depends on the will of the people in power,” he said. “And I hope that President Trump,” along with leaders participating in signing of the peace agreement in Egypt, “will really exert pressure to move forward, as well as provide funding and find the right mechanism to help the people regain their dignity and find a suitable and decent place to live in.”

Assessing humanitarian efforts of the past two years, he said that CNEWA-Pontifical Mission, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Caritas Jerusalem and Catholic Relief Services, “and many other organizations … did marvelous work … in circumstances that were at times extremely challenging.”

“People risked their lives to deliver the goods that were required to save lives.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In separate videos recorded in English, Spanish and Italian, Pope Leo XIV urged every Catholic parish around the globe to observe World Mission Sunday Oct. 19 and take up the annual collection that supports Catholic missionary work.

“When I served as a missionary priest and then bishop in Peru, I saw first-hand how the faith, the prayer and the generosity shown on World Mission Sunday can transform entire communities,” said the Chicago-born pope. As an Augustinian priest, he served in the missions in Peru from 1985 to 1999 and then as apostolic administrator and later bishop of Chiclayo from 2014 to 2023.

In the video message, released Oct. 13, Pope Leo encouraged all Catholics to pray on World Mission Sunday “particularly for missionaries and the fruitfulness of their apostolic labors.”

“Your prayers, your support will help spread the Gospel, provide for pastoral and catechetical programs, help to build new churches, and care for the health and educational needs of our brothers and sisters in mission territories,” the pope said.

According to the Pontifical Mission Societies USA, funds collected on World Mission Sunday support: “82,498 seminarians in formation; 258,540 religious sisters providing care and catechesis; (and) 844,000 catechists sharing the faith at the grassroots.”

The funds also help sustain “12,000 health care centers; 8,750 orphanages and homes for the elderly” and have helped with the construction of 570 new churches, it said.

In the video, Pope Leo asked Catholics to “reflect together on our baptismal call to be ‘missionaries of hope among the peoples,'” and to commit themselves again “to the sweet and joyful task of bringing Christ Jesus our hope to the ends of the earth.”

The annual papal message for World Mission Sunday is released in February. Pope Francis had chosen “Missionaries of Hope Among All Peoples” as the theme for the 2025 celebration.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – All human beings need consistent, lasting and healthy experiences of authentic love, Pope Leo XIV said.

Consecrated men and women, who abandon themselves “like children into the arms of the Father,” spread “the ‘fresh air’ of authentic love throughout the world,” he said in his homily during Mass in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 9, marking the Jubilee of Consecrated Life.

Thousands of men and women religious, monks, contemplatives, members of secular institutes, consecrated virgins, hermits and people belonging to “new institutes” came to Rome from all over the world for their Oct. 8-9 Jubilee.

God is “the fullness and meaning of our lives,” said the pope, who joined the Augustinian religious order in 1977 and served as its leader, or prior general, for 12 years in Rome.

“For you — for us — the Lord is everything,” he said. “Without him, nothing exists, nothing makes sense, nothing is worthwhile.”

“He is everything in different ways: as Creator and the source of existence, as love that calls and challenges, as the strength that impels and inspires us to give,” he said. “Living out your vows means abandoning yourselves like children into the arms of the Father.”

The Catholic Church “entrusts you with the task of being living witnesses to God’s primacy in your lives,” the pope said.

“By stripping yourselves of everything, you help the brothers and sisters you meet to cultivate this friendship themselves,” he said. “After all, history teaches us that an authentic experience of God always gives rise to generous outpourings of charity.”

Some people believe that “it is vain to serve God,” he said.

“This way of thinking leads to a genuine paralysis of the soul,” the pope said. “We end up settling for a life made up of fleeting moments, superficial and intermittent relationships and passing fads — things that leave a void in our hearts,” and do not lead to true happiness.

“Instead, we need consistent, lasting and healthy experiences of love,” he said, and members of consecrated life have a role to play in that through their example.

“Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord, to whom you have given everything, has rewarded you with such beauty and richness, and I would like to urge you to treasure and cultivate what you have received,” Pope Leo said.

“Do not seek to be numbered among the ‘learned and clever,'” he said, quoting St. Paul VI’s 1971 apostolic exhortation “Evangelica Testificatio.”

“Be truly poor, meek, eager for holiness, merciful and pure of heart,” he said, quoting the late pope. “Be among those who will bring to the world the peace of God.”