Category: 2025 News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As Pope Francis prepared to spend the 12th anniversary of his election at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, people at the Vatican and around the world were responding to his most frequent personal request.

“From the beginning of his pontificate, we have heard Pope Francis ask us to not forget to pray for him, and that is what we are doing,” said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, as he led thousands of people praying the rosary for the pope March 10 in St. Peter’s Square.

“It is not only Christians who are doing so, but the faithful of other religions and even many nonbelievers also are joining their hearts around Pope Francis,” the cardinal said.

Pope Francis has made requesting prayers a hallmark of his papacy and a standard way to end a letter or speech.

When the 76-year-old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI March 13, 2013, and came out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, his words stunned the crowd:

“Before the bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me – the prayer of the people asking a blessing for their bishop. Let us make, in silence, this prayer: your prayer over me,” he said, and bowed to receive the blessing.

And again, before he said good night, he told the crowd, “Pray for me.”

Probably not a day has gone by since then that he hasn’t made the request out loud or in writing.

Four months after his election, on his flight back from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a journalist asked him why he always asked for people’s prayers. “It isn’t normal, we are not used to hearing a pope ask so often that people pray for him,” the reporter said.

“I have always asked this,” the pope responded. “When I was a priest, I asked, but less frequently. I began to ask more often when I was working as a bishop, because I sense that if the Lord does not help in this work of assisting the people of God to go forward, it can’t be done.”

“I am truly conscious of my many limitations, of many problems, of also being a sinner – as you know! – and I have to ask for this,” he said. “It is a habit, but a habit that comes from my heart.”

Pope Francis also often thanks people for their prayers.

“I would like to thank you for the prayers, which rise up to the Lord from the hearts of so many faithful from many parts of the world,” the pope wrote in his text for the Angelus prayer March 2. “I feel all your affection and closeness, and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people. Thank you all!”

And while no photos of the pope have been released since he entered the hospital, his labored voice was broadcast in St. Peter’s Square March 6 in an audio message thanking the gathered faithful for their prayers.

Hospitalized since Feb. 14 with bronchitis and difficulty breathing, Pope Francis was later diagnosed with double pneumonia. His doctors told reporters he has chronic lung conditions: bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, caused by years of respiratory problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis.

In his autobiography, Pope Francis wrote about the surgery he underwent at the age of 20 to remove the upper lobe of his right lung after suffering a severe respiratory infection.

“It was extremely painful. Extremely,” he said.

When writing or talking about the pope’s lung surgery, people often mistakenly assume doctors had removed the entire right lung. It even was an issue at the 2013 conclave that elected him.

During the lunch break between the third and fourth ballots of the conclave, he wrote in the autobiography, a group of European cardinals invited him to sit with them. They began asking so many questions on so many topics “that I found myself thinking: Hah, it seems like an exam.”

At the end of the meal, he said, a Spanish-speaking cardinal asked him, “Do you have a lung missing?”

After explaining that only the upper lobe had been cut away in 1957, Pope Francis recalled that “the cardinal turned red, uttered a swear word and clenched his teeth: ‘These last-minute maneuvers!’ he exclaimed.”

“It was then that I began to understand” he was being seriously considered as a candidate to succeed Pope Benedict. It happened that evening with the conclave’s fifth ballot.

The Catholic Church in Pope Francis’ native Argentina planned to celebrate the pope’s 12th anniversary March 13 with special Masses in every diocese.

Archbishop Marcelo Colombo of Mendoza, president of the Argentine bishops’ conference, said the Masses, in addition to offering prayers for the pope’s continued recovery, would be a “public witness of our gratitude for his generous dedication, which has borne abundant fruits of pastoral love over the years.”

(OSV News) – In February, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging his administration’s support for in vitro fertilization, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Medical Association and other groups issued statements opposing the move, highlighting the many ethical problems with IVF.

“As many as one in seven couples trying to have a baby are unable to conceive, and many face significant financial hurdles to accessing IVF,” Trump’s executive order said, and called for policy recommendations “to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.”

In addressing ethical problems with IVF, the USCCB and the CMA in their statements praised what they said are more effective, root-cause medical approaches, such as FEMM and NeoFertility.

In contrast to IVF, Restorative Reproductive Medicine, or RRM, “provides a thorough evaluation of the cause of infertility and treatment to address it,” CMA said. “RRM methods, including NaPro Technology, FEMM, and NeoFertility, consistently lead to a higher rate of successful pregnancies with reduced risks and financial costs compared to IVF. With a humane and effective option such as RRM, the White House can demonstrate its resolve to promote respect for life to all Americans.”

However Catholics have made little progress with the administration in promoting RRM and an overarching plan to dramatically increase access to RRM and reduce the demand for IVF remains elusive.

“It all starts with the public’s attention and promotion of RRM,” said Dr. Tim Millea, a retired surgeon and the chairman of the CMA health care policy committee. “If there’s no voice calling for it, nobody’s going to listen.

The Catholic Church has long opposed assisted reproductive technology, or ART. The catechism notes that with this approach, “the act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person.”

ART also has led to the destruction of countless human lives. According to MedPage Today, which provides clinical news coverage across all medical specialties, reproductive endocrinologists say that discarding embryos is inherent to the IVF process for several reasons: “They stop growing and won’t lead to a pregnancy; genetic testing reveals chromosomal abnormalities; or some embryos are left over after patients are done building their families.” Additionally, if IVF results “in a multifetal pregnancy, professional guidance recommends reducing the number of fetuses to have a safer pregnancy.”

“(IVF) brings about many new human lives, yet the vast majority of those lives will be frozen or discarded,” Millea told OSV News. “Every life is precious and unique, including those conceived via IVF and allowed to live and develop. Sadly, those lives are very few in comparison to those lost in the clinics.”

According to a chart from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology that just looks at the chance of live birth resulting from IVF for a new patient shows that for a woman under age 35, the chance of a live birth is 68.5%. The percentage decreases for older women. For women ages 41-42, for example, the percentage is 23.5%, and for women over 42, it is 7.1%.

In addition to the moral issues, ART just isn’t good medicine, said Millea.

“IVF isn’t really assessing the problem — it’s providing more or less a medical shortcut,” he said. “If someone is diagnosed with diabetes, you don’t just say, ‘Well here’s your insulin.’ You say, ‘Let’s find out why you have diabetes and let’s address the causes instead of (only) treating the symptoms.'”

In contrast to ART, RRM seeks to treat the underlying conditions causing infertility. NaProTechnology is one restorative reproductive medicine method developed by Dr. Thomas Hilgers of the St. Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.

“We know we have better success with many of these (infertility-causing) conditions than assisted reproductive technology,” said his daughter, Dr. Teresa Hilgers, also an OB-GYN at the institute and the recent president of the St. John Paul the Great Society of Procreative Surgeons.

“IVF has a fairly low success rate, the pregnancies that arise from IVF have high complications and a much higher preterm and delivery rate,” she added. “I was looking at statistics from 2022, and (the IVF) preterm delivery rate is around 15 percent. With NaProTechnology, it’s half of that.”

But although there’s an effective and ethically sound way to help couples achieve their dreams of parenthood, there’s little mainstream knowledge of restorative reproductive medicine and a disbelief among some in its efficacy.

In 2024, senators introduced the Reproductive Empowerment and Support through Optimal Restoration, or RESTORE, Act, which was supported by the USCCB. Among other things, the bill aimed to use existing funding opportunities in Title X and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs, or OPA, to promote medical training in RRM.

OPA administers Title X, a federal grant program enacted in 1970 to provide comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services, particularly to low-income and underserved populations.

An advocacy group called RESOLVE: the National Infertility Association, which is funded in part by IVF clinics, opposed the bill because it promoted “non-scientific treatment methods, health education, and research.” The RESTORE Act has not been reintroduced this session.

A restorative approach to health care seems to fall in line with the philosophy of the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, said Theresa Notare, assistant director of the USCCB’s NFP Program. Little by little, pioneering Catholics doctors have tried to share the news about RRM, but they need a big break, she said. “I’m not sure how to do that (but) we have this opportunity with this current administration that’s interested in ‘Making America Healthy Again,’ ” she said.

The CMA is trying to start a dialogue with the federal government, said Millea. “We’ve got letters going out to 50 different offices in D.C., and we have a list of priorities as an organization for 2025 and the IVF question is solidly on that list,” he said. Millea hopes Catholics will contact their legislators about these issues, as well.

Hilgers believes a massive education campaign of medical professionals and everyday Catholics is needed to move the needle on RRM. “A lot of Catholics don’t know that IVF and intrauterine insemination go against church teaching,” she said. “I’m actually amazed by how many patients come to us who are Catholic who have undergone those treatments elsewhere.”

Medical training would have to undergo a seismic shift, too, said Hilgers.

“Unfortunately women’s health care today is supported by four main pillars: contraception, sterilization, abortion and in vitro fertilization,” she said. “Most of the medical research is geared toward one of those four areas.”

One encouraging sign of growth in this area is a recent $7.5 million gift to endow the Institute for Natural Family Planning at Marquette University in Milwaukee, said Notare. Marquette provides a natural family planning teacher training program for practicing health professionals.

More demand from patients for this type of care and more doctors practicing this type of medicine also is needed, said Hilgers. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2018 there were 499 ART clinics in the U.S.

“There are way more of (them) than us,” said Hilgers. Because of the discrepancy, those who are looking for RRM may have difficulties finding care in their area or may face wait times, especially for surgical treatment. “As my dad says, ‘There is a high demand for our services,'” said Hilgers. “We just need more good help.”

Catholic philanthropists and diocesan officials also could work to promote life-saving RRM care.

“It would be amazing if the dioceses could support local physicians who are Catholic and want to provide this type of health care for their patients, because so many times I think physicians feel isolated and alone, especially OB/GYNS,” said Hilgers.

For their part, the St. Paul VI Institute is fundraising for a new specialty hospital for women of procreative age to increase access and research capabilities. “We dream big here,” she said. “I think it’s OK to dream big on these issues and then work toward making that real.”

(OSV News) – At the start of Catholic Relief Services’ 2025 Rice Bowl initiative – an annual Lenten program blending almsgiving and prayer to provide aid to overseas and domestic aid – OSV News spoke with Rice Bowl founder Msgr. Robert Coll, a retired priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, about the program as it marks its 50th year.

Through Rice Bowl, participants donate Lenten alms, voluntarily eating simple meals and learning about those who benefit from the campaign worldwide. The program, known for its iconic cardboard donation boxes, provides testimonials and recipes from the countries where CRS serves, and fosters prayerful solidarity among participants.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

OSV News: The Rice Bowl collection aids both domestic and overseas relief and development efforts, with 25% remaining in participants’ dioceses and 75% aiding those abroad. Given the current U.S. government’s suspension of foreign aid, which has impacted CRS initiatives, how do you view this year’s Rice Bowl collection?

Msgr. Coll: Well, I think it could be its strongest moment, because the more funds you receive from the people, the greater pressure you put on governments to assist in a variety of ways.

For example, even if I could buy 100 tons of wheat, I wouldn’t have enough money to transport it across the United States into Africa and then truck it throughout Africa. So that’s where you say, “Look, we have the initiative to pay for these programs. It won’t cost you a cent. All we need is (to buy) the commodities.”

And the idea of Operation Rice Bowl itself is an appeal for the world. If you spell out the initials, it’s “O.R.B.” – Latin for “world.”

OSV News: You began this program in 1975 as an interfaith effort when you were pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Allentown, Pennsylvania. How did Rice Bowl move from a local to a national initiative, and what are your thoughts about that journey?

Msgr. Coll: We started this program in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and included the Protestant churches plus the rabbi. And it was done on a communal basis in the whole city. On the Wednesday of each week, the newspaper in town would put the (Rice Bowl) menu on the top of the front page for people to follow. So we tried to make it a community thing.

At the same time, the (41st International) Eucharistic Congress was being held in Philadelphia. And it was under the tutelage of Cardinal (John) Krol (then archbishop of Philadelphia). When he heard about the program, he invited us to Philadelphia to explain what was going on. He liked the idea, especially since the theme of the Eucharistic Congress was “The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family.”

And of course, there was the hunger for bread, which was being experienced especially in the Sahel in Africa (part of the 1972-1975 global food crisis). The hunger throughout the world at that time was frightening, I mean, really frightening.

And so on the occasion of the congress, a petition was forwarded to the American bishops. They said they would like to continue the Rice Bowl program throughout America, and that’s how it got started.

At the time, CRS was serving or assisting in the development of over 100 countries in the world. So it was a logical relationship between CRS and Rice Bowl, because a lot of it had to do with the distribution of food.

And, of course, the funds that were made available through Rice Bowl enabled you to do more with the international community, because you could substantiate and put in progress programs immediately, since you were already there (in country). You had the funds, plus you also had, for the most part, the backing of the international community, including Caritas Internationalis (the official humanitarian network of the universal Catholic Church), which was in every country in the world.

I think the satisfaction (of Rice Bowl) comes from the fact that the people understood what you were trying to do. In other words, if there were grave problems in the world, to ignore them would itself be unacceptable as a Catholic and as a Christian.

OSV News: In a 2021 interview, you noted the role of Catholic media in helping to raise Rice Bowl to a national level. Could you recount those details?

Msgr. Coll: At the time of the (1976) Eucharistic Congress, then-Msgr. (later Cardinal) John Foley was the editor of the diocesan newspaper in Philadelphia. And he and I had been friends in the seminary. He did a short story on Rice Bowl and then mentioned it to Cardinal Krol. And the cardinal said, “Well, let’s talk to him.”

And another interesting thing, too, was that Cardinal Korl had invited to the Eucharistic Congress the relatively unknown Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the archbishop of Krakow.

And so you had kind of a triangle there: He would become Pope John Paul II, Msgr. Foley would become a cardinal, and Cardinal Krol already was just that. They had taken the hunger for food as a serious commitment to the international community. It was a very pleasant marriage. It was natural.

OSV News: Along with material aid, the Rice Bowl initiative incorporates prayer and reflection throughout Lent. Was this your spiritual vision for Rice Bowl?

Msgr. Coll: Our idea was that this was to be a “para-liturgy,” if you will — that the father (of a household), on Wednesday night, would read something from Scripture and his wife would prepare the so-called meal for Rice Bowl, so that you mixed the physical with the spiritual.

And that’s what it became, and it had appeal.

My great fear was that it would become a collection. It was never intended to be a collection. It was intended to be an informative experience for the family.

SCRANTON – The annual Saint Patrick’s Parade Day Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 8, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

All are welcome to attend.

The liturgy is traditionally held in conjunction with the city of Scranton’s annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. Following the Mass, the Saint Patrick’s Parade is expected to take to the streets of the Electric City beginning at 11:45 a.m.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will serve as principal celebrant for the Mass. Various priests from the Diocese of Scranton are expected to concelebrate.

The Mass will be broadcast live on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton due to the generosity of the Society of Irish Women.

The Mass will be rebroadcast several times the following week, including Tuesday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m., and Wednesday, March 12, at 10:30 a.m. It will also be available for viewing on the Diocese of Scranton’s YouTube Channel.

Among the other local organizations that participate in the annual Saint Patrick’s Parade Day Mass are the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, Irish American Men’s Association, Irish Cultural Society, Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Saint Patrick’s Parade Association of Lackawanna County.

SCRANTON – Churches throughout the Diocese of Scranton were filled with the faithful on Ash Wednesday as people gathered to mark the beginning of the Lenten season.

From rural churches to the Diocesan Cathedral, people turned out to receive ashes and they began their journey of reflection and renewal.

At the 12:10 p.m. Mass, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, began his homily by asking for continued prayers for Pope Francis, who remains in the hospital.

“We pray God’s mercy, love, and healing presence in his life,” the Bishop said.

Bishop Bambera then reflected on how this Lenten season falls within the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, saying that the challenges we face in life can provide us with a context for hope. He explained Lent provides every person the opportunity to engage the Lord in a “deeper way” and “walk more closely with Him.”

“There is always hope for the believer in Jesus Christ,” he stated.

The readings for Ash Wednesday spoke of God’s call to repentance, to return to Him with our whole hearts. The bishop explained this message in simple terms, urging people to see the hope in the ashes on their foreheads.

“Yes, they remind us of our mortality, our need for repentance and change, yet the journey we begin today ends not merely with this moment in which ashes are placed on our foreheads. No, it begins something much, much more,” Bishop Bambera explained.

Just as Bishop Bambera was reaching the end of his homily, a sudden rustling from above caused him to pause. Circling the Cathedral was a large bat – its wings beating erratically, flying in unpredictable loops, as though it, too, had come to witness the beginning of Lent.

While some parishioners shifted in their seats and others exchanged nervous chuckles, the bat had no intention of leaving.

“That will make you remember this day,” the Bishop joked. “How do I go on here?”

The sight of the bat, in all its flapping, confused glory, seemed oddly fitting, a strange interruption in an otherwise sacred moment.

“For some reason, God is calling us to this experience,” the Bishop said with a smile. “We know the power of God, and we know the Lord will indeed protect us, no matter how low that bat flies.”

The faithful laughed, the tension easing as the bat continued its erratic flight until the end of Mass, when it was caught in a collection basket and set free outside of the Cathedral.

Outside the Cathedral, some parishioners shared what they were giving up for Lent – sweets, social media, or other comforts – while others spoke of the things they hoped to do more of, like prayer, charity and acts of kindness.

“I’ll give up my anger, or at least try to quell it,” parishioner Deneal Scrivani of Lykens said. “It’s a difficult time right now so I think that we just have to look deeper into ourselves.”

“I’m actually introducing more. I’m going to increase my prayer life, in the absence of giving something up, adding something to my Catholicism,” Michael Colaneri of Scranton added.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Catholic immigration advocates sought ways to respond to some anti-immigration or false narratives about their work during a conference in the nation’s capital.

Participants in the event, “Understanding Migration from a Catholic Perspective” held at The Catholic University of America, examined current and historical narratives around U.S. immigration, seeking new ways to dialogue with those skeptical about the church’s work in this area, including some Trump administration officials.

“If the narrative is wrong, the actions that are based upon that narrative will be wrong,” said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, in a keynote address.

Bishop Seitz, also the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, said that some of the Trump administration’s actions on immigration should concern Catholics.

“I really don’t think we can over exaggerate the seriousness of these measures,” he said, expressing particular concern about a Trump administration policy rescinding long-standing restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals, as well as the suspension of a federal refugee resettlement program.

The USCCB is in ongoing litigation with the federal government over the suspension of funding for refugee resettlement assistance and payments the USCCB says it has not yet received for completed work. The Trump administration also terminated two USCCB refugee resettlement agreements with the USCCB, that group said.

Claims circulated by officials, including Vice President JD Vance, that the conference profits from that work were “shocking,” Bishop Seitz said.

“All I can really think of when I hear that kind of assertion is ‘Animal Farm,'” Bishop Seitz said in reference to the 1945 novella by George Orwell. “Because the truth is just turned upside down. You know, what is being done in a selfless way by so many dedicated people is characterized as just an effort to get money, like that’s what the church is about? Not the church I know.”

In a January interview, Vance questioned the motives of the U.S. bishops’ criticism of some of Trump’s immigration policies, suggesting their objection to the suspension of a federal refugee resettlement program had more to do with “their bottom line.” But outside audits of the bishops’ work with refugees show the USCCB does not profit from that work and, in fact, has spent the church’s funds to cover what the government would not.

The additional suspension of U.S. foreign aid, Bishop Seitz added, presents another concern for those seeking to reduce “irregular migration.”

“The drastic cuts to foreign aid, especially visible with the dismantling of USAID, has had devastating consequences,” Bishop Seitz said. “While this may not seem directly tied to migration, it is of central importance. Migration should be a choice, not a necessity. When people can build stable lives in their homeland, fewer are forced to depart their home country in search of a new home where they can better provide for their families. Investing in local economies, infrastructure and essential services is key to addressing the root causes of irregular migration.”

Julia Young, a historian of migration, Mexico and Latin America, and Catholicism at CUA, said during a panel discussion that there was a great wave of immigration to the United States that took place between about 1870 and 1910 of Irish, Italian, and Southern and Eastern European immigrants that led to significant demographic changes in the U.S. and helped increase the U.S. Catholic population.

“Immigration surged to the point that the United States became a country where over 14% of the population had been born in another country by 1910 which, interestingly, we’re again at that moment,” she said, noting that about 15% of the U.S. population was born in another country.

Young said “as that immigration wave surged, there also surged a huge wave of nativism, nativist sentiment,” she said, expressing concern that similar trends may again occur.

But panelists also stressed that underlying concerns about issues including economic stability and cost of living, or other concerns tied to immigration issues should not be dismissed as nativism when advocating for migrants.

Peter Skerry, a professor of political science at Boston College, said during a panel discussion, “I don’t think (calling it) racism is a very helpful response or answer to this kind of question.”

“I don’t deny that racism exists, but I think as an answer, it’s much too vague, too facile and basically unfair to the situation and certainly unfair to our fellow citizens,” he said of those who raise concerns about “real challenges.”

In considering challenges to the church’s work with migrants, Bishop Seitz said, “I am a person of hope because I know who wins.”

“I believe that the Lord will not leave us,” he said, adding, “And I don’t mean just wishful thinking, right? Hope is, for a Christian, not wishful thinking. I’m hopeful that this, in God’s plan, will become a moment of reawakening for our country, a recommitment to those principles that are the best of our country.”

The event was hosted by CUA, the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services and Jesuit Refugee Service/USA.

(OSV News) – They’re compassionate doctors. Inspiring teachers. Committed advocates for justice. Steady guides on the spiritual path.

Catholic sisters in America simply can’t be stereotyped.

And to prove it, the 12th annual Catholic Sisters Week (March 8-14) is celebrating their many ministries and achievements with campaigns and activities that aim to educate, inform and even surprise. The yearly event launched in 2014 as a part of Women’s History Month.

“The sisters don’t toot their horns,” said Susan Oxley, communications and membership manager for the Religious Formation Conference, a Chicago-based organization serving women’s and men’s religious institutes in America and abroad. “They’re too busy doing what they do. And so we’ve got to do that for them.”

Mikaela VanMoorleghem, director of Marketing and Communications for the Notre Dame Sisters in Omaha, Nebraska, had a flagship Catholic Sisters Week idea that involves 34 congregations nationwide.

“The campaign is called #LikeaCatholicSister,” said VanMoorleghem, a member of Communicators for Women Religious, which is affiliated with the Leadership Conference for Women Religious, or LCWR. “And the purpose is to get different congregations from across the country in a unified effort to challenge these outdated stereotypes of what a Catholic sister is — and shift perceptions of religious life by showcasing the diverse and dynamic and impactful ways that the sisters actually serve today.”

VanMoorleghem hopes the storytelling and reflection of the #LikeaCatholicSister social media campaign – social media hashtags help users find specific content – will demonstrate the many ways women religious have always defied expectations.

“We know that for generations — this isn’t just happening today — Catholic sisters have been breaking barriers and advocating for justice and leading in education,” she said. “We know that a lot of these different congregations and sisters have been a source of strength and hope and transformation.”

She also encouraged participating congregations to share historical references — sisters of one congregation were imprisoned in a concentration camp during World War II — as well as contemporary stories, “so people understand that this has been their lives and their life’s work.”

Dominican Sister Beth Murphy, director of communications for the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois, said her congregation’s contribution to #LikeaCatholicSister will focus on four sisters who exemplify their charism, each accompanied by an informative tag.

Three short videos will also accompany the sisters’ campaign.

Dominican Sister Sharon Zayac (“Changing the narrative”) helped found the sisters’ eco-spirituality center; Dominican Sister Mila Diaz Solano (“Elevating different voices”) is creating an all-Spanish master’s degree at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union; Dominican Sister M. Alverna Hollis (“Trailblazing new paths”) standardized sign language in Peru and founded the first-ever high school for the deaf in that country.

Dominican Sister Josephine Meagher (“Pioneering courage”), one of the congregation’s founding sisters, sought naturalization — but it’s not clear if she ever attained it.

“An interesting story,” reflected Sister Murphy, “to be telling at this moment in history!”

The Benedictine Sisters of Benet Hill Monastery in Colorado Springs, Colorado, chose the Catholic Sisters Week theme “Doing Hope and Letting Love Flow,” encouraging friends and family to honor a Catholic sister by taking a personal “Lenten Pilgrimage of Hope with the People of the Amazon.”

A Lenten guidebook will accompany their campaign.

“Our goals,” said Ruth Roland, director of mission advancement at Benet Hill, “are to raise awareness about the environmental crisis in Peru along the Amazon for people living there; build community between our monastery’s global community and the communities working with Minga Peru, a nonprofit in Peru; raise funds for their immediate needs; and sign up folks for a real pilgrimage to the Amazon in November 2025.”

The sisters’ neighbor, Barbara Faulkenberry, originally connected the monastery with Minga Peru, and will lead the 2025 pilgrimage. Faulkenberry, a retired Air Force major general, shared that, while she’s not Catholic, she stopped in one day at Benet Hill and “found the love of Christ that just permeated the place.”

“The guide book itself is for Lent — and so there’s phrases from our sisters; from the Bible; from wonderful people — all women’s voices that are just speaking to us,” Faulkenberry told OSV News.

“And we reflect on those words over Lent, and then beyond. So our journey, our pilgrimage, does not stop at the end of Lent,” she said.

The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, Kentucky, said Kathy Williams, director of communications and public relations, decided to combine the celebration of Catholic Sisters Week with both the 2025 Jubilee Year declared by Pope Francis, as well as the 500th anniversary of the journey of their founder, St. Angela Merici, to Rome.

The interactive map they created — “Walk with Angela” — allows users to virtually follow in St. Angela’s footsteps through several historic sites, including the Louisville motherhouse and five Italian cities. At each location, visitors can access videos narrated by sisters of the congregation who work with refugees, witness to marginalized people and serve as spiritual directors.

“One of our own Ursulines – Sister Martha Buser – was a well-known expert on St. Angela Merici,” Williams said. “She traveled the world talking about her, and wrote several books about her. So we used a lot of her writings, and the reflection questions that we use are from her writings.”

An animated representation of St. Angela Merici — looking excited and determined, as if she’s off on an adventure — is accompanied by the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee mascot Luce and her animated friends.

“We wanted also to appeal to the kids in school, the teenagers and the middle schoolers,” Williams said. “And that’s when I had the inspiration to create the young St. Angela to attract them.”

Journeys are a consistent feature in the various Catholic Sisters Week offerings — including those for the Felician Sisters of North America, who are in the midst of celebrating their 150th anniversary.

But rather than simply commemorate, the Felicians also want to raise awareness, said Julie Kresge, their chief mission advancement officer.

Shifting their tactic, they are focusing on the life-saving mission of Águilas del Desierto — Eagles of the Desert — an organization that rescues people in distress crossing the deserts along the U.S.-Mexico border, or brings closure by locating the body of a loved one.

The International Organization for Migration documented 686 deaths and disappearances of people migrating through the US-Mexico border in 2022, making it the deadliest land route for migrants worldwide on record.

Felician Sister Maria Louise Edwards, who has dedicated her ministry to working with migrant families, “is based there, and she helps Águilas with anything that they need,” said Kresge. “That’s her passion in life.”

Interactive educational displays will be sent to Felician convents across North America, allowing residents and the community to walk in solidarity with migrants.

As they view the exhibit, participants are invited to don a backpack containing water, a map and a first-aid kit.

“And they’ll receive a reflection card,” Kresge said. “‘How did that make you feel?’ Just process that. And if they want to write a note or a reflection, we have names of folks that they can pray for at the end as well.”

Whichever journey is taken – virtual, interactive, or overseas – the mission of Catholic Sisters Week is, ultimately, to inspire others.

“The purpose of Catholic Sister Week,” Sister Murphy said, “is to present to women some role models in which they can hopefully see possibilities for their own lives.”

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. bishops urged Catholics to answer Pope Francis’ call for prayer for the people of Ukraine in their Lenten reflection as that nation fends off Russia’s invasion.

In a Lenten reflection released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops March 3, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the conference, wrote, “As we begin the holy Season of Lent, a time of prayer, penance, and charity, we join our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his solidarity with the ‘martyred people of Ukraine.'”

“We pray and hope that the United States, in concert with the wider international community, works with perseverance for a just peace and an end to aggression,” said Archbishop Broglio, who heads the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services. “As our Holy Father reminded us in 2024, courageous negotiations require ‘boldness’ to ‘open the door’ for dialogue.”

Although the reflection did not mention either event, it was published shortly after Ukraine marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, and days after a tense Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance about the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine in that conflict.

“As Catholics, we are acutely aware that every past occupation of Ukraine has resulted in various degrees of repression of the Catholic Church in the country; we must not tolerate the forcing of our brothers and sisters underground again,” Archbishop Broglio wrote. “I echo Pope Francis’ plea for respecting the religious freedom of all Ukrainians, ‘Please, let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!'”

Archbishop Broglio added that in addition to “offering prayers and sacrifices for a truly just peace in Ukraine, an opportunity for effective solidarity presents itself in the annual USCCB collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which will be taken up in many dioceses on Ash Wednesday.”

“By contributing to this collection, Catholics in the United States can be assured that their assistance will directly help their struggling brothers and sisters in Ukraine, as well as in over twenty other countries in the region,” he said. “I invite America’s Catholics, in union with all men and women of good will, to pray for the peace of Ukraine, and to contribute generously to assisting that suffering and courageous nation.”

Lent began on Ash Wednesday, which fell this year on March 5.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has chosen “Migrants, missionaries of hope” as the theme for the Catholic Church’s celebration of World Day of Migrants and Refugees, linking the world day to the Jubilee message of hope.

“In light of the Jubilee, the theme highlights the courage and tenacity of migrants and refugees who bear witness each day to hope for the future despite difficulties,” the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said in a statement announcing the message March 3.

The hope of migrants “is the hope of achieving happiness even beyond borders, the hope that leads them to rely totally on God,” it said.

The chosen theme draws from the theme for the Holy Year 2025: “Pilgrims of hope.”

This year, the world day will not be observed on the last Sunday of September as usual but will instead take place Oct. 4-5 to coincide with both the Jubilee of Migrants and the Jubilee of the Missions at the Vatican.

“Migrants and refugees become ‘missionaries of hope’ in the communities where they are welcomed, often revitalizing their faith and promoting interreligious dialogue based on common values,” the dicastery said in its announcement. “They remind the church of the ultimate goal of the earthly pilgrimage, which is to reach the future homeland.”