Pope to lead Corpus Christi procession in Madrid, Vatican says as it releases Spain schedule #Catholic – 
(OSV News) — The Vatican released the official schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic visit to Spain, a seven-day trip that will take the pontiff to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands for meetings with Spain’s royal family and political leaders, as well as migrants, prisoners, young people and Catholic communities across the country.
The packed June 6-12 itinerary also included public Masses, a Corpus Christi procession in Madrid, an encounter with volunteers, a visit to Barcelona’s Basilica of the Holy Family, known as Sagrada Família, and stops at migrant reception centers in the Canary Islands.
Coinciding with the Vatican’s release of the pope’s schedule, the Spanish bishops’ conference hosted a press briefing with the bishops of Madrid, Barcelona, the Canary Islands and Tenerife.
At the briefing, Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, president of the Spanish bishops’ conference, said the papal visit comes at a moment when Pope Leo has emerged as a “reference point in the current situation of the world.”
“For this reason, his words — undoubtedly words of dialogue, encounter, communion and peace — will help all of us,” Archbishop Argüello said.
Madrid
According to the official schedule, upon his arrival June 6, the pope will meet with Spanish King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia, followed by meetings with government authorities and the country’s diplomatic corps.
Noting the country’s climate of political and social tensions, Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid said the pope’s meetings with political and government leaders during his stop in the Spanish capital were highly anticipated.
“There was a hunger for a visit of this kind at a special moment in our political, social and economic life, because there is also a hunger for reference points, and I believe the pope can be a reference point to give light and direction to many who are searching,” Cardinal Cobo said.
In the evening, the pope will visit an emergency homeless shelter operated by Caritas Madrid, before a meeting with young people at the Plaza de Lima, where St. John Paul II celebrated Mass during his 1982 visit to the country.
Cardinal Cobo said the meeting will serve as a “platform” for the pope to “speak with the youth of the entire world.”
The following day, the pope will celebrate Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi at Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, a celebration Cardinal Cobo confirmed would include a procession reflecting the city’s local traditions.
“The Corpus Christi procession will be beautiful,” he said. “A great many people are involved: those preparing floral carpets, those carrying the platforms, numerous associations. It will not be excessively long for reasons of time and space because we are expecting an enormous crowd.”
After the Mass, the pope will meet privately with members of the Augustinian order, followed by a meeting at Movistar Arena with representatives of the “world of culture, art, economy and sport,” the Vatican said.
On his final day in Madrid June 8, Pope Leo will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, followed by a highly anticipated address to members of the Spanish Parliament.
When asked if he was concerned that the pope’s address to parliamentarians “could be politically or ideologically manipulated,” Archbishop Argüello said that “while it can always happen,” it was important to note that the decision to invite the pope to speak was “unanimous.”
“Over the years, popes have spoken in academic and political institutions throughout the world. Any later interpretations are beyond our control,” he said.
Adding that the pope would prepare “the speeches as he sees fit,” Archbishop Argüello told journalists that the church was awaiting “a possible new encyclical that seems likely to emphasize the centrality of the human person, human dignity, the common good, dialogue and encounter.”
The president of the Spanish bishops’ conference did not indicate if the encyclical would be released before the visit.
Barcelona
Pope Leo will depart for Barcelona June 9 where he will preside over midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia and in the evening will take part in a prayer vigil at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.
For Cardinal Juan José Omella of Barcelona, there is “enormous expectation” for the pontiff’s visit and that Pope Leo’s “words and gestures are reaching people very deeply.”
“The classical thinkers said that God has three attributes: ‘bonum, verum et pulchrum’ (the good, the true and the beautiful),” the cardinal said. “I believe that in some way we are expressing this through the Pope’s visit — the communion of a diverse Church. And we see it every day: diverse, yet united around the universal shepherd, who is the pope. I think this unity will become visible.”
Pope Leo will begin his first full day in Barcelona with a visit to the Brians 1 Penitentiary Center, followed by a visit to the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, where he will pray the rosary and have lunch with the Benedictine community.
Cardinal Omella said the penitentiary represented “the world of sorrow, the deprivation of freedom and everything connected to prison ministry, which is something very present in the life of the Church,” and that the pope “wants to make himself present there.”
Additionally, the abbey, he continued, represented all the monasteries in Spain and “the world of contemplatives, which is the praying Church.”
The cardinal also said anticipation was high for the pope’s evening Mass June 10 at one of the world’s most iconic churches, the Sagrada Família, where he will inaugurate the tower of Jesus Christ. At more than 564 feet tall, the tower makes the basilica the tallest Catholic church in the world.
The pope’s visit to the basilica coincides with the 100th anniversary of the death of the basilica’s architect, Antoni Gaudí. While there were hopes for a beatification ceremony at the Mass, the official schedule did not include it.
Cardinal Omella told journalists that a miracle attributed to Gaudí’s intercession was being studied and “in a very advanced phase in Rome, but there is nothing further yet.”
Canary Islands
On June 11, Pope Leo will depart for the Canary Islands, a trip that his predecessor, Pope Francis, had wanted to make.
The archipelago, geographically located in Africa, is the destination every year for thousands of sub-Saharan migrants seeking a better future. They arrive in precarious and fragile boats called “cayucos,” and many die on the way.
According to the schedule, the pope will meet with organizations working with migrants at the port of Arguineguín, followed by a meeting with bishops, clergy and religious men and women at the Cathedral of St. Anne. In the evening, he will celebrate Mass at the Gran Canaria Stadium.
Noting the rarity of a pontiff visiting the islands, which are geographically distant from mainland Spain, Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez of the Canary Islands said the pope’s visit was “a blessing from God.”
“People are absolutely delighted,” the bishop said. “I especially want to emphasize the joy and excitement. For example, I go to the market to buy something and people immediately come up to me saying, ‘The pope is coming, the pope is coming!’”
Noting that the pope’s visit will place “greater emphasis on the reality of migration,” Bishop Mazuelos also noted anticipation for the pope’s meeting with clergy and religious “who are working tirelessly and who are eager to embark upon new paths of evangelization.”
“There is a strong secularization in the Canary Islands. There are many people who have left the Church,” he said. “But there are also many people who have deep needs and a thirst for encountering the Gospel and the Lord. And the pope comes to strengthen us, encourage us and help us continue fighting — never giving up, but rather winning hearts through the proclamation of the Gospel.”
On the pope’s final day in Spain June 12, he will depart for Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, where he will meet with migrants living at the “Las Raices Center” followed by a meeting with organizations helping to integrate migrants.
Bishop Eloy Alberto Santiago of Tenerife told journalists that at one point, the center had housed 4,000 migrants who came “from the deadly Atlantic route as well as from Latin America.”
Before departing for Rome, Pope Leo will also preside over an outdoor Mass at the port of Santa Cruz, which the bishop noted was “the ideal place because of its closeness to the sea, where so many people arrive.”
“This closeness to the sea also allows us to enter into communion and harmony with the migratory reality and with the ecclesial reality,” he said.
Bishop Santiago noted that while the pope will visit the island for “five or six very intense hours,” he was joyful that his diocese will be the final place Pope Leo will visit.
“Our Diocese of Tenerife is a diocese that welcomes many migrants, and in this case, it will also warmly bid farewell to the Holy Father after his first visit to Spain,” he said.
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.
– (OSV News) — The Vatican released the official schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic visit to Spain, a seven-day trip that will take the pontiff to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands for meetings with Spain’s royal family and political leaders, as well as migrants, prisoners, young people and Catholic communities across the country. The packed June 6-12 itinerary also included public Masses, a Corpus Christi procession in Madrid, an encounter with volunteers, a visit to Barcelona’s Basilica of the Holy Family, known as Sagrada Família, and stops at migrant reception centers in the Canary Islands. Coinciding with the
Read More
![Catholics weigh in as Supreme Court faces deadline on telemedicine abortion ruling #Catholic The U.S. Supreme Court’s stay on the 5th Circuit’s ruling restricting access to telemedicine abortions is set to expire May 11, a deadline that could bring an extension, allow the restrictions to take effect, or prompt the justices to take up the case in full.Michael New, assistant professor of social research at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, told “EWTN News Nightly” on May 8: “The Supreme Court may extend the stay if they need more time to deliberate; they may simply uphold the 5th Circuit Courtʼs decision that bans tele-abortion, and the ban will go into effect; or they may want to do a full hearing [and] conduct oral arguments.”The Supreme Court on May 4 temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring in‑person dispensing of mifepristone after two manufacturers asked the justices to intervene, prompting Justice Samuel Alito to issue an administrative stay that restores mail‑order access until May 11 at 5 p.m. ET while the court weighs the request.Although Alito instructed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the state of Louisiana to respond by 5 p.m. ET on May 7, the Justice Department failed to do so.New described the development as “odd,” saying the failure by the Justice Department, which represents the FDA, to meet the filing deadline could be that “they don’t want to defend the FDA’s position any longer” or that it may signal a policy change.“Sometimes when people think theyʼre going to lose a case, they change public policy because theyʼd rather change policy than, you know, lose a court case,” New said. “Itʼs really hard to say at this point.”Ultimately, New said the Supreme Court should “absolutely” reinstate in-person requirements to obtain abortion pills, saying: “Thereʼs some real serious public health issues at play here.”Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino gave context for the latest developments in a May 7 interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” noting that the FDAʼs ongoing approval of nationwide mail-order abortion effectively circumvents Louisiana law protecting unborn human life. “The court should decide hopefully by the 11th, because thatʼs when the stay expires,” she said. “If they donʼt make any decision, then the 5th Circuit ruling goes back into effect and the FDA will have to disallow mailing of these pills, at least during the pendency of litigation,” said Severino, who is also a former Supreme Court clerk.U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the FDA to carry out a review of the abortion drug in May 2025, which is still ongoing.Ultimately, Severino said, the Supreme Court will not be ruling on “what the FDA needs to do at the end of the day” but on whether abortion drugs will be allowed to be mailed into Louisiana or not.“Eventually, you know, then itʼs going to go back and the district court and the 5th Circuit are going to have to reconsider it,” she said. “It could well return to the Supreme Court ultimately, but thatʼs going to be a ways down the litigation.”The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has spoken out against the dangers of mail-order abortion drugs for women and urged the FDA to restore in-person visits to screen for life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies as well as abuse and human trafficking.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/catholics-weigh-in-as-supreme-court-faces-deadline-on-telemedicine-abortion-ruling-catholic-the-u-s-supreme-courts-stay-on-the-5th-circuits-ruling-restricting-access-to-telemedicin-scaled.jpg "Catholics weigh in as Supreme Court faces deadline on telemedicine abortion ruling #Catholic The U.S. Supreme Court’s stay on the 5th Circuit’s ruling restricting access to telemedicine abortions is set to expire May 11, a deadline that could bring an extension, allow the restrictions to take effect, or prompt the justices to take up the case in full.Michael New, assistant professor of social research at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, told “EWTN News Nightly” on May 8: “The Supreme Court may extend the stay if they need more time to deliberate; they may simply uphold the 5th Circuit Courtʼs decision that bans tele-abortion, and the ban will go into effect; or they may want to do a full hearing [and] conduct oral arguments.”The Supreme Court on May 4 temporarily blocked a lower court order requiring in‑person dispensing of mifepristone after two manufacturers asked the justices to intervene, prompting Justice Samuel Alito to issue an administrative stay that restores mail‑order access until May 11 at 5 p.m. ET while the court weighs the request.Although Alito instructed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the state of Louisiana to respond by 5 p.m. ET on May 7, the Justice Department failed to do so.New described the development as “odd,” saying the failure by the Justice Department, which represents the FDA, to meet the filing deadline could be that “they don’t want to defend the FDA’s position any longer” or that it may signal a policy change.“Sometimes when people think theyʼre going to lose a case, they change public policy because theyʼd rather change policy than, you know, lose a court case,” New said. “Itʼs really hard to say at this point.”Ultimately, New said the Supreme Court should “absolutely” reinstate in-person requirements to obtain abortion pills, saying: “Thereʼs some real serious public health issues at play here.”Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino gave context for the latest developments in a May 7 interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” noting that the FDAʼs ongoing approval of nationwide mail-order abortion effectively circumvents Louisiana law protecting unborn human life. “The court should decide hopefully by the 11th, because thatʼs when the stay expires,” she said. “If they donʼt make any decision, then the 5th Circuit ruling goes back into effect and the FDA will have to disallow mailing of these pills, at least during the pendency of litigation,” said Severino, who is also a former Supreme Court clerk.U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the FDA to carry out a review of the abortion drug in May 2025, which is still ongoing.Ultimately, Severino said, the Supreme Court will not be ruling on “what the FDA needs to do at the end of the day” but on whether abortion drugs will be allowed to be mailed into Louisiana or not.“Eventually, you know, then itʼs going to go back and the district court and the 5th Circuit are going to have to reconsider it,” she said. “It could well return to the Supreme Court ultimately, but thatʼs going to be a ways down the litigation.”The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has spoken out against the dangers of mail-order abortion drugs for women and urged the FDA to restore in-person visits to screen for life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies as well as abuse and human trafficking.")
![U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to press China’s president on Jimmy Lai case #Catholic More than 100 U.S. lawmakers sent President Donald Trump a letter asking him to address Jimmy Lai’s case when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14–15.Lai, founder and publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9 over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations. The sentencing followed Lai’s conviction, which ended what Lai’s defenders described as a politically motivated show trial.In October 2025, Trump spoke with Xi Jinping about Lai. In the letter sent to the White House on May 8, lawmakers urged Trump to advocate for Lai again by asking for his humanitarian release.Catholic Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, both longtime advocates of Laiʼs, circulated the bipartisan letter that was signed by 105 other members of Congress.“We know the president wants to do this,” Smith said in a May 8 interview with “EWTN News Nightly." “We want him to know — President Trump — that weʼre solidly behind him about what he might be able to accomplish.”“And he could use that, frankly, more effectively, with Xi Jinping, and say, ‘Look, donʼt just do it for the executive branch. The legislative branch is asking you, as well, from a humanitarian point of view,’” Smith said.The president has “an ability to persuade” like “no other president Iʼve ever known,” Smith said. “And I hope he can persuade Xi Jinping to let this great man go.”The letter notes that Trump’s “direct engagement is critical to securing Mr. Laiʼs immediate release on humanitarian parole” and the case for his freedom “is urgent and undeniable.”“He is a devout Catholic and successful entrepreneur who has already spent five years in detention, much of it in solitary confinement,” lawmakers wrote.“His family, his friends, and supporters have indicated that if he is released, he will leave Hong Kong and withdraw from public life,” they wrote. “It is a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy — and an enduring symbol of repression that will echo far beyond Hong Kong.”Lai’s ‘deteriorating health’The group is calling for a humanitarian release due to Lai’s “deteriorating health condition.” They wrote: “His health has declined in custody, and prolonged isolation and inadequate prison conditions only increase the risk of permanent harm.”“From a humanitarian point of view, weʼre hoping the president will look Xi Jinping in the eyes and say, ‘Let this guy go. Do it now. Itʼs a good gesture. It means a lot to us as Americans,’” Smith said.“Jimmy Lai spoke truth to power. He did it with grace, eloquence,” Smith said. “His newspaper … was just a beacon of hope and [truth], and for that, heʼs got a life sentence — 20 years. Heʼs 78. Itʼs probably a life sentence, and heʼs very sick.”“Iʼm very concerned,” Smith said. “Weʼve known for decades that when somebody is a political prisoner, and thatʼs what Jimmy Lai is, or religious prisoner, and you get sick, they let you die. They do not attend to your needs.”Lai “has a number of very serious ailments,” Smith said. “Type 2 diabetes is just one of them. Heʼs got a lot of other problems, and they all are compounding, cascading. He needs good medical attention, and he needs it now.”“Otherwise itʼll be a blight on the Chinese Communist Party added to the other blights that theyʼve accumulated over the years. But break that mold of letting people just die in prison through neglect,” Smith said.“No one can do it better than Trump, and I think he will,” Smith said. “And if it does fail, it wonʼt be on Trumpʼs back. Itʼll be, sadly, that Xi Jinping again has decided to stay with being cruel.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/u-s-lawmakers-urge-trump-to-press-chinas-president-on-jimmy-lai-case-catholic-more-than-100-u-s-lawmakers-sent-president-donald-trump-a-letter-asking-him-to-address-jimmy-lais-cas.jpg "U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to press China’s president on Jimmy Lai case #Catholic More than 100 U.S. lawmakers sent President Donald Trump a letter asking him to address Jimmy Lai’s case when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14–15.Lai, founder and publisher of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9 over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations. The sentencing followed Lai’s conviction, which ended what Lai’s defenders described as a politically motivated show trial.In October 2025, Trump spoke with Xi Jinping about Lai. In the letter sent to the White House on May 8, lawmakers urged Trump to advocate for Lai again by asking for his humanitarian release.Catholic Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, both longtime advocates of Laiʼs, circulated the bipartisan letter that was signed by 105 other members of Congress.“We know the president wants to do this,” Smith said in a May 8 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.\" “We want him to know — President Trump — that weʼre solidly behind him about what he might be able to accomplish.”“And he could use that, frankly, more effectively, with Xi Jinping, and say, ‘Look, donʼt just do it for the executive branch. The legislative branch is asking you, as well, from a humanitarian point of view,’” Smith said.The president has “an ability to persuade” like “no other president Iʼve ever known,” Smith said. “And I hope he can persuade Xi Jinping to let this great man go.”The letter notes that Trump’s “direct engagement is critical to securing Mr. Laiʼs immediate release on humanitarian parole” and the case for his freedom “is urgent and undeniable.”“He is a devout Catholic and successful entrepreneur who has already spent five years in detention, much of it in solitary confinement,” lawmakers wrote.“His family, his friends, and supporters have indicated that if he is released, he will leave Hong Kong and withdraw from public life,” they wrote. “It is a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy — and an enduring symbol of repression that will echo far beyond Hong Kong.”Lai’s ‘deteriorating health’The group is calling for a humanitarian release due to Lai’s “deteriorating health condition.” They wrote: “His health has declined in custody, and prolonged isolation and inadequate prison conditions only increase the risk of permanent harm.”“From a humanitarian point of view, weʼre hoping the president will look Xi Jinping in the eyes and say, ‘Let this guy go. Do it now. Itʼs a good gesture. It means a lot to us as Americans,’” Smith said.“Jimmy Lai spoke truth to power. He did it with grace, eloquence,” Smith said. “His newspaper … was just a beacon of hope and [truth], and for that, heʼs got a life sentence — 20 years. Heʼs 78. Itʼs probably a life sentence, and heʼs very sick.”“Iʼm very concerned,” Smith said. “Weʼve known for decades that when somebody is a political prisoner, and thatʼs what Jimmy Lai is, or religious prisoner, and you get sick, they let you die. They do not attend to your needs.”Lai “has a number of very serious ailments,” Smith said. “Type 2 diabetes is just one of them. Heʼs got a lot of other problems, and they all are compounding, cascading. He needs good medical attention, and he needs it now.”“Otherwise itʼll be a blight on the Chinese Communist Party added to the other blights that theyʼve accumulated over the years. But break that mold of letting people just die in prison through neglect,” Smith said.“No one can do it better than Trump, and I think he will,” Smith said. “And if it does fail, it wonʼt be on Trumpʼs back. Itʼll be, sadly, that Xi Jinping again has decided to stay with being cruel.”")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/sedona-arizona-clarkdale-verde-canyon-railroad_BEAUTOWN0123-9cb6c8487c6e4dc0bd71b4cb4fe63e52.jpg)
![Spanish bishops: ‘We cannot simply stand by and watch the ship sink’ – #Catholic – Just weeks before Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to Spain, the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) released a document that establishes seven pastoral priorities for the 2026–2030 period in which they embrace a bracing challenge: “We cannot just stand by and watch the ship sink.”The document, titled “Set Out on the Journey,” was approved during the plenary assembly in November 2025 but was not published until after the conferenceʼs meeting in April.Following an exercise in “conversation in the Spirit” — the same method used during the Synod on Synodality — the Spanish prelates established the following seven priority pastoral goals:1. Proclaiming the Gospel and initiation into the Christian lifeThe prelates observed that “in Spain, the era — firmly established for centuries — in which we would say, ‘I am Catholic because I was born in Spain,’ has passed. We can no longer take Christian conversion for granted.”Consequently, the catechumenate is an “indispensable” reality in the dioceses, serving to ensure the continued growth of impactful experiences following the initial proclamation of the Gospel. “Today, Christian initiation along with the creation of communities that accompany individuals through this process and welcome the newly initiated constitute a fundamental priority,” they stated.The bishops further emphasized that “in secularized Spanish society, the Church’s challenge is not so much atheism as it is the hunger for God, which manifests itself in very diverse ways,” such that all pastoral actions “should assess their impact on the initial proclamation.”2. Celebrating SundayAdded to the challenge of Christian initiation is “another great challenge of ecclesial life: the celebration of the Lord’s Day” — that is, participation in Sunday Mass, which, as the prelates underscored, “is not a mere act of private devotion or fulfilling an obligation but rather the experience of being an assembly of the called — those who, summoned by the Word, are gathered together as a people taking the form of the body of Christ, in order to be sent forth on mission.”In Spain, only about 8 million of the country’s 45 million inhabitants attend Mass regularly on Sundays.3. A Church with fewer people but a lot of parishesThe bishops' third pastoral concern stems from the realization that the Catholic Church in Spain has more than 22,000 parishes distributed across over 11,000 municipalities and smaller local entities, many of which have fewer than 100 inhabitants.This distribution reveals “a great asymmetry.” As the prelates expressed with concern, “many baptismal fonts ‘hold no water’ — that is to say, there is no Christian community that, under the action of the Spirit, possesses the capacity to bring forth new Christians.”On the other hand, in areas with larger populations, the parish community “possesses a very weak awareness of the responsibility entailed by the baptismal font.”Beyond the diocesan parochial structure, Spain is home to 1,400 monasteries and shrines as well as hundreds of non-parochial churches where the Sunday Eucharist is celebrated, institutions that are typically under the care of religious communities.In this regard, the prelates declared: “We cannot simply stand by and watch the ship sink.”4. Promoting formative communitiesGiven that “one has never been able to be a Christian alone,” the prelates consider it necessary to “offer a visible communal face” and to foster the creation of communities “where the integral formation of the heart may be lived out.”The bishops acknowledged that, despite experiences of initial proclamation, “at times there exists the difficulty of transforming emotion into virtue,” as noted in the recently published document “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“Heart Speaks to Heart”).In this regard, they consider the integration of Catholic immigrants to be a “great opportunity to revive and rejuvenate” the communities.5. Living the faith in a pluralistic societyThe Spanish prelates focused their attention on the pluralistic social reality in which “people of diverse ethnic origins, with diverse ideological, ethical, and religious worldviews” coexist — and not always “in a proper spirit of coexistence, but rather they fall into confrontation.”Given that “the religious map of Spain is changing” and there are “increasingly more adherents of other religions who do not come ‘from abroad,’” this poses “a new challenge for the Church, which must establish channels for coexistence based on mutual respect and the fundamental right to religious freedom.”6. Welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrantsThe bishops’ conference also takes into account the need to address the reality of increasing migration, in a twofold sense.“Catholics must be incorporated into the Christian community”; therefore, the CEE called for an effort to welcome them by “offering the possibility of a space of their own that does not break off communion with the whole.”With regard to those of other faiths, the prelates highlighted the “opportunity for interreligious dialogue and collaboration in the service of the common good,” while acknowledging that this constitutes “a challenge for Catholics, who must be formed in order to engage in dialogue based on mutual respect.”7. Bringing the love of the heart of Christ to the worldBeyond matters more specific to the Spanish context, the prelates, in their latest pastoral guidance, aim to make the love of God present beyond the confines of the Church: “It is essential to practice political charity in schools, in neighborhoods, in hospitals, and in our relationships with one another — fostering a presence, where possible, within institutional politics, the life of political parties, or other channels of institutional action.”In the charitable sphere, the bishops also warned that “we run the risk that our organizations — so dependent on the welfare state, its regulations, and its subsidies for the third sector — may offer the novelty of Christian love in a weak manner and be easily confused with NGOs [nongovernmental organizations]. The same could happen to us in our educational institutions or our media outlets.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/spanish-bishops-we-cannot-simply-stand-by-and-watch-the-ship-sink-catholic-just-weeks-before-pope-leo-xivs-apostolic-visit-to-spain-the-spanish-bishops-confe-scaled.jpg "Spanish bishops: ‘We cannot simply stand by and watch the ship sink’ – #Catholic – Just weeks before Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to Spain, the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) released a document that establishes seven pastoral priorities for the 2026–2030 period in which they embrace a bracing challenge: “We cannot just stand by and watch the ship sink.”The document, titled “Set Out on the Journey,” was approved during the plenary assembly in November 2025 but was not published until after the conferenceʼs meeting in April.Following an exercise in “conversation in the Spirit” — the same method used during the Synod on Synodality — the Spanish prelates established the following seven priority pastoral goals:1. Proclaiming the Gospel and initiation into the Christian lifeThe prelates observed that “in Spain, the era — firmly established for centuries — in which we would say, ‘I am Catholic because I was born in Spain,’ has passed. We can no longer take Christian conversion for granted.”Consequently, the catechumenate is an “indispensable” reality in the dioceses, serving to ensure the continued growth of impactful experiences following the initial proclamation of the Gospel. “Today, Christian initiation along with the creation of communities that accompany individuals through this process and welcome the newly initiated constitute a fundamental priority,” they stated.The bishops further emphasized that “in secularized Spanish society, the Church’s challenge is not so much atheism as it is the hunger for God, which manifests itself in very diverse ways,” such that all pastoral actions “should assess their impact on the initial proclamation.”2. Celebrating SundayAdded to the challenge of Christian initiation is “another great challenge of ecclesial life: the celebration of the Lord’s Day” — that is, participation in Sunday Mass, which, as the prelates underscored, “is not a mere act of private devotion or fulfilling an obligation but rather the experience of being an assembly of the called — those who, summoned by the Word, are gathered together as a people taking the form of the body of Christ, in order to be sent forth on mission.”In Spain, only about 8 million of the country’s 45 million inhabitants attend Mass regularly on Sundays.3. A Church with fewer people but a lot of parishesThe bishops' third pastoral concern stems from the realization that the Catholic Church in Spain has more than 22,000 parishes distributed across over 11,000 municipalities and smaller local entities, many of which have fewer than 100 inhabitants.This distribution reveals “a great asymmetry.” As the prelates expressed with concern, “many baptismal fonts ‘hold no water’ — that is to say, there is no Christian community that, under the action of the Spirit, possesses the capacity to bring forth new Christians.”On the other hand, in areas with larger populations, the parish community “possesses a very weak awareness of the responsibility entailed by the baptismal font.”Beyond the diocesan parochial structure, Spain is home to 1,400 monasteries and shrines as well as hundreds of non-parochial churches where the Sunday Eucharist is celebrated, institutions that are typically under the care of religious communities.In this regard, the prelates declared: “We cannot simply stand by and watch the ship sink.”4. Promoting formative communitiesGiven that “one has never been able to be a Christian alone,” the prelates consider it necessary to “offer a visible communal face” and to foster the creation of communities “where the integral formation of the heart may be lived out.”The bishops acknowledged that, despite experiences of initial proclamation, “at times there exists the difficulty of transforming emotion into virtue,” as noted in the recently published document “Cor ad cor loquitur” (“Heart Speaks to Heart”).In this regard, they consider the integration of Catholic immigrants to be a “great opportunity to revive and rejuvenate” the communities.5. Living the faith in a pluralistic societyThe Spanish prelates focused their attention on the pluralistic social reality in which “people of diverse ethnic origins, with diverse ideological, ethical, and religious worldviews” coexist — and not always “in a proper spirit of coexistence, but rather they fall into confrontation.”Given that “the religious map of Spain is changing” and there are “increasingly more adherents of other religions who do not come ‘from abroad,’” this poses “a new challenge for the Church, which must establish channels for coexistence based on mutual respect and the fundamental right to religious freedom.”6. Welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrantsThe bishops’ conference also takes into account the need to address the reality of increasing migration, in a twofold sense.“Catholics must be incorporated into the Christian community”; therefore, the CEE called for an effort to welcome them by “offering the possibility of a space of their own that does not break off communion with the whole.”With regard to those of other faiths, the prelates highlighted the “opportunity for interreligious dialogue and collaboration in the service of the common good,” while acknowledging that this constitutes “a challenge for Catholics, who must be formed in order to engage in dialogue based on mutual respect.”7. Bringing the love of the heart of Christ to the worldBeyond matters more specific to the Spanish context, the prelates, in their latest pastoral guidance, aim to make the love of God present beyond the confines of the Church: “It is essential to practice political charity in schools, in neighborhoods, in hospitals, and in our relationships with one another — fostering a presence, where possible, within institutional politics, the life of political parties, or other channels of institutional action.”In the charitable sphere, the bishops also warned that “we run the risk that our organizations — so dependent on the welfare state, its regulations, and its subsidies for the third sector — may offer the novelty of Christian love in a weak manner and be easily confused with NGOs [nongovernmental organizations]. The same could happen to us in our educational institutions or our media outlets.”This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.")
![Leo XIV makes Marian pilgrimage on 1-year anniversary as pope #Catholic POMPEI, Italy — Pope Leo XIV placed his pontificate under the protection of Mary during a visit to two cities in southern Italy on Friday — the first anniversary of his election to the papacy on May 8, 2025.Leo celebrated Mass for an estimated 20,000 people outside the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei, whose feast day is May 8, during the day trip to Pompei and Naples.“Exactly one year ago,” the pope said in his homily, amid thunderous applause from the assembled faithful, “when the ministry of successor of Peter was entrusted to me, it was precisely the day of the Supplication to the Virgin, this beautiful day of the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompei! I therefore had to come here, to place my service under the protection of the Holy Virgin.”“Having then chosen the name Leo places me in the footsteps of Leo XIII, who, among his many merits, also developed a rich magisterium on the holy rosary. Added to all of this is the recent canonization of St. Bartolo Longo, apostle of the rosary,” Leo added.Before Mass, the pope — who flew about 150 miles from Rome to Pompei by helicopter early on May 8 — visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei. Despite forecasts of rain, thousands of people filled Bartolo Longo Square from the first light of dawn.At the shrine, the Holy Father met the “Temple of Charity,” an organization that welcomes and assists people coming from situations of hardship.
Pope Leo XIV meets the “Temple of Charity,” an organization that welcomes and assists people coming from situations of hardship, during a pastoral visit to Pompei, Italy, on May 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
“Good morning, Pompei! Our Mother Mary — our mom — is always with us,” the pope said, informally greeting the faithful who were waiting for Mass. Before the Eucharistic celebration, Leo also greeted the sick and people with disabilities inside the shrine.The pope’s homily at the outdoor Mass focused on the power of the rosary.“The Hail Mary repeated in the holy rosary is an act of love,” he said. “Generations of believers have been shaped and safeguarded by this prayer — simple and popular, yet at the same time capable of mystical heights and a treasure chest of the most essential Christian theology.”He also called the Hail Mary prayer “an invitation to joy.”“It tells Mary, and in her all of us, that upon the ruins of our humanity, tried by sin and therefore always inclined to abuses, oppression, and war, the caress of God has come — the caress of mercy, which in Jesus takes on a human face. Mary thus becomes the mother of mercy.”“When St. John Paul II proclaimed the Year of the Rosary [2002–2003], he wished to place it in a special way under the gaze of the Virgin of Pompei,” Leo XIV continued. “Times have not improved since then. The wars still being fought in so many regions of the world call for renewed commitment, not only economic and political, but also spiritual and religious.”“Peace is born within the heart,” he added. “We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news presents to us every day. St. Bartolo Longo, reflecting on Mary’s faith, called her ‘omnipotent by grace.’ Through her intercession, may an abundant outpouring of mercy come from the God of peace — touching hearts, calming resentments and fratricidal hatred, and enlightening those who bear special responsibilities of governance. No earthly power will save the world, but only the divine power of love.”At the conclusion of Mass, Pope Leo prayed together with the faithful the traditional Supplication to Our Lady of Pompei.The Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary of Pompei was written in 1883 by St. Bartolo Longo. It is solemnly recited twice a year, at noon on May 8 and on the first Sunday of October. The supplication was composed in response to the invitation that Pope Leo XIII addressed to Catholics in his first encyclical on the rosary, Supremi Apostolatus Officio, calling for a spiritual commitment to confront the evils of society.
Pope Leo XIV prays at the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary in Naples, Italy, on Friday, May 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Visit to NaplesAfter lunch in private, Pope Leo took a helicopter about 16 miles northwest to Naples, the capital city of the Campania region of Italy, where he met with priests and religious brothers and sisters in the Naples cathedral.During his visit to the cathedral, Leo stopped in the Chapel of the Treasure of St. Januarius, where the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius had taken place on May 3. The pope kissed the relic and with it blessed those in the packed cathedral.After some time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the pope addressed the Catholic community: “What I therefore ask of you is this: Listen to one another, walk together, create a symphony of charisms and ministries, and in this way find ways to move from a pastoral ministry of maintenance to a missionary pastoral ministry, capable of engaging with the concrete lives of people.”“In a city marked by inequality, youth unemployment, school dropout rates, and fragile family situations, the proclamation of the Gospel cannot be separated from a concrete and supportive presence that involves everyone — priests, religious, and laypeople alike,” he added.Pope Leo XIV then arrived in the popemobile to Piazza del Plebiscito, the main square of Naples, where authorities estimate about 50,000 people were present.The pope’s address focused on peace and justice: a peace that “begins in the human heart, passes through relationships, takes root in neighborhoods and on the outskirts, and expands to embrace the entire city and the world.” A peace that needs justice “to be authentic” and that “can never be separated from charity.”Leo also spoke about the “Neapolitan paradox:” on the one hand, the significant increase in tourism, which however struggles to correspond to “economic dynamism capable of truly involving the entire social community.” He described a city “marked by a social divide that no longer separates the center from the outskirts but is even evident within every area, with existential peripheries nested even in the heart of the historic center.” Faced with these disparities, Pope Leo XIV recalled the presence of the state as “more necessary than ever, to provide security and confidence to citizens and to take space away from organized crime.”He then encouraged moving forward with the projects of hope taking shape in the city: “Gather your strength, work together, walk united — institutions, Church, and civil society — to connect the city, protect your children from the snares of hardship and evil, and restore to Naples its vocation to be a capital of humanity and hope.”This story was first published in multiple parts by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/leo-xiv-makes-marian-pilgrimage-on-1-year-anniversary-as-pope-catholic-pompei-italy-pope-leo-xiv-placed-his-pontificate-under-the-protection-of-mary-during-a-visit-to-two-cities-in-souther-scaled.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/gili-trawangan-60d04a61d1944e2990171c1dbc761236.jpg)
![Beatification candidate Fulton Sheen forged strong ties in Paterson #Catholic - Sometime in 1974, Lo Anne Mayer, formerly of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township, N.J., received a surprise phone call. On the other end was Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the world-renowned Catholic radio and TV evangelist. They met briefly after a talk he gave at another parish in the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and here he was asking her, “What do you think about St. Joseph?” — the topic of an upcoming presentation.
“I realized that Archbishop Sheen called people to get their views on particular topics — the Blessed Mother or St. Joseph — to make his talks more relevant to his audience. I was impressed; I didn’t know any priest who did that,” said Mayer, who first heard him speak at Christ the King Church in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, N.J., in 1974. “I saw Christ in Archbishop Sheen. His total dedication to the Lord was part of his persona. I felt as if I were in the presence of a saint,” she said.
So it was no surprise when Mayer, 85, now living in Manchester, N.J., heard the news on March 25 that Archbishop Sheen — now Venerable Fulton J. Sheen — is getting a step closer to sainthood. With joy, she plans to attend with her family the Mass of his beatification, where he will be designated as “blessed.” This will take place on Thursday, Sept. 24, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo.
That first conversation in 1974 blossomed into a close family friendship. Venerable Sheen often spoke with Mayer at length on the phone and visited their home for dinner. Through Mayer, he became reacquainted with the Discalced Carmelites of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in Morristown, N.J. He also baptized her and her husband Raymond’s youngest child, Michael, at Corpus Christi in 1975.
“I couldn’t be happier about Archbishop Sheen’s beatification,” said Mayer, who had started helping promote his cause before his home diocese in Peoria, Ill., opened it in 2002. “I know Archbishop Sheen would not have wanted this [beatification], but he needs to be recognized. People around the globe know him for his powerful preaching and are still interested in him,” she said.
Mayer will discuss Venerable Sheen and his beatification this Friday, May 8, his birthday, while recording an episode of the Beyond the Beacon podcast with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish. The episode will be available on all major podcast platforms on March 14, 2026.
Venerable Sheen earned worldwide renown as one of the 20th century’s leading English-speaking Catholic preachers. He used books, radio, and TV to reach a broad audience. Decades later, his program, “Life Is Worth Living,” resonates with younger Catholics through EWTN reruns. In 1979, Sheen died in New York at age 84.
“Archbishop Sheen was down to earth, speaking simply from the heart for everybody to understand,” said Mayer. She recalled how he spoke to her children before dinner, mesmerizing them with his message and presence. “As a young mother, Archbishop Sheen helped my faith. He was understanding and kind,” she said.
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI declared Archbishop Sheen “venerable” for his heroic virtue. In 2019, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Sheen, paving the way for beatification. The Vatican, however, paused the process to investigate — and ultimately cleared him of — allegations from Sheen’s tenure as bishop of Rochester, N.Y. Mayer remains optimistic that a second miracle will be recognized to advance him to sainthood.
In 1984, Mayer participated in the first national gathering of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation at the Madison Hotel in Madison, N.J. She later chaired the organization and now serves on its advisory board. Mayer traveled to Peoria to witness the sealing of roughly 500 pages of documents for the cause for review in Rome.
Over the years, Mayer heard Venerable Sheen speak at other local parishes. She also invited him to the Carmelite monastery in Morristown, where he delivered the homily at the dedication Mass of the chapel in 1941. He quickly became friends with the community and made subsequent visits. “He made the Carmelites happy,” Mayer said.
Previously, Venerable Sheen had another diocesan connection: Yolanda Holliger of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne, N.J. He married her to his cousin, Tom, baptized their six children, and remained close to their family. Both Holligers testified in his cause and have since died.
“Archbishop Sheen had a saintly aura,” Holliger told The Beacon in a 2008 interview. “With him, you felt you were in heaven — perfect happiness.”
Mayer encourages local faithful to watch Venerable Sheen’s beatification Mass on EWTN on Sept. 24, starting at 3 p.m. EST.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/beatification-candidate-fulton-sheen-forged-strong-ties-in-paterson-catholic-sometime-in-1974-lo-anne-mayer-formerly-of-corpus-christi-parish-in-chatham-township-n-j-received-a-surprise-phone.jpg)
![Inspiring toe-picking guitarist amps up hope at Dover concert #Catholic - On May 1, Tony Meléndez, a renowned toe-picking Catholic guitarist born without arms, delivered the message, “Don’t be afraid with our good Lord,” through inspiring music and personal stories of faith during a joyful bilingual concert at Sacred Heart and Holy Rosary Parish in Dover, N.J.
Meléndez has played at 11 World Youth Days, sharing the stage with St. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. He has visited all 50 U.S. states and more than 44 foreign countries. Recognized as an ambassador of hope and resilience, Meléndez appeals to all generations.
At the May 1 concert, Meléndez, originally from Rivas, Nicaragua, sang and played a mix of original and popular religious songs, with occasional secular tunes such as “La Bamba,” throughout the evening.
In both English and Spanish, Meléndez told the audience that he was born without arms and a clubbed foot due to the drug Thalidomide, which his mother was prescribed for morning sickness. His family later immigrated to the United States so he could undergo seven corrective surgeries on his left foot to enable him to walk.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
These challenges shaped his journey, as Meléndez learned to do almost everything with his feet. When he was 16, he taught himself to play the guitar with his toes and, over time, became proficient as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
“I would pray with my music when I first started to play guitar, with whatever came out of my voice—my heart,” said Meléndez, who is married with two children. “God blessed me to be able to play guitar with my toes. I thank him with all my heart.”
Meléndez’s inspirational career reached a turning point when he performed for St. Pope John Paul II during a major youth teleconference at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1987, as part of the pontiff’s 10-day U.S. tour.
That Friday evening began with Father Leonardo López, pastor of Sacred Heart/Holy Rosary, introducing the concert, with support from Father Cerilo Javinez and Father Edgar Rivera, the parish’s parochial vicars, who set a welcoming tone for the event. Father Rivera booked and organized the concert.
Adding a personal touch, Meléndez’s older brother, Jose, who serves as his manager and ministry partner, also spoke about the featured performer’s life during the event.
Meléndez will be featured on Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney’s Beyond The Beacon podcast later this month.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
[See image gallery at beaconnj.org]](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/inspiring-toe-picking-guitarist-amps-up-hope-at-dover-concert-catholic-on-may-1-tony-melendez-a-renowned-toe-picking-catholic-guitarist-born-without-arms-delivered-the-message-don.jpg)
