When your soul yearns for inspiration, there is no better place to turn than the Word of God. Be lifted up by these seven amazing quotes from Scripture:
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Picture of the day Teichbachtal near Gütenbach/Simonswald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany #ImageOfTheDay
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Teichbachtal near Gütenbach/Simonswald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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Before the closing of the day,
Creator, we Thee humbly pray,
That, for Thy wonted mercy’s sake,
Thou us under protection take.
May nothing in our minds excite
Vain dreams and phantoms of the night;
Our enemies repress, that so
Our bodies no uncleanness know.
In this, most gracious Father, hear,
With Christ, Thy equal Son, our prayer;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.
Amen.
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This image that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured of the Crab Nebula, paired with its past observations and those of other telescopes, allows astronomers to study how the supernova remnant is expanding and evolving over time.
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“Jesus was waiting for us,” a priest in southern Lebanon said after returning to his damaged church in the town of Tbenine following the ceasefire on April 17.
Born April 25, 1710, to farmers in Scotland, James Ferguson only had three months of formal education. Despite working as a shepherd, he taught himself mechanics and astronomy, using his evenings to map the skies with beads and string. He went on to become a repairer of clocks, and applied those mechanical skills to hisContinue reading “April 25, 1710: The birth of James Ferguson”
The post April 25, 1710: The birth of James Ferguson appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Israel and Poland’s foreign ministers argue on X, a mosaic of Jesus by a survivor of Nazism will be saved, South Korea’s Catholic population grows, and more in this week’s world news roundup.
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![7 powerful moments from Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Africa – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV recently completed an 11-day trip visiting the faithful in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. With stops in 11 cities across those countries, the Holy Father met with the youth, political leaders, prisoners, families, and many more to share the Gospel message.Here are seven powerful moments from Pope Leo’s trip to Africa:1. Moving visit to the land of St. AugustinePope Leo XIV traveled from Algiers to Annaba — ancient Hippo — in what for the Augustinian pontiff amounted to a return to the roots of his faith and vocation.After a flight of about an hour, the pope arrived in the city most closely associated with St. Augustine, who served as bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430.Despite pouring rain, the pope walked through the ruins and, at the end of the route, laid a wreath of flowers and stopped for a moment of prayer, visibly moved.Tweet2. Visit to the Great Mosque of AlgiersWhile in Algeria, the pope visited the Great Mosque of Algiers (Djamaa el Djazaïr), often referred to as the “Mosque of Algeria.” Featuring the world’s tallest minaret — rising approximately 265 meters (about 870 feet) — and ranking as the third-largest mosque after those in Mecca and Medina, the monumental complex can accommodate up to 120,000 worshippers.TweetThe tradition of popes visiting mosques began with Pope John Paul II, who in 2001 became the first pope in history known to have entered a mosque when he visited the Great Mosque of Damascus in the capital of Syria.Pope Leo addressed criticism directed toward him on April 15 on board the papal plane after leaving Algiers bound for Cameroon.“I think the visit to the mosque was significant [and showed] that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can [still] live together in peace,” the Holy Father said.“I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today,” he said, arguing that such visits show that “together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”3. Joy-filled children welcome Pope Leo in CameroonPope Leo XIV was welcomed by the songs and dances of children at the Ngul Zamba Orphanage in Yaoundé, Cameroon.“Dear children, I know that many of you have endured difficult trials. Some of you have known the pain of loss through the death of parents or loved ones. Others have experienced fear, rejection, abandonment, deprivation, and uncertainty. Yet, you are called to a future that is greater than your wounds. You are bearers of a promise," the pope said.Run for 40 years by the religious congregation the Daughters of Mary, the Ngul Zamba Orphanage — whose name means “Strength of God” — provides food, lodging, and education to poor or abandoned children.In another heartfelt moment, at the end of the afternoon Mass in Bamenda, Cameroon, as the pope was preparing to leave the airport and get into his car, a little girl ran up to hug him. This spontaneous gesture, amid the joy and emotion of the 20,000 present, captured the hearts of millions around the world.Facebook post4. Rosary gathering at the Mama Muxima ShrineWhile in Angola, Pope Leo took part in a rosary gathering at the Marian shrine of Mama Muxima.The shrine, whose name means “Mother of the Heart” in Kimbundu, is one of Angola’s best-known Marian sanctuaries. Built by the Portuguese in the 17th century on a hill overlooking the Kwanza River, it has long been a place of pilgrimage and prayer for Angolan Catholics.The crowd in attendance erupted into applause when the Holy Father spoke in Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola.He said: “Mama Muxima, tueza kokué, Mama Muxima, tutambululé,” which means: “Mother of the heart, we come to you; Mother of the heart, receive us.”Tweet5. Pope Leo visits psychiatric hospitalThe Holy Father visited the Jean-Pierre Olié Psychiatric Hospital in Equatorial Guinea. With its six pavilions, it represents a major development in the treatment of mental illness in Equatorial Guinea, where psychiatric disorders were historically neglected. Founded in 2014, it is the country’s first modern center of its kind and has become a symbol of the national commitment to integrating patients into society.The event included songs, dancing, and testimonies from both the hospital’s director and a patient, Pedro Celestino Nzerem Koose. A moving poem by a former patient was also recited.“Whenever I visit a hospital, I have mixed feelings: on the one hand, I feel sorrow for the patients and their families. On the other, I admire and am comforted by all that is done there each day to serve human life,” the pope said in an address delivered in Spanish. “I feel the same way here, but today, I find — and I hope the same is true for you — that joy prevails. It is the joy of meeting in the name of the Lord and of caring for those who are in frail health.”Tweet6. Pope Leo visits a prisonThe pope paid a visit to the Bata penitentiary in Equatorial Guinea and told inmates that “no one is excluded from God’s love” and urged them to see that even behind bars, there remains the possibility of change, reconciliation, and hope.This local prison is one of the country’s harshest and long known for difficult detention conditions.One of the more than 600 inmates thanked the pope for his visit and support.“We wish to thank you for your visit and your support,” the prisoner said. “Your presence reminds us of the importance of faith and redemption. We ask for your blessing to keep moving forward and to come out of this as better people. We are grateful for your compassion and for your message of hope.”Tweet7. The final Mass in AfricaPope Leo XIV celebrated the final Mass of his Africa trip at Malabo’s stadium, urging the Church in Equatorial Guinea to continue proclaiming the Gospel “with passion” and to bear witness through lives shaped by faith, service, and solidarity.The Mass in the stadium, where about 30,000 faithful were expected, marked the pope’s last major public event in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final African nation on his 11-day journey.After riding through the crowd in the popemobile, Leo began Mass amid flags, songs, and colorful hats, with music and dance accompanying the liturgy.The Holy Father also prayed before an image of Our Lady of Bisila, mother and patroness of Equatorial Guinea.Clothed in white and blue, carrying the child Jesus on her back in the traditional African way, the Virgin of Bisila shows a mother who walks with her people in every struggle and hope. According to local tradition, she appeared to a humble Bubi woman on Bioko Island in the early 20th century (exact year is not clearly attested), and love of her grew until she became the beloved icon of the nation’s Marian devotion.Tweet](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/7-powerful-moments-from-pope-leo-xivs-trip-to-africa-catholic-pope-leo-xiv-recently-completed-an-11-day-trip-visiting-the-faithful-in-algeria-cameroon-angola-and-equatorial-guinea-wi-scaled.jpg "7 powerful moments from Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Africa – #Catholic – Pope Leo XIV recently completed an 11-day trip visiting the faithful in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. With stops in 11 cities across those countries, the Holy Father met with the youth, political leaders, prisoners, families, and many more to share the Gospel message.Here are seven powerful moments from Pope Leo’s trip to Africa:1. Moving visit to the land of St. AugustinePope Leo XIV traveled from Algiers to Annaba — ancient Hippo — in what for the Augustinian pontiff amounted to a return to the roots of his faith and vocation.After a flight of about an hour, the pope arrived in the city most closely associated with St. Augustine, who served as bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430.Despite pouring rain, the pope walked through the ruins and, at the end of the route, laid a wreath of flowers and stopped for a moment of prayer, visibly moved.Tweet2. Visit to the Great Mosque of AlgiersWhile in Algeria, the pope visited the Great Mosque of Algiers (Djamaa el Djazaïr), often referred to as the “Mosque of Algeria.” Featuring the world’s tallest minaret — rising approximately 265 meters (about 870 feet) — and ranking as the third-largest mosque after those in Mecca and Medina, the monumental complex can accommodate up to 120,000 worshippers.TweetThe tradition of popes visiting mosques began with Pope John Paul II, who in 2001 became the first pope in history known to have entered a mosque when he visited the Great Mosque of Damascus in the capital of Syria.Pope Leo addressed criticism directed toward him on April 15 on board the papal plane after leaving Algiers bound for Cameroon.“I think the visit to the mosque was significant [and showed] that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can [still] live together in peace,” the Holy Father said.“I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today,” he said, arguing that such visits show that “together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”3. Joy-filled children welcome Pope Leo in CameroonPope Leo XIV was welcomed by the songs and dances of children at the Ngul Zamba Orphanage in Yaoundé, Cameroon.“Dear children, I know that many of you have endured difficult trials. Some of you have known the pain of loss through the death of parents or loved ones. Others have experienced fear, rejection, abandonment, deprivation, and uncertainty. Yet, you are called to a future that is greater than your wounds. You are bearers of a promise,\" the pope said.Run for 40 years by the religious congregation the Daughters of Mary, the Ngul Zamba Orphanage — whose name means “Strength of God” — provides food, lodging, and education to poor or abandoned children.In another heartfelt moment, at the end of the afternoon Mass in Bamenda, Cameroon, as the pope was preparing to leave the airport and get into his car, a little girl ran up to hug him. This spontaneous gesture, amid the joy and emotion of the 20,000 present, captured the hearts of millions around the world.Facebook post4. Rosary gathering at the Mama Muxima ShrineWhile in Angola, Pope Leo took part in a rosary gathering at the Marian shrine of Mama Muxima.The shrine, whose name means “Mother of the Heart” in Kimbundu, is one of Angola’s best-known Marian sanctuaries. Built by the Portuguese in the 17th century on a hill overlooking the Kwanza River, it has long been a place of pilgrimage and prayer for Angolan Catholics.The crowd in attendance erupted into applause when the Holy Father spoke in Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola.He said: “Mama Muxima, tueza kokué, Mama Muxima, tutambululé,” which means: “Mother of the heart, we come to you; Mother of the heart, receive us.”Tweet5. Pope Leo visits psychiatric hospitalThe Holy Father visited the Jean-Pierre Olié Psychiatric Hospital in Equatorial Guinea. With its six pavilions, it represents a major development in the treatment of mental illness in Equatorial Guinea, where psychiatric disorders were historically neglected. Founded in 2014, it is the country’s first modern center of its kind and has become a symbol of the national commitment to integrating patients into society.The event included songs, dancing, and testimonies from both the hospital’s director and a patient, Pedro Celestino Nzerem Koose. A moving poem by a former patient was also recited.“Whenever I visit a hospital, I have mixed feelings: on the one hand, I feel sorrow for the patients and their families. On the other, I admire and am comforted by all that is done there each day to serve human life,” the pope said in an address delivered in Spanish. “I feel the same way here, but today, I find — and I hope the same is true for you — that joy prevails. It is the joy of meeting in the name of the Lord and of caring for those who are in frail health.”Tweet6. Pope Leo visits a prisonThe pope paid a visit to the Bata penitentiary in Equatorial Guinea and told inmates that “no one is excluded from God’s love” and urged them to see that even behind bars, there remains the possibility of change, reconciliation, and hope.This local prison is one of the country’s harshest and long known for difficult detention conditions.One of the more than 600 inmates thanked the pope for his visit and support.“We wish to thank you for your visit and your support,” the prisoner said. “Your presence reminds us of the importance of faith and redemption. We ask for your blessing to keep moving forward and to come out of this as better people. We are grateful for your compassion and for your message of hope.”Tweet7. The final Mass in AfricaPope Leo XIV celebrated the final Mass of his Africa trip at Malabo’s stadium, urging the Church in Equatorial Guinea to continue proclaiming the Gospel “with passion” and to bear witness through lives shaped by faith, service, and solidarity.The Mass in the stadium, where about 30,000 faithful were expected, marked the pope’s last major public event in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final African nation on his 11-day journey.After riding through the crowd in the popemobile, Leo began Mass amid flags, songs, and colorful hats, with music and dance accompanying the liturgy.The Holy Father also prayed before an image of Our Lady of Bisila, mother and patroness of Equatorial Guinea.Clothed in white and blue, carrying the child Jesus on her back in the traditional African way, the Virgin of Bisila shows a mother who walks with her people in every struggle and hope. According to local tradition, she appeared to a humble Bubi woman on Bioko Island in the early 20th century (exact year is not clearly attested), and love of her grew until she became the beloved icon of the nation’s Marian devotion.Tweet")
Pope Leo XIV spent 11 days in Africa from April 13–23 and visited Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
![‘A profound experience’: Voices from Africa reflect on Pope Leo’s papal visit – #Catholic – The final moments of Pope Leo XIV’s 11-day apostolic journey to Africa were more than the Eucharistic celebration at Equatorial Guinea’s Malabo Stadium; they were a convergence of lived testimonies captured in one phrase: “a profound experience of faith.”At the packed event at the stadium on April 23, the Holy Father formally concluded his visit with Mass, closing a four-nation pastoral visit that took him to 11 cities in northern, central, and southern Africa.“The time has come for me to say farewell to Equatorial Guinea and also to Africa,” Pope Leo XIV said at the end of the Mass, situating his departure within what he termed a grace-filled journey “that God has allowed me to make.”He reflected on the significance of his April 13–23 encounters in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, stating: “I carry from Africa an invaluable treasure of faith, hope, and charity.”Those who spoke to ACI Africa at the concluding Mass expressed a comparable assessment, also characterizing Pope Leo XIV’s presence on the continent as a treasure.‘A profound experience of faith’For Father Jose Fernando Liso, 44, the defining takeaway lay less in the logistical success than in its spiritual benefits.“I believe it has been a profound experience of faith,” he told ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa.Situating the events of the papal visit within the collective effort of the clergy, women and men religious, and the lay faithful, the parish priest of St. Anthony Abad Parish of the Archdiocese of Malabo said the experience “has involved fatigue, hard work, ups and downs.”Yet for Liso its real significance will be measured in its aftermath, he said, emphasizing the virtue of responsibility.“The responsibility, the growth of our nation as a Church and of our nation as a whole, depends on the responsible decisions that each of us … make,” he said, referencing a key theme he attributed to the Holy Father’s broader reflections during his maiden trip to Africa as pope.Also at Malabo Stadium for the closing Mass was Maria Lourdes Ndong Esono, 57, who framed her experience through a recollection that links two papacies across decades.“We were thrilled with the pope’s visit; it couldn’t have come at a better time,” she said.Esono recalled “walking from Malabo to the airport to see Pope John Paul II” alongside her pregnant mother in February 1982 and expressing gratitude, adding: “Today I got to see Leo XIV.”Encouragement amid loss and uncertaintyFor Sister Gertrude Ehizokhale of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, Pope Leo XIV’s impact was both affective and pastoral.Having served in Equatorial Guinea for nearly two years, the native of Nigeria interpreted the papal visit through the lens of missionary presence and local context.“I’m so happy because the pope came all the way from Rome to visit us,” she said.Her reaction to the Holy Father’s homily focused on its motivational dimension: “His words … really gave me that more encouragement.”More specifically, she pointed to the pope’s reference to the death, in controversial circumstances, of Father Fortunato Nsue Esono, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Malabo, just days before the arrival of the Holy Father in Equatorial Guinea.For Ehizokhale, the pope’s words of consolation and call for truth and justice at the beginning of his homily functioned as a stabilizing intervention. “That encouraged us … [who] were a bit discouraged,” she said.From the papal homily, she highlighted a call to generosity, “not to be attached to only to ourselves but to others also, learn to give” as well as a preferential concern for the poor, which she interpreted as a source of consolation and the assurance “that we have God on our side.”Peace, joy, and national framingNarciso Pedro Nsue, the president of Radio Maria Equatorial Guinea, situated the papal visit within a broader communicative and national context.“The pope brings peace, joy, and hope to the entire country,” Narciso told ACI Africa.He emphasized that Equatorial Guinea as “the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa,” suggesting that the presence of Pope Leo XIV in his native country carries representational significance beyond strictly ecclesial boundaries.For 19-year-old Ricardo Bibang Bonsundi, a representative of the Bixió tribe who was at the stadium adorned in traditional attire, he attended “to extend greetings and welcome to the people and to Pope Leo XIV.”This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/a-profound-experience-voices-from-africa-reflect-on-pope-leos-papal-visit-catholic-the-final-moments-of-pope-leo-xivs-11-day-apostolic-journey-to-africa-were.webp "‘A profound experience’: Voices from Africa reflect on Pope Leo’s papal visit – #Catholic – The final moments of Pope Leo XIV’s 11-day apostolic journey to Africa were more than the Eucharistic celebration at Equatorial Guinea’s Malabo Stadium; they were a convergence of lived testimonies captured in one phrase: “a profound experience of faith.”At the packed event at the stadium on April 23, the Holy Father formally concluded his visit with Mass, closing a four-nation pastoral visit that took him to 11 cities in northern, central, and southern Africa.“The time has come for me to say farewell to Equatorial Guinea and also to Africa,” Pope Leo XIV said at the end of the Mass, situating his departure within what he termed a grace-filled journey “that God has allowed me to make.”He reflected on the significance of his April 13–23 encounters in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, stating: “I carry from Africa an invaluable treasure of faith, hope, and charity.”Those who spoke to ACI Africa at the concluding Mass expressed a comparable assessment, also characterizing Pope Leo XIV’s presence on the continent as a treasure.‘A profound experience of faith’For Father Jose Fernando Liso, 44, the defining takeaway lay less in the logistical success than in its spiritual benefits.“I believe it has been a profound experience of faith,” he told ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa.Situating the events of the papal visit within the collective effort of the clergy, women and men religious, and the lay faithful, the parish priest of St. Anthony Abad Parish of the Archdiocese of Malabo said the experience “has involved fatigue, hard work, ups and downs.”Yet for Liso its real significance will be measured in its aftermath, he said, emphasizing the virtue of responsibility.“The responsibility, the growth of our nation as a Church and of our nation as a whole, depends on the responsible decisions that each of us … make,” he said, referencing a key theme he attributed to the Holy Father’s broader reflections during his maiden trip to Africa as pope.Also at Malabo Stadium for the closing Mass was Maria Lourdes Ndong Esono, 57, who framed her experience through a recollection that links two papacies across decades.“We were thrilled with the pope’s visit; it couldn’t have come at a better time,” she said.Esono recalled “walking from Malabo to the airport to see Pope John Paul II” alongside her pregnant mother in February 1982 and expressing gratitude, adding: “Today I got to see Leo XIV.”Encouragement amid loss and uncertaintyFor Sister Gertrude Ehizokhale of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, Pope Leo XIV’s impact was both affective and pastoral.Having served in Equatorial Guinea for nearly two years, the native of Nigeria interpreted the papal visit through the lens of missionary presence and local context.“I’m so happy because the pope came all the way from Rome to visit us,” she said.Her reaction to the Holy Father’s homily focused on its motivational dimension: “His words … really gave me that more encouragement.”More specifically, she pointed to the pope’s reference to the death, in controversial circumstances, of Father Fortunato Nsue Esono, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Malabo, just days before the arrival of the Holy Father in Equatorial Guinea.For Ehizokhale, the pope’s words of consolation and call for truth and justice at the beginning of his homily functioned as a stabilizing intervention. “That encouraged us … [who] were a bit discouraged,” she said.From the papal homily, she highlighted a call to generosity, “not to be attached to only to ourselves but to others also, learn to give” as well as a preferential concern for the poor, which she interpreted as a source of consolation and the assurance “that we have God on our side.”Peace, joy, and national framingNarciso Pedro Nsue, the president of Radio Maria Equatorial Guinea, situated the papal visit within a broader communicative and national context.“The pope brings peace, joy, and hope to the entire country,” Narciso told ACI Africa.He emphasized that Equatorial Guinea as “the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa,” suggesting that the presence of Pope Leo XIV in his native country carries representational significance beyond strictly ecclesial boundaries.For 19-year-old Ricardo Bibang Bonsundi, a representative of the Bixió tribe who was at the stadium adorned in traditional attire, he attended “to extend greetings and welcome to the people and to Pope Leo XIV.”This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.")
Four attendees at Pope Leo XIV’s final Mass in Africa in Equatorial Guinea share their testimonies.
![Nebraska pro-life ministry brings ultrasounds to classrooms across the U.S. – #Catholic – On the 2012 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, during a Holy Hour, Nikki Schaefer and her 7-year-old daughter, Grace, were inspired to begin a simple ministry selling hand-sewn pro-life pillows to raise money for pregnancy centers. Today, Heart of a Child Ministries has expanded into a fetal development education program present in K–12 classrooms across the country.The ministryʼs initial sale of the pro-life pillow raised roughly $40,000 shortly after they began, Schaefer told EWTN News. “With the sale of the pillow, we were featured in an article, and that’s how the first invitations to schools started to emerge in 2015.”“So, itʼs been 11 years since weʼve been in schools,” Schaefer said. “Since that first presentation, all kinds of things have come forth: We have presented in eight different states, we are all over the state of Nebraska, we have developed a K-4 Celebration of Life program, a fifth through sixth program, a middle school, and a high school and beyond program.”Founded in Omaha, Nebraska, Heart of a Child Ministries is growing into a multistate presence, with two new fetal certified educators in Illinois, one in Springfield and another set to be trained in Mokena in October. The organization also now has certified educators in Alabama and Idaho. Fetal development education for every levelHeart of a Child’s fetal development education brings live ultrasounds to classrooms in a way that is specially tailored to suit each grade level. Its K–4 program centers on “fun fetal facts for kids” and includes “all kinds of hands-on things,” such as a team of musicians who play songs, according to Schaefer. “The kids absolutely love it,” she said. “We’re just putting the joy of life in front of them.”Having the foundation of a K–4 program is crucial, according to Schaefer. “It really solidifies the deal — it puts the truth in their hearts from the very beginning so that when the lies start coming in middle school through social media, through their friends, they’ve already seen an ultrasound; they’ve already learned all these amazing facts about what’s happening.”Through middle school, the curriculum progresses with more detailed fetal development facts, adoption stories, and begins addressing the abortion issue. In high school, the live ultrasound and fetal development education is supplemented with more detailed information about abortion, a testimonial speaker, and a panel discussion.The ministry’s first college event on March 30, sponsored by Turning Point USA, utilized this format. The event took place at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, and included a panel of two OB-GYN doctors, a representative for the abortion pill reversal (APR), Teresa Kenney, host of the Hormone Genius podcast, and other pro-life experts.“We feel confident that when kids walk away from that, their hearts are changed, their hearts are moved, and we have the statistics to prove that,” Schaefer said, noting their events have had “a 56% conversion rate on average” among students regarding the topic of abortion.Schaefer emphasized that the root of the program’s success is its holistic approach, acknowledging that each child processes information differently depending on age, personality, and maturity.“Every piece that we do is extremely important because it hits kids at different levels,” she said. “Some kids are more logical, right? They want the facts. Some kids are more heart. They want to hear a testimonial for some from someone who had an abortion, and it affected them. That’s what’s going to touch their hearts.”9 months of pregnancy for 9 months of schoolApart from its latest multistate expansion, Heart of a Child has also debuted a fetal development curriculum for teachers to implement in their classrooms year-round.Titled “The Journey Within,” the teacher-led curriculum takes students through nine months of pregnancy during nine months of the school year, with posters, fetal development PowerPoints, ultrasound videos, studies, and images of babies in the womb.A version of the curriculum is available for both public and Catholic schools and has been vetted by a medical panel for accuracy, Schaefer noted.“For Catholic schools, we have a spiritual component where each month the teachers go through Scripture readings or a Church teaching, and the kids reflect on that, write about that, and go deeper,” she said. The faith-based curriculum operates under a “4S model” that incorporates Scripture, science, stories, and service. Each faith-based school that Heart of a Child presents to completes a service project, such as raising money to buy diapers for pro-life pregnancy centers.Schaefer emphasized the importance of fetal development curriculum today, noting that “right now the buzz in pro-life education and the pro-life movement in general is that different states have passed a law requiring fetal development education.”States that have laws requiring fetal development education in public schools include Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia, Iowa, and Ohio. Lobbying efforts in Nebraska to pass similar legislation have yet to be successful, Schaefer said, citing difficulty in finding a senator to prioritize a bill with precise language.“We’ve been meeting with senators, and unfortunately the bill they came up with [had] the potential for a Planned Parenthood to get in there and do fetal development education because it was too loose,” she said. “So weʼve recommended the senators to go back and redo the language, and it might be where certain fetal development programs are required in the state of Nebraska.”Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has signaled his support of efforts to pass legislation requiring education on fetal development in Nebraska public schools, telling EWTN News in an interview earlier this year: “I am 100% behind it and am supportive of it.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/nebraska-pro-life-ministry-brings-ultrasounds-to-classrooms-across-the-u-s-catholic-on-the-2012-anniversary-of-roe-v-wade-during-a-holy-hour-nikki-schaefer-and-her-7-year-old-daughter-grace-scaled.jpg "Nebraska pro-life ministry brings ultrasounds to classrooms across the U.S. – #Catholic – On the 2012 anniversary of Roe v. Wade, during a Holy Hour, Nikki Schaefer and her 7-year-old daughter, Grace, were inspired to begin a simple ministry selling hand-sewn pro-life pillows to raise money for pregnancy centers. Today, Heart of a Child Ministries has expanded into a fetal development education program present in K–12 classrooms across the country.The ministryʼs initial sale of the pro-life pillow raised roughly $40,000 shortly after they began, Schaefer told EWTN News. “With the sale of the pillow, we were featured in an article, and that’s how the first invitations to schools started to emerge in 2015.”“So, itʼs been 11 years since weʼve been in schools,” Schaefer said. “Since that first presentation, all kinds of things have come forth: We have presented in eight different states, we are all over the state of Nebraska, we have developed a K-4 Celebration of Life program, a fifth through sixth program, a middle school, and a high school and beyond program.”Founded in Omaha, Nebraska, Heart of a Child Ministries is growing into a multistate presence, with two new fetal certified educators in Illinois, one in Springfield and another set to be trained in Mokena in October. The organization also now has certified educators in Alabama and Idaho. Fetal development education for every levelHeart of a Child’s fetal development education brings live ultrasounds to classrooms in a way that is specially tailored to suit each grade level. Its K–4 program centers on “fun fetal facts for kids” and includes “all kinds of hands-on things,” such as a team of musicians who play songs, according to Schaefer. “The kids absolutely love it,” she said. “We’re just putting the joy of life in front of them.”Having the foundation of a K–4 program is crucial, according to Schaefer. “It really solidifies the deal — it puts the truth in their hearts from the very beginning so that when the lies start coming in middle school through social media, through their friends, they’ve already seen an ultrasound; they’ve already learned all these amazing facts about what’s happening.”Through middle school, the curriculum progresses with more detailed fetal development facts, adoption stories, and begins addressing the abortion issue. In high school, the live ultrasound and fetal development education is supplemented with more detailed information about abortion, a testimonial speaker, and a panel discussion.The ministry’s first college event on March 30, sponsored by Turning Point USA, utilized this format. The event took place at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, and included a panel of two OB-GYN doctors, a representative for the abortion pill reversal (APR), Teresa Kenney, host of the Hormone Genius podcast, and other pro-life experts.“We feel confident that when kids walk away from that, their hearts are changed, their hearts are moved, and we have the statistics to prove that,” Schaefer said, noting their events have had “a 56% conversion rate on average” among students regarding the topic of abortion.Schaefer emphasized that the root of the program’s success is its holistic approach, acknowledging that each child processes information differently depending on age, personality, and maturity.“Every piece that we do is extremely important because it hits kids at different levels,” she said. “Some kids are more logical, right? They want the facts. Some kids are more heart. They want to hear a testimonial for some from someone who had an abortion, and it affected them. That’s what’s going to touch their hearts.”9 months of pregnancy for 9 months of schoolApart from its latest multistate expansion, Heart of a Child has also debuted a fetal development curriculum for teachers to implement in their classrooms year-round.Titled “The Journey Within,” the teacher-led curriculum takes students through nine months of pregnancy during nine months of the school year, with posters, fetal development PowerPoints, ultrasound videos, studies, and images of babies in the womb.A version of the curriculum is available for both public and Catholic schools and has been vetted by a medical panel for accuracy, Schaefer noted.“For Catholic schools, we have a spiritual component where each month the teachers go through Scripture readings or a Church teaching, and the kids reflect on that, write about that, and go deeper,” she said. The faith-based curriculum operates under a “4S model” that incorporates Scripture, science, stories, and service. Each faith-based school that Heart of a Child presents to completes a service project, such as raising money to buy diapers for pro-life pregnancy centers.Schaefer emphasized the importance of fetal development curriculum today, noting that “right now the buzz in pro-life education and the pro-life movement in general is that different states have passed a law requiring fetal development education.”States that have laws requiring fetal development education in public schools include Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia, Iowa, and Ohio. Lobbying efforts in Nebraska to pass similar legislation have yet to be successful, Schaefer said, citing difficulty in finding a senator to prioritize a bill with precise language.“We’ve been meeting with senators, and unfortunately the bill they came up with [had] the potential for a Planned Parenthood to get in there and do fetal development education because it was too loose,” she said. “So weʼve recommended the senators to go back and redo the language, and it might be where certain fetal development programs are required in the state of Nebraska.”Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has signaled his support of efforts to pass legislation requiring education on fetal development in Nebraska public schools, telling EWTN News in an interview earlier this year: “I am 100% behind it and am supportive of it.”")
Heart of a Child Ministries, based on Omaha, is expanding by training pro-life leaders to present fetal development education in schools across the country.
MONTGOMERY, AL — The Southern Poverty Law Center defended itself against reports of controversial spending practices by informing donors that funding the Ku Klux Klan is only 3% of what they do.
Read More
LINDALE, TX — Surprising many, a preacher at New Wine Community Church held up a three-year-old child’s crappy Sunday school drawing and declared that it was pleasing to Jesus.
Read More| Picture of the day |
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Blue shark (Prionace glauca), Faial-Pico Channel, Azores Islands, Portugal. The blue shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, that inhabits deep waters (images taken though between 5 and 10 meter below water) averaging around 3.1 m (10 ft) and preferring cooler waters. They can live up to 20 years, can move very quickly and feed primarily on small fish and squid, although they can take larger prey.
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O Almighty God,
Whose great power and eternal
Wisdom embraces the universe,
Watch over all policemen and
Law enforcement officers everywhere.
Protect them from harm
In the performance of their duty
To stop crime, robbery,
Riots and violence.
We pray, help them keep our streets
And homes safe, day and night.
We commend them to your loving care
Because their duty is dangerous.
Grant them strength and courage
In their daily assignments.
Dear God, protect these brave men …
The humanitarian agency stressed the need to protect international food assistance amid growing global hunger and domestic policy debates.
A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter
5:5b-14
Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with humility
in your dealings with one another, for:
God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.
Be sober and vigilant.
Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world
undergo the same sufferings.
The God of all grace
who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you
after you have suffered a little.
To him be dominion forever. Amen.
I write you this briefly through Silvanus,
whom I consider a faithful brother,
exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Remain firm in it.
The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son.
Greet one another with a loving kiss.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
From the Gospel according to Mark
16:15-20
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
The task which Jesus entrusts to a small group of common men lacking great intellectual capacity seems truly too bold! Yet this small company, insignificant compared to the great powers of the world, is sent to bring the message of Jesus’ love and mercy to every corner of the earth. But this plan of God can be accomplished only with the strength that God himself grants to the Apostles. (…) This is how this mission was able to be accomplished, and the Apostles began this work which was then continued by their successors. The mission that Jesus entrusted to the Apostles has continued through the centuries, and continues still today: it requires the cooperation of all of us. Each one, in fact, by the power of the Baptism that he or she received, is qualified in turn to proclaim the Gospel. (…) On this journey we encounter Christ himself in our brothers and sisters, especially in the poorest, in those who suffer in their very flesh the harsh and humiliating experience of old and new forms of poverty. As at the beginning the Risen Christ sent his Apostles with the power of the Holy Spirit, so too does he send all of us today, with the same power, so as to establish concrete and visible signs of hope. (Pope Francis, Regina Caeli, 13 May 2018)
Read More![British mother to travel to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide after son’s death – #Catholic – A 56-year-old British mother is traveling to Switzerland to end her life by assisted suicide after the death of her only son.Wendy Duffy told the New York Post she paid $13,500 to the Swiss assisted-dying nonprofit the Pegasos clinic.Duffy’s son, Marcus, died at age 23 four years ago after choking on a tomato lodged in his windpipe while sleeping. Nine months later, unable to cope with her grief, she attempted suicide by overdose and was placed on a ventilator for two weeks.She told the Daily Mail suicide is the only way her “spirit can be free.” She also said no amount of medication or therapy can make her whole again, and she “can’t wait” to die. She added: “I could step off a motorway bridge or a tower block but that would leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives.”She said she has chosen her deathbed outfit and requested that Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With A Smile” play as she dies. Her belongings will be donated afterward. Duffy said she plans to call her four sisters and two brothers from Switzerland to say goodbye. “It will be a hard call where I’ll say goodbye and thank them,” she said. “But they will get it. They know. Honestly, 100%, they know that I’m not happy, that I don’t want to be here.”Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, even for physically healthy people. On its website, Pegasos says it “believes that it is the human right of every rational adult of sound mind, regardless of state of health, to choose the manner and timing of their death."Duffy’s case follows the recent death by euthanasia of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo in Spain. On March 26, the young woman was euthanized over her father’s objections. The case sparked national debate in Spain, where euthanasia has been legal since 2021.The Church in Spain called Castillo’s death “a societal defeat.”In a statement, members of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference’s Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life said Castillo’s “story reflects an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional failings that challenge the whole of society.”Timeʼs up for right-to-die bill in UKMeanwhile, a right-to-die bill has stalled in the U.K. Parliament. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ran out of parliamentary time and therefore failed in the House of Lords on April 24. The archbishop of Liverpool, John Sherrington, said he was grateful to “all those Parliamentarians who have worked tirelessly to preserve the dignity of every human life and ensure that end-of life care remains rooted in compassion and respect until the natural end of life.”The Catholic Church teaches that suicide and euthanasia are gravely immoral. In a 2024 message to a palliative care symposium, Pope Francis called euthanasia “a failure of love.” He recalled when he said previously that assisted suicide and euthanasia constitute a “false compassion.”“‘[C]ompassion,’ a word that means ‘suffering with,’ does not involve the intentional ending of a life but rather the willingness to share the burdens of those facing the end stages of our earthly pilgrimage,” he said.In St. John Paul II’s 1999 address to the Pontifical Academy for Life, “Love and Solidarity for the Dying,” he said: “No one can arbitrarily choose whether to live or die; the absolute master of such a decision is the Creator alone.”In his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, he said: “suicide … involves the rejection of love of self and the renunciation of the obligation of justice and charity towards one’s neighbor … In its deepest reality, suicide represents a rejection of God’s absolute sovereignty over life and death.” Euthanasia is likewise condemned as “a grave violation of the law of God.”He also calls euthanasia “a false mercy, and indeed a disturbing ‘perversion’ of mercy. True ‘compassion’ leads to sharing anotherʼs pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.”He continued: “Moreover, the act of euthanasia appears all the more perverse if it is carried out by those, like relatives, who are supposed to treat a family member with patience and love, or by those, such as doctors, who by virtue of their specific profession are supposed to care for the sick person even in the most painful terminal stages.”While the Church says euthanasia and assisted suicide are never permissible, it supports palliative care. According to Dian Backoff, former executive director of Catholic Hospice for Catholic Health Services, palliative care is meant to address “what the whole patient wants during the treatment of an illness,” whether or not the patient is terminally ill or dealing with a long-term affliction.“Palliative care, then, is a genuine form of compassion, for it responds to suffering, whether physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual, by affirming the fundamental and inviolable dignity of every person, especially the dying, and helping them to accept the inevitable moment of passage from this life to eternal life,” Pope Francis said in 2024.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/british-mother-to-travel-to-switzerland-to-die-by-assisted-suicide-after-sons-death-catholic-a-56-year-old-british-mother-is-traveling-to-switzerland-to-end-her-life-by-assisted-suicide.jpg "British mother to travel to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide after son’s death – #Catholic – A 56-year-old British mother is traveling to Switzerland to end her life by assisted suicide after the death of her only son.Wendy Duffy told the New York Post she paid $13,500 to the Swiss assisted-dying nonprofit the Pegasos clinic.Duffy’s son, Marcus, died at age 23 four years ago after choking on a tomato lodged in his windpipe while sleeping. Nine months later, unable to cope with her grief, she attempted suicide by overdose and was placed on a ventilator for two weeks.She told the Daily Mail suicide is the only way her “spirit can be free.” She also said no amount of medication or therapy can make her whole again, and she “can’t wait” to die. She added: “I could step off a motorway bridge or a tower block but that would leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives.”She said she has chosen her deathbed outfit and requested that Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With A Smile” play as she dies. Her belongings will be donated afterward. Duffy said she plans to call her four sisters and two brothers from Switzerland to say goodbye. “It will be a hard call where I’ll say goodbye and thank them,” she said. “But they will get it. They know. Honestly, 100%, they know that I’m not happy, that I don’t want to be here.”Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, even for physically healthy people. On its website, Pegasos says it “believes that it is the human right of every rational adult of sound mind, regardless of state of health, to choose the manner and timing of their death.\"Duffy’s case follows the recent death by euthanasia of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo in Spain. On March 26, the young woman was euthanized over her father’s objections. The case sparked national debate in Spain, where euthanasia has been legal since 2021.The Church in Spain called Castillo’s death “a societal defeat.”In a statement, members of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference’s Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life said Castillo’s “story reflects an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional failings that challenge the whole of society.”Timeʼs up for right-to-die bill in UKMeanwhile, a right-to-die bill has stalled in the U.K. Parliament. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ran out of parliamentary time and therefore failed in the House of Lords on April 24. The archbishop of Liverpool, John Sherrington, said he was grateful to “all those Parliamentarians who have worked tirelessly to preserve the dignity of every human life and ensure that end-of life care remains rooted in compassion and respect until the natural end of life.”The Catholic Church teaches that suicide and euthanasia are gravely immoral. In a 2024 message to a palliative care symposium, Pope Francis called euthanasia “a failure of love.” He recalled when he said previously that assisted suicide and euthanasia constitute a “false compassion.”“‘[C]ompassion,’ a word that means ‘suffering with,’ does not involve the intentional ending of a life but rather the willingness to share the burdens of those facing the end stages of our earthly pilgrimage,” he said.In St. John Paul II’s 1999 address to the Pontifical Academy for Life, “Love and Solidarity for the Dying,” he said: “No one can arbitrarily choose whether to live or die; the absolute master of such a decision is the Creator alone.”In his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae, he said: “suicide … involves the rejection of love of self and the renunciation of the obligation of justice and charity towards one’s neighbor … In its deepest reality, suicide represents a rejection of God’s absolute sovereignty over life and death.” Euthanasia is likewise condemned as “a grave violation of the law of God.”He also calls euthanasia “a false mercy, and indeed a disturbing ‘perversion’ of mercy. True ‘compassion’ leads to sharing anotherʼs pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.”He continued: “Moreover, the act of euthanasia appears all the more perverse if it is carried out by those, like relatives, who are supposed to treat a family member with patience and love, or by those, such as doctors, who by virtue of their specific profession are supposed to care for the sick person even in the most painful terminal stages.”While the Church says euthanasia and assisted suicide are never permissible, it supports palliative care. According to Dian Backoff, former executive director of Catholic Hospice for Catholic Health Services, palliative care is meant to address “what the whole patient wants during the treatment of an illness,” whether or not the patient is terminally ill or dealing with a long-term affliction.“Palliative care, then, is a genuine form of compassion, for it responds to suffering, whether physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual, by affirming the fundamental and inviolable dignity of every person, especially the dying, and helping them to accept the inevitable moment of passage from this life to eternal life,” Pope Francis said in 2024.")
![White House to bring back firing squads as Pope Leo XIV calls for U.S. death penalty to be abolished – #Catholic – The Trump administration has announced that it will bring back federal firing squad executions in the United States — a move it claims will “strengthen” the national death penalty — while Pope Leo XIV is simultaneously offering support to those seeking to abolish capital punishment in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S. Department of Justice said on April 24 that it was moving to once again “seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences,” restarting the federal death penalty process that had been indefinitely stalled under the Biden administration. Among the measures that the Justice Department said it will take include “expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad” as well as “streamlining” administrative processes to hasten executions by the federal government. The government said it would also seek to restart carrying out lethal injections by pentobarbital, a barbiturate that prisoner advocates have said can cause extreme pain and suffering when used in executions. In an accompanying report released on April 24, the Justice Department called pentobarbital “the gold standard of lethal injection drugs.” It described the drug as “more humane” than other modes of execution and pointed out that it has been used in assisted suicide procedures in the U.S. for those suffering from terminal illnesses. Pope Leo XIV urges abolition of death penaltyThe governmentʼs announcement came roughly at the same time on April 24 that Pope Leo XIV addressed, via video message, a gathering of activists at DePaul University celebrating the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois. The pope in his message noted that the Catholic Church teaches that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." The Holy See updated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 to explicitly call for the abolition of capital punishment worldwide. Leo likewise told the pro-life advocates in his hometown of Chicago that the Church “affirm[s] that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed.”The Holy Father said he joined the advocates in celebrating the stateʼs 2011 abolition of the death penalty; he wrote that he offered his “support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world.”“I pray that your efforts will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the dignity of every person and will inspire others to work for the same just cause,” the pope wrote. Leoʼs message comes one day after he spoke out forcefully against executions aboard the papal plane returning from his apostolic visit to Africa. Asked about Iranʼs reported large-scale executions, the pope said: “I condemn the taking of people’s lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people — from conception to natural [death] — their lives should be respected and protected.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/white-house-to-bring-back-firing-squads-as-pope-leo-xiv-calls-for-u-s-death-penalty-to-be-abolished-catholic-the-trump-administration-has-announced-that-it-will-bring-back-federal-firing-squad-e.jpg "White House to bring back firing squads as Pope Leo XIV calls for U.S. death penalty to be abolished – #Catholic – The Trump administration has announced that it will bring back federal firing squad executions in the United States — a move it claims will “strengthen” the national death penalty — while Pope Leo XIV is simultaneously offering support to those seeking to abolish capital punishment in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S. Department of Justice said on April 24 that it was moving to once again “seek, obtain, and implement lawful capital sentences,” restarting the federal death penalty process that had been indefinitely stalled under the Biden administration. Among the measures that the Justice Department said it will take include “expanding the protocol to include additional manners of execution such as the firing squad” as well as “streamlining” administrative processes to hasten executions by the federal government. The government said it would also seek to restart carrying out lethal injections by pentobarbital, a barbiturate that prisoner advocates have said can cause extreme pain and suffering when used in executions. In an accompanying report released on April 24, the Justice Department called pentobarbital “the gold standard of lethal injection drugs.” It described the drug as “more humane” than other modes of execution and pointed out that it has been used in assisted suicide procedures in the U.S. for those suffering from terminal illnesses. Pope Leo XIV urges abolition of death penaltyThe governmentʼs announcement came roughly at the same time on April 24 that Pope Leo XIV addressed, via video message, a gathering of activists at DePaul University celebrating the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois. The pope in his message noted that the Catholic Church teaches that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.\" The Holy See updated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 to explicitly call for the abolition of capital punishment worldwide. Leo likewise told the pro-life advocates in his hometown of Chicago that the Church “affirm[s] that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed.”The Holy Father said he joined the advocates in celebrating the stateʼs 2011 abolition of the death penalty; he wrote that he offered his “support to those who advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in the United States of America and around the world.”“I pray that your efforts will lead to a greater acknowledgement of the dignity of every person and will inspire others to work for the same just cause,” the pope wrote. Leoʼs message comes one day after he spoke out forcefully against executions aboard the papal plane returning from his apostolic visit to Africa. Asked about Iranʼs reported large-scale executions, the pope said: “I condemn the taking of people’s lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people — from conception to natural [death] — their lives should be respected and protected.”")
The federal government says it is moving to “strengthen” the federal death penalty while the pope is calling for an end to capital punishment.
NASA celebrates Hubble’s 36th anniversary with a new image of the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region it first captured in 1997. The telescope leveraged almost its full operational lifetime to show us changes in the nebula on human time scales with an improved camera.
Read MoreLong before humanity could venture into space, astronomers dreamed of a telescope above Earth’s obscuring atmosphere. In 1962, this dream took a step toward reality when a National Academy of Sciences study group recommended the development of a space telescope. NASA launched two Orbiting Astronomical Observatories in 1968 and 1972. Both produced a wealth ofContinue reading “April 24, 1990: Hubble launches”
The post April 24, 1990: Hubble launches appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Seminarians shared their personal stories of hearing and responding to God’s call to the priesthood.
During National Infertility Awareness Week, author Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead shared encouragement and advice for Catholic couples navigating infertility.
Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, April 24Venus passes 0.8° due north of Uranus at 1 A.M. EDT. After their close conjunction yesterday, the two remain within 1.5° of each other in the evening sky tonight, offering a second chance to spot them in a single field of viewContinue reading “The Sky This Week from April 17 to 24: The Lyrid meteor shower peaks”
The post The Sky This Week from April 17 to 24: The Lyrid meteor shower peaks appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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The people of the East Village neighborhood in New York City are getting exactly what they voted for and they are not happy about it.
The post NYC Neighborhood Where 70% of People Voted for Zohran Mamdani Now Suing His Administration for Locating a Homeless Shelter There appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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The city of Los Angeles has a major street light problem.
The post SAY WHAT? Los Angeles Proposes New TAX to Pay to Fix Street Lights Broken by Copper Wire Thieves appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Now that the Southern Poverty Law Center is being exposed, it is important to look back at some of the outrageous claims made by this group in the past.
The post FLASHBACK: In 2014, the Southern Poverty Law Center Put Dr. Ben Carson on an ‘Extremist’ List appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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Whoa, man. Check it out: That’s a free couch sitting on the side of the road there. Not a chair. Not a love seat. A whole friggin’ couch.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — A local architect contracted to design the new location for First Testimony Crosspointe Church was reportedly fired and escorted from the construction site after suggesting the building include a steeple.
Read More| Picture of the day |
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Key Monastery in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located at an elevation of 4,166 m (13,668 ft) on a hill rising above the Spiti valley, where it is the largest monastery and houses hundreds of monks. It is said to have been founded in the 11th century and belongs to the Gelugpa school of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. This view shows the monastery in winter, overlooking the snow-covered Spiti river valley with the Himalayas in the background.
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Almighty and loving Father,
I thank you for giving St. Gerard to us
as a most appealing model and powerful friend.
By his example,
he showed us how to love and trust You.
You have showered many blessings
on those who call upon him.
For Your greater glory and my welfare,
please grant me the favours
which I ask in his name.
(Mention your needs here…)
And you, my powerful patron,
intercede for me before the throne of God.
Draw near to that throne
and …
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 9:1-20
Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
He said, "Who are you, sir?"
The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do."
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.
There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias."
He answered, "Here I am, Lord."
The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight."
But Ananias replied,
"Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name."
But the Lord said to him,
"Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name."
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
"Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.
He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God.
From the Gospel according to John
6:52-59
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
The bread from heaven is a gift that exceeds all expectations. Those who do not grasp Jesus’ way remain suspicious: it seems impossible, even inhuman, to eat the flesh of another (cf. v. 54). Flesh and blood, however, are the humanity of the Saviour, his very life offered as a nourishment for our own. (…) Christ, true man, knows well that one must eat to live. But he also knows that this is not enough. After multiplying the earthly bread (cf. Jn 6:1-14), he prepares an even greater gift: he himself becomes true food and true drink (cf. v. 55). (…)
The heavenly bread, which comes from the Father, is the Son himself made flesh for us. This food is more than necessary because it satisfies the hunger for hope, the hunger for truth and the hunger for salvation that we all feel not in our stomachs, but in our hearts. Every one of us needs the Eucharist!
Jesus takes care of the greatest need: he saves us, nourishing our lives with his own, and he will do this forever. And it is thanks to him that we can live in communion with God and with each other. The living and true bread is not, therefore, something magical, no. It is not something that will immediately solve all problems, but it is the very Body of Christ, that gives hope to the poor and overcomes the arrogance of those who gorge themselves at their expense. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 18 August 2024)
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to help strengthen laws that protect people with disabilities from assisted suicide, saying “we can’t be a moral society” with these laws in place.
![Panel explores Gen Z perspectives on Jewish-Catholic relations – #Catholic – Catholics of Jewish descent shared their faith journeys and urged renewed dialogue and theological clarity to counter antisemitism at a Benedictine College panel.The panel was part of an April 22 event, “Shoulder to Shoulder: Strengthening Jewish-Catholic Friendship at a Moment of Crisis,” cosponsored by the college and the Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism.Featured speakers on the panel included Yarden Zelivansky, an active reserve sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and a Jewish convert to Catholicism; Gideon Lazar, an American Jewish convert to Catholicism; and Aviva Lund, a Catholic of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.The panel was moderated by Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism founding member Simone Rizkallah and Peter Wolfgang, president of the Family Institute of Connecticut Action.Gen Z and Jewish-Catholic RelationsObserving an uptick in antisemitism among Catholics online, Lazar pointed to Gen Z’s reticence to accept arguments rooted in “brotherhood” or theological similarities between Catholics and Jews.Lazar said Gen Z men are looking for answers related to theological and political differences, and that when arguments fail to address these differences, “what they’re hearing is you don’t have answers to their questions.”“Gen Z men in many ways see a culture that has failed them, and they’re looking for answers and feel that because the older generations failed them, they don’t have those answers,” Lazar said. “When Gen Z men don’t get those real answers,” he said, “theyʼre going to get them from random antisemites online who have quote-mined a bunch of random Church fathers to make the Church fathers and the tradition look antisemitic.”He further condemned the weaponization of the phrase “Christ is King,” saying “one of the worst things that’s happened is this beautiful message, the kingship of Christ, has been corrupted by people who are fundamentally opposed to Christ.”“How are we possibly supposed to tell our Jewish brothers and sisters that Jesus is their Messiah when we tell that to them, they think that means you hate us?” he said. “This should be a message of love.”Being a Jewish Catholic convert in IsraelZelivanksy, who co-hosts “The Voice of Jacob” podcast with Lazar, shared that his experience being a Jewish convert to Catholicism living in Israel has been “mostly surprisingly benign.”“It seems to me that especially since Oct. 7, [2023], thereʼs been a shift in how Israelis view what kind of makes you a part of the nation of Israel,” Zelivansky said, explaining even if Israelis disagree with your theological position, he said, it is more important to them that “you do what everybody else does to be a part of the nation of Israel.”“I canʼt say life is too complicated for me as a Christian. Generally, people seem to just not really care,” he said, noting that his IDF gear and car are marked with the Jerusalem cross.“A lot of the problems people speak of in Israel are kind of centered in Jerusalem,” said Zelivanksy, who lives just outside Tel Aviv. “My friends who live in Jerusalem do experience some of the spitting and the cursing that you hear about, but Iʼve never experienced it anywhere else.”Zelivansky, who attended the conference virtually after his flight was delayed due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, also offered his view as a Catholic regarding the war.“Faith comes first. Faith informs morals. Morals inform politics," he said. “And serving in a certain countryʼs military certainly does not entail agreeing with every single policy.”“I wouldnʼt say itʼs my place to comment on politics,” he said. “I would say that we all need to inform ourselves on current events that are relevant to us and examine them in the light of faith and not examine faith in the light of politics, which is something that tends to happen a lot, left and right, these days.”Jewish-Catholic identityDuring her remarks, Lund said embracing her Jewish roots as a cradle Catholic among her extended Jewish family has been a mostly positive experience, noting: “From my experience, Jews are not evangelical. They just care about their own people.”“For me itʼs honestly kind of been an evolution,” she said. “The way I approach it now is basically our Jewish brethren are our brethren, theyʼre our older siblings, and so, we might as well just enjoy them as fellow human beings.”Lund said her Jewish roots have influenced her Catholic faith, because “the more I meet Jewish brethren, the more I deepen into the mystery of Jesus, especially with evangelizing.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/panel-explores-gen-z-perspectives-on-jewish-catholic-relations-catholic-catholics-of-jewish-descent-shared-their-faith-journeys-and-urged-renewed-dialogue-and-theological-clarity-to-counter-antis.jpg "Panel explores Gen Z perspectives on Jewish-Catholic relations – #Catholic – Catholics of Jewish descent shared their faith journeys and urged renewed dialogue and theological clarity to counter antisemitism at a Benedictine College panel.The panel was part of an April 22 event, “Shoulder to Shoulder: Strengthening Jewish-Catholic Friendship at a Moment of Crisis,” cosponsored by the college and the Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism.Featured speakers on the panel included Yarden Zelivansky, an active reserve sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and a Jewish convert to Catholicism; Gideon Lazar, an American Jewish convert to Catholicism; and Aviva Lund, a Catholic of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.The panel was moderated by Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism founding member Simone Rizkallah and Peter Wolfgang, president of the Family Institute of Connecticut Action.Gen Z and Jewish-Catholic RelationsObserving an uptick in antisemitism among Catholics online, Lazar pointed to Gen Z’s reticence to accept arguments rooted in “brotherhood” or theological similarities between Catholics and Jews.Lazar said Gen Z men are looking for answers related to theological and political differences, and that when arguments fail to address these differences, “what they’re hearing is you don’t have answers to their questions.”“Gen Z men in many ways see a culture that has failed them, and they’re looking for answers and feel that because the older generations failed them, they don’t have those answers,” Lazar said. “When Gen Z men don’t get those real answers,” he said, “theyʼre going to get them from random antisemites online who have quote-mined a bunch of random Church fathers to make the Church fathers and the tradition look antisemitic.”He further condemned the weaponization of the phrase “Christ is King,” saying “one of the worst things that’s happened is this beautiful message, the kingship of Christ, has been corrupted by people who are fundamentally opposed to Christ.”“How are we possibly supposed to tell our Jewish brothers and sisters that Jesus is their Messiah when we tell that to them, they think that means you hate us?” he said. “This should be a message of love.”Being a Jewish Catholic convert in IsraelZelivanksy, who co-hosts “The Voice of Jacob” podcast with Lazar, shared that his experience being a Jewish convert to Catholicism living in Israel has been “mostly surprisingly benign.”“It seems to me that especially since Oct. 7, [2023], thereʼs been a shift in how Israelis view what kind of makes you a part of the nation of Israel,” Zelivansky said, explaining even if Israelis disagree with your theological position, he said, it is more important to them that “you do what everybody else does to be a part of the nation of Israel.”“I canʼt say life is too complicated for me as a Christian. Generally, people seem to just not really care,” he said, noting that his IDF gear and car are marked with the Jerusalem cross.“A lot of the problems people speak of in Israel are kind of centered in Jerusalem,” said Zelivanksy, who lives just outside Tel Aviv. “My friends who live in Jerusalem do experience some of the spitting and the cursing that you hear about, but Iʼve never experienced it anywhere else.”Zelivansky, who attended the conference virtually after his flight was delayed due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, also offered his view as a Catholic regarding the war.“Faith comes first. Faith informs morals. Morals inform politics,\" he said. “And serving in a certain countryʼs military certainly does not entail agreeing with every single policy.”“I wouldnʼt say itʼs my place to comment on politics,” he said. “I would say that we all need to inform ourselves on current events that are relevant to us and examine them in the light of faith and not examine faith in the light of politics, which is something that tends to happen a lot, left and right, these days.”Jewish-Catholic identityDuring her remarks, Lund said embracing her Jewish roots as a cradle Catholic among her extended Jewish family has been a mostly positive experience, noting: “From my experience, Jews are not evangelical. They just care about their own people.”“For me itʼs honestly kind of been an evolution,” she said. “The way I approach it now is basically our Jewish brethren are our brethren, theyʼre our older siblings, and so, we might as well just enjoy them as fellow human beings.”Lund said her Jewish roots have influenced her Catholic faith, because “the more I meet Jewish brethren, the more I deepen into the mystery of Jesus, especially with evangelizing.”")
A panel at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, discussed Jewish-Catholic identity and antisemitism among Gen Z.
Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our Sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
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Despite losses from religious switching, Catholics still make up the majority of the population in a number of countries Pew Research Center analyzed across the globe.
The suit concerned allegations against former priest Stephen Kiesle, who has faced dozens of lawsuits regarding alleged child abuse.
Gospel message brings freedom, hope, pope says at final Mass in Equatorial Guinea #Catholic – 
(OSV News) — On his last day in Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV reminded Catholics in the country to seek strength, justice and hope from the Gospel and the sacraments.
“If you are oppressed by injustice, he is justice; if you are in need of help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire Heaven, he is the way; if you are in darkness, he is light,” the pope said, quoting St. Ambrose April 23, at a Mass with an estimated 30,000 people at Malabo Stadium in Equatorial Guinea.
The Mass marked the final event of the pope’s 11-day visit to Africa. Arriving at the stadium in his popemobile, Pope Leo was greeted with cheers from the people attending the Mass, many of whom were dressed in the Vatican’s white and yellow colors.
Before beginning his homily, the pope expressed his condolences to the archdiocese, priests and family members for the death of Father Fortunato Nsue Esono, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Malabo.
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According to a statement by the bishops’ conference of Equatorial Guinea, Father Esono died “unexpectedly” April 17 at his residence in Our Lady of Bisila Parish. No cause of death has been given.
The 39-year-old priest, who was named vicar general nine months ago, played a key role in preparations for the papal visit, the bishops’ conference said.
“I invite you to live this moment of pain with a spirit of faith, and I trust that, without being carried away by rumors or hasty conclusions, full clarity will be brought to the circumstances of his death,” Pope Leo said.
Speaking in Spanish, the pope reflected on the day’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which recounted the deacon Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch reading the Scriptures as he was traveling from Jerusalem to Africa.
In the reading, Philip asks the eunuch if he understood what he was reading, to which the eunuch replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”
The “humble wisdom” in the Ethiopian’s response, Pope Leo said, was “not only a search for truth, but also an expression of openness and desire.”
However, while the man is wealthy, intelligent and cultured, he is a slave and “not fully free.”
“This painful reality is marked even on his body: he is, in fact, a eunuch. He cannot bring forth life; all his vitality is placed at the service of a power that controls and rules over him,” the pope said.
Nevertheless, the “proclamation of the Gospel sets him free,” and through his encounter with Philip, the man is “transformed from a mere reader, a spectator, of Scripture into a protagonist in the very story that captivates him,” the pope said.
The word of God, the pope continued, “becomes a lived reality” and through the sacrament of baptism, “he is no longer a stranger, but becomes a child of God, our brother in faith.”
“Though a slave and childless, he is reborn into a new and free life in the name of the Lord Jesus. And we speak of his salvation to this day, precisely as we read these Scriptures,” he said.
Pope Leo said that, like the eunuch, through baptism, Christians have received “the same faith” and the same word. Reading and reflecting on Scripture “is always both a personal and an ecclesial act; it is never something done in isolation or in a merely mechanical way.”
“Together we read Scripture as the shared heritage of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, who inspired its composition, and by Apostolic Tradition, which has preserved and transmitted it throughout the world,” the pope said. “Like the eunuch, we too can come to understand the Word of God with the help of a guide who accompanies us on our journey of faith.”
Turning his attention to the Gospel reading from St. John, in which Jesus says he “is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.”
Christ, the pope said, “is the Risen One” who “continues to give his life for all.”
“Do I trust that his love is stronger than my death? By deciding to believe in him, each of us chooses between inevitable despair and the hope that God offers. Our hunger for life and justice is then satisfied by Jesus’ words: ‘The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh,’” he said.
Encouraging the faithful to “joyfully proclaim” that “Christ is everything for us,” Pope Leo reminded Christians that in Jesus, “we find the fullness of life and meaning.”
“Our problems do not disappear in the Lord’s presence, but they are illuminated,” he said. “Just as every cross finds redemption in Jesus, so too the story of our lives finds its meaning in the Gospel.”
“Through our witness,” he added, “the proclamation of salvation is made visible in action, service and forgiveness — in a word, it becomes the Church!”
Before the final blessing, Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang Mayé of Malabo expressed his gratitude on behalf of the people of Equatorial Guinea for the pope’s visit.
“Indeed, in these days we have experienced the evangelical solidarity of the Church, which has rekindled our faith and our commitment to contribute to the creation of a new homeland in Christ,” Archbishop May said.
Calling Pope Leo’s visit “a powerful call to reconciliation and peace,” the archbishop expressed the local Church’s commitment to “continue working for justice, equality, fraternity, and reconciliation among all the sons and daughters of our country.”
“May this visit be for us a powerful encouragement of faith and conversion for a local Church affectionately united to the Chair of Peter, more evangelizing and more committed to development that includes the poor and the marginalized,” Archbishop Mayé said.
Archbishop Mayé then invited a procession of people dressed in traditional clothing and presenting gifts “that are fruits of our mother Earth and the work of human hands.”
Bidding farewell to the people of Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo said that he was leaving Africa “carrying with me an invaluable treasure of faith, hope, and charity.”
“It is a great treasure, made up of stories, faces, and joyful and suffering testimonies that greatly enrich my life and my ministry as the successor of Peter,” the pope said.
He also noted that just as in the early centuries of the Church, “today Africa is called to contribute significantly to the holiness and missionary character of the Christian people.”
“I entrust this intention to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, to whom I commend myself wholeheartedly, as well as your families, your communities, your nation, and all the peoples of Africa,” the pope said.
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.
– (OSV News) — On his last day in Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV reminded Catholics in the country to seek strength, justice and hope from the Gospel and the sacraments. “If you are oppressed by injustice, he is justice; if you are in need of help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire Heaven, he is the way; if you are in darkness, he is light,” the pope said, quoting St. Ambrose April 23, at a Mass with an estimated 30,000 people at Malabo Stadium in Equatorial Guinea. The Mass marked the final event
Top 10 takeaways from a report on the 400 men becoming US priests in 2026 #Catholic – 
(OSV News) — This spring, the U.S. will see more than 400 men ordained to the priesthood, both diocesan and religious.
What does the latest generation of priests in the U.S. look like, and what factors have shaped their vocation?
To find out, OSV News examined data from the Ordination Class of 2026 Study, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
The annual report, which CARA has overseen since 2006, is commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.
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Of the 428 ordinands asked to participate in the Feb. 12-March 20 survey, 334 (78%) responded to CARA.
As in previous years, the latest findings — announced by the USCCB in an April 21 press release — come ahead of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, observed on the Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 26), which is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday in the Latin Church. The Gospel passage (Jn 10:1-10) for the Mass highlights Jesus’ role as the Good Shepherd.
Here are the top 10 takeaways from CARA’s report:
1. Sixteen is the average age for first considering a priestly vocation.
About half of the survey respondents said they were between the ages of 3 and 16 when they first considered the priesthood, with another half between 16 and 51, for an average age of 16.
But that age was slightly higher for those about to be ordained as priests in religious orders, who were typically 18 when they first thought about the vocation. Half of that cohort was between 3 and 19 years old, and the other half between 19 and 39 years old.
More than one third (39%) of ordinands first contemplated the priesthood while they were still in elementary school, between the ages of 6 and 13.
2. The newest priests will mostly be in their early 30s at the time of their ordination.
The current class of ordinands will, on average, be 33 years old when they are ordained, with half between 26 and 31 years old, and the other half between 31 and 75 years old.
Almost half (49%) of this year’s ordinands are 30 years or younger, with 38% between the ages of 31-40 years old. The latter age group represents 59% of religious institute ordinands, in contrast to 33% of their diocesan counterparts — a difference CARA noted was “statistically significant.”
Most of the ordinands (62%) identified themselves as white, with 17% identifying as Hispanic or Latino, 11% Asian or Pacific Islander, 5% Black or African American, and 2% listing another ethnicity.
3. More than 25% of this year’s class were born outside of the U.S.
More than one quarter of this year’s ordination class was born outside of the U.S. Of those participating in the survey, 26% said they had been born outside of the U.S., with the most common nations listed as Vietnam (5%), Mexico (3%) and Colombia (2%). CARA noted the class of 2026 hailed from 30 different nations.
4. Eucharistic adoration, the rosary, and prayer/Bible groups top the list of prayer practices prior to seminary.
A majority of survey respondents — 81% overall — said they spent time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Diocesan ordinands were somewhat more likely to cite Eucharistic adoration (83%) than their religious order counterparts (75%), but the practice was in the majority for both cohorts.
Close behind adoration was the rosary — 79% overall, with 81% of the diocesan and 70% of the religious order respondents listing the devotion.
Prayer and Bible groups were named by just over half (52%) of those surveyed, with religious order respondents (59%) more likely than diocesan ordinands (50%) to name such practices.
Generally, lectio divina (48%), high school retreats (44%) and college retreats (29%) also proved formative.
5. Most of this year’s class had been altar servers before entering the seminary.
A majority of the survey respondents (79%) said they had been altar servers prior to the seminary, with 81% of diocesan and 72% of religious order participants citing that ministry.
Ordination class members also served as lectors (49%), extraordinary ministers of holy Communion (35%), campus or youth ministers (34%) and catechists (32%).
6. At least one person encouraged them to consider the priesthood — and it was usually a parish priest.
Almost all (92%) of this year’s ordination class said they had been encouraged by at least one person to consider becoming a priest. Overall, 70% of the survey respondents said that person was a parish priest, followed by a friend (49%), mother (46%), parishioner (44%) and father (37%).
Less than half (41%) were discouraged from entering the seminary by another family member (22%), friends or classmates (17%), a mother or father (12% each.)
7. Most of the new priests come from two-parent, multi-sibling Catholic homes, and were baptized Catholic as infants.
Overall, 93% of those surveyed said they had been baptized Catholic as infants, a figure that represents 94% of the diocesan and 89% of the religious order ordinands. The latter group had a higher rate (11%) of those who became Catholic later in life.
A majority (86%) of the 2026 class said both of their parents were Catholic — 88% for the diocesan cohort, and 81% for the religious order ordinands. CARA predicted that if the current trend holds, that overall number is expected to reach 88% in 2031.
Almost all of the 2026 class members (97%) said they’d been raised by at least one biological parent, and 88% reported being raised by a married couple, living together. Another 5% lived with one parent who was separated or divorced, and 2% with a widowed parent during the most formative part of their childhood.
Another 2% were raised by an unmarried couple living together; those who were raised by an unmarried or married couple living separately, a single unmarried parent, or another individual each totaled about 1%.
The newest priests typically had three siblings, and the largest share (37%) were somewhere in the middle in terms of birth order, with just 5% reporting they were only children.
8. Not all of the class went to Catholic school — but more than 60% attended a parish religious education program.
Overall, 45% of the ordination class attended a Catholic elementary school, with fewer attending a Catholic high school (38%) or college (34%). Another 11% reported they were homeschooled.
A majority of the survey respondents (63%) said they had participated in a parish religious education program. Diocesan ordinands (66%) were more likely to have done so than their religious order counterparts (51%).
9. More than half earned a degree and worked full-time before entering the seminary.
Three in five of the survey respondents, or 61%, said they had received an undergraduate or graduate degree before they entered the seminary. Philosophy, theology, engineering, business, science and math were the most common fields of study.
CARA found that 64% of ordinands had at least some full-time work experience prior to the seminary. Top fields listed were church ministry (18%), education (17%), business (15%), and sales and customer service (12%). One third (33%) of those in the religious order cohort who had worked full time cited education as their field.
10. Educational debt, though significant for some, wasn’t an issue for most when they entered the seminary.
A majority of respondents (79%) said they did not have educational debt when they entered seminary formation. Those who did averaged just over $33,000 in debt, with half having anywhere from $2,000-$25,000, and the other half carrying $25,000-$150,000 in balances.
At the time of their ordination, those with educational debt had balances averaging slightly over $22,000, with one half reporting between $800-$11,500 and the other half anywhere from $11,500 to $150,000. Family members (65%) provided the main assistance in paying down educational debt, followed by religious communities (29%), the Labouré Society (19%), the Knights of Columbus (16%), parishes (10%) and friends or coworkers (10%).
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina. A link to CARA’s Ordination Class of 2026 Study can be found here.
– (OSV News) — This spring, the U.S. will see more than 400 men ordained to the priesthood, both diocesan and religious. What does the latest generation of priests in the U.S. look like, and what factors have shaped their vocation? To find out, OSV News examined data from the Ordination Class of 2026 Study, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. The annual report, which CARA has overseen since 2006, is commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
St. Louis’ devotion to Mary #Catholic – 
“Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus,” said Saint Louis de Montfort, whose feast day is April 28th, which is the same day he passed away 310 years ago in 1716 at the age of 43. It’s a good time of year to remember Saint Louis de Montfort because his feast day falls just a few days before the start of May, the month of Mary, and he was so instrumental in elevating devotion to our Blessed Mother.
Louis de Montfort grew up in a large farming family in France’s northwestern region of Brittany. When he was twelve years old, he began attending the Jesuit College of St. Thomas Beckett in the nearby City of Rennes. There, he discovered the work of a local priest preaching missions promoting consecration and entrustment to Mary. Louis began to dream of following in that priest’s footsteps to spread Marian devotion.
Arriving in Paris to study theology at the Sorbonne, Louis found that he lacked adequate funds for lodging, so he lived among the city’s poor while going to school. Louis already had a profound love for the poor and desired to preach missions to them. His first-hand experience living among them led him to fulfill that calling, and also to grow in compassion for others.
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Shortly before entering seminary, Louis became very ill and had a harrowing experience before finally recovering and entering the Little Saint-Sulpice seminary, run by the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice. Working as seminary librarian, Louis immersed himself in books about devotion to our Blessed Mother, which prepared him for the work he would do as a priest promoting what he called “total consecration to Jesus through Mary.”
Louis went on to preach missions throughout northwestern France and became known as “the good Father from Montfort.” He was also a prolific writer, composing poetry for translation into religious songs, and he wrote books, including “True Devotion to Mary,” which remained unpublished and unknown until being discovered more than a century after his death. When it was finally published in 1842, “True Devotion to Mary” was celebrated for the spiritual fruits it bore in people’s lives. This led to a wider appreciation for Louis’ other writings, such as his books “Secret of the Rosary” and “Secret of Mary.” Together, these three Marian classics explore Louis’ profound insights about how devotion to our Blessed Mother can draw us closer to Christ.
In “True Devotion to Mary,” Louis writes, “God the Father made an assemblage of all the waters, and He named it the sea. He has made an assemblage of all His graces, and He has called it Mary.”
Total consecration to Jesus through Mary entails detailed steps that can be found in “True Devotion to Mary.” Those steps are also enumerated in many other books and places online. They are essentially aimed at a personal act that can be done on one’s own, with a small group in a private setting, or on retreat. Put simply, that act entails turning to Mary with total love and trust that she will lead us to Her Son.
“Totus Tuus,” meaning “totally yours,” was the phrase Pope Saint John Paul II took from Saint Louis de Montfort to capture this devotion. It’s a simple phrase we can say daily, making our own personal act of consecration to Jesus through Mary, turning to our Blessed Mother with total trust and asking her to lead us to Christ.
Father Ed Dougherty, M.M., is on The Christophers’ Board of Directors. For free copies of the Christopher News Note NURTURING SEEDS OF FAITH AND HOPE, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org
– “Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus,” said Saint Louis de Montfort, whose feast day is April 28th, which is the same day he passed away 310 years ago in 1716 at the age of 43. It’s a good time of year to remember Saint Louis de Montfort because his feast day falls just a few days before the start of May, the month of Mary, and he was so instrumental in elevating devotion to our Blessed Mother. Louis de Montfort grew up in a large farming family in France’s northwestern region of Brittany.
Get spiritually charged joining Bishop’s October pilgrimage in D.C. #Catholic – 
Catholics of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey are invited to deepen their faith and relationship with Jesus by joining Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney for a spiritually exhilarating Marian pilgrimage in October. The anticipated event will offer prayer, catechesis, and worship in the sacred atmosphere of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Participants can choose a one-day pilgrimage to the basilica on Saturday, Oct. 17, featuring a catechesis on prayer in English and Spanish, recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Mass with Bishop Sweeney and concelebrating priests, and an opportunity to receive reconciliation. Pilgrims can also choose a two-day trip from Friday, Oct. 16, to Saturday, Oct. 17, which includes a visit to the Museum of the Bible and a banquet dinner with Bishop Sweeney on Oct. 16 before visiting the basilica the next day for the pilgrimage.
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All participants on the one-day pilgrimage will visit the grand Romanesque-Byzantine basilica, the largest Roman Catholic church in the Americas. They will experience its impressive architecture and the world’s largest collection of contemporary ecclesiastical artwork, spread throughout its more than 80 chapels and oratories.
Starting at noon on Oct. 17, the diocesan-led pilgrimage will begin in the Upper Church. Father Michael Rodak, diocesan pilgrimage director, will offer a welcome and introduction. A chosen family will then make a Presentation to Mary.
Afterward, pilgrims can choose activities during two activity sessions: 12:45-1:15 p.m. and 1:30-2 p.m. Options include a self-guided basilica tour, a presentation in English and Spanish by the diocesan Catechetical Office on the section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church about prayer, a basilica history talk, confessions in the Crypt Church, and quiet time for personal prayer.
The pilgrimage will continue at 2:15 p.m. with the praying of a multilingual Divine Mercy Chaplet, followed by a Mass in English and Spanish at 2:30 p.m., celebrated by Bishop Sweeney, with many participating priests concelebrating.
“This pilgrimage is a wonderful way for Catholics to grow in their faith, prayer lives, and relationship with God, and to honor our Blessed Mother, patroness of the Church in the United States,” said Father Rodak, who has organized several previous diocesan pilgrimages to the basilica, most recently in 2023. “It will be a great blessing to the Church of Paterson.”
The one-day experience will include bus transportation to Washington, D.C., from various parishes in the Paterson Diocese, leaving between 6 and 6:45 a.m., depending on the departure point. The cost is $70 per person, which includes bus transportation, gratuities, and activities at the shrine.
For the two-day pilgrimage, the bus will depart from St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J., at 7:15 a.m., arriving at the Museum of the Bible at 11:30 a.m. Lunch is included.
The 430,000-square-foot museum offers an immersive experience of the history, narrative, and global impact of the bible through high-tech exhibits, rare artifacts, and a 1st-century Nazareth replica that engages visitors with the bible’s influence. For more information about the museum, visit.
https://www.museumofthebible.org/media-reques. While there, the diocesan pilgrims will view two films on the Old and New Testaments. Bishop Sweeney will join them. Their visit will also include an hour of free time.
The bus will depart the museum at 3:30 p.m. for the Weston Tysons Corner Hotel in Falls Church, Va. Participants of the two-day pilgrimage will join Bishop Sweeney for a banquet dinner at 7 p.m. Breakfast will be included before departure from the Westin Hotel at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 17 for pilgrimage at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception the next morning.
The two-day pilgrimage includes a bus, a banquet dinner with Bishop Sweeney, a Saturday breakfast buffet, all taxes/gratuities, and deluxe accommodations at The Weston. The cost is $395 per person for single occupancy and $325 per person for double occupancy.
“The pilgrimage is a long day. When participants arrive home, they will feel physically tired but spiritually charged,” said Father Rodak, who is also pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston, N.J. “The experience is both challenging and uplifting — a true journey of faith and hope that leaves one rewarded and spiritually renewed.”
Sign up here for either the one- or two-day pilgrimage. The registration deadline is Sept. 11 for the two-day pilgrimage and Oct. 1 for the one-day pilgrimage.
– Catholics of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey are invited to deepen their faith and relationship with Jesus by joining Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney for a spiritually exhilarating Marian pilgrimage in October. The anticipated event will offer prayer, catechesis, and worship in the sacred atmosphere of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Participants can choose a one-day pilgrimage to the basilica on Saturday, Oct. 17, featuring a catechesis on prayer in English and Spanish, recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Mass with Bishop Sweeney and concelebrating priests, and an opportunity to receive reconciliation.
Program forming clergy, lay ministers to meet mental health needs #Catholic – 
For Beth Hlabse, working in the mental health space has been something of a vocation.
“Like so many, I got into the mental health field because of ways my own life and my family’s life had been impacted by mental illness,” she said. “In my late 20s, I returned to school to become a mental health counselor. I had felt a consistent vocational tug to try to serve in this way.”
Hlabse earned her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Divine Mercy University and pursued postgraduate studies in Christian ethics at the University of Oxford. She went on to work for a time as a mental health counselor, supporting adolescents and adults with histories of trauma as well as adverse childhood experiences.
She was later invited to serve on a committee reviewing a proposal for what would become the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame University – and was asked to serve as its inaugural director, a role she continues to hold today.
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“The Fiat program strives to help Catholic leaders to strengthen hope and belonging within their parishes so as to better support those living with mental illness and their loved ones,” Hlabse explained. “We do so by forming priests, deacons, and lay men and women who serve at the parish and diocesan level.”
The program helps participants develop an understanding of mental illness, while supporting their discernment around how they can establish and cultivate “a culture of belonging and hope” in their faith communities.
To date, the program has formed more than 330 men and women serving in parishes and diocesan communities across the country. Those ministers have established faith sharing and support groups, and have injected education into other ministries like preparation for baptism, confirmation and marriage. They have also seen participants apply their training in efforts to reach the immigrant community, where mental healthcare can be difficult to access.
“It has been profoundly inspiring to see how they are walking with men and women in their home parishes who would otherwise be isolated and potentially experiencing the anguish of mental illness alone,” she said, adding that ordained clergy and ministers have also included what they have learned in their daily ministries. “The priests and deacons who have journeyed with us describe how they’re bringing an awareness of mental health into their homilies, and they say that the Fiat course has helped them in their pastoral care and accompaniment.”
Hlabse is one of several leading figures in the field who will be speaking at the New Jersey Catholic Mental Health conference on May 2. The program, “From Isolation to Belonging, Mental Health and the Catholic Church,” will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Saint John Neumann Pastoral Center, 146 Metlars Lane, Piscataway. Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., of the Archdiocese of Newark, will celebrate Mass. The cost to attend is $40 per person. Seating is limited, so visit njconf.com before registration is full.
Efforts to form faith leaders through the Fiat program are critical, Hlabse said, because they are often among the first to be approached for help by someone who is suffering.
“Many people turn first to their parish priest or to a lay parish minister when they themselves, or a family member, is impacted by mental illness,” she said. “We support these ministers in responding with compassion and care, identifying how the parish community can be a resource, and identifying referrals beyond the parish community in the mental health field. Our leaders serve as a bridge to resources internal to, and outside of, the parish community while at once being an ongoing source of accompaniment.”
Supporting those in their darkest moments is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith, Hlabse said.
“Our Catholic faith upholds the belief that Christ took on our suffering to the point of death, so that we would never suffer alone,” she said. “Even in moments of desolation and darkness when we do not experience the consolation of God‘s presence, our faith affirms that God is with us. We form leaders so that they can be present with those who are suffering … and help their faith community to be this presence for one another.”
Hlabse also reflected on the “profound loneliness” of today’s society, and how loneliness can exacerbate the experiences of mental illness. She noted that many might be tempted to offer quick fixes or advice.
“As communities of faith, we can recognize that we may not be able to offer a cure,” she said, “but we can offer a supportive presence, a presence of hope and love.”
Click here to learn more about Notre Dame’s Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health. If you are experiencing a crisis, dial 988.
– For Beth Hlabse, working in the mental health space has been something of a vocation. “Like so many, I got into the mental health field because of ways my own life and my family’s life had been impacted by mental illness,” she said. “In my late 20s, I returned to school to become a mental health counselor. I had felt a consistent vocational tug to try to serve in this way.” Hlabse earned her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Divine Mercy University and pursued postgraduate studies in Christian ethics at the University of Oxford. She went on
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