Churches of Women Saints in the Eternal City
Rome’s skyline is crowned with domes and bell towers, and among the more than 900 churches scattered across the Eternal City, some of the most remarkable are dedicated not to apostles or popes, but to women whose stories continue to echo through stone, fresco, and mosaic. Three such churches—Santa Brigida, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, and […]
Holy See to UN: Christians Most Persecuted Group
The Holy See’s permanent observer to the UN provided statistics demonstrating the extent of the persecution of Christians worldwide. Speaking at a conference in Geneva on March 3, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations since 2023, decried the fact that Christians are the most persecuted community in […]
Pope Leo XIV’s March Prayer Intention: Peace
In a video released on X, the Holy Father posed a question to the faithful: “Would you imagine what a world without wars would be like? A world without the terror of approaching explosions?” Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March is for disarmament and peace. In a video released on X, […]
Rome Exhibit Highlights Bernini and Urban VIII
An exhibition in Rome traces how Pope Urban VIII backed the 25-year-old artist behind St. Peter’s soaring bronze canopy — and the decade-long project that helped define Baroque Catholicism. ROME — A new exhibition in Rome is spotlighting the pivotal moment Pope Urban VIII entrusted a 25-year-old Gian Lorenzo Bernini with one of the most […]
Pope Leo XIV Calls for Peace Through Dialogue
In this week’s Vaticano updates, Pope Leo XIV issued a strong appeal for global peace, urging world leaders to seek solutions rooted in diplomacy rather than weapons. War in Iran: Pope Leo appeals for Peace Addressing the international community, the pope lamented what he described as the growing normalization of armed conflict. He emphasized that […]
Parolin Warns Iran Conflict Could Spark Global Crisis
Cardinal Pietro Parolin says sidelining international law and embracing “preventive war” could ignite a broader conflict and deepen civilian suffering. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, is warning that U.S. and Israeli bombings against Iran — and Tehran’s ensuing military response — could trigger a global spiral of violence with unpredictable consequences. In […]
Synod Report Urges Women’s Input in Priest Formation
The report also warns seminaries must not become an “artificial environment” detached from the ordinary life of the faithful. The General Secretariat of the Synod has published a preliminary report urging that women’s “views and assessments” be given due weight in the discernment of candidates for priesthood and warning against seminary models that separate future […]
Vatican Theologians: Human Life Is a Vocation
New Vatican-approved document weighs challenges posed by AI and social media. The International Theological Commission has released a new document arguing that “the life of the human being is vocation,” while warning that unprecedented scientific and technological developments must be matched by a corresponding growth in responsibility so that progress is directed toward the good […]
Pope Leo XIV Explains Church’s Human and Divine Nature
The pope’s catechesis focused on the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, one of the pillars of Vatican II. VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV said Wednesday that the Church cannot be understood solely from a human perspective but rather as the fruit of God’s plan of love for humanity realized in Christ. He also emphasized that […]
Order of Malta Launches Surgical Center in Kakuma
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has launched a new operating theater in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening humanitarian and health services for vulnerable communities in the East African country. In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Wednesday, February 25, the Catholic religious order and charity says that once […]