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Russia will march upon all the nations of Europe, particularly Italy, and will raise her flag over the dome of St. Peter's.—Blessed Elena Aiello (1895-1961.) As most of you  know, Public Revelation is comprised of the Bible and the Magisterium.  It is necessary for salvation because it is the Divine Revelation of the Blessed Trinity. [...]

Reading 1 Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

Verse Before the Gospel Psalm 51:12a, 14a

Gospel John 5:1-16

• Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Patrick, Bishop

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Following the deaths of dozens of people in southern Ethiopia, the country’s Catholic Bishops offer their spiritual and material support for the thousands affected by deadly flooding and landslides in the Gamo Zone.

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Lent is, at its heart, a season of seeking. On 28 February and 14 March, more than 1,200 women answered that call, filling Cathedral Hall at St Mary’s with prayer, presence, and a longing for something more. 

Under the theme “Seek His Face,” drawn from Psalm 27, women from across New South Wales came together for the Women’s Lenten Retreat, led by the Dominican Sisters. 

Such was the demand that this year’s retreat expanded to two dates for the first time, with the 28 February event organised with Sydney Catholic Schools and the 14 March event with the Catholic Women’s Network of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation. 

Sr Cecilia Joseph OP, one of the Dominican Sisters leading the retreat, said the response had been overwhelming. 

“We’ve had 1,200 women attend across our two retreats. It gets better and better every year,” she said. “These women love the Lord, and they want to know him in a new and deeper way.”

The day also offered opportunities for reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. 

Hazel Lim, mission manager for the Life, Marriage, and Family team within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation and one of the principal event organisers, said what struck her most was the breadth of the gathering. 

“The different ages, the different backgrounds of the women who have come – united, just wanting to deepen their relationship with Christ, emptying themselves and letting God heal the parts that need healing, has been amazing,” she said. 

Guest speakers including Vivian Mourani, Tinah DeLuca-Tohi, Sr Anastasia OP, Sr Susanna OP, and Fr Ben Saliba, led talks and workshops centred on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, inviting attendees into a deeper intimacy with Christ.  

Sr Anastasia spoke on hope, which she called the “forgotten middle child between faith and love.”  

“Hope is trusting God is with us and leading us on to greater things, eternal life,” she told the hushed crowd. 

For many attendees, like mother of three, Sarah Sofatzis, the retreat offered something rare: time to stop, step back, and simply receive.  

“It’s a lot of work at home, and so it’s nice to take the time to come and be with other women, feel supported,” she said, enjoying lunch with her friends. “You can feel like you’re on your own and not part of a community. But retreats like this, where you can think more deeply, have a whole day dedicated to it, are important for your spiritual life throughout the year.” 

Attendee, Carla Abi-Saab, was visibly moved by the day unfolding. 

“I’m going to cry,” she said, tears forming. “I can just really feel God’s presence here. I saw Sr Anastasia carrying a baby before and it’s like the sisters are carrying us today. We do so much for others. It’s nice to be served.” 

Best friends Trish O’Connell and Kiara Catanzariti made the journey from Canberra, travelling with a group of mothers and single women united by the same desire. 

“We were all seeking a moment of reflection and pause during Lent,” Trish said. “I think coming to this retreat is really going to bear fruit when we go back, keep building, growing tight together, and growing closer to our Lord.” 

Kiara added: “For me, it’s been the witness of being surrounded by Catholic women. It’s so important that we’re surrounded by people who are leading us to heaven.” 

Sr Cecilia, reflecting on the two days, said the retreat had confirmed what many in the church are sensing: something is stirring. 

“The Holy Spirit is really at work here in the church in Sydney, and he’s doing something beautiful in the hearts of these women,” she said. “It’s so exciting for us to see what the Lord is doing here. The church is on fire.” 

The post 1200 women, one hunger appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

An international study has identified a link between screen time, suicide, and self-harm in adolescents.   

The research team, led by Mater Research Institute’s Dr Kerri Gillespie, Dr Matthew Morgan from Australian Catholic University and QUT’s Professor Selena Bartlett, found frequent screen use – particularly evening doom scrolling – was significantly associated with increased risk of suicidal behaviour and self-injury.  

Publication of the findings in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry came as Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg appeared in a landmark trial to answer questions over whether the social media giant intentionally addicted children to its platforms.  

Analysis of 61 eligible studies comprising more than 338,472 participants aged up to 18, from 16 countries, highlighted the dangers of digital addiction.  

One study found 13.6 per cent of those who reported frequent smartphone use had nearly three times the rate of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as rare users.  

Another project found almost one-in-10 of participants whose daily screen time – including television, gaming and online chat – exceeded 10 hours had reported a suicide attempt.   

“The odds of young people attempting suicide or self-harm are horrifyingly common,” Dr Morgan said of the project which also included researchers from the University of Queensland, Griffith University and Blacktown Hospital.  

“It could be someone in your football or cricket team.”  

Key factors in many of the studies included insomnia, depression, anxiety and loneliness.  

Some gender disparities emerged, with females reporting higher NSSI and suicidality, and males showing higher rates of digital addiction.  

The systematic review raised further questions about the intersection of screen use and mental health.  

“We know nothing good comes from scrolling until 2am,” said Dr Morgan, a senior lecturer in criminology at ACU’s Thomas More Law School.  

“The next step will be to investigate causality: does excessive screen use feed suicidality or does poor mental health drive lonely people to reach for a smartphone?”  

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. 

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It was a trip to Turin which cemented an idea Sydney Bishop Anthony Percy had been considering over a number of years: a pilgrimage designed to allow young Catholics from across the city an opportunity to reflect on how they could engage both their faith and their desire to enter public or political life.   

“I was with a couple of mates, we were on a trip throughout Italy and we were getting a magnificent tour of Salesian youth and training centres,” he says. 

“I thought, ‘this is really something that young people would really benefit from,’ and I’ve had this idea of trying to help young people get involved in public and political life and getting them to see it as an act of service and a calling.”

Bishop Percy’s idea has been transformed into the inaugural Lion Pilgrimage, which will run over two weeks in July with tour operator Harvest Journeys and will allow successful applicants to experience Italy through the lens of important Catholic figures, including St Francis of Assisi, St Catherine of Siena, St John Paul II and the recently-canonised St Carlo Acutis.  

The pilgrimage takes its lion symbolism from Pope Leo XIV and his predecessor Pope Leo XIII who, according to Bishop Percy, wrote the “first truly social encyclical” Rerum Novarum. The document is credited with developing modern Catholic social teaching, an intellectual tradition founded on the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity. 

“These pillars were affirmed by Pope Leo XIII during a period of immense change, and they are very important,” Bishop Percy says. 

“If we look at the principle of subsidiarity in particular, it tries to get people involved not so much at the level of government but at the level of intermediary bodies which sit between the individual and the government, and this is what Pope Leo XIII was saying, that if you don’t get involved, then you can’t possibly compete against vast bureaucracies like government. We want our pilgrims to come away from this experience with the ability to make Australia a better country through this lens.”  

Pilgrims will also receive preparation sessions introducing these themes. Accompanying Bishop Percy on the pilgrimage will be SmartLoving and Cath Family co-founders Francine  and Byron Pirola. Byron says one of the more compelling aspects of the pilgrimage is providing young Catholics with the opportunity to discern how they can practically live out a life of faith and embed its values into the workplace. 

“This pilgrimage has got a particular flavour. It’s not marriage-oriented, although that’s a very core part of the journey for some people, but it asks the question ‘how do you actually live a life of mission as a professional or public figure?’” Byron says. 

“Do you happen to be a public figure who happens to be a practising Catholic, or are you a practising Catholic who’s chosen to take a public role? They are two very different starting points and hopefully whoever decides to join us can discern the path they wish to take.”  

Francine also believes the pilgrimage has a significant connection to the couple’s ministry around marriage and family. 

“We’re very conscious that a lot of the formation should be happening, in an ideal world, before marriage, even before engagement,” she says.  

“The opportunity to interact with young people, perhaps in early stages of relationships or still single, is really a great one for us to be able to bring some of that wisdom and explore how to transform people in a context that isn’t necessarily traditional but is quite a shared experience.”  

Byron also stresses how the pilgrimage, in helping to develop young “lay leadership” can help the pilgrims discern the distinction between an authentic Catholic voice and an effective Catholic voice, an idea which can fuel young Catholic leaders regardless of whether they see their calling to be marriage, the priesthood, or public life more broadly. 

“You can’t be an authentic Catholic voice without formation, nor can you be an effective Catholic voice without formation. I make those distinctions because you’re at your most effective when you’re authentic, and these are influenced by how you make your decisions, how you interact with other people,” he says.  

“At the core of this experience is the desire to engender a generation of authentic and effective Catholic voices who are considering more of a public expression of their faith through their work and vocation.”  

Bishop Percy agrees.  

“There’s a great benefit in this pilgrimage to those considering marriage as their vocation, and to those considering the priesthood,” he says.  

“Francine and Byron have been involved with marriage education and family education for a long time now, and to have them on this pilgrimage could help those who are considering marriage as their path to understand that marriage is for family, and family is for society and the upholding of society. 

“I’m also open to the possibility that those who join the pilgrimage could consider the priesthood as their calling. I’ve been a priest for 35 years now, and the contributions that you can make to people’s lives are quite significant. Hopefully the pilgrimage gives these emerging leaders the freedom to serve people through a wide array of activities.”  

Above all, the Pirolas hope that the pilgrims get to meet “like-minded people” who all have the desire to both contribute to the development of Australia and to implement Catholic virtue into their everyday life.  

“I hope they will come away with some clarity around practical things and some direction in their life, and feeling equipped and supported and networked. I think it can get quite lonely out in the marketplace if you’re taking a stand based on your faith and your morals on an issue which could be contentious,” Francine says. 

“Sometimes it’s just sitting on the bus to the next destination or having a conversation with other people which can be fruitful for the formation of these young leaders.”  

Bishop Percy has so far been impressed with the applications, and believes they will continue to flow in.  

“The application process so far has been very positive, and we have some great pre-pilgrimage formation programs happening to allow everyone to meet and connect with each other beforehand,” he said.  

“The church has a great history of being involved in public and political life in Australian society, and I think this experience will allow the pilgrims to deepen their spiritual life, something which will be substantially important in their future endeavours.”  

Find further information about the Lion Pilgrimage here. 

The post Inaugural Lion Pilgrimage to provide young leaders with unique Catholic formation appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

If bread and wine can become the Body and Blood of Christ, then what is wrong with turning stones into loaves of bread? If Christ had the power to satiate his hunger in the desert, why was it one of the ‘temptations’ that we hear about every year on the first Sunday of Lent? (Matthew 4:1-11) 

Why was it something Jesus refused to do? The answer is profoundly eucharistic.  

It seems to me that the best way to begin looking at this question is to examine all subsequent temptations from the perspective of the very first one – Adam and Eve in the garden.  

Immediately preceding the account of the first temptation and the fall of mankind in the Book of Genesis there stand the accounts of creation. And at the end of each newly created day it says, “And God saw that it was good.” And then, after the final acts of creation is says, “God looked upon all he had made and it was very good.” (Gen 1:31) 

Very good – all of it. 

Yet once Adam and Eve have eaten of the fruit of the tree, suddenly they perceive evil.  

Has that never struck you as odd? Where did that evil come from? 

The answer is stated most succinctly by Dominican Father Simon Tugwell: “When man learns from the devil to know good and evil, this involves his coming to see good as evil; there is nothing but good for him to see or know. If he is to know evil, it can only be by a distorted vision of what is good.” 

The outcome of the fall is a distorted perception of reality. What we think we see, what we think we know, might not necessarily be the case.  

And so, when it comes to questions of temptation, experience teaches us that it often arises in the form of a perceived good.  

Like turning stones into loaves of bread if you are hungry.  

In the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “The moral appearance of temptation belongs to its very nature; temptation does not lead us directly to evil – that would be too clumsy.” Almost everybody would reject evil if it were demonstrably evil: as a result, it often does not appear in that way. 

The reason temptation is so appealing, in many instances, is precisely because it seems to offer some sort of good – and in fact, it does contain some element of the created goodness that is inherent in all things.  

Bread is a perfectly good and acceptable thing: ‘man lives not from bread alone’ but we do need bread to live. It is perfectly good.  

And Jesus certainly possessed the capacity to turn the stones into bread – and no one would have necessarily been thereby harmed.  

So why not do it? 

Because God willed that the stones be stones. If Jesus were to transform them into bread at the prompting of the devil, then his will would not be in conformity with that of his Heavenly Father.  

Jesus would then have been running contrary to the divine plan for redemption and salvation. And ultimately that is what all temptations and sins reveal about ourselves and our attitudes to life: whether we spend our time saying ‘my will be done’ or ‘Thy will be done.’ 

The word ‘eucharist’ means ‘thanksgiving’. 

Each time we participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we are reminded that our conversations with Jesus are not primarily supposed to be a shopping list of grievances and wants. 

We ought always to begin by giving thanks, with gratitude for the gifts that have been given, whether or not those ‘gifts’ momentarily appear to be stones and notwithstanding the fact that we sometimes wish they were bread.  

The traditional Lenten penances of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are intended to prompt deeper reflection upon precisely that truth. They are intended to incite a ‘conversion’ of heart – a turning from a focus on ourselves and our own wants and wills to the divine will. 

Each Lent, we are exhorted to move from enjoying perceived goods – our own time, food and wealth – to an appreciation of the genuine good: love of God and neighbour. 

And that is the work of a eucharistic lifetime, not just Lent. 

If you would like more information Eucharist28, to be added to the mailing list for updates, please visit our website: eucharist28.org  

The post Why Jesus refused to turn stones into bread appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

For 170 years, St Mary’s Cathedral has stood at the heart of Sydney’s Catholic community,  witness to generations of faith, grief, and joy. Now it needs that community to stand with it. 

A high-profile gala dinner, In Lumine Fidei, on 9 May, to be held at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney, has been announced as the centrepiece of a major fundraising push to aid the cathedral, bringing together leading artists, public figures and benefactors for an evening that organisers say is about taking responsibility for a sacred trust. 

“The baton is being handed on to us. It is really one of the great treasures of our nation. So we want to bring people together to raise some funds for the cathedral. It’s in great need of restoration,” said one of the organisers, David Armstrong, Director of the Development and Fundraising Office within the Archdiocese of Sydney. 

After nearly 200 years as the sacred heart of the city, the cathedral is in desperate need of attention. Decades of weather and rising pollution have left the sandstone exterior visibly ageing, with stones requiring repair or replacement before damage becomes irreversible. 

“The beautiful amber windows have survived over 100 years, but it’s at high risk of breaking. It’s decaying, so we need to make sure that glass is kept in good condition,” he said.  

The gala night will also assist with upgrades to better serve the elderly, people with mobility challenges and families with prams, and improving access to the crypt, ensuring all can enter and move around with dignity and safety. 

The archdiocese is crafting a night to remember, with the evening expertly guided by 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham as master of ceremonies and internationally-acclaimed performers including Diego Torre, lead tenor at the Sydney Opera House who sang before a national television audience on the Australia Day stage and Silvia Colloca, celebrated opera singer, television personality and international actress. 

Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) has signed on as platinum sponsor, a public endorsement that reflects recognition of the cathedral’s place not just in Catholic life, but in the story of the city itself.  

“St Mary’s Cathedral has welcomed generations of Australians through its doors, regardless of faith or background. Supporting projects that protect and preserve sites like this isn’t  just about maintaining a building, it’s about honouring the communities who share this space,” said Chris Williams, Executive General Manager, Major Client Group, CommBank.  

“As one of Australia’s largest organisations, we have a responsibility to help safeguard the cultural and historical places that matter to the people we serve.” 

Williams points to the unique power of places like St Mary’s to anchor community life across generations. 

“Places like St Mary’s have a unique ability to draw people together in moments of celebration, reflection and unity. They stand as places where communities gather to mark milestones, to support one another through difficult times or to pause in the middle of busy lives. St Mary’s has been a backdrop to some of Australia’s most meaningful national and community moments,” Williams said. 

The spirit of the evening is one that resonates deeply with attendees like Karen Hope, a senior business leader and devout Catholic who has purchased a whole table for her family. For Karen, the decision to attend was about more than a night out. 

“I wanted to share this evening with my family, because faith is very important to us. It’s something that we practise, and occasions like this are a beautiful way for us to celebrate that. Faith is not just something we inherit, it’s something we have to pass on as well.” 

Karen’s family’s bonds with the cathedral were deepened after a special occasion celebrating her parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, an event that left a lasting impression. 

“As a whole family, we attended and the Cathedral dean was so wonderful. He made my parents and my family feel so special. And that’s something that my mum really, really treasures.” 

For Karen, the Gala Dinner carries a significance that goes beyond the occasion itself. 

“For me, it’s a celebration of our faith and our community, and a chance to ensure that the heart of Catholic life in Sydney and Australia continues to shine for generations to come.” 

The post Gala Dinner to Secure Future of St Mary’s Cathedral appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

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By Deborah Castellano Lubov / Vatican News, OSV News

Addressing the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors 16 March, Pope Leo XIV underlined the importance of preventing abuse in the church, insisting that such responsibility must be concretely confronted and not delegated.

“Your mission is to help ensure that abuse is prevented. Yet prevention is never just a set of protocols or procedures,” he said. “It is about helping to form, throughout the church, a culture of care, in which the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not seen as an obligation imposed from outside, but as a natural expression of faith.”

In a speech at the Vatican 16 March, Pope Leo expressed his gratitude to the pontifical commission for its efforts to protect children, adolescents and persons in vulnerable situations.

“It is a demanding service, sometimes silent, often burdensome, but one which is essential for the life of the church and for the building of an authentic culture of care,” Pope Leo said.

Pope Francis placed the commission permanently within the Roman Curia “to remind the whole church that the prevention of abuse is not an optional task, but a constitutive dimension of the mission of the church,” the pope recalled.

With this in mind, the Holy Father suggested that a path of conversion, in which the suffering of others is heard, must continue to propel them to take action, with the experiences of victims and survivors as essential reference points.

“While they are certainly painful and difficult to hear, these experiences powerfully bring the truth to light and teach us humility as we strive to assist victims and survivors,” Pope Leo said. He added that it is through the recognition of the pain that has occurred that a credible path for hope and renewal is opened.

The pope also encouraged the commission to engage in dialogue with other dicasteries and institutions of the Roman Curia.

Pope Leo called the commission’s annual report a tool of “great importance,” since “it represents an exercise in truth and responsibility, as well as in hope and prudence, which must go hand in hand for the good of the church.”

The pope also underlined that ordinaries and major superiors have a responsibility that cannot be delegated.

The Holy Father urged members of the commission to continue to serve as a resource to assist every community and institution in the church in listening to victims and accompanying them, “so that no community within the church feels alone in this task,” especially where resources or expertise are lacking.

Pope Leo stated that he looks forward to receiving additional information in their third annual report on the encouraging progress already made, as well as on the areas in which further development is still required.

The Holy Father recalled that the commission’s engagement with the church at every level, with victims, survivors and their families, as well as with civil society partners, has prompted them to deepen their study in two rapidly developing areas of safeguarding, namely the concept of vulnerability in relation to abuse and the prevention of technology-facilitated abuse of minors in the digital space.

“Let me reiterate,” Pope Leo concluded, “that the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not an isolated area of ecclesial life, but a dimension that permeates pastoral care, formation, governance, and discipline.”

“Every step forward on this journey is a step towards Christ and towards a more evangelical and authentic church,” he said.

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As retaliatory strikes from Iran, as well as from Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, continued, people in the Holy Land – especially Christians – face a dire present and an uncertain future.

Pope Leo XIV received a morning phone call from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 16 March “concerning the alarming developments in the conflict in the Middle East and the living conditions of the Palestinian people,” the Vatican Press Office said.

During the conversation, “the Holy Father reaffirmed the Holy See’s commitment to achieving peace through political and diplomatic dialogue, as well as through full respect for international law.”

In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need published 13 March, George Akroush, director of development for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said reality faced by Palestinians is harder than ever he tries to reassure his children despite the constant threat from rockets or falling shrapnel since the conflict began 28 February.

“I try to pretend I’m not afraid in front of the children, but this has been the worst experience of my whole life. We have never faced anything like this,” Akroush told ACN.

The US and Israeli-led war entered its third week, with Iran continuing to strike back at both Israel and US allies in the region. According to a 15 March report by The Times of Israel, eight people were wounded over the weekend after missiles were launched toward central and southern Israel.

According to the Jerusalem-based newspaper’s report, Iran used ballistic missiles armed with cluster bomb warheads to inflict widespread damage.

As the country continued to deal with a steady stream of attacks, the Israeli government closed border crossings from the West Bank into Israel, inflicting further economic damage on Palestinians in the area.

Akroush told ACN that due to the border closures, many “lost access to their livelihoods, including teachers and support staff at the Christian schools in Jerusalem.”

“This is a big challenge that we have to face, because 40 per cent of our high-quality teachers and support staff come from the West Bank on a daily basis,” he explained.

The Times of Israel reported that a Palestinian couple and their two children were killed in the West Bank, after Israel Defense Forces troops shot at their car. A police statement said security forces shot at the car, believing it was speeding toward them.

The newspaper also reported that a 5-year-old Palestinian girl was struck by a car driven by an Israeli driver in the West Bank settlement of Carmel. Police determined in an initial investigation that the driver was not responsible because the girl allegedly “ran into the road.” She was hospitalised with a laceration to her face, The Times of Israel said.

“In my opinion, this seems to be just a pretext to exert more pressure on the Palestinian communities, because we see Israeli soldiers carrying out incursions every day in the West Bank, and they have even been filmed supporting settler attacks against Palestinian villages and towns,” Akroush told ACN.

“They are everywhere in the West Bank, but when it comes to facilitating access, they say they don’t have sufficient human resources,” he added.

The Latin Patriarchate’s development director also noted the strain on humanitarian relief to Gaza. According to Akroush, since 7 March no supplies – such as medication, spare parts for hospitals or even antibiotics – have been delivered.

“We are trying our best to help the only Christian hospital there, which is very close to the Catholic compound, but all the channels that the Latin Patriarchate used to communicate with the authorities were closed. They say that everybody is involved in the war,” he said.

Akroush told ACN that some 300 people sheltering at the Holy Family Parish compound have moved out, while an estimated 200 remain, as well as 50 people with disabilities cared for by the Missionaries of Charity.

“His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa has assured us that the church will never abandon the weak communities,” Akroush said.

In a YouTube video published 15 March, Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish, described a community clinging to “inner calm” despite the constant drum of war.

“Even in the worst moments, like this atrocious war that is being carried out across the Middle East, one must seek the God of peace in the depths of our hearts, in our neighbours, in works of charity, in doing good, in praying and praying more,” he said.

Father Romanelli, who noted his 30 years of service in the region, said the parish continues a rigorous daily schedule of silent prayer and rosaries to counter the “physiological reactions, physical or even psychological,” triggered by the constant sound of alarms.

“The life of a missionary is very intense right now,” the priest said. “Both our religious communities and the laity here have lived through moments of great beauty, but also intense pain. This has made us grow in immeasurable trust in God and in the effort to keep doing good.”

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Pope Leo XIV will travel a total of more than 11,000 miles on 18 flights across four African countries in April on a 10-day trip that highlights peace efforts, the works of mercy, and the Catholic Church’s vibrant presence on the continent.

The Vatican released the full schedule March 16 for Pope Leo’s first apostolic trip to Africa. The journey, 13-23 April, will take the pope to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea with stops in 11 destinations.

During the trip, Pope Leo is scheduled to celebrate eight public Masses and deliver 11 speeches, while also meeting political leaders, Catholic communities, students, and missionaries.

The pope will visit prisoners and a psychiatric hospital in Equatorial Guinea, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Algeria, a nursing home in Angola and an orphanage in Cameroon.

Two days in Algeria

The trip begins 13 April in Algiers, where Pope Leo will meet civil authorities and visit the Great Mosque of Algiers, one of the largest mosques in the world, in a gesture aimed at strengthening Christian-Muslim dialogue.

Algeria is overwhelmingly Muslim and has only a small Catholic minority. The North African nation’s population is about 99 per cent Sunni Muslim and home to roughly 8,740 Catholics, a tiny fraction of its population of more than 45 million.

The pope will also meet the local Catholic community at the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa and visit a centre run by Augustinian missionary sisters.

From there he will fly Annaba, near the ancient city of Hippo Regius where St Augustine of Hippo served as bishop and died in AD 430 as Vandals besieged the city.

Pope Leo will celebrate Mass at the Basilica of St Augustine, which holds a relic of one of St Augustine’s arm bones, and visit the nearby archaeological ruins of Hippo.

In Annaba, the pope will also visit a nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor and hold a private meeting with members of the Augustinian order.

Three Days in Cameroon

The second leg of the trip will take Pope Leo to Cameroon from 15-18 April, with visits to the cities of Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala.

Pope Leo will visit an orphanage in the capital, Yaoundé, meet with local bishops, and travel to the northwestern city of Bamenda to preside over a peace meeting in a region affected by years of violence amid a long-running separatist conflict between government forces and armed groups in the country’s English-speaking regions.

The pope will pray for peace with the local community at St Joseph’s Cathedral before celebrating an open-air Mass at Bamenda International Airport.

On 17 April, Pope Leo will travel to Douala, where he will celebrate a stadium Mass and make a private visit to the St Paul Catholic Hospital.

Later that day, the pope will return to Yaoundé, where he will meet with students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa.

On 18 April, Pope Leo will celebrate a morning Mass at Yaoundé airport before departing for Angola.

Three days in Angola

From Cameroon, Pope Leo will travel to Angola, visiting the capital Luanda, as well as the pilgrimage site of Our Lady of Muxima Shrine and the northeastern city of Saurimo.

At Muxima, one of the country’s most important Catholic shrines, Pope Leo will lead a public rosary with pilgrims.

Pope Leo will also travel to the northeastern town of Saurimo, where he will celebrate an outdoor Mass and visit a nursing home.

In the capital, Luanda, the pope will meet members of the local Catholic community at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima.

Angola is one of Africa’s most Catholic countries. The country is home to more than 17.9 million Catholics with nearly half the population identifying as Catholic.

Two days in Equatorial Guinea

The journey will conclude in Equatorial Guinea, which has a population of about 1.37 million people. About 81.6 per cent of the population is Catholic, making it one of the most Catholic countries in sub-Saharan Africa by percentage.

The trip will mark only the second papal visit to the country. The first was by St John Paul II in February 1982.

During his visit, Pope Leo will stop at a psychiatric hospital in Malabo, visit a prison in Bata, and pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 military base explosion that killed more than 100 people.

In Mongomo, Pope Leo will visit the Pope Francis Technology School and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

The pope will conclude the trip with a final stadium Mass in Malabo on 23 April before flying back to Rome on a roughly six-hour flight covering about 2,852 miles.

The post Vatican releases schedule for Pope Leo XIV’s first Africa trip appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Brother Tony Choukri, Guardian of the Franciscan Monastery of St. Joseph in Beirut, tells Vatican News about life under war and calls for peace, emphasising that “human beings are not an object, and death is neither a path nor a tool to change strategies, demography, or borders.”

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A final report from Study Group 3 of the Synod of Bishops underscores the need for the Church to engage the digital environment as a vital space for evangelization, dialogue, and pastoral accompaniment.

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The Israeli military said Monday it launched a “wide-scale” series of strikes on targets in Iran, escalating a conflict now entering its third week.

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The Holy See Press Office releases the logos and mottos for Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Journey to Africa, on the same day as the official programme is released for his visits to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.

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The Holy See Press Office informs journalists that Pope Leo XIV received a call from Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, regarding recent developments in the Middle East conflict.

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Ahead of the Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti encourages all Catholics to offer what they can to help restore hope to the people who reside in the places where Jesus lived.

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The Holy See Press Office releases the programme for Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, which takes place on April 13-23, 2026.

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Pope Leo XIV meets with Italian journalists from the news broadcast TG2 and warns against the media becoming a “megaphone” for power, especially in times of conflict.

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The Bishops of Peru publish a message ahead of the country’s upcoming elections, warning that the country needs authorities "characterized by honesty, transparency, and coherence between their words and their actions."

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Addressing the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Pope Leo XIV encourages their mission to ensure abuse is prevented in the Church, insisting that such responsibility must be concretely confronted, and not delegated, to build a "culture of care."

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Our Editorial Director offers a reflection in light of Papal Magisterium on current defence spending in the international context.

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A Catholic Bishop in Kenya has called on university students to allow the Word of God to shape their leadership and commitment to justice as they prepare to play a transformative role in society.

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The Catholic Bishops of Africa, Asia, and Latin America release a "Manifesto of the Churches of the Global South," and urge governments to adopt a global treaty to end fossil fuel expansion and guide a just transition to renewable energy.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched their first attacks on Iran and since the Israeli military resumed strikes in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire.

"On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East, and of all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire!" he said March 15. 

"May paths of dialogue be reopened! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace for which the people are waiting," he said after praying the Angelus with people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"For two weeks now, the people of the Middle East have been suffering the horrific violence of war," the pope said. "Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas."

"The situation in Lebanon is a cause for great concern," he added. "I hope that avenues for dialogue will emerge to support the country’s authorities in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis currently unfolding, for the common good of all the Lebanese people." 

The next day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Pope Leo about the "alarming developments in the conflict in the Middle East and the living conditions of the Palestinian people," according to a communique released by the Vatican press office.

"During the conversation, the Holy Father reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to achieving peace through political and diplomatic dialogue, as well as through full respect for international law," the press office said.
 

Reading 1 Isaiah 65:17-21

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

Verse Before the Gospel Amos 5:14

Gospel  John 4:43-54

- - -

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Former Senate president Scott Ryan has formally begun his role as executive director of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), following a commissioning Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. 

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP presided at the Mass in the cathedral crypt on 6 March, marking Ryan’s leadership of the national peak body representing Catholic schools across Australia. 

Bishop Daniel Meagher, Bishop Mark Edwards, Fr Julian Wellspring and Fr Frank Brennan concelebrated. 

Outgoing executive director Jacinta Collins, members of the NCEC Commission and Catholic education leaders from across Australia attended the Mass, many of whom were in Sydney for a national Catholic education leaders forum earlier that day. 

Ryan officially stepped into the role this week after beginning with the commission on 19 January and undertaking a handover period with Collins, who led the organisation for the past seven years. 

In a message marking his first week in the role, Ryan thanked Collins for her leadership and the contribution she made to Catholic education nationally. 

“I want to begin by sincerely thanking Jacinta Collins for her outstanding leadership over the past seven years – her dedication has strengthened Catholic education across Australia, and I am grateful for the legacy she leaves,” he said. 

Ryan said he was looking forward to working with schools, families and educators to build on the long tradition of Catholic schooling in Australia. 

“I’ve seen first-hand the impact good education policy can have, both as a parent and as a policy maker,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working with schools, families, communities, teachers and school leaders to continue building on the proud legacy of Catholic education.” 

Catholic education is the largest provider of schooling outside the government sector, enrolling about one in five Australian students. 

Before taking up the NCEC role, Ryan served as Australia’s High Commissioner to Canada. He previously held senior roles in federal politics including president of the Senate and Special Minister of State, and earlier served as a ministerial adviser and assistant minister for education and vocational education. 

Reflecting on the national education landscape this week, Ryan also acknowledged students and teachers as NAPLAN testing began across Australia. 

About 1.3 million students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are undertaking the annual literacy and numeracy assessments. 

Ryan said the tests provide useful information for schools and families. 

“NAPLAN assists to identify needed intervention, helps us understand collective performance through a nationally consistent data set and provides a starting point for conversations with parents about their child’s learning,” he said. 

“I’m eager to hit the ground running and look forward to meeting many of you over the coming months as we continue the important work of Catholic education together.”

The post Scott Ryan begins role as executive director of National Catholic Education Commission appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

A 5 minute daily podcast to help you in your Lenten discipline.

We hear about Santi Quatro Coronati, the Roman Station.  Joseph Ratzinger delivers insights about the truth and union with the Church.

Delegates from Australia, Canada, the United States and the Vatican joined New Zealanders in Auckland last week for the International Conference on Catholic Indigenous.

The second gathering of its type, following the first hosting in the US in 2023, the event is focused on enhancing ministry to Indigenous Catholics.

Auckland University’s Tūtahi Tonu marae was the venue of the Māori welcoming ceremony, or pōwhiri, with delegates welcomed to the land (whenua) of Ngāti Whātua.

Loraine Elliott, who with Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe is serving as the event’s co-hosts, said the opening day set the stage for a week of dialogue and exchange.

“Our Catholic faith is what binds us, and you could hear that in the kaupapa (values) that came through. Indigenous people are a very spiritual people, and we could see that being woven in the stories they shared,” Elliott said.

On each day of the conference, delegates from one of the four nations led the program.

Bishop Pierre-Olivier Tremblay OMI, Bishop of Hearst-Moosonee in Ontario, Canada, said the gathering – with a focus on conversation, listening and dialogue – offered a remedy to something that can be lacking in the world today.

“It seems that at this moment in time, there is a lot of fragmentation and polarisation,” he said.

“More and more, we need concrete signs and experiences of coming together, of listening – really listening – of opening ourselves up to others.

“We, as a church, can be a humble but significant sign that we can work together in this path towards unity and communion.”

Archbishop Gábor Pintér, the Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand and the Pacific, shared with delegates the greetings and blessing of Pope Leo XIV, adding that many Vatican offices are also following proceedings with interest.

A representative of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development attended the conference, underscoring the Holy See’s interest in Indigenous Catholic ministry.

The post Vatican attends NZ conference on indigenous Catholicism appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has urged faith leaders to unite in hope for a world free of tension and violence, and to persevere in faith, hope and love during a period of global instability. 

The Archbishop of Sydney was speaking at the 15th Annual Iftar Dinner at Cathedral House, hosted in honour of the Muslim community and attended by representatives of multiple faith traditions. 

The annual gathering comes at a time of heightened international conflict and local concern about social cohesion, placing renewed significance on interfaith dialogue and cooperation. 

The dinner on 11 March brought together 70 guests reflecting the rich diversity of faith traditions in Australia, including representatives from the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Baha’i traditions. 

Archbishop Fisher told the gathering that recent years had tested social cohesion in Australia, but that it was “wonderful” to see faith leaders continuing to meet in a spirit of peace and goodwill. 

“The attacks of October 7 2023 in Israel and subsequent captivity and reprisals, the Bondi massacre last December following a series of antisemitic incidents and subsequent threats to social cohesion, and the joint American-Israeli airstrikes on Iran of a fortnight ago and subsequent extension of that conflict to fourteen countries at last count: all this has affected our communities in various ways and potentially made it harder for us to meet,” he told them. 

“Dear brothers and sisters, tonight as we break the fast and share a meal together, we do so as people of faith. By breaking the fast together, we repudiate ancient hatreds and modern prejudices, resolving to trust, to share, to build with God the world he intends,” he said. 

The founder and managing director of Al Faisal Colleges, Dr Shafiq Khan warmly welcomed archbishop Fisher’s speech.

“What stood out most was the way the archbishop highlighted the shared spiritual foundations across our traditions. While our faiths may differ in expression, we share many commonalities,” Dr Khan said.

“These include belief in God, devotion through prayer and worship, commitment to moral responsibility, compassion for others, charity, service to humanity and the pursuit of justice and goodness.”

One guest, NSW Islamic Council chairman Khaled Sukkarieh, warmly welcomed the archbishop’s remarks and the annual occasion. 

“By opening his home each year in this way, the archbishop creates a welcoming space that encourages dialogue and strengthens social cohesion,” he said. 

“His speech showed warmth, honesty, empathy, understanding and hope, as he reflected on faith as a shared trust in the Creator and how different religions express this through service, compassion and care for their communities. 

“While such gatherings may not resolve every challenge, they remain an important way to build connection, healing and mutual respect.” 

A representative from the Hindu community, Dr Uma Srinivasan, said the Iftar dinner was a significant expression of interfaith harmony. 

“It was heartwarming to see people of many faiths assembled with goodwill and a genuine sense of friendship. This just goes to show that people want to share love, long for peace and recognise that all faiths are but paths to reach the Divine,” Dr Srinivasan said. 

“As the archbishop pointed out in his speech, this is possible with trust, which requires more than mere rational thought.” 

The post Archbishop Fisher OP calls for unity as faith leaders gather for Iftar appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Ask Campbell Evans what keeps him up at night, and the answer comes quickly: the thousands of young Catholics across Sydney who are quietly showing up, leading youth groups, running small groups, and discipling their friends, thinking that they’re alone and without support. 

Evans, mission manager for Sydney Catholic Youth (SCY) within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, is doing something about it.

On 28 and 29 March, at St Martha’s in Leichhardt, SCY will host the Purpose Leaders’ Summit, an event he describes as unlike anything the archdiocese has offered before. 

“There are very, very few opportunities that you’re going to get to have a concentrated opportunity to grow your skills as a Christian leader,” Evans says. “We are just absolutely starving for those kinds of role models.” 

SCY’s mission is to form young people and bring them into a deeper relationship with Christ, but Evans knows that the most powerful lever available is the formation of leaders, not just individuals. 

“If you basically put into one person who’s just in their parish, that is great, and you see conversion in one person,” he explains. “But if you can equip and form a leader, then that person becomes a source of inspiration and direction and guidance for a parish, for a whole group of young people.” 

Lay leaders, he argues, are among the most important people the church can invest in right now. “They’re the people that will really be forming and shaping what our church looks like in the future,” he says. “They’re the ones that will be flavouring and guiding how the rest of us are looked after and what the church feels like as we go forward.” 

He draws a direct line between these grassroots leaders and the archdiocese’s core mission, Go Make Disciples. “These are the apostles,” he says warmly.  

“They’re the ones getting coffee with their mate, journeying with people, discipling them, giving them authentic friendship. They’re there for a young person in a parish when they go through a tough time. That’s Go Make Disciples. Which is why this is such an important event, it’s pouring into the people who are constantly pouring themselves out for others.” 

Evans says the program across Saturday and Sunday is “jam-packed and hard-hitting.”  Day one opens with a liturgy with “all the bells and smells,” as he puts it with a grin, before Bishop Richard Umbers delivers a keynote address on the urgent importance of youth ministry, anchored in St John Paul II’s famous charge to young people: “[Jesus] asked much of you because he knows you can give much.” Practical workshops follow throughout the day, balancing high-level inspiration with on-the-ground skills. 

The afternoon brings what Evans calls an “absolute powerhouse” lineup: Jen Healy, Milad Khalil, and Louisa Daniels, who will take participants through everything from Youth Ministry 101 to running workshops and weaving personal testimony into ministry. The day closes with Eucharistic adoration, confession and a celebratory dinner, honouring those who give so much to others. 

Sunday brings Bishop Tony Percy, a subject matter expert on Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, offering a formation session before the day moves into targeted, practical streams for youth and young adults ministry respectively, finishing with a Holy Hour. 

“Every single one of those talks is going to be like a slap in the face,” Evans says. “It’s going to be hard-hitting. It’s going to be useful. Just nuggets of gold to pick up.” 

Beyond the keynotes and workshops, Evans is perhaps most excited about something simpler: the moment when leaders look around the room and realise they are not alone. One of the Summit’s core purposes is to address the isolation that so many youth ministers experience. 

“It’s so easy in youth ministry to get stuck in your silo, whether it’s your youth group or young adults’ group, and just to feel like there’s no one around to support you,” he says. “But actually, there are so many active, engaged young leaders across Sydney. This is an opportunity to connect them all together.” 

The Purpose Leaders Summit is on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 March at St Martha’s, 38 Renwick Street, Leichhardt. Register via Sydney Catholic Youth’s Instagram page or at sydneycatholicyouth.org. 

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Every year hundreds of children in New South Wales are prescribed puberty blockers, powerful drugs which stop natural development of their bodies, possibly make them infertile, and launch them into a lifetime of transgender medication.   

The NSW minister for health Ryan Park has given this treatment his tick of approval. At the Legislative Council’s budget estimates hearing on 2 March, he insisted the policy is “very evidence-based”.  

“We are constantly looking at the evidence,” he said. “We are constantly looking at what is happening overseas, and … my expectation is that that [kind of] healthcare, like all healthcare, is evidence-based and is delivered in a way that is tailored, best practice; it’s multidisciplinary; it’s age appropriate; and it’s evidence based.” 

How many of these kids are taking puberty blockers is uncertain, as it’s mum’s-the-word with the NSW health department and the state’s gender clinics.  

Greg Donnelly, an upper house MP with an interest in the issue, had to prise the figures out of them with freedom-of-information requests. It was like squeezing blood from a stone.  

With good reason, perhaps, because the evidence base for treating “gender dysphoria” with puberty blockers is looking shonkier and shonkier all the time. Perhaps it’s a case of the less the public knows, the better.  

In January last year, Queensland minister for health Tim Nicholls announced his state would immediately pause Stage 1 (puberty suppression with puberty blockers) and Stage 2 (gender-affirming hormones) hormone therapies. 

“There is contested evidence surrounding the benefits of Stage 1 and Stage 2 hormone therapy for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria emerging from studies throughout the world,” Nicholls said at the time. 

“France, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden have all tightened regulations around prescribing hormone therapy to children and adolescents. 

“More recently, the Government of the United Kingdom has changed legislation to restrict the prescription and supply of puberty blockers to children.”  

A number of doctors in Australia also have serious reservations about puberty blockers.

Gary Geelhoed – who has served as the WA president of the Australian Medical Association, the WA’s chief medical officer, and assistant director-general for the WA Department of Health – told The Australian recently that it was “one of the worst medical scandals for a long, long time”.  

He even said it might end up being worse than the notorious lobotomy scandal of the 1940s and 50s. Doctors had claimed that they could cure mental disorders ranging from depression to schizophrenia with brain surgery. Tens of thousands were performed in the United States alone.  

The results? Often they were devastating – epilepsy, dramatic personality changes, brain abscesses, dementia, and death. Yet many doctors championed it and Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz won the 1949 Nobel Prize for “one of the most important discoveries ever made in psychiatric therapy.”  

Sometimes doctors are dead wrong.  

Park and his minions in the health department are trying to ignore an ever-growing pile of evidence that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are dangerous and do not resolve children’s underlying psychological problems.  

The most comprehensive and forceful report to date is a 2024 review of the evidence by Professor Hilary Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. It found that “systematic evidence reviews [have] demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.”  

It also was sceptical of the need for puberty blockers: “The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health. The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown.”  

The impact of the thoroughly researched and carefully argued Cass Review was so powerful that the British government immediately reversed course. It closed government gender clinics and banned puberty blockers.  

Park is aware of the Cass Review – which makes his intransigence less excusable – and told the budget estimates committee that a local review by the Sax Institute (which is largely funded by the NSW Government) found that hormone therapy was safe, beneficial and reversible. But that review had ignored Professor Cass’s report – in other words, it was completely out of date.  

Since 2024, there have been even more developments which undermine the credibility of trans and gender diverse healthcare.  

Just last month, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons openly expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of youth gender medicine. “Because the evidence base for this care pathway is very low/low certainty and increasingly suggestive of potential harm and long-term complications, downstream surgical decision-making carries heightened ethical, clinical, and legal risk,” it said. 

The American Medical Association, the largest medical group in the US, immediately agreed. “The evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient.”  

As Leor Sapir, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said on X (formerly Twitter): “If the AMA was wrong about surgeries, could it also have been wrong about hormones?”  

And talking of legal risk, if Minister Park won’t listen to doctors, doctors will undoubtedly listen to lawyers. 

A young woman, Fox Varian, has just won US$2 million in damages from doctors who removed her healthy breasts when she was 16 to make her a trans man. A score of other  detransitioners have filed lawsuits in the US. “Observers believe the damages, all told, could run into hundreds of millions of dollars,” says The Economist.  

Is Minister Park putting the NSW government at risk of being sued for wilful negligence? 

The post What’s the real story with puberty blockers? appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

From Dublin to Dubuque, and Montserrat to Melbourne, the feast of St Patrick is celebrated by millions around the world – and for as many reasons as there are revelers, from faith to cultural heritage to fun.

But the fifth-century bishop at the heart of the merriment, who became an adopted son and apostle of Ireland, is far more relatable than many realise, as the saint’s own retelling of his life shows, one scholar told OSV News.

“There are the legends of Patrick, about the snakes and the fires and the shamrocks and all of that, which are great. And then there’s the real story of Patrick, which is so much more human,” said Philip Freeman, humanities professor at Seaver College and author of “St Patrick of Ireland: A Biography.”

Freeman, a specialist in Celtic studies and classics, pointed to the “Confessio,” in which St Patrick recounts his remarkable journey from indifferent Christian youth to (as he would later be known) apostle of Ireland.

Born in Britain to a Romanised family, Patrick was captured at age 16 by Irish raiders and spent six years as a slave. During that time, he developed a profound prayer life, and following his escape and reunion with his family, he eventually returned to Ireland to evangelise its people.

The Latin text of the “Confessio” – found in eight manuscripts from the 9th to the 17th century, including the Book of Armagh, which dates to about 807 – was written by St Patrick “as an old man,” Freeman said.

The “Confessio” was being quoted and paraphrased even earlier, around the year 690, said Lisa Bitel, professor of religion and history at the University of Southern California and a specialist in medieval Britain and Ireland.

In the opening line of the “Confessio,” Patrick describes himself as “a sinner, a simple country person” (“peccator rusticissimus”) and “the least of all believers” (“minimus omnium fidelium”).

He adds, “I am looked down upon by many” (“contemptibilissimus apud plurimos”), and later – referencing his slavery – describes himself as a refugee (“profuga”).

However, those “claims to humility may or may not be valid,” cautioned Bitel.

Patrick was writing as a “regional intellectual,” one who produced what is actually “quite a sophisticated document” that is “very intricately spotted with references to Scripture,” she said.

In particular, “he’s channeling St Paul in a big way,” said Bitel, referencing the work of Harvard Irish studies scholar Joseph Falaky Nagy.

Still, said Freeman, unlike St Augustine’s lengthier “Confessions,” which is a “polished literary story,” St Patrick’s story is “much more informal, much more revealing.”

“He just opens himself up, unlike anybody else I know of from the whole classical world, and talks about his failures, talks about his successes, talks about his faith in God – but also about his doubts in God,” said Freeman. “And he says, ‘You know, it’s been really hard, but I have kept going.'”

The future saint “suffered very much from anxiety, from depression, from self-doubt,” Freeman noted.

That angst renders the “Confessio” a “wonderful, very human prayer,” he said.

As a youth, Patrick wasn’t exactly known for his devotion to the faith, Freeman said.

Although raised in the church – with his father, Calpornius, a deacon and (amid an often married presbyterate at the time) his grandfather, Potitus, a priest – Patrick admits he “did not know the true God.”

Enslaved in Ireland around the year 430, he “rediscovered his faith,” said Freeman.

With Ireland as “just about the only part of Europe” unconquered by the Roman Empire, that slavery, which saw Patrick tending sheep in the field, was a life sentence, said Freeman, since under Roman law, slaves had the possibility of eventually buying their freedom.

Not so in Patrick’s Ireland, which was “made up of at least a hundred independent, very fiercely antagonistic tribes who were always fighting each other,” amid “polytheistic society” that was “like Rome or Greece before Christianity,” Freeman said.

St Patrick recollects in the text that visions and voices guided his escape from slavery and his call to return and “walk again among” the people of Ireland, along with locutions affirming God’s closeness in prayer.

Still, on balance, “there’s nothing supernatural” about the “Confessio,” Freeman observed.

“He doesn’t work miracles in it,” said Freeman. “It’s just a man who is deeply devoted to the Gospel, who works very, very hard to spread it with mixed success for many years.”

As part of his evangelisation efforts in Ireland, Patrick drew on his proficiency in Latin, Common Brythonic (the Celtic language spoken in Britain at the time) and Irish – and his experience of the culture, said Freeman.

“And that’s what made Patrick so effective,” said Freeman. “He knew the culture intimately. He’d been there; he’d lived there. There were other missionaries to Ireland, even before Patrick, in the south, but it was very much a foreign land to them.”

Bitel said that “Christianity was seeping into” Ireland prior to Patrick, with slaves, returning mercenaries and travellers, along with earlier missionaries, bringing the island’s residents into contact with the faith.

But, she said, Patrick was perhaps “the first to go way out to the wilds of Mayo” in Ireland, and “places these others hadn’t on the near coast” of the island.

His familiarity with Ireland, and his reach into those areas, may have sparked some jealousy among the bishops of Britain, who had ordained Patrick as a bishop and had sent him to Ireland in the first place, Freeman said.

In the “Confessio,” Patrick describes being “put to the test” by his superiors, who brought up an unspecified sin from his youth that he had confessed some 30 years earlier, prior to becoming a deacon.

Freeman and Bitel note that the nature of the transgression isn’t specified.

“It’s really hard to understand exactly what the charges were,” said Freeman, citing possible claims of “financial mismanagement or just not being subordinate enough.”

But Bitel, who also listed idolatry or sexual indiscretion as possibilities, stressed that “200 years of arguing among Celtic scholars” hasn’t yielded an answer on that point.

In the end, Patrick held fast to his mission, and writing in his “Confessio” as “a very wise preacher” who is “leading his audience,” the future saint seeks to show the reader “the depths and the real passion of his mission,” said Bitel.

“I would say that he was very much a devoted, orthodox, Catholic Christian who struggled mightily to fulfill his mission to preach the Gospel in Ireland,” said Freeman. “He was a man full of failures, full of doubts, but ultimately a man of great faith.”

The post St Patrick’s ‘Confessio’ shows the human behind the halo, say experts appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Pope Leo XIV moved into his new apartments at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace 14 March, the Holy See Press Office announced that afternoon in Rome. Pope Leo’s new quarters include several rooms, among them the private study – where the pope appears at the window to lead the Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square every Sunday – a library and a small chapel. According to Italian media, the apartment also includes a home gym.

With Pope Leo’s return to the Apostolic Palace, his rooms will be different from those of Pope Benedict XVI, the last pope to live in that space. Instead of occupying the traditional papal living quarters, Italian media has reported that Pope Leo will live in a loft, or attic, above the “Third Loggia,” or top floor, of the building. Vatican media has reported that Pope Leo will live with his private secretaries, Msgr. Edgard Rimaycuna and Father Marco Billeri.

Pope Leo’s choice to live in the Apostolic Palace marks a change from his immediate predecessor and a return to more than 100 years of tradition. Pope Francis lived his entire pontificate in a suite in the Vatican guesthouse, formally known as the Domus Sanctae Marthae, preferring to be residing within a larger community.

Pope Leo’s move takes place after months renovation at the Apostolic Palace – and accompanying speculation – during which the Holy Father continued to live at his apartment at the Vatican’s Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, where he had already been residing while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

In 1903, St Pius X became the first pope to live in the apartments overlooking St Peter’s Square. The apartments were completely remodeled by Pope Paul VI in 1964 and have undergone smaller modifications by each pope since, according to “Mondo Vaticano,” a Vatican-published mini-encyclopedia about Vatican buildings, offices and tradition.

On 11 May, 2025, Pope Leo removed the seals that had been placed on the door of the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace on 21 April, following the death of Pope Francis.

In St Peter’s Square on the evening of 14 March, it was business as usual as tourists milled around taking in the sights – mostly unaware that a major shift in the life of the pope was happening nearby. A group of Romans who learned from OSV News that the pope was moving into the apostolic palace that day were very excited to hear the news.

And though Pope Leo’s bedroom – for reasons of security and privacy – won’t be as public as that of his predecessors, a small light in the palace was visible from the square – an indicator that the space officially is in use once again.

Vatican News, Catholic News Service and Paulina Guzik, OSV News international editor, contributed to this report.

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Marking the two weeks since the US and Israel launched their first attacks on Iran and since the Israeli military resumed strikes in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire.

“On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East, and of all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire!” he said 15 March.

“May paths of dialogue be reopened! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace for which the people are waiting,” he said after praying the Angelus with people gathered in St Peter’s Square.

“For two weeks now, the people of the Middle East have been suffering the horrific violence of war,” the pope said. “Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas.”

“The situation in Lebanon is a cause for great concern,” he added. “I hope that avenues for dialogue will emerge to support the country’s authorities in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis currently unfolding, for the common good of all the Lebanese people.”

The post Pope Leo calls for ceasefire in Middle East, special prayers for Lebanon appeared first on The Catholic Weekly.

Pope Leo XIV visits the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome’s Ponte Mammolo suburb. Encouraging the community to remain a “sign of hope,” he praises its outreach to migrants, the poor, and prisoners, and calls for openness, solidarity and peace in a world marked by suffering and conflict.

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Pope Leo XIV urges all those responsible for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East to agree to a ceasefire and reopen paths of dialogue.

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At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV reflects on Jesus’ healing of the man born blind, and says faith teaches us to see humanity and its struggles as God sees them.

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ROME (CNS) -- Believing problems and differences can be resolved with war is absurd, Pope Leo XIV said, chastising those who use God's name in their dark and deadly pursuits.

"God cannot be enlisted by darkness," he said in his homily during Mass in a parish on the outskirts of Rome March 15. "Rather, he always comes to bring light, hope and peace to humanity, and it is peace that must be sought by those who call upon him."

The pope was making his fifth and final visit to parishes in his Diocese of Rome in the run-up to Palm Sunday, which falls on March 29. 

Earlier, the pope had prayed the Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, where he made an urgent appeal for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

"I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire!" he said after the noonday prayer. "May paths of dialogue be reopened! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace for which the people are waiting."

Marking the two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched their first attacks on Iran and since the Israeli military resumed strikes in Lebanon, Pope Leo said the people in the Middle East "have been suffering the horrific violence of war."

"Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas," he said. 

Expressing his deep concern for the situation in Lebanon, the pope said he hoped that the country’s authorities would be supported through dialogue "in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis currently unfolding, for the common good of all the Lebanese people."

Later in the day, the pope visited the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the northeast edge of Rome to celebrate Mass with members of the local community on "Laetare" Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent.

In his homily, the pope noted the meaning of "laetare" is "rejoice" with the anticipation of Easter.

However, he said, so many of "our brothers and sisters around the world are suffering because of violent conflicts, sparked by the absurd notion that problems and differences can be resolved through war."

"Some even go so far as to invoke God’s name in these choices of death," he said. What is needed is "unceasing dialogue for peace."

"This is the message of this Sunday: no matter how deep the abyss into which a person may fall because of their sins, Christ comes to bring a brighter light, capable of freeing them from the blindness of evil, so that they may begin a new life," he said in his homily. 

Pope Leo praised the parish, community leaders and volunteers for all they do to be "children of light" by serving the poor, the marginalized, immigrants, the exploited and inmates of the nearby Rebibbia prison.

Meeting with parish members outside together with young people and families, he said they are "a sign of hope in a world where pain, suffering and difficulties are often too great."

In his homily, he told the faithful to nurture God's gift of light "in all its gentleness, and spread it throughout the world through prayer, participation in the sacraments and charity."

Before praying the Angelus at noon, Pope Leo said faith is an invitation to open one's eyes to see "the suffering of others and the afflictions of the world."

Given so many "questions of the human heart, as well as the tragic situations of injustice, violence and suffering that mark our time, it is essential that our faith be alert, attentive and prophetic," he said.

"It should likewise open our eyes to the darkness of the world and bring to others the light of the Gospel through our commitment to peace, justice and solidarity," he said. May the light of Christ "open the eyes of our hearts and enable us to bear witness to him with simplicity and courage."

Reading I 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

Reading II Ephesians 5:8-14

Verse Before the Gospel John 8:12

Gospel John 9:1-41

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

A 5 minute daily podcast to help you in your Lenten discipline.

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In a letter to the “Children of God,” Myanmar’s Catholic Bishops invite the faithful to observe a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the country and the world on Thursday, 26 March.

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Reading 1 Hosea 6:1-6

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

Verse Before the Gospel Psalm 95:8

Gospel Luke 18:9-14

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Pope Leo XIV, who taught mathematics and physics, sends a message on the occasion of the International Day of Mathematics, reiterating that having a great deal of knowledge is not enough if we do not know who we are or what the meaning of life is.

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