News & Commentary

Students from Everest Academy in Lemont, Ill., cheer May 8, 2025, after it was announced that Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the next pope. He chose the papal name Leo XIV. (OSV News photo/Vincent Alban, Reuters)

Chicago abuzz with ‘unbelievable’ joy the first American Pope is a hometown son

Catholics and non-Catholics alike were abuzz with excitement in Chicago May 8, after one of the city's native sons became pope. Taking the name Leo XIV, the new pontiff has made many firsts.
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USCCB president, committee chairmen recommit church to pro-life initiatives

As the nation awaits the U.S. Supreme Court's most significant abortion ruling in decades, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairmen of eight USCCB committees joined together "in prayer and expectant hope that states will ...
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St. Bernadette’s relics to begin first tour to U.S. in Florida in April

The relics of St. Bernadette, the Marian visionary of Lourdes, France, will tour the United States for the first time.
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Pope promulgates Curia reform, emphasizing church’s missionary nature

Nine years after taking office, Pope Francis promulgated his constitution reforming the Roman Curia, a project he began with his international College of Cardinals shortly after taking office in 2013.
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Women symbolize Ukraine’s strength, courage, archbishop says

Women defending their nation, staying behind to care for loved ones, mourning loss and death, or fleeing to bring their children to safety all symbolize hope for Ukraine, said the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
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Pope Francis prays for an end to war in Ukraine

Asking God to forgive all people tempted by violence, Pope Francis prayed for an end to the war in Ukraine and the fratricidal killing of both combatants and civilians caught in the crossfire.
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Study: Black Catholics worship more with other races than solely their own

A Pew Research Center study has found that only one-fourth of U.S. Black Catholics worship in majority-Black parishes.
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