News & Commentary

Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino, Calif., the main celebrant, distributes Communion to a detainee during a Mass on the grounds of the ICE Processing Center near Adelanto, Calif., Dec. 10, 2025. Attendees said the Mass, which took place in the Mojave Desert, was deeply emotional for both the bishops and the roughly 300 detainees present.

California bishops celebrate ‘very powerful’ Mass for detainees in ICE facility

OSV News December 19, 2025

A group of seven California bishops celebrated Mass at the ICE Processing Center outside the town of Adelanto in the Mojave Desert on December 10, providing communion to the roughly 300 detainees present.

Cardinals Gérald C. Lacroix of Québec, Wilton D. Gregory, retired archbishop of Washington, and Daniel N. DiNardo, retired archbishop of Galveston-Houston, speak outside the Pontifical North American College in Rome May 5, 2025.

In final pre-conclave meetings, cardinals discuss war, dialogue

OSV News May 6, 2025

With less than 48 hours until the beginning of the conclave, the cardinals who will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope discussed war, the need for dialogue and the role of the pope in fostering it.

Pope Francis greets an elderly woman as he meets with people in Asuncion, Paraguay, July 12, 2015. The pope in January 2021 established the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly, celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of July, near the July 26 liturgical memorial of Jesus' grandparents Sts. Joachim and Anne. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In 12 years, Pope Francis made enormous impact on church, liturgical life

OSV News May 2, 2025

While the liturgical legacy of Pope Francis may have flown under the radar for many, several experts told OSV News his 12-year papacy made a definite impact.

Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, is pictured meeting the pope at the Vatican in an undated photo. Pope Francis named Sister Alessandra to her post in 2021, first as undersecretary then as secretary. Formerly Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the pope died April 21, 2025, at age 88. (CNS photo/Vatican Media, courtesy Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)

How Francis’ legacy is shaping the next chapter of the Church for women

OSV News May 1, 2025

The enduring legacy of Pope Francis is seen in the women whose voices helped shape his vision.

Benedictine Abbot Donato Ogliari, abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, center, offered a spiritual meditation April 29, 2025, in the Vatican synod hall to cardinals attending the general congregation before the conclave begins. The abbot is seated between Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Build communion with diversity, abbot tells cardinals before conclave

Catholic News Service April 30, 2025

The cardinals preparing to elect a new pope must strengthen communion in the Catholic Church, promoting a form of unity that has nothing to do with uniformity and everything to do with a common focus on Jesus, a Benedictine abbot told the ...