Pope Leo XIV visits Augustinian nuns he has known for years

Pope Leo XIV meets with the Augustinian nuns of Montefalco on Nov. 20, 2025, in Italy. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 22, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA)."A moment of great familiarity" is how Abbess Maria Cristina Daguati of the Augustinian convent in Montefalco, Italy, described Pope Leo XIV's visit on Thursday.After visiting the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi and meeting with the Italian bishops on Nov. 20, the pope traveled to the Italian city of Montefalco to celebrate Mass at the monastery of the Augustinian nuns, erected in the 13th century and one of the oldest and most significant spiritual centers in the Umbria region.After meeting with the Italian bishops in Assisi, Pope Leo XIV traveled to the Augustinian monastery of St. Clare of Montefalco, where he wished to spend some time with the cloistered nuns. The Holy Father spoke informally with the community, celebrated Mass, and shared lunch with the nuns.The pope arrived by helicopter in the city, known for its medi...

Pope Leo XIV warns against 'false mercy' in marriage annulment proceedings

Pope Leo XIV holds an audience with the Roman Rota on Nov. 21, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 22, 2025 / 10:00 am (CNA).In a firm call to avoid "false mercy" in marriage annulment proceedings, Pope Leo XIV reminded that compassion cannot disregard the truth.During a Friday audience with participants in the legal-pastoral training course of the Roman Rota, the Holy See's court of appeals, the Holy Father read a lengthy speech in which he recalled the importance of the reform of marriage annulment processes initiated by Pope Francis 10 years ago.The pontiff emphasized that theology, law, and pastoral care must be understood in a harmonious way, not as separate or opposing areas, and pointed out that annulment proceedings are not merely technical procedures to obtain the "free status of persons" but rather an ecclesial service based on the search for truth and on family pastoral care.Judicial processes at the service of truthIn this context, Pop...

PHOTOS: St. Cecilia, martyr and patron saint of music, rests in Roman basilica named for her

A close-up of the tomb of St. Ceclia at the basilica dedicated to her in Trastevere, Rome, Italy. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Nov 22, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).St. Cecilia, widely known as the patron saint of music and musicians, is buried in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in the Roman neighborhood of Trastevere where a famous Baroque sculpture of her still puzzles scholars.According to popular belief, Cecilia was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the third century. Despite being forced by her family to marry, she remained a virgin, as she had vowed to do as a young girl. Her pagan husband, Valerian, converted to Christianity after their marriage, and Valerian's brother, Tiburtius, was also baptized a Christian. Both men were martyred. St. Cecilia, too, would later be tortured and martyred. It is said she took three days to die after the executioner hit her three times on the neck with a sword.The Basilica of St. Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome, Italy. St. Cecilia is the patr...

Armed attackers kidnap children from Catholic elementary school in Nigeria

Over 200 Christians were murdered by Islamist militants in Nigeria on June, 13, 2025. / Credit: Red Confidential/ShutterstockACI Africa, Nov 21, 2025 / 17:20 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Kontagora in Nigeria has described as "painful and disturbing" the Friday, Nov. 21, kidnapping of children and staff at St. Mary's Catholic Nursery, Primary, and Secondary Schools.In a statement shared with ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, the diocesan secretary of the Nigerian episcopal see appealed for intensified national action against insecurity.Father Jatau Luka Joseph said armed attackers invaded St. Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger state, in the early hours of Nov. 21, abducting "some pupils, students, teachers, and a security personnel who was badly shot.""The incident occurred between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., causing fear and distress within the school community," he said."The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora strongly condemns the attack and expresses deep con...

10 takeaways from Pope Leo XIV's address to youth at NCYC

Pope Leo XIV speaks to teenagers during a digital encounter at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAIndianapolis, Indiana, Nov 21, 2025 / 17:50 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV spoke to teenagers during a digital encounter at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday in Indianapolis during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). Five teenagers asked the pope questions regarding using technology, recovering from mistakes, giving worries to Jesus, avoiding distractions, and preparing for the future of the Church. The pope gave guidance to the young crowd with words applicable to both teenagers and the universal Church. The Holy Father's advice that Catholics can apply to their lives included:Sin never has the final word"All of us struggle," Leo said. "The truth is that none of us is perfect.""St. Paul teaches that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God … Because of...

'It felt like history': Teens, organizers on cloud nine after live dialogue with Pope Leo

Ezequiel Ponce, a high school senior from Downey, California (left), and Elise Wing, a senior from Waterloo, Iowa (right), speak at a press conference following their digital dialogue with Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Jonah McKeown/National Catholic RegisterIndianapolis, Indiana, Nov 21, 2025 / 18:10 pm (CNA).At a press conference Friday following Pope Leo XIV's historic "digital visit" with 16,000 young people at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, leaders and young participants praised Pope Leo's warmth, humility, authenticity, and pastoral clarity, highlighting his central message: a personal relationship with Jesus is essential."Walking up on that stage felt like history. It really did," said Elise Wing, a high school senior from Waterloo, Iowa, and one of the teens selected to ask Pope Leo a question during the live dialogue, which was facilitated digitally by EWTN on Nov. 21. "It's beautiful to see somebody so holy really coming to us ...

Notre Dame returns 'Catholic Mission' to its core values after 'confusion' 

Notre Dame President Robert A. Dowd, CSC, said he is reinstating "Catholic Mission" among staff values on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Matt Cashore/University of Notre DameWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2025 / 18:30 pm (CNA).The University of Notre Dame has reinstated "Catholic Mission" among its staff values after it opted to drop the language in an effort to reprogram the school's Catholic identity as overarching. In a Nov. 21 staff announcement, Notre Dame President Robert A. Dowd, CSC, said commitment to the school's Catholic mission was referenced in the preamble to the new four staff values announced at a town hall meeting last week "as a way to show its overarching importance." "Thanks to some constructive feedback we received, we now realize that placement is causing confusion and that some could interpret that not as elevating our mission as we intended but as a sign of diminishing commitment," he said. "To avoid any further confusion, we have now included th...

Joy in Dublin as papal designation gives city first Catholic cathedral since Reformation

Archbishop Dermot Farrell of the Dublin Archdiocese holds up the decree on Nov. 14, 2025, that Pope Leo XIV sent him granting his request that St. Mary's Pro Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dublin be designated as the cathedral Church of the archdiocese. / Credit: John McElroy/Dublin ArchdioceseDublin, Ireland, Nov 21, 2025 / 12:09 pm (CNA).There was immense joy among Catholics in Dublin following a decree from Pope Leo XIV formally designating St. Mary's Pro Cathedral as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dublin, ending 200 years of the cathedral's "temporary" status and giving the capital its first official Catholic cathedral since the Reformation.Speaking at Mass in the cathedral to mark the bicentenary on Friday, Nov. 14, Archbishop Dermot Farrell of the Dublin Archdiocese told the faithful of Dublin: "I am pleased to announce that the Holy Father, Pope Leo, has consented to my request and has approved by decree that St. Mary's be designated as the cathedral church of our ...

Sen. Klobuchar meets Pope Leo XIV to advocate for abducted Ukrainian children

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, meets Pope Leo XIV, along with a delegation of Ukrainian mothers, wives, and teenagers, at the Vatican on Nov. 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 21, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, joined a delegation of Ukrainian mothers, wives, and teenagers forcibly taken to Russia during the war with Ukraine who met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Friday. The audience highlighted ongoing humanitarian and diplomatic efforts to secure the return of abducted civilians.In a statement from her Senate office, Klobuchar said: "Pope Leo is a true moral force for peace and justice and a champion for children around the world. It was an honor to meet him as part of our mission to bring home the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and chart a path towards peace and healing for Ukraine."The senator added: "We cannot accept a world where children are abducted during wartime and used as hostages for negotiations. The...

Pope Leo XIV to Caritas: Be artisans of peace, serve every person with dignity

Pope Leo XIV meets with the leadership and staff of Caritas Internationalis, the Church's global charitable network operating in more than 200 countries, on Nov. 21, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 21, 2025 / 13:10 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Friday met with the leadership and staff of Caritas Internationalis, the Church's global charitable network operating in more than 200 countries, asking them to be "pilgrims of hope" and "artisans of peace" in the world.During the morning meeting held at the Vatican, the Holy Father thanked Caritas Internationalis president Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi and approximately 70 Caritas workers for their "steadfast service" within the Church and to people throughout the world."Caritas Internationalis has long been a luminous sign of the Church's maternal love," he said to the multinational delegation on Nov. 21. "The love we receive from Christ is never a private treasure but always a mission entrusted to our h...