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Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:15 am (CNA).

Pope Francis passed away Easter Monday, April 21. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years. His burial at St. Mary Major took place Saturday, April 26.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

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Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presided over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday held in St. Peter's Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis' footsteps as "instruments of mercy for humanity" in the world today. 

"Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred, and violence: This is the great teaching of Pope Francis," Parolin said in his Sunday homily.

"Pope Francis was a shining witness of a Church that bends down with tenderness toward those who are wounded and heals with the balm of mercy," he added. 

Approximately 200,000 people participated in the outdoor Mass offered for the late pontiff on the second day of the Church's "Novendiales" mourning period, the Holy See Press Office reported. 

"Brothers and sisters, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday we remember our beloved Pope Francis with affection," Parolin said. "It is precisely the Father's mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterized the magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity."

Insisting that people's affections for the late pope "must not remain a mere emotion of the moment," Parolin said "the Church must welcome his legacy" by "opening ourselves to God's mercy and also being merciful to one another." 

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims who took part in Jubilee of Teenagers festivities from April 25–27 were also present at the Divine Mercy Mass dedicated to the late pontiff, including several European scouts groups, such as Italy's Scouts D'Europa, and American parish groups, including youth from the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia.

Addressing the throngs of teenagers present in the square — many of whom were shielding themselves from the hot morning sun under colorful hats and umbrellas — Parolin encouraged them to be close to Jesus Christ and to show his "merciful face" to all those they encounter in life.

"I address a special greeting to you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you," Parolin said to applause from those gathered in the square. 

"[Jesus] comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams," he said to young people. "He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love." 

The Mass celebration for the second Sunday of Easter concluded with the singing of the midday Regina Coeli prayer before an image of the icon of "Salus Populi Romani" ("Health of the Roman People") placed next to the main altar erected in St. Peter's Square.

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Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The unexpected death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, postponed the much-anticipated canonization of Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager who captivated a generation of young Catholics with his love of the Eucharist and passion for technology.

Now, as the Church prepares for a conclave to elect a new pope, tens of thousands of young pilgrims who traveled to Rome for the canonization remain in the Eternal City, holding vigil for the departed pope.

Acutis' journey to sainthood has unfolded alongside the lives of the last three popes, each of whom has marked a different chapter in the teenager's short life and legacy.

Carlo went on pilgrimage to see John Paul II, offered up his suffering from cancer for Benedict XVI, and was later beatified during the pontificate of Pope Francis. Now, it will be up to the next pope to canonize the Church's first millennial saint.

A childhood inspired by John Paul II

Born in 1991 during the pontificate of John Paul II, Carlo Acutis grew up at a time when the Polish pontiff was inspiring millions with his travels and teaching. It was Carlo's Polish nanny, herself devoted to the pope, who helped cultivate Carlo's early faith.

In October 2000, the Acutis family traveled to Rome to attend a landmark moment of the Great Jubilee: Pope John Paul II's act of entrustment of the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Standing in St. Peter's Square, the then-9-year-old Carlo witnessed a crowd united in prayer, gathered beneath Bernini's colonnade and in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fátima.

"The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future," John Paul II prayed to Our Lady.

Offering his suffering for Benedict XVI

When white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in April 2005, 13-year-old Carlo Acutis watched closely as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. According to his mother, Carlo was "fascinated" by Benedict XVI.

The following year, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. Before he died of cancer in October 2006, he offered up his suffering for Benedict XVI saying: "I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven."

Beatification under Pope Francis

Pope Francis declared Carlo Acutis' heroic virtue in 2018 and recognized the two miracles attributed to Carlo's intercession that made possible his beatification and canonization. 

Francis frequently cited Carlo as a model for youth in the digital age. In Christus Vivit, his apostolic exhortation to young people, Francis wrote that Carlo's life stood as a witness against the temptation of "self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure" in the digital world.

"His witness indicates to today's young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least," Pope Francis said the day after Carlo's beatification in 2020.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to preside over Carlo's canonization on April 27 during a jubilee event expected to draw 80,000 teenagers to Rome. Instead, that Mass will now be offered as one of the Novendiales — the nine days of mourning that follow the death of a pope — as part of a revised schedule for the Jubilee of Teenagers.

A saint for the next pope

Carlo Acutis' canonization will now be one of the first major acts awaiting the next pope. The timing and location of the canonization Mass will be left to the discretion of Francis' successor, who will likely recognize the moment as an opportunity to speak to the Church's future and to its youth as the canonization of the Catholic Church's first millennial saint.

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CNA Staff, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Judy Henderson spent 36 years in prison for a crime she did not commit, leaving her 3-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter behind while she was behind bars. Despite the hardship, Henderson never lost hope. Written above the sink in her cell was the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11, which served as her daily reminder that God had plans for her future.

She didn't wait around for that future to unfold, however; instead, she got to work helping other incarcerated mothers and still serves in this capacity today. Currently an administrative assistant for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Henderson continues to assist mothers and families in need.

She has also written a book called "When the Light Finds Us: From a Life Sentence to a Life Transformed," released on April 15, in which she shares her inspiring story from wrongful conviction to redemption.

Raised in a Christian household, Henderson was the oldest of eight. She grew up, got married, and had her daughter, Angel, and then her son, Chip, nine years later. Her marriage, which was physically and emotionally abusive, ended after 12 years.

Henderson, along with her children, then moved back to her hometown of Springfield, Missouri, to be closer to her parents and for a fresh start. However, within months of the move Henderson was charmed by a new man. 

"He was very suave and debonair and wore a three-piece suit and had been in the ministry and a real estate broker and just everything that you would think a woman would want," she told CNA in an interview. 

Henderson shared that even her parents loved him because they "thought he was a good Christian." 

One day he showed up at Henderson's home with suitcases and told her he was moving in. Henderson was taken aback and told him she wasn't going to live with a man she wasn't married to, especially with her children living with her.

When questioned as to why he felt the need to move in, Henderson recalled him telling her: "'I think you need me. I want to love you and take care of you and the children and for us to be a happy family.'"

"As a battered woman, our thinking and the way we view things aren't from a healthy lens," she explained. "And so I was already kind of like Pavlov's dogs, conditioned, and to be a 'yes,' 'yes sir,' 'I want to take care of you' kind of woman. Never thinking that there was any side to him that was not just good. And I did not see any of the signs. I didn't even know what to look for because back then we didn't have the battered women syndrome. We didn't know the definition of the different stages that battered women go through."

Soon after, Henderson began to see his bad side, which included dealing cocaine. Manipulated by her boyfriend, the two planned to rob a jeweler in Springfield, Missouri. However, the robbery turned deadly when the jeweler refused to hand over the valuables. Henderson's boyfriend fired his gun several times, killing the jeweler and leaving Henderson injured.

Both were charged with murder, but only Henderson was sentenced to life without parole for 50 years for capital murder. A major issue in her trial, which was later deemed unconstitutional, was that both Henderson and her boyfriend shared the same attorney. 

"The only reason he had him [the attorney] along with me is to make sure the strategy did not include him or nothing [was] being said bad about him or me taking the stand against him. It was another manipulating tool that he wanted to control," Henderson said.

Henderson entered prison and admitted that she "was very angry with God." 

The mother of two was able to see her daughter throughout the years; however, her ex-husband did not allow Henderson to see her son from the age of 5 until 16, causing her more anger.

"There's two things you can do with anger — you can get bitter or you can get better. And I chose better because nobody cared that I was angry in prison. Everybody was angry in prison," she shared.

So Henderson started to deal with her anger and "started fighting those emotions that Satan loves for us to feel."

"I stood on the fact that I was going home because God's promises are always 'yes' and 'amen,' and he promised in Jeremiah 29:11, 'I know the plans I have for you,' 'a future,' and my future was not prison. That's not what God gave me."

While in prison, Henderson became a certified paralegal and mentor for others who were incarcerated. She also worked toward legislative reform and led efforts to ensure that battered women could use their histories of abuse as legal defense. Her work in this area led to a landmark decision in Missouri that recognized battered women's syndrome as legal defense. 

She also pioneered the PATCH (Parents and Their Children) Program, which creates a safer, less traumatic experience for children visiting their incarcerated mothers. A trailer is used outside the prison and is decorated to look like a home with a TV, kitchen, and living room, and children never see handcuffs or guards, only volunteers who escort the children to their mothers. 

"I kept very, very busy being productive," she recalled. "I thought either you can do the time or the time can do you. And so I did the time. I got educated in every program they had to offer me."

One program that deeply touched Henderson and brought her back to Christ was Residents Encounter Christ, a Catholic ministry that offered "lifers" — those with a life sentence — a chance at a three-day retreat to encounter Christ, which Henderson said helped her to "understand what the love of God was really about."

On Dec. 20, 2017, Henderson received an unexpected visitor — then-Gov. Eric Greitens of Missouri. At the sight of him she dropped to her knees crying. He approached her, took her by the shoulders, and said, "I want to apologize for the state of Missouri for not looking at your case sooner, and for you having to spend 36 years of your life locked away. I'm going to, on this day, commute your sentence to life with parole to time served," she recalled. 

"He opened the door and my daughter came running to me and my son and other family members and two of my attorneys … we were overjoyed, everybody crying."

Today Henderson works with Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph and uses her skills and talents across departments to help veterans, women, children, and families in need.

"To see those women and those babies, and even the men, come in and be lifted up because of the work that we do is such a blessing and so inspiring for us to be able to be such great instruments for God," she said.

Henderson recalled how she always saw God's hand at work in her life and how "God does things in pieces, like a puzzle," bringing people and events into your life just at the right time "if you follow his lead and let him guide you."

"I was blessed enough to find my purpose and finding joy inside a dark, horrible, painful place. And so God is everywhere to shine his light … He shines a light for you to follow, and that's what I did and I was blessed to be able to listen to his voice and to do what I what he created me to do. This was my purpose."

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 27, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin presided over the solemn Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday held in St. Peter's Square, highlighting the need for the Church to follow in Pope Francis' footsteps as "instruments of mercy for humanity" in the world today. 

"Only mercy heals and creates a new world, putting out the fires of distrust, hatred and violence: this is the great teaching of Pope Francis," Parolin said in his Sunday homily.

"Pope Francis was a shining witness of a Church that bends down with tenderness towards those who are wounded and heals with the balm of mercy," he added. 

Approximately 200,000 people participated in the outdoor Mass offered for the late pontiff on the second day of the Church's "novendiales" mourning period, the Holy See Press Office reported. 

"Brothers and sisters, precisely on Divine Mercy Sunday we remember our beloved Pope Francis with affection," Parolin said."It is precisely the Father's mercy, which is greater than our limitations and calculations, that characterised the Magisterium of Pope Francis and his intense apostolic activity."

Insisting that people's affections for the late pope "must not remain a mere emotion of the moment," Parolin said "the Church must welcome his legacy" by "opening ourselves to God's mercy and also being merciful to one another." 

Tens of thousands of young pilgrims, who took part in Jubilee of Teenagers festivities from April 25-27, were also present at the Divine Mercy Mass dedicated to the late pontiff, including several European scouts groups, such as Italy's Scouts D'Europa, and American parish groups, including youth from the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia.  

Addressing the throngs of teenagers present in the square — many of whom were shielding themselves from the hot morning sun under colorful hats and umbrellas — Parolin encouraged them to be close to Jesus Christ and to show his "merciful face" to all those they encounter in life.

"I address a special greeting to you, with the desire to make you feel the embrace of the Church and the affection of Pope Francis, who would have liked to meet you, to look into your eyes, and to pass among you to greet you," Parolin said to applause from those gathered in the square. 

"[Jesus] comes to meet you where you are, to give you the courage to live, to share your  experiences, your thoughts, your gifts, and your dreams," he said to young people. "He comes to you in the face of those near or far, a brother and sister to love." 

The Mass celebration for the Second Sunday of Easter concluded with the singing of the midday Regina Coeli prayer before an image of the icon of Salus Populi Romani ("Health of the Roman People") placed next to the main altar erected in St. Peter's Square.

Full Article

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Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time on Easter Monday, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

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Vatican City, Apr 27, 2025 / 02:22 am (CNA).

Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time on Easter Monday, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

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Vatican City, Apr 26, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).

Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time on Easter Monday, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years.

Follow here for live updates of the latest news and information on the papal transition:

Full Article

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Vatican City, Apr 26, 2025 / 12:00 pm (CNA).

The wooden coffin of Pope Francis arrived at the Basilica of St. Mary Major just after 1 p.m. local time in Rome on Saturday, completing the solemn procession from St. Peter's Square through the streets of Rome and bringing an end to the funeral of the late pontiff.

Nearly half a million mourners gathered in St. Peter's Square on Saturday morning, while crowds of faithful lined the route to St. Mary Major as the late pontiff made his final journey to the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacy.

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CNA Newsroom, Apr 26, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Federal agents arrested a Wisconsin judge and former Catholic Charities director this week over allegations that she sheltered an illegal immigrant from being arrested by law enforcement earlier this month.

A criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, alleges that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan helped hide Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was present illegally in the United states and who had been charged in Milwaukee with domestic battery.

Police showed up at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18 planning to arrest Flores-Ruiz after a hearing in his criminal case. The hearing was scheduled to take place in Dugan's courtroom, according to the complaint.

Upon learning of the looming arrest, Dugan reportedly became "visibly angry" and subsequently confronted the federal agents over their plans. Afterwards, according to the complaint, she "escorted Flores-Ruiz and his counsel out of the courtroom" through a "jury door" and to a "nonpublic area of the courthouse." Flores-Ruiz's case was reportedly adjourned shortly thereafter.

Agents ultimately arrested the suspect outside of the courthouse after he allegedly attempted to flee on foot.

The complaint charges Dugan with "obstructing or impeding a proceeding" of a U.S. agency, as well as "concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest."

Prior to becoming a judge, Dugan had served for nearly three years as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, resigning in 2009, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The judge's LinkedIn profile lists her as having led the Catholic charity "through board restructuring and services reorganization."

Prior to her election to the Milwaukee circuit court, Dugan served as a civil law attorney in Milwaukee.

Dugan's lawyer this week said during a hearing in federal court that the judge "wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest."

"It was not made in the interest of public safety," he argued.

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