VATICAN CITY (CNS) — When millions of visitors flock to the Sistine Chapel each year, their seemingly invisible breath and sweat are slowly leaving a mark on this Renaissance masterpiece, according to Vatican Museums officials.After 30 years since the chapel's last big renovation, the director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, said the impact of five to six million visitors […]

WASHINGTON – On the weekend of March 14-15, Catholics in many dioceses across the United States will be asked to help some of the most poor and vulnerable people. The U.S. bishops’ annual Catholic Relief Services Collection helps those in need in the United States and worldwide by benefiting six agencies and offices affiliated with the Catholic Church, including the […]

WASHINGTON – As reports emerge regarding the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, urgently called upon the United States, Iran, and the broader international community to return to dialogue and pursue every avenue toward a just and lasting peace.Echoing the heartfelt appeal of Pope Leo XIV to […]

ROME (CNS) — Life is a journey that requires trust and reliance on Jesus, who sometimes asks his disciples to leave everything behind, Pope Leo XIV said.While it may be tempting to flee from the uncertainty of heading into the unknown, it is precisely in this "dizzying vertigo" that people of faith will find God's promise of unexpected greatness, he […]

ROME (CNS) — Eight hundred years after his death, the bones of St. Francis of Assisi have been placed on public display for the first extended public viewing in history, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to the hilltop town.Following Pope Leo XIV's approval and blessing of this exposition, St. Francis' skeleton was exhumed from the sarcophagus where it normally […]

ROME (CNS) — The Jubilee Year, the death of Pope Francis and the unexpected election of a U.S. pope boosted the number of U.S. visitors seeking free tickets to Vatican events in 2025, said the Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican.The peak moments with the highest visitor volume were in October and Nov. 26, 2025, the day before […]

ROME (CNS) — While Satan tempts humanity with the lie of gaining unlimited power, God offers the gift of true freedom that leads to real love, relationships and fulfillment, Pope Leo XIV said.Beginning with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, humankind has had to face "the age-old dilemma: can I live my life to the […]

WASHINGTON – Newly released details show how the Administration plans to double federal immigration detention capacity, spending an estimated $38.3 billion from last year’s reconciliation bill to implement a new detention model by the end of Fiscal Year 2026. This amounts to nearly fifty times the annual budget for the entire immigration court system and almost five times the funding […]

TAMPA, Fla. – Concluding a biennial gathering, the officers and members of the Episcopal Conferences of the Americas met from February 15-17 at a retreat center to pray and discuss their shared ministry as pastors. The eleven bishops attending included bishops from the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and the United […]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — During Lent, people of faith come together to recognize their sins, which are not external evils to be solved by pointing fingers, but are evils residing inside one's heart requiring conversion, Pope Leo XIV said."We need to respond by courageously accepting responsibility" for one's own sins, he said in his homily during Mass on Ash Wednesday, […]