Pope Leo XIV leads the Church's commemoration for his papal predecessor and 142 other bishops who died in the past year on Nov. 3, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 3, 2025 / 11:04 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV on Monday presided over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in suffrage for the late Pope Francis and for deceased cardinals and bishops.One day after celebrating Mass for all the faithful departed at Verano Cemetery in Rome, the Holy Father led the Church's commemoration for his papal predecessor and 142 other bishops who died in the past year.In the presence of members of the Roman Curia and hundreds of Catholic faithful, the pope said his first Mass commemorating the Church's deceased cardinals and bishops had the "savor of Christian hope" because their ministry had guided many "on the path of the Gospel.""Dear friends, our beloved Pope Francis and our brother cardinals and bishops for whom we offer the Eucharistic sacrifice tod...
Pope Leo XIV leads the Church's commemoration for his papal predecessor and 142 other bishops who died in the past year on Nov. 3, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 3, 2025 / 11:04 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Monday presided over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in suffrage for the late Pope Francis and for deceased cardinals and bishops.
One day after celebrating Mass for all the faithful departed at Verano Cemetery in Rome, the Holy Father led the Church's commemoration for his papal predecessor and 142 other bishops who died in the past year.
In the presence of members of the Roman Curia and hundreds of Catholic faithful, the pope said his first Mass commemorating the Church's deceased cardinals and bishops had the "savor of Christian hope" because their ministry had guided many "on the path of the Gospel."
"Dear friends, our beloved Pope Francis and our brother cardinals and bishops for whom we offer the Eucharistic sacrifice today have lived, witnessed, and taught this new paschal hope the Lord called them to," Leo said in his Nov. 3 homily.
"The Lord called them and established them as shepherds of his Church," he said. "Through their ministry they — to use the language of the Book of Daniel — have led many to righteousness."
Though saddened by their deaths, Leo said their guidance and teaching helped transmit Christ's "wisdom, justice, sanctification, and redemption" to the Church's faithful spread throughout the world.
"We are saddened, of course, when a loved one leaves us," he told the congregation. "As Christians, we are called to bear with Christ the weight of these crosses."
"But we are not saddened like those without hope, because even the most tragic death cannot prevent Our Lord from welcoming our soul into his arms and transforming our mortal body, even the most disfigured, into the image of his glorious body," he said.
Entrusting the souls of Pope Francis and the deceased prelates to God, Leo prayed for their intercession and "spiritual encouragement" for Christians "who are still pilgrims on earth."
Using the Book of Psalms, Leo at the end of his homily prayed: "Hope in God; I will still praise him, the salvation of my face and my God."
null / Credit: ShutterstockProfessional, ShutterstockCNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 11:37 am (CNA).The Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, Oct. 31, making it the 41st U.S. diocese to seek court-supervised reorganization in the wake of clergy sexual abuse claims.Bishop Robert Marshall Jr., who has led the 50-parish diocese in central Louisiana since 2020, announced the petition in a letter and video posted to the diocese's website. "As your bishop, I apologize to abuse survivors for the harm, pain, and suffering they experienced and continue to experience in their lives," Marshall wrote. "This action is occurring because some past priest-perpetrators sexually abused minors, actions that are evil, sinful, and go against everything the Church and the priesthood represent."Eighty-five survivors have already filed claims, according to the diocese, with more expected after the court sets a bar date. More than half the allega...
The Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, Oct. 31, making it the 41st U.S. diocese to seek court-supervised reorganization in the wake of clergy sexual abuse claims.
"As your bishop, I apologize to abuse survivors for the harm, pain, and suffering they experienced and continue to experience in their lives," Marshall wrote. "This action is occurring because some past priest-perpetrators sexually abused minors, actions that are evil, sinful, and go against everything the Church and the priesthood represent."
Eighty-five survivors have already filed claims, according to the diocese, with more expected after the court sets a bar date. More than half the allegations date to the 1970s or earlier; nearly every named perpetrator is deceased.
A 2021 Louisiana law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations, triggering the surge in claims. The law allows victims to pursue civil damages indefinitely for abuse occurring on or after June 14, 1992, or where the victim was a minor as of June 14, 2021, with a three-year filing window (which ended June 14, 2024) for older cases.
The diocese lists $16.7 million in assets and $9.5 million in liabilities. It pledges $4 million plus limited insurance proceeds to a victim compensation trust. "The diocese believes it can contribute $4 million to a plan trust that will be used to compensate abuse survivors," according to the frequently asked questions section of the diocese's website.
Chapter 11 will freeze all pending lawsuits and funnel them into one court-supervised settlement. "Without a structured process of this kind, funds would be exhausted in the first settlements or cases that go to trial, leaving nothing for all the other claims waiting to be heard," the diocese explained.
Parishes, which are separately incorporated from the diocese, remain untouched by the bankruptcy filing. Restricted donations, including the annual diocesan appeal and seminarian funds, are protected, and daily Masses, parish schools, and charities continue uninterrupted.
The bankruptcy filing comes as the diocese, experiencing declining numbers of priests, seminarians, and Mass attendance, is in the midst of a reorganization plan launched in 2024 titled "Together as One Church: Embracing the Future of Hope." The plan will entail "closures and reconfigurations" of parishes and missions, according to the diocese.
In this context, Marshall, after consulting the priest council, finance council, and the Vatican, called the Chapter 11 filing "the most prudent course."
The case, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana, is projected to last 18 to 24 months and cost $1 million to $2 million in fees — far less than larger dioceses.
In 2019, the diocese published names of credibly accused clerics and has adopted the U.S. bishops' safe environment policy. "We remain committed to transparency," Marshall said.
St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsCNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:1. His father refused to acknowledge him. De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life. 2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13. De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time perfo...
St. Martin de Porres. / Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
CNA Staff, Nov 3, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
On Nov. 3, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican brother who lived a life of humble service and charity and became the first Black saint of the Americas.
Here are seven fascinating facts about this inspiring saint:
1. His father refused to acknowledge him.
De Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman and former Panamanian Black slave. His father, Don Juan de Porres, refused to publicly acknowledge the boy as his own because Martin was Black, like his mother. Being biracial would prove challenging for Martin de Porres throughout his life.
2. He started practicing medicine before he was 13.
De Porres served as an apprentice to a doctor, and before the age of 13 he began to learn the practice of medicine. He would eventually become a barber, which at the time performed minor medical and surgical procedures like pulling teeth or emptying abscesses.
3. He faced discrimination as a Dominican.
De Porres entered the Dominican order in 1603. Becoming a Dominican brother proved to be challenging for de Porres because a Peruvian law at the time prevented people of mixed race from joining religious orders. Therefore, he lived with the community and did manual work, earning himself the nickname "the saint of the broom" for his diligence in cleaning the Dominicans' quarters.
Eventually he was allowed to enter the order, despite the law, and worked in the infirmary tending to the sick and among the impoverished of Peru. "I cure them, but God heals them," de Porres would say when curing the sick. He also had the task of begging for alms that the community would use to clothe and feed the poor. He also established an orphanage and planted an orchard from which those in need could freely take a day's supply of fruit.
4. He levitated and bilocated.
De Porres was deeply prayerful, so much so that many of the brothers witnessed him levitating in intense prayer and embracing the crucified cross. De Porres reportedly also had the gift of bilocation, and some of his contemporaries said they encountered him in places as far off as Japan even as he remained in Lima. Some claimed he had appeared to them supernaturally behind locked doors or under otherwise impossible circumstances.
5. He refused to eat meat.
De Porres loved animals. He refused to eat meat and ran a veterinary hospital for sick animals that seemed to seek out his help. Portrayals of the saint often include cats, dogs, and even the rats to whom he showed compassion.
6. He is the patron saint of multiple manual labor occupations.
De Porres was known for the various assignments he carried out and which earned him the title of patron saint of barbers, the sick, and street cleaners. On the 50th anniversary of St. Martin de Porres' canonization, Father Juan Anguerri, director of the St. Martin de Porres Home for the Poor, said: "These are often thankless tasks, but yet through his humble service, St. Martin sent a message to revitalize these jobs."
7. He was canonized more than 300 years after his death.
Martin de Porres died on Nov. 3, 1639, at age 60. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 16, 1962. At his canonization Mass, John XXIII called him "Martin of Charity."
This story was first published on Nov. 3, 2021, and has been updated.
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass commemorating the faithful departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery on Nov. 2, 2025. / Daniel IbáñezRome, Italy, Nov 2, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).Celebrating Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to contemplate death "not so much as a recollection of the past, but above all as a hope for the future."The pope said the Christian vision of death is not one of despair or nostalgia but of confident expectation rooted in the resurrection of Christ. "Our Christian faith, founded upon Christ's Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future," he said in his homily.He encouraged the faithful not to remain "in the sorrow for those who are no longer with us," but instead to look forward "towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feas...
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass commemorating the faithful departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery on Nov. 2, 2025. / Daniel Ibáñez
Rome, Italy, Nov 2, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).
Celebrating Mass for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at Rome's Verano Cemetery, Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics to contemplate death "not so much as a recollection of the past, but above all as a hope for the future."
The pope said the Christian vision of death is not one of despair or nostalgia but of confident expectation rooted in the resurrection of Christ. "Our Christian faith, founded upon Christ's Paschal mystery, helps us to experience our memories as more than just a recollection of the past but also, and above all, as hope for the future," he said in his homily.
He encouraged the faithful not to remain "in the sorrow for those who are no longer with us," but instead to look forward "towards the goal of our journey, towards the safe harbor that God has promised us, towards the unending feast that awaits us."
"This hope for the future brings to life our remembrance and prayer today," the pope continued. "This is not an illusion for soothing the pain of our separation from loved ones, nor is it mere human optimism. Instead, it is the hope founded on the Resurrection of Jesus who has conquered death and opened for us the path to the fullness of life."
Pope Leo emphasized that love is the key to this journey. "It was out of love that God created us, through the love of his Son that he saves us from death, and in the joy of that same love, he desires that we live forever with him and with our loved ones," he said.
He urged Christians to anticipate eternal life by practicing charity in their daily lives. "Whenever we dwell in love and show charity to others, especially the weakest and most needy, then we can journey towards our goal, and even now anticipate it through an unbreakable bond with those who have gone before us."
"Love conquers death," he said simply. "In love, God will gather us together with our loved ones. And, if we journey together in charity, our very lives become a prayer rising up to God, uniting us with the departed, drawing us closer to them as we await to meet them again in the joy of eternal life."
Concluding his homily, the pope invited those mourning loved ones to turn to the Risen Christ as their sure source of comfort and promise. "Even as our sorrow for those no longer among us remains etched in our hearts, let us entrust ourselves to the hope that does not disappoint," he said. "Let us fix our gaze upon the Risen Christ and think of our departed loved ones as enfolded in his light."
"The Lord awaits us," he added. "And when we finally meet him at the end of our earthly journey, we shall rejoice with him and with our loved ones who have gone before us. May this promise sustain us, dry our tears, and raise our gaze upwards toward the hope for the future that never fades."
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 2, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV issued urgent appeals for peace and humanitarian access in Sudan and Tanzania on Sunday, decrying escalating violence that has left civilians dead and aid blocked in parts of Africa."With great sorrow I am following the tragic news coming from Sudan, especially from the city of El Fasher in the war-torn region of North Darfur," the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter's Square on November 2. He condemned "indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians, and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid," and called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors."I renew my heartfelt appeal to all parties involved to agree to a ceasefire and to urgently open humanitarian corridors," he said, urging the international community "to act with...
Pope Leo XIV leads the faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in reciting the Angelus on Nov. 2, 2025. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 2, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV issued urgent appeals for peace and humanitarian access in Sudan and Tanzania on Sunday, decrying escalating violence that has left civilians dead and aid blocked in parts of Africa.
"With great sorrow I am following the tragic news coming from Sudan, especially from the city of El Fasher in the war-torn region of North Darfur," the pope said after leading the Angelus in St. Peter's Square on November 2. He condemned "indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians, and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid," and called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors.
"I renew my heartfelt appeal to all parties involved to agree to a ceasefire and to urgently open humanitarian corridors," he said, urging the international community "to act with determination and generosity" to support relief efforts.
Turning to Tanzania, the pope expressed sadness over deadly clashes following recent elections, encouraging citizens "to avoid all forms of violence and to follow the path of dialogue."
The pope also greeted pilgrims from Italy and abroad, including youth and religious groups, and said that he would celebrate Mass that afternoon at Rome's Verano Cemetery in remembrance of the faithful departed. "In spirit, I will visit the graves of my loved ones, and I will also pray for those who have no one to remember them," he said. "Our heavenly Father knows and loves each of us, and he forgets no one."
Earlier, before the recitation of the Angelus, the pope reflected on the meaning of All Souls' Day, telling the faithful that "the resurrection of the crucified Jesus from the dead sheds light on the destiny of each one of us."
Quoting from the Gospel of John, he said: "This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day." From this, the pope explained, "the focus of God's concerns is clear: that no one should perish forever and that everyone should have their own place and radiate their unique beauty."
He linked this hope to the previous day's feast of All Saints, calling it "a communion of differences that extends God's life to all his daughters and sons who wish to share in it." Citing Pope Benedict XVI, he described eternal life as "being so immersed in an ocean of infinite love that time, before, and after no longer exist."
Concluding his reflection, the pope invited Christians to live this day as a remembrance filled with hope. "Let us commemorate, therefore, the future," he said. "We are not enclosed in the past or in sentimental tears of nostalgia. Neither are we sealed within the present, as in a tomb."
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Scene from Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNAChicago, Illinois, Nov 1, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado celebrated a Mass Nov. 1 outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees.Maldonado, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago, and a group of eight spiritual leaders sought to bring Holy Communion to detainees and were not admitted. Mass organizers said they followed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's guidelines to obtain access and submitted the request weeks in advance.An estimated 2,000 Catholics attended the outdoor Mass including Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy and longtime advocate for immigrant rights in the Chicago area. Persch said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility an...
Scene from Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees. / Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
Chicago, Illinois, Nov 1, 2025 / 17:29 pm (CNA).
Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado celebrated a Mass Nov. 1 outside the Broadview facility in Chicago where immigration advocates allege federal authorities inhumanely treat detainees.
Maldonado, an auxiliary bishop in Chicago, and a group of eight spiritual leaders sought to bring Holy Communion to detainees and were not admitted. Mass organizers said they followed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's guidelines to obtain access and submitted the request weeks in advance.
An estimated 2,000 Catholics attended the outdoor Mass including Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy and longtime advocate for immigrant rights in the Chicago area.
Persch said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Obtaining access initially took time when she first began visiting the facility a decade ago, she said.
Sister JoAnn Persch, 91, a Sister of Mercy, said in previous years she was granted access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and brought communion to detainees, but access has ceased. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
"Our motto is peacefully, respectfully, but never take no for an answer, so we kept working with ICE," Persch said. "Finally, we got inside."
Father David Inczauskis, S.J., who worked with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and Broadview, Illinois' mayor to request access, said, "On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That's a reasonable request to make, fitting with our Constitution and with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights."
A full slate of information about who is inside the facility is lacking, he said. But family members of detainees say their loved ones are inside desiring communion, he said. Authorities cited "safety reasons" for denying the group access, Inczauskis said.
"The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It's such an important thing for people to be able to receive communion. To be denied that right, that opportunity, as Catholics, is devastating," Inczauskis said.
"On a day of All Saints, people should be able to receive communion. That's a reasonable request to make,' said Father David Inczauskis, S.J., shown here speaking to one of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, executive director of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, cited media reports saying people are being kept at the Broadview facility for days, sleeping on floors, having medications withheld, with no showers.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Marshall Justice Center sued the federal government Oct. 31, saying migrants are housed in inhumane conditions at Broadview and denied their right to access counsel. The Department of Homeland Security has vigorously denied the allegations of subprime conditions.
Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center's Illinois office and lead counsel on the suit said in a statement, "Community members are being kidnapped off the streets, packed in hold cells, denied food, medical care, and basic necessities, and forced to sign away their legal rights. This is a vicious abuse of power and gross violation of basic human rights by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. It must end now."
A view of some of the participants at the Nov. 1, 2025 Mass outside the Broadview ICE detention center. Credit: Kathleen Murphy/CNA
The suit alleges ICE agents at Broadview deny detainees sufficient food, water, hygiene, and medical care. The suit alleged detainees are deprived of sleep, privacy, menstrual products, and the ability to shower.
President Donald Trump expanded use of deportations without a court hearing this year and ramped up federal law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest immigrants lacking legal status. The administration set a goal of 1 million deportations this year.
Genin De la Peña is a Chicago resident who said she attended the Mass at Broadview "because others cannot, I want to support," she said.
Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. / Credit: AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 1, 2025 / 12:58 pm (CNA).Graphic evidence emerged Friday of large-scale massacres of civilians in Sudan, including satellite imagery of bodies and blood-stained ground taken outside a hospital in Darfur.More than 460 patients and their family members were reported shot and killed in the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Tuesday, after the Sudanese army surrendered the city to paramilitary fighters on Sunday following an 18-month siege.The government's forces remain in control of the capital city of Khartoum, according to news reports.The massacre is the latest tragedy in the conflict that has consumed the western Darfur region since full-scale civil war broke out in 2023. The war between rival military factions, the Sudanes...
Displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), arrive in the town of Tawila war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on October 28, 2025. / Credit: AFP via Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 1, 2025 / 12:58 pm (CNA).
Graphic evidence emerged Friday of large-scale massacres of civilians in Sudan, including satellite imagery of bodies and blood-stained ground taken outside a hospital in Darfur.
More than 460 patients and their family members were reported shot and killed in the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, Tuesday, after the Sudanese army surrendered the city to paramilitary fighters on Sunday following an 18-month siege.
The government's forces remain in control of the capital city of Khartoum, according to news reports.
The massacre is the latest tragedy in the conflict that has consumed the western Darfur region since full-scale civil war broke out in 2023.
The war between rival military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 people and displaced as many as 14 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relation's Global Conflict Tracker.
UN: It's the world's 'most devastating' humanitarian crisis
In January, the U.S. State Department declared that the RSF had committed genocide against non-Arab ethic groups in Sudan. The United Nations has described the situation in Sudan as "most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world."
Former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, earlier this year, said that "men and boys ¾ even infants ¾ on an ethnic basis" had been killed and that the RSF fighters "deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence," CNN reported.
The atrocities that have taken place in Sudan constitute ethnic cleansing, according to Human Rights Watch, which in its 2024 report said "crimes against humanity and widespread war crimes were committed in the context of an ethnic cleansing campaign against the ethnic Massalit and other non-Arab populations."
The Republic of Sudan, in northeastern Africa, has a population of about 50 million people, 90.7% of whom are Muslim, with Christians forming the largest minority. In 2019, a revolution toppled President Omar al-Bashir, ending decades of authoritarian rule. Two years later, military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ousted civilian leaders and seized power. Their forces turned on each other in April 2023, plunging the country into war.
In September, Pope Leo XIV called on Sudan's warring leaders to end the violence in the country in order to get much-needed humanitarian assistance to the 260,000 people said to be trapped in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in el-Fasher.
"Dramatic news is coming from Sudan, particularly from Darfur," Pope Leo said. "In el-Fasher many civilians are trapped in the city, victims of famine and violence. In Tarasin, a devastating landslide has caused numerous deaths, leaving behind pain and despair. And as if that weren't enough, the spread of cholera is threatening hundreds of thousands of people who are already exhausted."
"I make a heartfelt appeal to those in positions of responsibility and to the international community to ensure humanitarian corridors are open and to implement a coordinated response to stop this humanitarian catastrophe," the Pope said.
"Unfortunately, it's a forgotten war for the international community, but it's not forgotten for the weapon merchants, who are making a lot of profits out of this war," he told the outlet.
According to the United Nations, Sudan is becoming "the world's largest hunger crisis in recent history." As many as 24.6 million people ¾ more than half the population ¾ are "food insecure," according to the U.N.
In February of this year, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas agencies warned that the Trump administration's freezing of assistance through U.S. Agency for International Development would exacerbate an already dangerous situation.
Finish line of the A-Cross America Relay, hosted by Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. / Credit: Photo courtesy of LIFE Runners.CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2025 / 05:55 am (CNA).A pro-life relay with more than 10,000 participants came to a joyful conclusion in Kansas last Saturday after runners made the shape of a cross as they ran across the U.S.The 5,124 mile "A-Cross America Relay," organized by pro-life group LIFE Runners, kicked off in September in four cities around the country and ended at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas on Oct. 25.The starting points were San Francisco, California; New York City, New York; Austin, Texas; and Fargo, North Dakota, but participants around the world also joined to witness to life in their own nations. The San Francisco kickoff of the A-Cross America Relay began at Star of the Sea Church with students from Stella Maris Academy. Credit: Photo courtesy of LIFE Runners.With more than 25,000 "teammates" in nearly 4,000 cities acro...
Finish line of the A-Cross America Relay, hosted by Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. / Credit: Photo courtesy of LIFE Runners.
CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2025 / 05:55 am (CNA).
A pro-life relay with more than 10,000 participants came to a joyful conclusion in Kansas last Saturday after runners made the shape of a cross as they ran across the U.S.
The 5,124 mile "A-Cross America Relay," organized by pro-life group LIFE Runners, kicked off in September in four cities around the country and ended at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas on Oct. 25.
The starting points were San Francisco, California; New York City, New York; Austin, Texas; and Fargo, North Dakota, but participants around the world also joined to witness to life in their own nations.
The San Francisco kickoff of the A-Cross America Relay began at Star of the Sea Church with students from Stella Maris Academy. Credit: Photo courtesy of LIFE Runners.
With more than 25,000 "teammates" in nearly 4,000 cities across 50 countries, LIFE Runners aim to raise awareness for unborn children during their annual relay.
Patrick Castle, president and founder of LIFE Runners, spoke with CNA about what inspires participants to run for the unborn.
CNA: What inspires the mission of LIFE Runners?
Castle: LIFE Runners is inspired by the obvious responsibility of Christians to reach the youth, pregnant mothers, fathers, and influencers with God's love and the truth that abortion isn't a solution to anything, it is the greatest problem, the greatest evil by definition, by the numbers.
Abortion claims more American lives in one year than all combat casualties in the history of America. With the 250th anniversary of our country next year, may we reflect on who we are as Americans and as Christians.
We are people who stand for God and His gifts of life and liberty. Amen!
How does the relay help raise awareness for the unborn?
Castle: The LIFE Runners A-Cross America Relay helps raise awareness for the unborn through our public witness [of] wearing "REMEMBER The Unborn" shirts.
Eighty-two percent of post-abortion mothers said if they had encountered one supportive person or encouraging message, they would have chosen life.
For example, two mothers saw our "REMEMBER The Unborn" witness outside of the Omaha Planned Parenthood, asked for help, and chose life.
New York City kickoff for the A-Cross America Relay. Participants prayed and then walked with the big "REMEMBER The Unborn" banner to the Father Francis Duffy statue in Times Square. Credit: Photo courtesy of LIFE Runners.
Thousands of people witnessed thousands of LIFE Runners wearing "REMEMBER The Unborn" shirts across America and around the world during the 5,124 mile relay that made a cross over America.
With access to abortion in the mail and across state lines, LIFE Runners wear life-saving messages everywhere to inspire a culture of life at work, school, walking, running, grocery store; everywhere!
What stood out to you from the finish line relay at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas?
Castle: I am so encouraged by the authentic, Catholic, pro-life identity of Benedictine College … While running up the hill, students invited other students to join us, like a scene out of the "Rocky" movie when the local community joined him on a training run.
The last mile ended on the main campus drive with President [Stephen] Minnis leading a large crowd with cheering. The finish was immediately followed by a beautiful prayer from Archbishop [Joseph]Naumann.
What is the significance of having a national relay across the United States?
Castle: The significance of having a relay that makes a cross over America is unity. [The relay] connects everyone in a pro-God way, allowing faith and light to overcome the darkness to end abortion — all in Christ for pro-life!
Teammates in other countries adopt segments, knowing that America can and should lead the way in ending abortion around the world.
The relay is an inspiring light for the world. The cross is the greatest symbol of love, bringing hope that life will prevail!
The North arm kickoff of the A-Cross America Relay in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU Newman Center students helped launch the north arm with a 2.7 mile prayerful witness walk. Credit: Photo courtesy of LIFE Runners.
An Irish soldier holds the a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic outside the General Post Office, the scene of the 1916 Easter Rising, in Dublin on March 27, 2016 as part of a program of commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. / Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty ImagesDublin, Ireland, Nov 1, 2025 / 06:08 am (CNA).The election of left-wing Catherine Connolly last week as Ireland's 10th president was marked by low voter turnout, a narrow field of candidates, and an unprecedented number of 213,738 spoiled ballots, representing 12.9% of votes cast.Many of the spoiled ballots, which are ballots that cannot be counted due to errors in marking or deliberate defacement, were from Catholic voters protesting the government parties' interference in candidate selection, which resulted in the prominent Catholic figure, Maria Steen, not appearing on the ballot.The election outcome reflects the current secular makeup of the Republic of Ireland, a...
An Irish soldier holds the a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic outside the General Post Office, the scene of the 1916 Easter Rising, in Dublin on March 27, 2016 as part of a program of commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. / Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Dublin, Ireland, Nov 1, 2025 / 06:08 am (CNA).
The election of left-wing Catherine Connolly last week as Ireland's 10th president was marked by low voter turnout, a narrow field of candidates, and an unprecedented number of 213,738 spoiled ballots, representing 12.9% of votes cast.
Many of the spoiled ballots, which are ballots that cannot be counted due to errors in marking or deliberate defacement, were from Catholic voters protesting the government parties' interference in candidate selection, which resulted in the prominent Catholic figure, Maria Steen, not appearing on the ballot.
The election outcome reflects the current secular makeup of the Republic of Ireland, a sharp contrast to the devout sacramental Catholicism practiced by the founding fathers of modern Ireland, which include the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising who faced execution by British forces.
Capuchin accompaniment
The Capuchin friars played a central role in the 1916 Easter Rising, first in helping communicate a ceasefire to the British forces and among groups of Irish rebels; and subsequently, in ministering to the rebels facing execution.
Capuchin friars' eyewitness accounts of the condemned men's final hours and the immediate aftermath of that rising detail the devout Catholic faith of its leaders.
The friars recollected the men praying the rosary, confessing their sins, receiving holy Communion, and attending Mass in the hours and days before their deaths.
Moving descriptions include those of leader Pádraig Pearse praying in his cell before a crucifix; of Thomas MacDonagh shot at dawn wearing a rosary given to him by his sister, who was a nun; and an already fatally wounded James Connolly making a final act of contrition before being executed tied to a chair.
Of Connolly's death, Capuchin friar Father Aloysius recalled that he strongly insisted that the soldiers leave him alone with Connolly so that he could hear his confession.
He recounted at the time: "He was brought down and laid on a stretcher in an ambulance. Father Sebastian and myself drove with him to Kilmainham. Stood behind the firing party during the execution. Father Eugene McCarthy, who had attended Seán Mac Dermott before we arrived, remained and anointed Connolly immediately after the shooting."
Though sacramental devotion in the face of certain death may seem remarkable to the contemporary reader, Jesuit historian Father Fergus O'Donoghue told CNA it was simply characteristic of the time.
Leader Joseph Mary Plunkett's mother recalls her son's last few minutes with a Capuchin named Father Albert: "Father, I want you to know that I am dying for the glory of God and the honor of Ireland," Plunkett told the priest.
"That's all right, my son," Father Albert answered. In a few minutes, the firing squad carried out its orders.
The 'skirl of the pipes' heard in the Vatican
Among the leaders executed was Éamonn Ceannt from County Galway.
Ceannt was an Irish-language activist, athlete, keen musician — and a devout Catholic.
One of the highlights of his life that he contemplated in his final hours was a visit to Rome in 1908 as official piper for a visiting group of Irish athletes, where he performed for Pope Pius X.
Éamonn Ceannt, a leader killed during the 1916 Easter Rising and an Irish piper who performed for Pope Pius X in 1908. Credit: Courtesy of Curragh Military Museum
In a book titled "The Glorious Seven," Seamus G. O'Kelly wrote: "His Holiness the Pope heard of the sensation which the Irishman had created at the Roman Stadium, and summoned the young piper to appear before him, and to play for him."
"Two days later as His Holiness waited at the Vatican … the skirl of the pipes was heard again, this time in the Vatican chambers, and very soon Éamonn Ceannt marched up to the feet of the Holy Father playing 'The Wearing of the Green,' knelt, and kissed the pope's ring."
After the performance, the pope bestowed his apostolic blessing on the piper and the Irish athletic team.
O'Donoghue reminded CNA that seeing a pope, let alone meeting him, would have been remarkable during the "Prisoner in the Vatican" era, when pontiffs did not even venture out onto the balcony.
Ceannt was not the only person associated with the Easter Rising to meet a pope. Count Plunkett was the father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, another of the executed leaders.
The elder Plunkett was dispatched to Rome to notify the pope of the forthcoming insurrection. Pope Benedict XV listened and gave his blessing to the participants.
O'Donoghue told CNA that he was the first pope to support Irish nationalism: "He wasn't open to pleasing English aristocrats the way the previous popes had been."
The Irish Republic envisaged in 1916 would guarantee religious and civil liberty, equal rights, and equal opportunities to all its citizens, cherishing all the children of the nation equally. For the executed leaders and their Capuchin confessors, Irish Republicanism and Catholicism were interwoven.
The question remains: How would they view the recent election and a secularized Ireland?
Electrical poles are down as a man bikes through the destroyed neighborhood of North Street following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, in Black River, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025. / Credit: Ricardo Makyn/ GettyWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 31, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA).Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio called this week for "prayer and action" as Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean region.Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), urged Catholics in an Oct. 29 statement to pray for and support the people and communities affected by the Category 5 storm."Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history, has made landfall in Jamaica, had an impact in Haiti, and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of thousands in Cuba," Broglio wrote. With sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, Hurricane Melissa has swept through the region, causing destruction and claiming up to 50 lives since making landfall on Oct. 28."The Church accompanies, ...
Electrical poles are down as a man bikes through the destroyed neighborhood of North Street following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, in Black River, Jamaica on Oct. 29, 2025. / Credit: Ricardo Makyn/ Getty
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 31, 2025 / 13:31 pm (CNA).
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio called this week for "prayer and action" as Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean region.
Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), urged Catholics in an Oct. 29 statement to pray for and support the people and communities affected by the Category 5 storm.
"Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history, has made landfall in Jamaica, had an impact in Haiti, and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of thousands in Cuba," Broglio wrote.
With sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, Hurricane Melissa has swept through the region, causing destruction and claiming up to 50 lives since making landfall on Oct. 28.
"The Church accompanies, through prayer and action, all people who are suffering," Broglio wrote. "I urge Catholics and all people of good will to join me in praying for the safety and protection of everyone, especially first responders, in these devastated areas."
As effects of the hurricane expand, "families face severe risk of flooding, landslides, displacement, and infrastructure damage with little resources to respond," Broglio wrote. "Our brothers and sisters in small island nations like Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti are the most vulnerable to the impact of such strong storms, often intensified by a warming climate."
Jamaica has suffered the greatest impact. While the hurricane did not make direct landfall in Haiti, the storm has produced heavy rains that have led to flash flooding and landslides in many areas and blocked major national routes.
"Let us stand in solidarity by supporting the efforts of organizations already on the ground such as Caritas Haiti, Caritas Cuba, and Caritas Antilles, as well as Catholic Relief Services (CRS), who are supplying essential, direct services and accompaniment to those in need," Broglio wrote.
The USCCB called on Catholics and people of good will to support "the urgent and ongoing relief efforts, and long-term recovery work of CRS." The agency is providing "lifesaving support—including emergency shelter, clean water and essential supplies—to families most at risk," CRS reported.
Pope Leo XIV leads the Church's commemoration for his papal predecessor and 142 other bishops who died in the past year on Nov. 3, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
