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null / Credit: Gil C/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Mar 17, 2025 / 16:10 pm (CNA).Police have arrested a 23-year-old man suspected of heavily vandalizing and defacing the interior of a Catholic parish in Wichita, Kansas, over the weekend. According to the Wichita Police Department, officers responded to a reported burglary at St. Patrick Parish on the morning of March 15. Once inside, the officers discovered extensive vandalism including damage to statues, candles, and glass, and hate speech graffitied on the walls. In addition, an American flag was burned.St. Patrick's, which includes a parish school, is located in north-central Wichita and predominantly serves the Latino community. Authorities said that Wichita Police Department investigators launched a full-scale investigation alongside the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). At approximately 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, officers located and arrested the suspected perpetrator, whom they described as...
At dawn on March 17, 2025, a group of Christians gather around St. Patrick's grave in Downpatrick, County Down, in Ireland to pray the Lord's Prayer 100 times for peace and unity. / Credit: Siobhán BrennanBelfast, Northern Ireland, Mar 17, 2025 / 13:40 pm (CNA).Inspired by St. Patrick's "Confessions," in which the patron of Ireland states "I arose as many as 100 times at night to pray," a group of Christians gathered at dawn on March 17 around St. Patrick's grave in Downpatrick, County Down, in Ireland to pray the Our Father 100 times for peace and unity.It was the third year in a row that friends and strangers from all walks of life joined together in prayer to honor St. Patrick's legacy.For the third year in a row, a group of Christians gathered at dawn on March 17, 2025, around St. Patrick's grave in Downpatrick, County Down, in Ireland to pray the Our Father 100 times for peace and unity. Credit: Siobhán BrennanEvent organizer Siobhán Brennan told CNA that parts of the Lor...
While Church leaders are yet to comment, ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, has confirmed media reports that tensions have increased between Ethiopia and Eritrea of late, resulting in rumors of war. / Credit: Ethiopia Catholic SecretariatACI Africa, Mar 17, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).Tension is brewing in Ethiopia's northernmost territory, the Tigray region, a source has told ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, confirming media reports that "experts" from the Horn of Africa nation are warning of a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea."We have not yet received any official confirmation from Church leaders, but we have heard reports that the situation is unstable," the source said on March 15.As an indication of the growing tension in Tigray, the source said "flights have been cancelled."According to Reuters, there is "fresh instability" in Ethiopia's northernmost region, where a two-year civil war that ended with a November 2022 peace deal resulted in the deaths of hundreds ...
Attendees visit vendors at the Diocese of Arlington's 2025 "From Inclusion to Belonging Conference." / Credit: Porto CharitiesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 17, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).Families whose children have disabilities and Catholics with disabilities were welcomed by the Diocese of Arlington March 15 to the fourth annual "From Inclusion to Belonging Conference" which focused on plans for the future as those with disabilities prepare for adult life out of high school."The Lord, for us, is one who will always be there to strengthen us, to heal us, and to help us," Bishop Michael Burbidge said in his opening remarks at the conference, held at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia.With more than 200 people in attendance, the diocesan conference featured an array of talks, in English and Spanish, about resources for children with intellectual, emotional, and physical disabilities. These included tips for life skills, faith formation, education, and e...
The head of Kocani Hospital, pictured above, said most of the fire victims being treated are aged between 14 to 25 years old, many of whom suffered burns and carbon monoxide poisoning. / Credit: Dandarmkd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsVatican City, Mar 16, 2025 / 14:04 pm (CNA).Pope Francis prays for victims of a nightclub fire which has left at least 59 people dead and an additional 155 people injured in the town of Kocani in North Macedonia. The Vatican's Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin shared the Holy Father's condolences for fire victims and their families through a telegram addressed to the country's Bishop Kiro Stojanov of Skopje. "His Holiness assures remembrance in prayer for those who lost their lives, while invoking heavenly comfort for those who suffer the consequences of such a harsh trial," states the March 15 telegram. The Holy Father wanted the bishop of Skopje "to convey to the families of the dead, mostly young people, the ...
The first photo of Pope Francis since he entered Gemelli Hospital on February 14, 2025. / Credit: Holy See Press OfficeLima Newsroom, Mar 16, 2025 / 15:21 pm (CNA).The Vatican has released the first photo of Pope Francis since he entered the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February 14."This morning, Pope Francis concelebrated Holy Mass in the chapel of the tenth-floor apartment at the Gemelli Polyclinic," according to a statement from the Vatican Press Office.In the photo, the Holy Father can be seen seated before the altar of the chapel where he concelebrated the Eucharist, in what is the first image of the Pontiff since he was admitted to the hospital, first suffering from bronchitis and then pneumonia.The Vatican also reported that "the Pope's condition remains stable" and after concelebrating Sunday Mass, "he is continuing with the prescribed therapies" including respiratory and physical therapy.Pope Francis did not receive any visitors Sunday, instead dedicating the day to "pr...
The first photo of Pope Francis since he entered Gemelli Hospital on February 14, 2025. / Credit: Holy See Press OfficeVatican City, Mar 16, 2025 / 15:31 pm (CNA).Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis. Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:First photo of Pope Francis since entering hospitalThe Vatican has shared the first photo of Pope Francis since he entered the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February 14."This morning, Pope Francis concelebrated Holy Mass in the chapel of the tenth-floor apartment at the Gemelli Polyclinic," according to a statement from the Vatican Press Office.In the photo, the Holy Father can be seen seated before the altar of the chapel where he concelebrated the Eucharist. The Vatican also reported that "the Pope's condition remains stable" and after concelebrating Sunday Mass, "he is continuing with the prescribed therapies", including respiratory...
In his message on March 16, 2025, the Holy Father particularly thanked his medical team and all people who, through their dedicated work, shine the light of God's infinite life in hospitals and places of care. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN NewsVatican City, Mar 16, 2025 / 09:43 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Sunday expressed his gratitude for those who bring God's love into the world through their dedicated service to those who are sick."I would like to invite you, today, to join me in praising the Lord, who never abandons us and who, in times of sorrow, places people beside us who reflect a ray of his love," the Holy Father shared in his prepared Sunday Angelus message.In his message, the Holy Father particularly thanked his medical team and all people who, through their dedicated work, shine the light of God's infinite life in hospitals and places of care."How much loving care illuminates the rooms, the corridors, the clinics, the places where the humblest services are performed!" h...
Well-wishers leave notes for Pope Francis at the foot of the St. John Paul II statue outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome on March 14, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Mar 15, 2025 / 09:30 am (CNA).Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis. Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:
Pope Francis addresses bishops gathered in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican for the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaCNA Newsroom, Mar 15, 2025 / 10:15 am (CNA).The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Francis has approved a special ecclesial assembly for October 2028 to evaluate how Catholic communities worldwide have implemented the recently concluded Synod on Synodality recommendations.Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, detailed the plans in a letter to bishops worldwide, emphasizing that this gathering will not constitute a new synod but rather serve as the culmination of a structured three-year implementation process."The goal is not to add work upon work but to help Churches walk in a synodal style," Grech wrote. The cardinal further said that local Churches would actively receive and apply the synod's final document, which Pope Francis directly approved following the conclusion of the synod in October 2024.The...
