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Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (L) and a members of a Christian visit the Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City on July 18, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 17:51 pm (CNA).Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa has given an update on the status of Christians in Gaza after the first phase of the historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas began this week. "We are in daily contact with them," the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem said of the Catholic community in Gaza in a Vatican News interview. "They keep writing that they still cannot believe they were able to sleep through the night without hearing the sound of bombs." Despite the promising outcome of the first phase of the peace deal, which saw the return of Israeli hostages and the strategic withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza, Pizzaballa emphasized that the situation in Gaza "remains very fluid." Amid de-escalation between Israel and Hamas...
Eduardo Peñalver will begin his role as the 49th president of Georgetown on July 1, 2026. / Credit: Georgetown UniversityWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 18:22 pm (CNA).The oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning in the United States, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., has named Eduardo Peñalver, current president of Seattle University and former dean of Cornell Law School, as its 49th president. "We are pleased to welcome Eduardo Peñalver to Georgetown University," Thomas A. Reynolds, chair of the board of directors, said in a press release announcing the decision. "President Peñalver is an exceptional leader steeped in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition who brings a wealth of experience in higher education, a global mindset, a commitment to social justice and academic excellence, and a bold vision for Georgetown's future."Peñalver will assume his new role on July 1, 2026. He has served as the 22nd president of Seattle University, a...
Pope Leo gives an address in St. Peter's Basilica. 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaEWTN News, Oct 15, 2025 / 09:45 am (CNA).The Vatican announced Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Ignatius Wu Jianlin as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai on Aug. 11, with his episcopal ordination taking place today under the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China.Father Wu Jianlin's consecration at St. Ignatius Cathedral marks a further development in the complex relationship between Beijing and the Vatican.Chinese authorities had previously announced Wu's "election" by an assembly of priests and laypeople on April 28, during the sede vacante period following the death of Pope Francis.The Vatican Bollettino, published Wednesday, revealed that the Holy Father approved Wu's candidacy on Aug. 11.While his appointment was not previously made public, the announcement suggests the move was made in accordance with the Vatican-China agreemen...
Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile during an Oct. 15, 2025 public audience in St. Peter's Square. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA.Rome Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).Optimism can disappoint us, but Christian hope "promises and fulfills" our hearts' desire for fullness, Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly audience on Wednesday.Addressing thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 15, the pope said, "This deep desire in our hearts can find its ultimate answer not in roles, not in power, not in having, but in the certainty that there is someone who guarantees this constitutive impulse of our humanity; in the awareness that this expectation will not be disappointed or thwarted. This certainty coincides with hope.""This does not mean thinking in an optimistic way: often optimism lets us down, causing our expectations to implode, whereas hope promises and fulfills," he added in his weekly message.The Holy Father continued his reflections on the mystery of Christ, w...
The U.S. bishops gather in Baltimore, Md., on Nov. 12, 2024 for their plenary assembly. / Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNAWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 15, 2025 / 11:48 am (CNA).The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will select a new president and vice president during its Fall Plenary Assembly, which is set for Nov. 10 to Nov. 13 in Baltimore, Maryland.In November, the three-year terms for the current president, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, and vice president, Archbishop William E. Lori, are set to expire. The new conference leaders, who will be chosen from a slate of 10 candidates, will also serve three-year terms.The following slate of candidates was selected through nominations from the bishops:Bishop Robert E. Barron, Diocese of Winona-RochesterArchbishop Paul S. Coakley, Archdiocese of Oklahoma CityBishop Daniel E. Flores, Diocese of BrownsvilleArchbishop Richard G. Henning, Archdiocese of BostonBishop David J. Malloy, Diocese of RockfordArchbishop Nel...
Younger U.S. priests say they are far more conservative than older priests in their voting patterns, according to a 2025 survey. / Credit: TSViPhoto/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).Younger U.S. priests are far more conservative than older priests, reaffirming a generational divide in political views, according to a 2025 survey.The strong generational divide in political views among Catholic priests in the United States was reaffirmed in a 2025 survey that shows younger priests are far more conservative than older priests.The National Study of Catholic Priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project's 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood.According to the report, the 2025 survey "closely mirrors" the findings in 2022 and shows "a clear generational shift away from liberal s...
Father Mario de Jesús Guevara Calero. / Credit: Archdiocese of ManaguaACI Prensa Staff, Oct 14, 2025 / 16:05 pm (CNA).Father Mario de Jesús Guevara Calero, 66, spiritual director of the La Purísima Archdiocesan Major Seminary in Nicaragua, died on Sunday, Oct. 12, according to the Archdiocese of Managua.Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, archbishop of Managua, and the priests of the Nicaraguan capital "send their condolences to his family, the seminary community, and the parishioners he served for years in various parishes of our archdiocese," a death notice from the archdiocese said.On Dec. 5, 2018, while the priest was hearing confessions in the Managua cathedral, he was splashed with acid on his face and body by Russian citizen Elis Leonidovna Gonn, who was later arrested.The priest required various surgeries and treatments and, according to the newspaper Confidencial, forgave the woman who attacked him. The incident occurred in the year the dictatorship ramped up the repression...
Pope Leo XIV greets a baby at his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAVatican City, Oct 14, 2025 / 08:41 am (CNA).Pope Leo XIV has sent 5,000 doses of antibiotics to the Gaza Strip in a humanitarian gesture aimed primarily at children and made possible by the recent reopening of key border crossings allowing the entry of aid.According to Vatican News, the shipment of the medicines began this week, following the ceasefire and the start of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace deal.Israel is allowing the entry of up to 600 aid trucks per day, operated by the United Nations and authorized by international organizations, private sector actors, and donor countries. On Oct. 12, more than 170 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).The shipment of antibiotics to Gaza was ...
Pope Leo XIV meets Italian President Sergio Mattarella during his first state visit to the country that surrounds Vatican City State on Oct. 14, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNARome Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 12:06 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome on Tuesday, highlighting the strong ties between the two states and the need to work toward lasting peace in every part of the world. Mattarella welcomed the Holy Father and his delegation, which included Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State Sister Raffaella Petrini, to his residence in Rome to strengthen the historic political ties between the Holy See and Italy.The Holy Father spoke of the "sincere friendship and fruitful mutual collaboration" between Italy and the popes and emphasized the need for the two states to contribute to multilateral peace processes in regions, including the Mi...
Pope Leo greets crowds in St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Vatican MediaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 14, 2025 / 13:02 pm (CNA).A 2025 survey of more than 1,100 American priests found high rates of self-reported personal flourishing, strong confidence in Pope Leo XIV, and a mixed level of trust in U.S. bishops.The National Study of Catholic priests, published on Oct. 14, was commissioned by the Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America and conducted by Gallup. Researchers surveyed the same priests who were surveyed in The Catholic Project's 2022 survey to examine the U.S. priesthood. The survey showed strong confidence in the first-ever American pope. About 43% of those surveyed expressed "a great deal" of confidence in Leo and another 43% reported "quite a lot" of confidence in the pontiff. About 13% said they have "some" confidence, and only 1% expressed "very little" confidence.Most priests also predicted the U.S. Church's relationship with the Vatican will...
