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Members and guests on the floor of the House during a joint session of Congress. / Credit: mark reinstein/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 4, 2025 / 17:45 pm (CNA).A woman athlete and a parental rights advocate are among the guests invited by the White House for President Donald Trump's speech in front of a joint session of Congress scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday. In Trump's first address to Congress in his second term, the president will focus on the theme of "The Renewal of the American Dream." He is expected to discuss some of his executive orders from the first month and a half of his presidency, which include policies to combat gender ideology in public life and curtail illegal immigration.Payton McNabb, advocate for women's sportsOne of Trump's 15 guests is Payton McNabb, a former high school athlete from North Carolina.McNabb, according to the White House, suffered a traumatic brain injury when playing women's high school ...
A balloon with an image of Pope Francis stands outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia. Pope Francis suffered two new breathing attacks on March 3, 2025, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff struggles to recover from pneumonia. / Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).Pope Francis on Monday had two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency, according to the latest health update from the Vatican.The Holy Father was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and has since been treated for respiratory infections, double pneumonia, and mild kidney insufficiency, alongside his other chronic illnesses."The Holy Father presented two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency, caused by significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm," the Holy See Press Office shared on Monday.Gemelli Hospital medical staff performed two bronchoscopies&nbs...
Pilgrims from Chicago are among those who are stopping by Gemelli Hospital to pray for Pope Francis. / Credit: Almudena Martínez-Bordiú/ACI PrensaVatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 15:45 pm (CNA).Since Pope Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14, the world has focused its attention on Gemelli Hospital in Rome.As people from different countries continue to arrive in the Eternal City to experience this year's Jubilee of Hope, the hospital where Pope Francis is staying has also now become a part of their pilgrimage.Just outside the hospital, hundreds of the faithful with their own stories stop to pray every day at the feet of the statue of St. John Paul II. Their gaze rises to heaven and, with special devotion, to the top floor of the hospital, where the pontiff continues to recover.'It's not just a hospital. It's like being at a general audience with the pope'This past weekend, Father Enzo del Brocco, a Passionist priest, took a moment to pray with devotion before the statue of...
Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire, a media apostolate focused on evangelization. / Credit: Word on FireWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 3, 2025 / 16:15 pm (CNA).Word on Fire Founder Bishop Robert Barron will attend President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday following an invitation from Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia. "Through Word on Fire, Bishop Barron has helped countless souls discover, strengthen, or return to the Catholic Church by proclaiming the Gospel 'through the culture,'" Moore, who is Catholic, said in a press release shared with CNA on Monday.Word on Fire is a nonprofit global media apostolate founded to evangelize and educate with an emphasis on contemporary media that produces blogs, podcasts, books, videos, and educational materials.While he is in Washington for the president's address, Barron will celebrate Mass for Catholic members of Congress."His use of contemporary media to reach people is in...
Tiny Jesus figurines have been popping up all over the U.S. Capitol in recent days. / Credit: Tessa Gervasini/CNAWashington D.C., Mar 3, 2025 / 16:45 pm (CNA).In recent days, congressional staff working in the U.S. Capitol have reported seeing something unusual in the normally staid grand corridors and offices where Congress conducts its business: Tiny Jesus figurines are popping up everywhere.Congressional aides have shared images of the little statues on X after spotting them around the Capitol. One was found perched on a marble column in Statuary Hall, another was seen propped up on a pillar directly outside the doors of the Speaker of House's office.Some are a bit more hidden, including a diminutive Jesus placed high on a small ledge and one tucked next to a frame on the wall. Another tiny figurine was even discovered inside a lawmaker's office in the Cannon House Office Building.Capitol Hill mystery: More of these little Jesus statues are popping up all...
Canadian sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz poses next to his sculpture on the theme of refugees and migration, "Angels Unawares," in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 12:20 pm (CNA).Pope Francis on Monday announced the theme for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees: "Migrants, Missionaries of Hope."This year, the Church will mark the World Day of Migrants and Refugees from Oct. 4-5 to coincide with the two-day celebration of the Jubilee of Migrants and the Missionary World. In 2018, Pope Francis moved the Church's annual observance day dedicated to people on the move from January to the last Sunday of September.In the Feb. 3 statement released by the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Holy Father chose this year's theme to highlight the "courage and tenacity" of migrants and refugees, "who daily bear witness to their hope for the future despite the difficulties.""Migrants and refugees ...
Sister Giustina Olha Holubets, SSMI, (far right) receives the "Guardian of Life" award from Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia of the Pontifical Academy for Life at a press conference in the Holy See Press Office on March 3, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNAVatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).The Vatican's Academy for Life has awarded a Ukrainian religious sister the 2025 "Guardian of Life" award for her work leading a perinatal hospice for parents who receive a life-ending or life-limiting diagnosis for their preborn children.Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia awarded Sister Giustina Olha Holubets, SSMI, during a March 3 press conference at the Vatican. A member of the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate, Holubets is a bioethicist, biologist, psychologist, and president of the nonprofit organization "Perinatal Hospice - Imprint of Life" in Lyiv, Ukraine.Holubets said at the press conference that she was honored to receive the award "for our children and parents." Life is always preci...
null / Credit: Achira22/ShutterstockCNA Staff, Mar 3, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).Catholic schools outranked public schools in recently released mathematics and reading test scores for 2024. The Nation's Report Card by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released national scores for fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics and reading. Catholic school students in both grades surpassed public school students in both categories.In fourth-grade math, Catholic schools had a score of 247, while public schools were ranked 237, according to the NAEP's scoring system. In fourth-grade reading, Catholic schools outpaced public schools by 16 points. In eighth grade, Catholic schools outpaced public schools by 21 points in math and 20 points in reading. The data is based on mandated standardized testing given between January and March 2024. Notably, public school scores have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, while publi...
A Vatican flag waves over the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. / Credit: Bohumil Petrik/CNAVatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).Pope Francis addressed what he called a "planetary crisis" that is adversely affecting the world in multiple ways in a message Monday to the general assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life."The term 'polycrisis' evokes the dramatic nature of the historical juncture we are currently witnessing, in which wars, climate changes, energy problems, epidemics, the migratory phenomenon, and technological innovation converge," the pope said in his message, dated Feb. 26 from Rome's Gemelli Hospital."The intertwining of these critical issues, which currently touch on various dimensions of life, lead us to ask ourselves about the destiny of the world and our understanding of it," the pope said.The Vatican academy is holding a meeting of scientists, theologians, and historians March 3-4 at the Augustinianum Conference Center near the Vati...
Candles with Pope Francis' image on them stand outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Feb. 21, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNAVatican City, Mar 3, 2025 / 02:05 am (CNA).Pope Francis was admitted to Romes' Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis. Follow here for the latest news on his health and hospitalization:
