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Vatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 09:07 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will name St. John Henry Newman a patron saint of Catholic education in a document to be published on Oct. 28 for the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis, the Second Vatican Council's declaration on Christian education.

The Holy Father will designate Newman as an official co-patron saint of education, together with St. Thomas Aquinas, during the Vatican's Jubilee of the World of Education from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, which is expected to draw 20,000 pilgrims.

The saint will also be declared the 38th doctor of the Church by Leo at the jubilee's closing Mass on Nov. 1, the solemnity of All Saints. 

Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, announced the upcoming designation during an Oct. 22 press conference.

Newman, de Mendonça said, is an "extraordinary educator and great inspiration for the philosophy of education."

The pope will also publish a document on Oct. 28 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis.

Leo's document will "reflect on the topicality of the declaration and on the challenges that education must confront today, in particular the Catholic schools and universities," de Mendonça said.

Gravissiumum Educationis, the cardinal said, is a "fundamental document with a strong impact on the contemporary vision of education. The document had a fundamental role in and outside of the Church, and it should be recognized."

In addition to reaffirming the universal right to education, the Vatican II declaration marked "an important change in the language, that is, the mentality, for speaking about school, not in terms of institutions but rather in terms of educational communities," he added.

The cardinal quoted at length from the pope's document to be published Oct. 28, which says that Gravissimum Educationis "has lost none of its bite" since its publication. 

"Since its reception, a constellation of works and charisms has been born ... a spiritual and pedagogical heritage capable of crossing the 21st century and responding to the most pressing challenges," the pope says in the document.

"This heritage is not set in stone: It is a compass that continues to point the way," Leo says. "Today's expectations are no less than those the Church faced 60 years ago. Indeed, they have expanded and become more complex. ... History challenges us with new urgency. Rapid and profound changes expose children, adolescents, and young people to unprecedented fragility. It is not enough to preserve: We must relaunch." 

"I ask all educational institutions to inaugurate a season that speaks to the hearts of the new generations, recomposing knowledge and meaning, competence and responsibility, faith and life."

According to the latest Vatican statistics shared at the Oct. 22 press conference, there are 230,000 Catholic universities and schools present across 171 countries, serving almost 72 million students.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2025 / 10:07 am (CNA).

Here's a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:

Catholic college graduates leading in purpose, belonging, financial stability, report says

Graduates of Catholic colleges and universities are outperforming other students in purpose and belonging and are reporting higher levels of mental health and financial stability, a report has found. 

Students from Catholic institutions of higher education are 7% more likely to view their careers as meaningful, 14% more likely to report a strong sense of belonging, and 17% more likely to say they are satisfied with their mental health, according to this year's Holistic Impact Report.

The annual report is published by the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary's University (San Antonio) in partnership with YouGov. 

The report also found that Catholic university graduates are more than 50% more likely to say their education encouraged them to engage in faith-based conversations and 12% more likely to say their courses promoted dialogue across differing perspectives. 

"Higher education has been disrupted by political battles and financial pressures," stated Jason King, the Beirne director and chair of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary's University. 

But "Catholic higher education does not appear to be caught in those tides," he said.

"With two years of data, we can see that it continues to form graduates for meaningful lives, community engagement, and ethical decision-making. And, because of this focus, it also supports graduates' mental, financial, and social well-being."

Los Angeles-area school aims to 'raise' 1 million prayers by All Saints' Day 

A Catholic school in California is leading an initiative to "raise" 1 million prayers by All Saints' Day. 

"This special initiative began on the eve of the canonizations of St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, two modern witnesses who remind us that holiness is possible for everyone, especially the young," St. Joseph School explained in a Facebook post on Oct. 3.

"Inspired by their example, our students, families, and faculty have already prayed more than 150,000 prayers… and we're just getting started!" the school said.

"During this month of the holy rosary," the school continued, "we are dedicating ourselves to praying the rosary together each day as a school community. Families are also recording their prayers at home; rosaries, Masses, traditional devotions, and personal prayers spoken from the heart." 

Three schools — Epiphany Catholic School in South El Monte, St. Anthony School in San Gabriel, and Santa Clara Elementary School in Oxnard — have also joined the initiative, according to the school.

San Antonio Catholic schools to start accepting education saving accounts 

The Archdiocese of San Antonio says its Catholic schools will now officially accept tuition from the Texas education savings account (ESA) program. 

"Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio are strongly promoting and participating in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which provides funds for tuition at Catholic schools," the archdiocese said in a statement to local media.

Under the program, students at Catholic schools will be able to receive $10,000 to cover tuition costs that will be placed in a savings account, providing increased flexibility to parents. 

Inga Cotton, the founder and executive director of the San Antonio-based School Discovery Network, told media: "Catholic schools are some of the most affordable private schools in our region." 

She added that for "so many of them, the annual tuition is already below what the ESA will cover. It makes it more affordable for families."

"Across the archdiocese, schools are preparing to welcome many new families through the launch of this effort," the archdiocese said.

The legislation "was the result of hard work from many people through the years, who have been consistently advocating to give parents a true choice in education for their children."

Pennsylvania diocese: State tax policy allows major break for donating to Catholic schools

The Diocese of Pittsburgh is encouraging residents to take advantage of the state's tax policy, which grants major tax breaks to those who donate to Catholic schools. 

"The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh is making it easier than ever for individuals and businesses to transform their Pennsylvania state tax dollars into tuition assistance for Catholic school students, at no additional cost to them," the diocese said in a statement this month. 

"When you participate, you're transforming lives," Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman said. "Every dollar given through this program helps open doors to a Catholic education that forms hearts, minds, and futures. It's one of the simplest and most powerful ways to make a lasting difference for our children and our Church."

According to the diocese, the state's Educational Improvement Tax Credit programs enable participants to receive a 90% state tax credit when they contribute to the diocese's approved scholarship fund. 

The diocese has launched an online resource that offers step-by-step instructions on how to participate.

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Vatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 10:54 am (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and an organization of Vatican-accredited journalists have spoken out in support of a free press after the recent attacks on two journalists in Italy.

In a statement released Tuesday, the International Association of Journalists Accredited to the Vatican (AIGAV) condemned last week's assault on Venezuelan Vatican journalist Edgar Beltrán by businessman Ricardo Cisneros, a member of the Venezuelan government delegation present in Rome for the Oct. 19 canonization of two Venezuelan saints.

During an Oct. 17 event at the Vatican-connected Lateran University in Rome, Beltrán's interview with the Vatican's substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Robinson Peña Parra, was forcibly interrupted by Cisneros after the prelate was asked about the Maduro government's "apparent politicization" of the canonizations, according to Catholic news outlet The Pillar.

In its statement, AIGAV condemned "this act of violence against a fellow journalist who was simply doing his job." 

"The recent incident, which occurred during an official reception attended by various civil and ecclesiastical representatives, confirms the need to continue supporting the free gathering of news. We therefore call upon all individuals and competent authorities to defend and promote this freedom," it continued.

The statement was sent to event organizers — the Pontifical Lateran University and the Archdiocese of Caracas — and to the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication.

The Holy See has not yet issued an official comment on the incident. However, several Vatican-accredited correspondents expressed their concern over what they consider a serious and unprecedented event in an environment generally characterized by respect and open reporting.

Parolin also weighed in on the issue on the sidelines of a Rome event promoting religious freedom Oct. 21.

Asked about the recent violent intimidation on Italian journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, host of the investigative TV program "Report," he said: "We are increasingly at risk of living in a climate of intolerance where free expression is no longer accepted."

"It is a source of great concern that acts of intimidation against the press may occur," Parolin added, expressing his solidarity with the journalist, who was threatened when bombs exploded on his car outside his home on the evening of Oct. 16.

"I'm truly concerned; I express my sympathy to anyone who has been the target of this intimidation. We want everyone to be able to express their point of view without falling victim to this type of threat," the cardinal added.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Vatican City, Oct 22, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).

You probably know that St. John Paul II was the second-longest-serving pope in modern history with 27 years of pontificate, and he was the first non-Italian pontiff since the Dutch Pope Adrian VI in 1523.

But did you know that he also changed the Catholic Church in lasting ways during those 27 years? Here are five ways he did that:

1. He helped bring about the 1989 fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

The pope's official biographer, George Weigel, who for decades chronicled the pope's engagement with civic leaders, noted that the way Pope John Paul II influenced the political landscape was enormous. His political influence is seen best in the way his engagement with world leaders assisted the downfall of the U.S.S.R.

Just days before President Ronald Reagan called on Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down" the Berlin Wall, he met with the pope. According to historian and author Paul Kengor, Reagan went so far as to call Pope John Paul II his "best friend," opining that no one knew his soul better than the Polish pontiff who had also suffered an assassination attempt and carried the burden of world leadership.

In the course of 38 official visits and 738 audiences and meetings held with heads of state, John Paul II influenced civic leaders around the world in this epic battle with a regime that would ultimately be responsible for the deaths of more than 30 million people. 

"He thought of himself as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church, dealing with sovereign political actors who were as subject to the universal moral law as anybody else," Weigel said. 

"He was willing to be a risk-taker, but he also appreciated that prudence is the greatest of political virtues. And I think he was quite respected by world political leaders because of his transparent integrity. His essential attitude toward these men and women was: How can I help you? What can I do to help?"

More than anything, John Paul II understood his role primarily as a spiritual leader.

According to Weigel, the pope's primary impact on the world of affairs was his central role in creating the revolution of conscience that began in Poland and swept across Eastern Europe. This revolution of conscience inspired the nonviolent revolution of 1989 and the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, an astounding political achievement. 

2. He beatified and canonized more saints than any of his predecessors, making holiness more accessible to ordinary people.

One of John Paul II's most enduring legacies is the huge number of saints he recognized. He celebrated 147 beatification ceremonies, during which he proclaimed 1,338 blesseds, and celebrated 51 canonizations for a total of 482 saints. That is more than the combined tally of his predecessors over the five centuries before.

St. Teresa of Calcutta is perhaps the best-known contemporary of John Paul II who is now officially a saint, but the first saint of the new millennium and one especially dear to John Paul II was St. Faustina Kowalska, the fellow Polish native who received the message of divine mercy. 

"Sister Faustina's canonization has a particular eloquence: By this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium," he said in the homily of her canonization. "I pass it on to all people, so that they will learn to know ever better the true face of God and the true face of their brethren."

St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom Pope John Paul II beatified in 1990 and nicknamed the "man of the beatitudes," is another popular saint elevated by the Polish pope who loved to recognize the holiness of simple persons living the call to holiness with extraordinary fidelity. At the time of his death, the 24-year-old Italian was simply a student with no extraordinary accomplishments. But his love for Christ in the Eucharist and in the poor was elevated by John Paul II as heroic and worthy of imitation.

It bears noting that Pope Francis would later surpass John Paul II when he proclaimed 800 Italian martyrs saints in a single day.

3. He transformed the papal travel schedule.

John Paul II visited some 129 countries during his pontificate — more countries than any other pope had visited up to that point.

He also created World Youth Days in 1985 and presided over 19 of them as pope.

Weigel said John Paul II understood that the pope must be present to the people of the Church, wherever they are.

"He chose to do it by these extensive travels, which he insisted were not travels, they were pilgrimages," Weigel said.

"This was the successor of Peter, on pilgrimage to various parts of the world, of the Church. And that's why these pilgrimages were always built around liturgical events, prayer, adoration of the holy Eucharist, ecumenical and interreligious gatherings — all of this was part of a pilgrimage experience."

In the latter half of the 20th century — a time of enormous social change and upheaval — John Paul II's extensive travels and proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth were just what the world needed, Weigel said.

4. He made extraordinary contributions to Church teaching.

John Paul II was a scholar who promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law during his pontificate, and authored 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, and 45 apostolic letters.

This is why Weigel said the Church has only begun to unpack what he calls the "magisterium" of John Paul II in the form of his writings and his intellectual influence.

For example, John Paul's theology of the body remains enormously influential in the United States and throughout the world, though Weigel said even this has yet to be unpacked.

5. He gave new life to the Catholic Church in Africa.

John Paul II's legendary evangelical fervor took fire in Africa. 

He had a particular friendship with Beninese Cardinal Bernardin Gantin and visited Africa many times. His visits would inspire a generation of JPII Catholics in Africa as well as other parts of the globe.

"John Paul II was fascinated by Africa; he saw African Christianity as living, a kind of New Testament experience of the freshness of the Gospel, and he was very eager to support that, and lift it up," Gantin said.

"It was very interesting that during the two synods on marriage and the family in 2014 and 2015, some of the strongest defenses of the Church's classic understanding of marriage and family came from African bishops; some of whom are first-, second-generation Christians, deeply formed in the image of John Paul II, whom they regard as a model bishop," Gantin said.

"I think wherever you look around the world Church, the living parts of the Church are those that have accepted the magisterium ... as the authentic interpretation of Vatican II. And the dying parts of the Church, the moribund parts of the Church are those parts that have ignored that magisterium."

John Paul II's influence in Africa and around the globe transformed the world. It also forever transformed the Church.

This story was first published on Oct. 22, 2021, and has been updated.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 13:37 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Army is reexamining canceled religious contracts after Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, Timothy Broglio lamented that cuts strained Catholic ministry to the armed forces.

Broglio criticized the cancellations of chapel contracts for religious educators, administrators, and musicians. He wrote in a letter to Congress that the contracts were essential to assisting Catholic priest chaplains in their duties.

A March memorandum by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command directed the cancellation of the chapel contracts, Broglio said. In his Oct. 17 letter, the archbishop wrote that he was assured directors of religious education and religious affairs specialists would "cover down" on the work of contractors, but "that has not happened" and is "impossible" because there are no requirements for workers on those contracts to be Catholic or have catechetical training.

Broglio said Catholics are disproportionately affected because only 137 of the over 2,500 Army chaplains are Catholic, despite Catholics accounting for about 20% of soldiers.

Four days after Broglio published the letter, a spokesperson for the Army told CNA that the Army will be reexamining its contract support for directors of religious education and religious affairs specialists "to mitigate any potential impact during this period."

"These roles are vital in supporting the spiritual well-being of our community," the spokesperson said on Oct. 21.

"The Army remains deeply committed to providing for the religious needs of all personnel, regardless of their faith background," the statement continued. "We recognize the importance of religious support in maintaining morale, fostering resilience, and promoting the overall well-being of our force."

The spokesperson added: "The Army is committed to ensuring the continued provision of comprehensive religious support for all our service members and their families."

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

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Vatican City, Oct 21, 2025 / 14:07 pm (CNA).

Authoritarian regimes are among the main drivers of religious discrimination and persecution in 52 countries, according to an Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) report. 

The pontifical foundation, alongside Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, released the Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025 at the Vatican on Tuesday, highlighting the need for the Church to bear witness to the millions of people who face threats of persecution and violence.

The cardinal decried the "year on year" increase of violations affecting more than 5.4 billion people worldwide at the report's launch and stressed the need for governments to acknowledge religious freedom as an "inalienable right," as asserted by both the Second Vatican Council document Dignitatis Humanae and Article 18 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Men and women everywhere deserve freedom from any form of compulsion in matters of faith — whether that be subtle social pressures or overt state mandates," Parolin said at the Oct. 21 report launch at the Augustinian Patristic Pontifical Institute in Rome.

The 2025 biennial report, which provides a global overview of the state of religious freedom affecting all faith communities in 196 countries from January 2023 to December 2024, found that governments in 52 countries employ "systematic strategies to control or silence religious life."

"In China, Iran, Eritrea, and Nicaragua, authorities use mass surveillance technologies, digital censorship, restrictive legislation, and arbitrary detention to suppress independent religious communities," the ACN press release stated. 

During the report launch, ACN Editor-in-Chief Marta Petrosillo said that authoritarian regimes present in parts of Latin America and Asia have attempted to "erase religious identity" by shutting down churches, preventing or banning religious education, and even renaming entire villages.  

"In North Korea, the regime criminalizes all belief, punishing worship with imprisonment, torture, or even execution," she said.

"In Nicaragua, the government has taken extreme measures to silence the Church — a religious group has lost its legal status, and public worship and religious services have been banned," she added.

Other key factors driving religious freedom violations identified in the report include jihadism and religious nationalism across Africa and Asia, and armed conflicts, forced migration, and organized crime affecting countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.

ACN also noted the erosion of religious freedom in Europe and North America, reporting increased incidences of attacks on places of worship, assault of clergy, and disruption of religious services in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and the U.S.

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CNA Staff, Oct 21, 2025 / 15:56 pm (CNA).

Reports circulating in media outlets and on social media in October 2025 allege that the Vatican has opened a prayer room for Muslims in the Apostolic Library.

Claim: The Vatican Library has opened a prayer room for Muslims.

CNA finds: The library does allow Muslim scholars a room in which to pray while they are on site doing research in the Vatican's extensive archives.

Breakdown: In mid-October 2025, sensational news coverage rocketed around internet media outlets and social media feeds: The Vatican is "allow[ing]" a "designated Muslim prayer room" in its Apostolic Library (National Review); the library has "add[ed] a Muslim prayer room" (The Dallas Express); the Vatican has "[set] up [a] dedicated Muslim prayer room at [the] heart of [the] pope's 500-year-old library" (GB News); the Holy See has "open[ed]" a "Muslim prayer room in [the] Apostolic Library" (EuroWeekly News).

The headlines are not technically inaccurate. But they appear to suggest a sort of proactivity on the Vatican's part, as if the Holy See opened up a Muslim prayer room in order to cater to Rome's Islamic population. And readers could be forgiven for thinking the endeavor is more significant than it appears to be. 

Indeed, the reports generated passionate criticism online; one deacon, for instance, claimed the prayer room constitutes "a total betrayal of Our Lord Jesus Christ," while the news outlet Zenit noted the policy had sparked a "quiet storm" in response.

The truth appears to be somewhat more mundane. The prayer room's existence became widely known after the Oct. 8 publication of an interview between the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the priest Father Don Giacomo Cardinali, the vice prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library.

In the wide-ranging interview, Cardinali described the library as a "universal institution" and "the most secular of the entire Holy See."

"Our interlocutors are research centers, public universities, the Louvre, the Metropolitan, NASA," the priest told the newspaper. "They don't really know what a priest is, much less how to distinguish him from a bishop or a cardinal." 

Asked if "scholars of other religions" ever come to the library, the priest responded: "Of course."

"Some Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a carpet to pray, [so] we gave it to them: We have incredible ancient Korans," the priest said. 

"We are a universal library," he added. "There are Arabic, Jewish, Ethiopian collections, unique Chinese pieces. Years ago we discovered that we have the oldest medieval Japanese archive that exists outside the Rising Sun."

The verdict: The Vatican Apostolic Library does indeed allow Muslims a room for prayer. But, importantly, it does not appear to be a generally accessible Islamic prayer space but rather one designated for the "Muslim scholars" that may be on site at the time. Further, it was only opened at the request of scholars themselves.

And though it is understandable that a Muslim prayer room in the Holy See may inspire a bit of cognitive dissonance, the vice prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library describes the space as nothing more than "a room with a carpet."

Amid the sensational news coverage, Britain's Daily Mail may have said it best when it reported, simply: "The Vatican has granted Muslim scholars' request for a prayer room."

We rate this claim true, with important context.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 16:26 pm (CNA).

Magis Center released this week an artificial intelligence (AI) app designed to provide instant, science-based answers to questions about the Church and Catholic moral teachings.

MagisAI was announced Oct. 20 by the Magis Center, an organization created by philosopher and author Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, to explore the relationship between science, philosophy, reason, and faith. The free app draws information from Spitzer's 20 books including "Christ, Science, and Reason" and "Science at the Doorstep to God."

The app provides spoken answers to users' questions accompanied by the text and reference. If the answer is too technical or confusing, the app can provide simplifications as needed, the Magis Center reported.

"Whether you're a teacher helping students navigate secular questions, a parent guiding your family, or anyone seeking clarity on faith, magisAI equips you with instant, credible answers grounded in reason, science, and Church teaching," the organization wrote.

MagisAI covers a wide range of topics within the Church including Catholic doctrine, Christian life and morality, and Scripture and history. It provides evidence for God and Jesus with explanations rooted in science, philosophy, and history, the organization wrote. It also answers science-based questions from quantum cosmology to evolution.

Through its question-and-answer format, magisAI says it addresses "the real challenges Catholics face in today's secular environment." It combats issues including cultural pressure, faith formation gaps, accessibility of knowledge, and language barriers by offering answers in 40 different languages.

MagisAI follows a number of new Catholic AI tools created to provide prompt and accurate information to those hoping to further their understanding of Church teaching, including Longbeard, Magisterium AI, and Truthly.

While Catholic companies are working to use the technology for good, it is important that Catholics remain aware of the harms of AI and potential threats to human dignity, the Vatican said. As AI has become a controversial topic, Pope Leo XIV has said that addressing the challenges of the technology will be a theme of his teaching.

In a September explanatory note on media, the Vatican wrote: "As Catholics we can and should give our contribution, so that people — especially youth — acquire the capacity of critical thinking and grow in the freedom of the spirit."

"The challenge is to ensure that humanity remains the guiding agent," the note said. "The future of communication must be one where machines serve as tools that connect and facilitate human lives rather than erode the human voice."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 16:56 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis delivered letters from victims of the Annunciation School shooting to Pope Leo XIV during a recent visit to Rome. 

The letters from students and their family members thanked Leo for his prayers in wake of the deadly shooting that claimed two lives and injured dozens more on Aug. 27, according to a newsletter posted by Hebda on Oct. 20. 

Hebda said the opportunity to deliver the letters to Leo had made their first meeting Oct. 2 "particularly meaningful" for him. 

"Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota," Leo had said on Aug. 31 after leading the weekly Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

"The loss of life on that occasion was horrific and the impact on students, teachers, and their families traumatizing," Hebda said, adding: "I asked Pope Leo for his continued prayers for Sophia Forchas and the other survivors who continue their recovery, and especially his prayers for those who might find it difficult to return to Annunciation Church or even to the celebration of Mass."

Forchas, 12, was shot in the head during the attack and remains in an inpatient rehabilitation program after having been moved from critical care in September, according to an update from her parents on their GoFundMe. 

"Most of us would agree that the horror of the Aug. 27 shooting was magnified by the fact that it took place in the context of Mass, that most sacred of gatherings for our Catholic community," Hebda continued. "It's at the Mass where we come together to join in Jesus' offering of himself to the Father and where we have the opportunity to be nourished by God's word and the Eucharist. Like all of our churches, Annunciation is sacred because it has been set apart for divine worship. That's clear from the very inscription we find on the façade: 'This Is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.'"

Hebda's meeting with Leo took place during the archbishop's visit to Rome for the ordination of two seminarians as deacons. 

St. Paul Seminary posted a video of the archbishop with Leo, writing: "Our very own shepherd Archbishop Hebda had the great honor to meet Pope Leo XIV during his recent visit to Rome!"

Hebda can be seen in the video holding a folder while speaking with the Holy Father in St. Peter's Square. 

The archdiocese did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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CNA Staff, Oct 21, 2025 / 17:26 pm (CNA).

Sister Reji Varghese began her three-year term as head of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood for the United States after her recent installation presided over by Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson, New Jersey, on Oct. 13.

Varghese will be the delegate for the Daughters in the U.S., leading three missionary communities that live out their charism by "caring for the youth and the elderly while reflecting in the day-to-day life that same sacrificial love that impelled Christ shed his blood for our salvation," according to the statement from the Daughters.

The superior general of the congregation, who is based in Rome, appointed Varghese as the new delegate, an act that "renewed" the U.S. delegation, according to the Daughters. 

The Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood serve across the U.S., including in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. 

Originally founded in Italy, the community is found throughout Italy as well as in Brazil, East Timor, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The congregation ministers to orphans, vulnerable children, the sick, and the elderly as well as educating youth. 

In 1873, Father Thomas Maria Fusco, now a "blessed" in the Catholic Church, moved by the plight of an orphaned street girl, founded the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood in Pagani, Italy. 

Beginning with the seven orphans at their founding, the three original sisters had a "mission of spreading the devotion of the charity of the precious blood of Christ by which God's infinite love for us is revealed," the Daughters told CNA in a statement. 

The sisters continue the founding legacy "by engaging in works of mercy through different apostolates such as assisting the poor, the sick, and the elderly as well as educating the children and young people, especially the most vulnerable," the congregation said. 

In Paterson, the Daughters operate a residential home for senior women called St. Joseph's Rest Home as well as a day care for young children. 

Sweeney celebrated the installation Mass on Oct. 13 along with five other priests including the sisters' chaplain, Father Charles Waller. 

Varghese in response to her installation said she is relying on the grace of God in her new role. 

"As our father founder said: 'To love God, great talents are not necessary ... it is enough to have a heart capable of loving,'" she told CNA. 

"I know my limits, but by the grace of God and Blessed Thomas Maria Fusco, and with the cooperation of all the sisters, God's will shall be done," she said.

"I am very happy for our sisters' ongoing support, friendship, and prayers during these days," Varghese continued. "My wish is that in whatever we do and say may the charity of the blood of Jesus keep us always united."

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