Catholic News

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Vatican 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 become 'missionaries of hope' in the communities where they are welcomed, often helping to revitalize their faith and promoting interreligious dialogue based on common values," the Vatican statement said.

"They remind the Church of the ultimate goal of the earthly pilgrimage, that is, reaching the future homeland," the statement continued. 

On Monday, the Vatican shared on Pope Francis' X account: "Many migrants and refugees bear witness to hope through their trust in God."

The first World Day of Migrants and Refugees was instituted by Pope Pius X in 1914, a few months before the outbreak of World War I, asking Catholics worldwide to pray and care for those leaving their homelands. 

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Vatican 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 precious, she added, "even if it is very, very small, and even if it is very short."

"Perinatal Hospice - Imprint of Life" was established in Lyiv in 2017 to accompany parents who face severe diagnoses while their child is still in the womb. 

The psychologist explained that the development of medicine and technology, when it overlaps with the prevention of hereditary diseases, leads to the abortion of children with prenatal diagnoses.

Her organization helps couples cope with the difficulty of a prenatal diagnosis so they can embrace life, even with its challenges, and accompanies parents who have experienced perinatal or postnatal death. It is the first perinatal hospice in Ukraine.

"In these situations we emphasize that we recognize life, taking care of it, and at the same time, considering death as an intrinsic part of human life," Holubets said. "This care of life strengthens parents in continuing the pregnancy, appreciating every moment, even brief ones, to be with their child."

The "Guardian of Life" Award, awarded by the Pontifical Academy for Life, is for people "who have distinguished themselves in their private and professional lives for significant actions in support of the protection and promotion of human life."

"Any threat to the life and dignity of the person strikes the Church deeply in its heart," Holubets said, noting that the organization's motto is "I cannot give days to your life, however, I can give life to your days."

"We are convinced that there is no foot too tiny to not leave its mark on this world," she said.

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CNA 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 public school reading scores continue to decline.   

Catholic schools have consistently outpaced public schools in recent decades, with higher-ranking scores going back to the 1990s.  

The National Catholic Educational Association highlighted Catholic schools' scores in a recent press release, noting that "NAEP assessments are considered the gold standard of testing."

NCEA President and CEO Steven Cheeseman emphasized that the primary goal of Catholic education is to "form saints."

"In Catholic schools, faith and academics are seamlessly woven together, fostering not only intellectual growth but also moral and spiritual formation," Cheeseman said in a Jan. 30 statement. "While academic excellence is a hallmark of our schools, our true goal is to form saints and to prepare students to lead with wisdom, compassion, and integrity."

Catholic leaders are pushing for a national school choice bill to enable students who could not afford Catholic school to attend. An unprecedented number of school choice programs have been launched in various states in recent years. The programs are designed to help low- and middle-income families send their children to private schools of their choice, including the nearly 6,000 Catholic schools across the nation.

Following a record expansion of state school choice programs in 2023, the NCEA found that more than 1 in 10 Catholic school students used school choice programs to help them attend Catholic school in the 2023-2024 school year.

Last year, reports showed that Catholic school enrollment remained stable, following three years of modest growth. The growth followed the sharpest drop in enrollment in decades in 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCEA is set to release enrollment data by April.

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Vatican 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 Vatican on the theme "The End of the World? Crises, Responsibilities, Hopes."

Academics from across the scientific and theological fields, including Nobel laureates, planetologists, physicists, biologists, paleoanthropologists, theologians, and historians, are attending the Pontifical Academy for Life's plenary meeting this week.

In a presentation of the conference to journalists March 3, academy president Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia explained that "we felt the urgency to save the common human."

"The frontier before us is a planetary frontier," it affects all people, he said. With the meeting, the archbishop added, they desire "to design a future of hope for all without leaving anyone behind."

"It's obvious we cannot be indifferent," Paglia said.

Pope Francis in his message said the first step in the face of the world's "polycrisis" is to examine "with greater attention our representation of the world and the cosmos."

"If we do not do this, and we do not seriously analyze our profound resistance to change, both as people and as a society, we will continue to do what we have always done with other crises," he said, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said was "squandered" as an opportunity to transform consciences and social practices.

The pope also warned against "endorsing utilitarian deregulation and global neoliberalism means imposing the law of the strongest as the only rule; and it is a law that dehumanizes."

Francis also lamented the "progressive irrelevance of international bodies, which are also undermined by shortsighted attitudes, concerned with protecting particular and national interests."

He said people of goodwill must continue to be committed to more effective world organizations so that "a multilateralism is promoted that does not depend on changing political circumstances or the interests of the few."

The pope said hope is of fundamental importance. "It does not consist of waiting with resignation but of striving with zeal toward true life, which leads well beyond the narrow individual perimeter," he said.

Hope, Francis said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Spe Salvi, "is linked to a lived union with a 'people,' and for each individual it can only be attained within this 'we.'"

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Vatican 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:

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CNA Newsroom, Mar 3, 2025 / 06:44 am (CNA).

Pope Francis spent a restful night at Rome's Gemelli Hospital and has begun his daily treatments after waking Monday morning, having breakfast with coffee, and reading newspapers as part of his normal routine, according to Vatican sources.

The pope's condition remains stable, with Vatican sources reporting that his bilateral pneumonia is neither worsening nor causing immediate concern. No special examinations beyond routine daily tests are currently scheduled.

Recovery for the 88-year-old Holy Father "will certainly not be imminent," Vatican officials cautioned, indicating a potentially extended hospital stay as the pope continues to receive medical care.

Regarding the upcoming spiritual exercises scheduled for next Sunday, Vatican sources stated that no decisions have been made about how the pope might participate in these Lenten observances.

The faithful will gather in St. Peter's Square this evening to pray for the pope's recovery. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, will lead the recitation of the Holy Rosary at 9:00 p.m.

Marco Mancini contributed to this report.

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Vatican 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:

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Vatican City, Mar 2, 2025 / 14:42 pm (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:

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Vatican City, Mar 2, 2025 / 04:02 am (CNA).

Pope Francis spent another restful night at Rome's Gemelli Hospital after being admitted on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

Follow here for the latest news on Pope Francis' health and hospitalization:

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Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Though many Catholics may associate the liturgical season of Lent more with the practice of fasting and abstaining from food, many families around the world use the 40-day season to prepare specific homemade delicacies to remind them of the life of Jesus Christ as he made his way to the cross.  

Mexico

Capirotada, which is similar to a bread pudding, is a treat served by many Mexican families on the Fridays of Lent. Though recipes may vary from one family to the next, the traditional sweet and savory ingredients carry rich religious symbolism linked to Jesus' crucifixion.

Bread rolls used in the dish represent the body of Christ; honey or piloncillo syrup, made from cane sugar, is meant to symbolize the blood of Christ; whole cloves are used to represent the nails of the crucifixion; cinnamon sticks are used to symbolize the wooden cross of Christ; and the melted cheese coating the pudding represents the shroud used for Jesus' burial.

Aguas fresca — a drink made with still water, fresh fruits of your choice, sugar, oats, and other cereals, seeds, and floral teas — are prepared and served by families to passersby in Oaxaca on Good Friday. Though not solely a Lenten beverage, this Good Friday tradition is an opportunity for Oaxaca families to quench the thirst of Jesus on his way to Jerusalem — just like the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (cf. Jn 4:4-42) — by serving a fellow neighbor.

Ecuador     

Fanesca, a soup eaten during Lent and Holy Week made with cod and 12 kinds of beans and legumes, is said to represent Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper.  

The dish's religious significance dates back to the 16th century and is believed to be connected to a monastery in Quito, Ecuador, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Some families take advantage to make this lunch dish together — preparing the fish and shelling the many beans and legumes — with a spirit of prayer, contemplating the Last Supper in the upper room just hours before Jesus began his passion in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Malta 

Kwarezimal, which derives its name from the Latin word "Quadragesima," meaning the "40 days of Lent," are sweet cakes made with almond paste, honey, and orange rind.

This Lenten sweet treat is also given to children who want to embark upon a one-day, 14-church pilgrimage to remember Jesus' 14 Stations of the Cross.

Qaghaq tal-appostli or "Apostles' Rings" are sweet, savory, unleavened circular bread loaves topped with almonds and sesame seeds eaten on Holy Thursday. 

The treat is associated with the events of Holy Thursday when Jesus made his apostles priests and instituted the Eucharist and the celebration of the Mass. 

Lebanon

Zenkoul, a dish of bulgur wheat balls (or pumpkin balls) combined with chickpeas, rice, garlic, onion, and pomegranate molasses, is eaten by Lebanese families during Lent and Good Friday.  

Some families add vinegar to their Zenkoul instead of lemon juice to remind them when Jesus told the Roman soldiers "I thirst" (cf. Jn 19:28) before dying on the cross and fulfilling the prophecy "for my thirst they gave me vinegar" (cf. Ps 69:22).

Iraq

Christ's Feast is a traditional dish shared and eaten together in Iraqi villages on Good Friday. Made with habbiyeh wheat, several types of grains, and a variety of beans and legumes, the most distinctive ingredient of the dish is "akoub," a prickly plant that grows abundantly during spring.

By combining all the ingredients with a little water, Christ's Feast is turned into a soup and cooked slowly until it is ready to be mashed and served to families on Good Friday.  

For some Iraqi Christians, the difficulty in preparing the dish — particularly removing the thorns of the akoub — is a form of participating in Jesus' passion. The prickly plant is also said to symbolize the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head before he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate.

Germany, Luxembourg, France, and Belgium

Pretzels, the iconic bread twist simply made with salt, yeast, flour, and water linked to several parts of Europe, are believed to have been invented specifically as a Lenten food by an Italian monk in the early Middle Ages, according to a Vatican Library document.

With the purpose of helping Catholics to live the penitential season with prayer and simplicity, the treat's shape resembles hands in prayer, forming three holes representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand 

Hot cross buns are believed to have first been distributed to poor English Catholics on a Good Friday between the 12th and 14th centuries. Today, the sweet-spiced buns are eaten in England and in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand during Lent and Holy Week.

While some historic accounts suggest the buns — traditionally made with flour, eggs, yeast, currents, and cardamom — have ancient pagan origins, other records hint that medieval monks Christianized the recipe by baking the buns with distinct crosses to represent the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and using different spices to symbolize his burial.

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