Miami Archdiocese celebrates its first Mass at 'Alligator Alcatraz'
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Rows of bunk beds line the interior of the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility in the Florida Everglades, a repurposed training center now designated for holding immigrants. President Donald Trump appears in the background during a July 1, 2025, visit to the site. / Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 4, 2025 / 13:52 pm (CNA).As part of a new Catholic ministry, the Archdiocese of Miami celebrated its first Mass at the Florida detention center for unauthorized immigrants known as "Alligator Alcatraz.""I am pleased that our request to provide for the pastoral care of the detainees has been accommodated," Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in an Aug. 3 statement. "Also, we were able to respond to a request to provide similar service to the staff who reside at the facility."In a July interview with "EWTN News In Depth," Wenski said his "greatest concern" was the "health and care of the people that are being detained" ...
Rows of bunk beds line the interior of the so-called "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility in the Florida Everglades, a repurposed training center now designated for holding immigrants. President Donald Trump appears in the background during a July 1, 2025, visit to the site. / Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 4, 2025 / 13:52 pm (CNA).
As part of a new Catholic ministry, the Archdiocese of Miami celebrated its first Mass at the Florida detention center for unauthorized immigrants known as "Alligator Alcatraz."
"I am pleased that our request to provide for the pastoral care of the detainees has been accommodated," Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in an Aug. 3 statement. "Also, we were able to respond to a request to provide similar service to the staff who reside at the facility."
In a July interview with "EWTN News In Depth," Wenski said his "greatest concern" was the "health and care of the people that are being detained" at Alligator Alcatraz. He and other advocates were calling for "a minimum of standards" and said that "one of those standards should be access to pastoral care."
At the time, Wenski explained his archdiocese was having difficulty arranging Masses and spiritual care for the immigrants being held because the Florida state government and the federal government were "arguing among themselves who is accountable" for the detention center.
After months of discussions between Florida bishops, archdiocesan leadership, and state correctional authorities, an agreement was finally reached. Chaplains and pastoral ministers from the Archdiocese of Miami will have "full access" to the facility to offer liturgical Masses for detainees and staff.
The first Mass was held on Aug. 2 and is just the start of the regular liturgical celebrations expected at the center. The archdiocese reported that it will continue the ministry "following the facility's guidelines and the pastoral availability of our clergy."
The archdiocese plans "to have a successful and consistent Catholic presence at Alligator Alcatraz that will depend on effective ordination and coordination." The goal is to "ensure a stable schedule of sacramental care and pastoral ministry that meets the spiritual needs of both attendees and staff, with the support of clergy and committed lay volunteers."
"The Church has 'no borders,' for we all are members of one human family," Wenski said. "Our 'agenda' was always to announce the 'good news' to the poor."
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Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd at the Jubilee of Youth on Aug. 3, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Aug 5, 2025 / 14:16 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to Ignacio Gonzálvez, a 15-year-old Spanish boy who had been urgently admitted to Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome after collapsing during the Jubilee of Youth.Upon learning of Ignacio's situation, Pope Leo XIV asked the thousands of young people gathered for the Aug. 2 vigil at Tor Vergata to join in prayer for him."I would like to ask for your prayers for another friend, a young Spaniard, Ignacio Gonzálvez, who has been admitted to the Bambino Gesù Hospital. Let us pray for him, for his health," the visibly moved pontiff said.Ignacio's parents, Pedro Pablo and Carmen Gloria, along with his siblings Pedro Pablo Jr. and Adela, traveled to Rome immediately upon receiving the news.On the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 4, according to the Holy See, Pope Leo XIV personally visited Ignacio in his room in the intensive car...
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null / Credit: Rohane Hamilton/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).President Donald Trump's administration may be walking back an earlier plan that would have required insurance companies to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a report from the Washington Post.The Post reported that "two people with knowledge of internal discussions" told the outlet that the White House does not plan to impose any IVF mandates on health insurance providers.According to the report, a senior administration official said expanding IVF access is still "a huge priority" for the president but that any government-imposed mandatory coverage would need to come from legislation passed through Congress. The article reported that such a plan is not on the table at the moment.CNA reached out to the White House for a response to that report and to ask whether religious liberty concerns for Catholics and others opposed to IVF are being weighed in the...
