Catholic News

Pope Leo XIV named 24 new members of the International Theological Commission, including University of Notre Dame theologian Father Khaled Anatolios and Boston College professor Boyd Coolman.

These appointments, announced by the Vatican on Monday, are members of an advisory body to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. They will not be required to relocate to Rome but periodically assist the dicastery in examining major theological questions and may publish study documents.

Members of the commission, who can number no more than 30, serve a five-year term that the pope may choose to renew.

2 theologians, both formed by Notre Dame and Boston College

Both Anatolios and Coolman are affiliated with Boston College and Notre Dame through their doctoral work or teaching careers.

Anatolios is a married Melkite Catholic priest who has served as the John A. O'Brien professor of theology at Notre Dame since 2015. He received his doctorate from Boston College in 1996 and taught theology at the college before leaving for Notre Dame.

Also an ecumenist, he has taught and published on several early Christian theologians, including Sts. Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and Athanasius, focusing on how patristic theology engages contemporary theology.

Anatolios, in a statement to EWTN News, thanked the pope for the appointment and praised him for his Christocentric focus.

"I am honored and humbled by this appointment," Anatolios said. "Pope Leo has already set forth, in various explicit and implicit ways, a Christocentric agenda and vision for engaging the urgent challenges and sufferings of our current world."

"I look forward to working with the other esteemed theologians of the commission in fulfilling this agenda and entering more deeply into this vision," he added.

Coolman, who received his doctorate in Church history from Notre Dame in 2001, has taught theology at Boston College since 2005.

"This is truly a surprising and humbling appointment, but I look forward to serving the Church in this capacity to the best of my ability in the days ahead," Coolman said in a statement to EWTN News.

Latest Notre Dame appointments to the Vatican

The appointments of Anatolios and Coolman reflect a broader trend of Vatican appointments affiliated with Notre Dame this year.

In March, Pope Leo XIV appointed Father Daniel Gerard Groody, CSC, vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame, to the Vatican's Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

In August, the pope appointed two more Notre Dame professors to that same dicastery: Father Emmanuel Katongole, a professor of theology and peace studies, and Clemens Sedmak, a professor of social ethics and director of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies. Leo also appointed Kathryn Koch, a Notre Dame graduate and member of its board of trustees.

In September, John Cavadini, a professor of patristic theology at Notre Dame, was named the winner of the 2026 Ratzinger Prize. He served on the International Theological Commission from 2009 to 2014.

Full Article

Father Andrii Stebivka, a priest of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, was forcibly detained by recruitment officers and taken to a military training camp from where he could potentially be sent to the front lines of the war with Russia, his family stated.

The incident took place on Oct. 12 at a checkpoint in the Rivne region of northwestern Ukraine. The 38-year-old priest, who was ordained two years ago, was returning from participating in a spiritual retreat, according to his parents, Bohdan and Natalia Stebivka.

Stebivka was recently transferred to a different parish, but administrative delays inherent in this change of pastoral assignment created a temporary gap in the state registry that formally certifies the pastoral work and ministerial service of priests in Ukraine.

Despite repeated efforts to provide proof of his active clergy status and ongoing pastoral service to the faithful, recruitment authorities rejected his documentation and sent him to a military training center. According to his family, he has already been assigned to a special assault unit and is expected to enter combat in the near future.

The bishop of the Eparchy of Mukachevo, Teodor Matsapula, and the apostolic nunciature in Ukraine are taking formal steps with government authorities to clarify the priest's status and secure his reinstatement to his parish duties. So far, these requests have gone unanswered.

Stebivka, who was ordained a priest in June 2024 at the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is also noted for his artistic work as an iconographer.

Throughout his ministry, he has created sacred compositions and apse murals in churches in Dublin, Boston, and various Ukrainian cities, such as Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Uzhhorod.

Faced with the imminent risk of being sent to the battlefield, the priest's parents have made a public appeal to civil, military, and diplomatic authorities, requesting that the pastoral nature of his vocation be recognized and that he be permitted to continue carrying out his priestly ministry in Mukachevo.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Full Article

Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, days after holding a similar conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During Thursday's call with Putin, Leo XIV requested a humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's Kherson region that has been facing a prolonged humanitarian crisis. Moscow, however, has blamed Kyiv for the situation, according to a Kremlin statement issued after the conversation.

The humanitarian ceasefire was also discussed during Monday's call with Zelenskyy.

According to a statement from the Holy See Press Office, "In the course of the conversation, the Holy Father recalled the grave situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and made reference to the request for a humanitarian ceasefire that he had presented to the President of the Russian Federation."

The statement continued: "His Holiness expressed the hope that cooperation between both parties will allow for the delivery of food and medical aid, and for the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population."

"Finally, the Holy Father reaffirmed the commitment of the Holy See to promoting dialogue and peace," the statement said.

The telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president marks another step in a diplomatic effort involving Kyiv, Moscow, and the Holy See that began with visits by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the pope's special envoy, first to Kyiv and then to Moscow.

During Zuppi's visit to Ukraine in June, the cardinal was asked whether the pope would be willing to advocate for humanitarian assistance for residents of Kherson and Oleshky.

Leo XIV agreed, and Zuppi conveyed the pope's willingness to intervene on the humanitarian issue during his Sept. 28–30 visit to Moscow.

While Vatican News issued a report following Zuppi's visit to Ukraine, no similar communication was released after the cardinal's trip to Russia.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the telephone conversation with Putin resulted from the pope's desire for dialogue. "It was the Holy Father who took the initiative to plead the cause of this besieged city," Parolin told reporters on Friday.

Russian sources, however, have noted that Putin was particularly interested in holding a second conversation with the pope following their first exchange in June 2025.

Monday's call marked the third telephone conversation between Leo XIV and Zelenskyy since the beginning of the pontificate. The two leaders have also met three times in person.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Full Article

Pope Leo XIV appeared at the window of his private study in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace on Sunday, just one day after being discharged early from the hospital following surgery last Tuesday.

The pontiff thanked "all those who have prayed for me in recent days" and expressed "particular gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and all the staff of the Gemelli University Hospital," where he was treated.

"This experience has made me feel a special closeness to all those who are going through illness and experiencing poor health," Leo said.

"Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with God's help and your prayers."

The pope did not mention his planned trip to three countries in South America, scheduled for next month. The Vatican has announced no changes in that plan. The Vatican said last week that Leo had canceled all private audiences through Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Sunday was the first time the Holy Father had spoken publicly since the operation. The appearance was eagerly awaited by Catholics around the world, who had anxiously followed each new official Vatican bulletin on his medical condition in recent days.

According to the official Vatican News outlet, 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square despite a morning of cloudy skies and intermittent rain in Rome. They were eager to see the pope recovering from surgery and to express their affection for him the day after his release from the hospital.

At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the pontiff left Rome's Gemelli Hospital following his first hospitalization since the beginning of his pontificate, during which surgeons removed a malignant tumor from his right lung. Leo XIV appeared to be in good condition and walked with a steady gait, greeting several patients without showing signs of fatigue.

Smiling, the pope stopped to shake hands and speak with patients in the hospital corridors. About 15 minutes after leaving the hospital, the car carrying him entered Vatican City through the Perugino Gate.

For now, the pontiff will remain in Rome rather than travel to Castel Gandolfo, where he usually spends periods of rest.

A response that exposes hypocrisy

During his reflection before the Angelus prayer, the pontiff discussed one of Jesus' best-known teachings: "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." Leo explained the context in which Jesus originally spoke the words, amid what the evangelist Matthew describes as "a situation of hostility towards Jesus."

"The Pharisees gather together to see how they might catch him in his words," the pope said, quoting the Gospel account. "They decide to send some people to question him on a controversial matter: 'Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?'"

According to Leo XIV, "The Teacher's response is astute, for it allows him to avoid the trap and exposes the hypocrisy of those who seek to put him to the test."

The Gospel recounts how Jesus asks to see the coin used to pay the tax, a denarius. After receiving it, he delivers the familiar teaching: "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."

"In Jesus, we contemplate a God who is not afraid of history but comes instead to dwell within it. His kingdom does not abolish human roles and responsibilities," the pontiff explained.

He emphasized, however, that God's kingdom "does, however, call us to live without compromise, free from selfish ambitions and unjust motives, seeking above all the kingdom of God and his righteousness."

Being truthful and free to do good

In this context, Leo XIV drew attention to the fact that Jesus' questioners praised him despite their hostile intentions.

"In this regard, it is striking that those same people praise Jesus, even though their intentions are far from good," he observed.

The pope recalled the words with which they addressed Jesus: "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality."

Drawing on this passage, Leo XIV invited the faithful to reflect on what it means to live an authentic Christian life.

"Dear friends, this is precisely what it means to 'give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's': to be truthful, free from servile fear or hypocrisy, free to do good," he said.

"Let us pray to the Lord to help us live in this way. And let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Virgin Mary."

This story was updated at 6:20 a.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, to include the pope's remarks following the Angelus.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Full Article

Pope Leo XIV will resume his Wednesday general audience at the Vatican this week. But he will skip his usual Monday-evening-through-Tuesday-evening stay at the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo southeast of Rome.

The pontiff returned to the Vatican on Saturday, four days after surgery to remove a cancerous lung nodule. The same day, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who operated on Pope Leo on Oct. 13 at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, cleared the pope to proceed with his apostolic journey to South America in November.

The next day, Oct. 18, Leo resumed praying the Sunday Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

"Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will now gradually resume my activities, always with God's help and your prayers," the pope said in his Angelus address.

Brother surprised that pope's South America trip will proceed

Louis Prevost, one of Pope Leo XIV's brothers, expressed surprise in a Sunday interview with Fox News that Margaritora had cleared the pope's trip.

"I thought maybe they'd postpone that," Prevost said.

Prevost, who is receiving treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, also expressed surprise that Leo had been diagnosed with lung cancer, which had never occurred in the family.

"He was the first with the lung cancer, which came out of the blue. Nobody else had that in our family that I'm aware of," Prevost said.

Prevost also shared that he and the pope had talked every day during his hospitalization.

"Every time I talked to him or texted him [during his hospitalization], he was answering," Prevost said. "So, I know other than during the operation and in his brief, quick recovery, he was incommunicado. But since then, almost anytime I reach out to him, he is right there."

"When we get on the phone or talk, we give each other crap, you know?" Prevost said. "We tell jokes; some are off color."

Asked how he could give the pope crap, he replied: "You tell him he's being stupid."

Full Article

French bishops have appealed for an end to violence after a weekend of rioting in which public buildings were burned, shops were looted nationwide, and a Lyon interreligious peace march was postponed.

"I call on everyone not to be swept up in the spiral of this violence: Our city and our country deserve better than this," Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille and president of the French bishops' conference, said in an Oct. 18 communiqué.

In Marseille, he wrote, "shops were looted, churches broken into, the city hall invaded and damaged, a police station ransacked, and members of the police attacked." The archdiocese has not said which churches were entered.

Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon said in a statement on X that his city "was the scene of clashes, hatred, destruction, and looting that are unacceptable."

"I am well aware that this violence is the sign of a society that is unwell, but I want to state forcefully once again that it is a dead end," he wrote.

Organizers postponed a March for Peace that Lyon's Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders had planned for Sunday to mark the 40th anniversary of St. John Paul II's 1986 interreligious day of prayer in Assisi, Italy.

No new date has been set.

What happened

The violence broke out Oct. 17 when about 550,000 people marched nationwide in what organizers called a protest against the rising cost of living, according to the Interior Ministry.

One labor union put the figure at 800,000, AFP reported.

The movement grew out of weeks of high school protests over school conditions, during which several schools were severely damaged by the demonstrators, including in Paris, Nantes, Marseille, and Rouen.

In Limoges on Saturday, masked mobs broke into the city hall and set it on fire. In Paris, AFP reporters saw groups of young men in balaclavas disconnect security cameras before smashing their way into shops. Paris looting continued Sunday night, Le Figaro reported.

Other public buildings were also attacked and torched. In Lyon, the tourist office on Place Bellecour was ransacked and set on fire. In Bordeaux, rioters ransacked the regional prefect's residence, and firefighters put out fires at the prefecture building, a bank, and shops, Sud Ouest reported.

Nearly 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, the Interior Ministry said. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told France 2 on Monday that authorities took 2,331 people into custody over the weekend, 70% of them adults "very often known to the police and the justice system," Le Figaro reported. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said about 350 people were arrested in Paris alone on Sunday and overnight.

Prosecutors in Toulouse and several other cities said most of the people they held had no previous criminal record.

Trump and Vance react

In reaction to the images of chaos, violence, and looting across France, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance both pointed to immigration.

"Western liberals imported the third world into France," Vance wrote on X.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that "the immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country," AFP reported.

Nuñez said rioters acted at the instigation of "the ultra-left" and were joined by "opportunistic delinquents," Le Figaro reported. On Monday, he confirmed security forces had "lost control" at points during the violent riots.

On Monday, Macron refused Nuñez's resignation, offered the day before, and pointed to "failures of anticipation and intelligence," Euronews reported. Darmanin said the authorities had "unquestionably failed."

Full Article

A new documentary is bringing Pope Leo XIV and Hollywood actor Chris Pratt together to dive into the history and archaeological discoveries surrounding the tomb of St. Peter at the Vatican.

"Pétros Ení — Discovering the Origins" was produced by AF Films in collaboration with Vatican Media and the Fabric of St. Peter to mark the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter's Basilica, which took place on Nov. 18, 1626.

Taking viewers into areas rarely seen by the general public, the film journeys back in time all the way to the Roman necropolis, which has been preserved beneath St. Peter's Basilica.

The documentary brings together documents from the Archives of the Fabric of St. Peter, contributions from Pietro Zander (one of the leading experts on the Vatican Necropolis), images and audio recordings of the popes, and archival footage from renowned epigrapher Margherita Guarducci.

Pope Leo appears in the final scenes to talk more about the figure of St. Peter and the significance of his tomb's presence beneath the famous basilica.

Pratt, who is best known for his roles in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Jurassic World," speaks publicly of his Christian faith and is married to a practicing Catholic. According to Vatican News, he said the experience of making this film deeply moved him and helped him "define my faith."

"What I would like audiences to understand about Peter after watching this documentary is that he was an imperfect man," Pratt said. "He was a weak man. He was a human being. And I believe we are all broken, imperfect, and weak. But his strength lies in the grace of Jesus and his faith in God. With that strength, through grace and faith, you can be incredibly strong."

He added: "It was an incredible honor to collaborate with Pope Leo and the Vatican on this project. The story of St. Peter is foundational to the Christian faith, and I am deeply grateful for the trust and access I was given to bring his legacy to the screen."

"Pétros Ení" — which refers to a Greek inscription that means "Peter is here" and is found near the apostle's burial grounds — is scheduled to start its theatrical debut in February 2027, during the first few weeks of Lent.

Hallow Studios will be in charge of U.S. and Canada distribution, Bosco Films will handle the distribution in Spain, and Cinépolis +Que Cine will oversee its theatrical release in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia.

"When I first saw this film it changed my life. I think it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. It is an honor to get to partner together on it," Alex Jones, Hallow CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. "And the fact that it is led by one of our core Hallow partners in Chris and features such a powerful reflection from Pope Leo is just truly extraordinary."

Watch the first trailer for "Pétros Ení — Discovering the Origins," released Oct. 16, below.

Full Article

The Catholic faithful are mourning the death of Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Guayaquil, Ecuador, which occurred tragically on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The 53-year-old Redemptorist priest passed away after a crucifix mounted on the wall behind the altar fell on him during Mass.

The Archdiocese of Guayaquil issued a statement, signed by Cardinal Luis Cabrera, announcing that the priest "has departed for the Father's House to enjoy His presence and His glory" and expressing that it joins "in prayer for the eternal rest of his soul, while offering its solidarity, affection, and care to the Redemptorist family, as well as to his own family and friends."

In addition, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and the Archdiocese of Guayaquil celebrated an Oct. 18 evening Mass for the soul of Sánchez at the same Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Following the news of his passing, many colleagues and members of the faithful took to social media to express their shock and remember the priest.

"We thank God for all the good received through Father Patricio Sánchez, who accompanied the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the young women — especially in our communities in Guayaquil — with closeness, love, and pastoral dedication," the Salesians wrote regarding the priest, who was born in Cuenca.

"We are certain that he is already enjoying the presence of God. May the Lord, in His infinite mercy, welcome him into His Kingdom and grant comfort and strength to all of us who mourn his passing," they added.

"May his soul have been received by Almighty God. We are deeply saddened by this situation. Death came upon the priest while he was in the midst of celebrating Holy Mass," noted Betty Montaño.

Mari Pérez expressed her hope "that he is now rejoicing with God," while adding: "but we must look into what caused this accident — there needs to be greater care taken when positioning religious images."

"For a priest, it is an honor to depart from this world to the Father's house while celebrating Holy Mass; it is a true reflection of Jesus, who died on the cross. He is now in heaven, enjoying the delights that God had prepared for him beforehand," remarked Carlos Alberto Pastrello.

"Proclaiming Jesus Christ, God calls him into His presence," María Augusta Guzmanberrezueta remarked.

Vicente Sauhing Dávila wrote on the priest's Facebook page that "the Lord embraced him and took him with Him to His Holy Home. Jesus said: 'Be prepared, with your lamps burning. You do not know the day or the hour.'"

San Lorenzo Parish in Vinces, where Sánchez also served as a parish priest, likewise expressed sorrow at his passing, highlighting his "dedication and pastoral love."

"As a Redemptorist family, we join in prayer for the eternal rest of his soul, and we ask the Lord to grant comfort to his family, his brother priests, and all the faithful who cherish his legacy and memory with gratitude."

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Full Article

When Father Witold Kaczmarzyk arrived at Christ on the Mountain Parish in Lakewood, Colorado, earlier this year, he inherited a parish unknown by many in the Denver Archdiocese and arrived with a mission from his archbishop: to breathe new life into the community.

Kaczmarzyk's solution involved an electric scooter, a little comedy, and a willingness to step outside his comfort zone by using social media — all in the hope of helping more people encounter Jesus Christ.

Born and raised in Ostrow Wielkopolski, Poland, Kaczmarzyk lived there with his parents and younger brother until he was 25, after which he moved to the United States to attend seminary.

He remembers first thinking about becoming a priest at the age of 6. However, as he grew up, he realized that being a priest meant sacrificing having a family. After high school, he went to college in Warsaw and planned to become a nuclear physicist.

"I went to like a Polish MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] in Warsaw. And that's actually what I called my Damascus — like Paul riding to Damascus, I was riding on a train to Warsaw to pursue my dreams and that's when God caught me," he told EWTN News.

When he arrived at the university, Kaczmarzyk met several people who began to encourage him to pray, read the Bible, and get more involved in his faith.

"Slowly this desire since childhood came back to the surface level," he said. "And I kind of felt weird because my love for physics, for science, was going down, and then my love for God was increasing day by day."

After six months, Kaczmarzyk dropped out of college and entered the seminary. Originally, he felt called to become a missionary priest, with the desire "to be like the apostles."

"I didn't want to be just the boring priest of a parish in Poland. That's not me. I wanted to go into Africa, Asia, other cultures, languages, [and] dangers," he said. "I told my parents I want to become a missionary… Well, my parents thought I was crazy. Even my dad was like, 'You might get killed,' and I'm like, 'That's even better. I will be a martyr, that's an express path to heaven, sign me up.'"

While Kaczmarzyk did not end up becoming a missionary priest, two years into his time at the diocesan seminary in Poland he still had the desire to go somewhere else. After an online search looking for Polish seminaries outside of Poland, Kaczmarzyk ended up transferring to Sts. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. He was then invited by the Archdiocese of Denver to become one of its diocesan priests, and in 2019 he was ordained to the priesthood.

New assignment brings opportunity

Kaczmarzyk's new tenure at Christ on the Mountain Parish is his first as a pastor. He had previously been a parochial vicar at several other parishes in the archdiocese. When he received the assignment from Archbishop Samuel Aquila, former archbishop of Denver, he was told to help get people back into the Church and on fire for Christ.

"I pray my Holy Hour at 6 a.m. every morning and I'm just sitting with my cup of coffee and my pj's in front of the Blessed Sacrament in the rectory and I'm like, 'Jesus, I need your help because, I don't know, I mean, comparing my parish to five loaves and two fish, feels like not much, but you can do something with it,'" he recalled.

This became Kaczmarzyk's daily prayer. Then, he came across the parish's Facebook page.

"It only had like 200 followers. No one knew the password from my staff," he said. "They're like, 'Father, there was a girl who set it up but she's gone and no one knows the password.' So, I'm like, 'Well, let's call this Project Lazarus and see what happens because it's right now dead and I need to ask Jesus to resurrect it.'"

Thinking he could use social media as a way to engage with his parishioners and potentially attract more people to the parish, Kaczmarzyk began to post. But it wasn't until he posted a picture of himself riding an electric scooter to Mass that the page took off.

Kaczmarzyk explained that the rectory is half a mile away from the parish. Instead of driving his car, he wanted to save gas money so he bought the cheapest electric scooter he could find on Amazon and began riding it to Mass on Sundays — even while wearing his cassock.

One day after Mass, a parishioner took a picture of Kaczmarzyk on the scooter and sent it to him. He then made a simple post on Facebook with the photo. The next morning, he had an inbox full of positive messages, even emails from the local Denver news channels wanting to speak with him.

"I'm like, why are we excited about a priest riding a scooter? I'm always telling people we have 2,000 years of history, so many saints … I'm just riding my scooter and that's more popular than Thomas Aquinas? I'm like, 'What are you doing, people?'"

After that, Kaczmarzyk began to realize the potential social media could have to reach more people with the message of the Gospel and continued to share photos and videos on the parish's Facebook page and on his own Instagram and TikTok pages.

Kaczmarzyk is also well known for using humor during his homilies. At his previous parish, he even headlined a sold-out comedy show event for the parishioners alongside the parish's pastor.

The priest now combines his sense of humor with the truths the Catholic Church teaches to make funny yet applicable reels and memes, and more serious content such as his one-minute homily video series.

But behind the humorous videos and creative outreach is a priest who admits that putting himself out there doesn't come naturally.

"I'm an introvert, a classic one," Kaczmarzyk said.

However, his desire to bring people closer to Christ has forced him to push himself beyond his comfort zone, he said. Whether he's posting short videos online, hosting comedy shows, or gathering parishioners for informal conversations over a pint, he sees each one as an opportunity to reach people who might not otherwise walk through his church doors.

"Social media, it helps because you have so many people on each platform, people maybe who do not practice their faith anymore, and if I use my humor, it helps," he said. "It's not like a serious message all the time … When I do some kind of funny skit or whatever, then people see first of all, I'm normal, I'm human, I can be funny and then maybe they want to come to church on Sunday because that's the goal, of course — for people to come back to the Church, to Jesus — not to me."

He added: "The main goal is, of course, to bring people in so they come to Jesus, they meet him through the sacraments, specifically the Eucharist [and] confession. So social media is great tool, but it's just a tool; it's not the end of all of it. It's just the tool to bring people in so they can fall in love with God."

Full Article

At Stanford University, one of the world's most prestigious academic institutions, a quiet spiritual movement is taking hold. Over the past year, the Catholic Community at Stanford (CC@S) has seen a dramatic rise in adults entering the Catholic Church through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).

According to the university's independent newspaper The Stanford Review, 16 adults were baptized at the 2026 Easter Vigil and 46 candidates were received into full communion with the Catholic Church — a major increase from the historical average of just four per year over the last three decades.

?The growth at Stanford reflects a wider trend among young adults seeking stability, meaning, and purpose.

The surge in interest in Catholic sacramental life at Stanford follows a shift within the campus ministry, led by the Dominican friars, or Order of Preachers, who have served the university for more than 35 years.

?"Stanford is our mission field, and if excellence is on the mind of the people that we're serving, we also need to make excellence a part of our ministry," said Dominican Father Bart Hutcherson, pastor of the CC@S for the past two years.

"There has been a shift in the last couple of years because we decided two years ago that we were really going to focus on the student community. Our real mission, our real reason for existence as a parish on the university campus, is to serve the needs, the spiritual needs, the religious needs of the student population."

?Hutcherson also noted a shift in student preferences toward sacred history and rich heritage of Catholic culture and theology compared with previous decades.

"Now, I find it's shifted so that students are really attracted to a more traditional kind of worship, and we worship in the beautiful church here on Stanford's campus," the priest said. "It lends itself to more traditional forms of worship, and so my attitude is that our liturgy has to be as majestic and beautiful as the place that we worship. I find that young people are responding to beauty. Beauty is one of those things that, you know, in Catholic tradition, we call it 'transcendental.' So many people are responding to that in a really glorious way, and so what we've seen is an increase in the number of people that participate in our worship on Sunday."

?Longtime faculty members have also witnessed this shift firsthand across the campus community.

Stanford professor and director of its Religious Liberty Clinic James Sonne said increased interest in the Catholic faith is one of the most remarkable developments he has seen in his time on campus, which is more than a decade.

?"From my perspective, Stanford is a particularly encouraging place for students of all faiths," he told EWTN News. "For Catholics, the vibrancy of that community here reflects in many ways a new springtime for the Church, rooted in hope, love, and mercy, that Pope John Paul II famously envisioned."

?Sonne also highlighted the unique contribution of Dominican friars serving the university's intellectual and spiritual needs, stating that their joy and hope are one of the best gifts they have to offer the community, as valuable as their intellect and understanding of the Catholic Church.

Sonne noted how defending religious freedom fosters human connection across diverse backgrounds.? "In a program that honors religious liberty as a universal right through supervised advocacy for clients of all faiths, our students' thoughtful and collaborative work for individuals and communities who suffer for their beliefs has illustrated that such liberty can and should be a uniting human value for those of any or no religious faith," he said.

At an institution like Stanford, where graduate students make up a significant portion of its student body, intellectual inquiry and community play essential roles in attracting newcomers and religious seekers. Doctoral candidate Lisa Archuleta, who also serves as co-president of the Stanford Graduate Catholic Student Association (GCSA), recalled her initial arrival on campus and her desire to stay close to her faith.

?"My faith is always something that I've taken with me wherever I've gone," Archuleta told EWTN News. "I knew coming to Stanford wouldn't be any different. Stepping into leadership was something that called me during my second year of my Ph.D., but I didn't actually help until my third year. Now, I'm serving as co-president, and I have the opportunity to connect with students intentionally and intimately. Our mission focuses on empowering grad students to flourish in all aspects of their life. Every year since I've been a grad student, we've grown as a community and expanded the different events we host."

For Archuleta and many others, GCSA's offering of space where rigorous academic inquiry and Catholic dogma intersect is a saving grace.

?"GCSA hosts monthly dinners and talks where we invite speakers from all over to speak on topics from 'Art and AI' to 'How to Pray in Grad School' to 'Being Gay and Catholic.' The wide range of topics allows for students to bring their curiosities and intellectual interests into conversation with the Catholic faith," Archuleta explained.

?Hutcherson told EWTN News that Stanford students are drawn specifically to Catholicism's 2,000-year philosophical and theological tradition rooted in consistent teaching and the philosophy of the West.

?"I think that the intellectual minds of a place like Stanford, who are not looking for quick, easy answers, I think that the intellectual tradition of the Church really does give them something to sink their teeth into," he said.

?For many students navigating demanding academic loads and heavily packed schedules, frequent access to Eucharistic adoration, daily Mass, and personal fellowship provides an essential spiritual anchor.

?"During my time here, I've definitely noticed a huge shift toward Catholicism, and more generally, community amongst grad students over the past two years," Archuleta said. "One major initiative that Father Chrysostom {Mijinke, OP] and Father Bart have provided at CC@S is multiple opportunities for weekly Eucharistic adoration and confessions. For me, this was huge. I knew that there were set times where I could encounter the Blessed Sacrament, which provided a solid foundation for my continual spiritual development."

?Beyond structured lectures and classes, personal encounters and peer mentorship remain the heart of evangelization on campus. Archuleta reflected on how one of the most fulfilling moments during her time at Stanford was meeting a dear friend through one of their mutual classes and connecting through Mass, guiding each other through their faith journeys. A quarter of the school year later, he asked Archuleta to be his confirmation sponsor.

?While hesitant to declare a nationwide trend based on local figures alone, Hutcherson recognized that in his 30 years of working in the university's campus ministry, something remarkable is taking place among Gen Z Catholics at Stanford and beyond.

?"I've been hesitant to call it a revival. I don't think that we have enough data to say it's a revival," Hutcherson said. "The Spirit is moving in remarkable ways. And that's what I'm seeing now in a way that I haven't seen in a while … there's a group of people that are willing to express their love for Jesus and his Church and her teachings. So God's doing great things."

Full Article