Catholic News

Peruvian President José María Balcázar stated on Sunday, June 7, that Pope Leo XIV will arrive in the country on Nov. 10.

When asked — while in the northern city of Chiclayo — about the date of the Holy Father's arrival in Peru, the president replied that the trip "is scheduled to begin on Nov. 10," according to RPP.

However, the Vatican has not yet made an official announcement regarding the apostolic visit, which could also include Uruguay and Argentina.

In April, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, stated that the Holy Father might visit Uruguay between "late November and early December."

Pope Leo XIV in Peru

Then-Father Robert Prevost arrived as a missionary in Chulucanas, in the Piura department of northern Peru, in 1985. He remained there until 1986.

He returned to the country in 1988 — specifically to Trujillo, also in northern Peru — where he remained until 1999. He served as a formator and superior for the Augustinians as well as director of studies and rector of the San Carlos y San Marcelo Seminary.

After serving two terms as superior general of the Augustinians in Rome, Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of Chiclayo in November 2014; he became the bishop of that diocese in September 2015. That same year, he acquired Peruvian citizenship.

In April 2020, he was appointed apostolic administrator of Callao and served in that role for one year. Prevost remained in Peru until January 2023, when he was called to work at the Vatican to head the Dicastery for Bishops.

Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected successor of St. Peter on May 8, 2025. In his first words to the world, he included a special greeting to his "beloved Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru."

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

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The day after 12 people were wounded by gunfire at a festival in Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas lamented that one of the city's "most beloved community traditions was suddenly shattered by senseless violence."

On the evening of Saturday, June 6, at the 53rd annual Old West End Festival, 12 people were wounded in an apparent dispute between two shooters who have yet to be identified, according to local police.

Police said all 12 injured were in "stable condition" as of Sunday afternoon. Organizers canceled the festival, which was to continue through Sunday.

The shooting took place just a few blocks from Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral during the vigil Mass on the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

Thomas issued a statement on June 7, saying: "For those of us who live in the Old West End, this tragedy is literally close to home."

Despite the "eerie quiet" in the neighborhood Sunday morning following the festival's cancellation, Thomas said the faithful gathered and "carried Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of the Old West End in the annual Eucharistic procession."

"The Lord of Life was borne through the very neighborhood that had witnessed violence only hours before," he said. "In that sacred procession, we proclaimed a message radically opposed to hatred and violence: a message of peace, unity, love, and respect for every person."

The bishop said he remembers in prayer "the hundreds of innocent festival attendees whose sense of security was violated."

"While these tragic acts have shaken our neighborhood, they have not shaken our faith in humanity, nor have they shaken our faith in the Lord of Life," he said. "We remain committed to building a culture in which every person is valued, protected, and treated with dignity: a culture not of death but of life."

Thomas also referenced Pope Leo XIV's recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, in which the pontiff states that "human rights are inviolable, since they are 'inherent in the human person and in human dignity.'"

Thomas said: "Every act of violence is a failure to recognize the God-given dignity of the human person."

"Together with the people of the Old West End and our 19-county diocese, I lament and decry the indiscriminate violence that has so deeply affected this neighborhood," the bishop wrote, saying: "Gun violence has taken center stage in our community, leaving suffering and fear in its wake."

Investigative Lt. Dan Gerken said at a news conference Saturday that local police, who have not identified the shooters or made any arrests, are reviewing video footage and interviewing witnesses and victims.

"I'm feeling good about where we are right now, but we'll need the community's help. We'll take all the information we can," he said.

"As far as violence, this is over the top," Gerken said. "Twelve people is a lot. This is way over the top."

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Thousands braved torrential rain on Sunday to participate in the 100th Eucharistic procession in Cork, Ireland. Despite coinciding with the city's Munster Hurling Final — one of the showpiece events in Ireland's sporting calendar — the remarkable crowd made its way through the streets of Ireland's second-largest city in a very public display of Catholic faith.

The procession is an established Cork tradition, and it made its way through the city from the North Cathedral to the Grand Parade, the vibrant heart of the city, even if — in the words of Cork Bishop Fintan Gavin — "the weather couldn't have been much worse."

Speaking just before the procession set off, Gavin told EWTN News: "Today we have the unique opportunity to participate in the 100th anniversary of the first Eucharistic procession here in our city. Of course, it really is unique to Cork."

"There'll be people of all ages, from parishes all over the diocese, from our new Irish — someone described them recently as the 'new Corconians' — from all over the world, from the different communities, will join us as we walk with Jesus and the Blessed Sacrament down to Grand Parade."

Organizers estimated the 2026 procession attracted approximately 5,000 people as the Eucharist was carried along the route by Gavin followed by a throng of faithful under a canopy of umbrellas as they braved the unseasonable wind and heavy rain.

In his words to the large gathering, the bishop said of the procession: "It was born in a time when people longed for unity after division, for peace after conflict, and for healing after wounds that were still very raw. The people of Cork wanted Jesus in the Eucharist to be brought through the streets of the city. They wanted to say, in faith, 'Lord, walk with us. Bless our homes. Heal our divisions. Stay with us.'"

He added: "One hundred years later, that prayer has lost none of its urgency. Today our city streets become an aisle. The concrete beneath our feet is blessed by the One who once walked the roads of Galilee and who now walks the streets of Cork."

The bishop said the procession is "the fruit of much prayer, preparation, and mission across our diocese in these past two weeks. Today the procession ends here, but the mission does not. May we go from here with hearts burning too, not simply proud of a tradition we have inherited but with a love for Christ who is with us now and ready to hand on a living faith; not only carrying Christ through Cork today but allowing Christ to carry Cork into tomorrow."

Sheila Kelleher, coordinator of youth ministry in the Cork and Ross Diocese, told EWTN News the event is "a great opportunity for us to come together and show our faith in a very public way, walking through the streets of our city with the Eucharist and bringing Jesus to the people of the city."

"I think to give hope to people and to be able to continue that tradition even today, showing that the Catholic faith is very much still alive, and people of all ages are willing to get involved, from young and old, no matter what your background, whether you're Irish or you are new Irish and all the different faith communities coming together."

In the weeks leading up to the anniversary procession, a series of faith events took place across the Diocese of Cork and Ross to mark the occasion — including the presentation of the relics of the first millennial saint, St. Carlo Acutis.

There were 100 hours of adoration for the 100th anniversary and a two-week diocesan mission led by young people from the Diocese of Cork and Ross as well as a mission from Canada's Catholic Christian Outreach.

The celebration also included special blessings for individuals competing in the Cork City Marathon and for students taking their state exams this summer.

The Eucharistic procession is now one of the longest-running traditions in Cork.

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MADRID — Pope Leo XIV made history Monday by becoming the first pope to address Spain's Congress of Deputies, delivering a forceful appeal to the country's political class to defend human dignity and protect life "from conception to its natural end."

The June 8 address, given before about 700 guests amid tight security, drew a standing ovation that lasted nearly seven minutes, with shouts of "Long live the pope!" echoing through the chamber.

In his speech, Pope Leo warned lawmakers not to subordinate human dignity to "shifting social consensus or the whims of the majority at any given moment," insisting that "every truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person."

"In this sense, if life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have?" the pope asked. "Can a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?"

"The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization," he said.

The pope's remarks came as Spain's socialist-led government has been advancing efforts to enshrine abortion protections in the country's Constitution. Such a reform would require broad parliamentary consensus, including support from the center-right People's Party.

"Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence," Pope Leo said. "When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person."

"For this reason," he added, "the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile."

The pope also defended the family as "the primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community," saying that "where the family is upheld, the spiritual and social stability of nations is also strengthened."

"The family will always be the first school of humanity, where one learns, before anywhere else, the basic grammar of living together: welcoming life, caring for others, forgiving, serving and belonging," he said.

Pope Leo drew on Spain's intellectual and Catholic heritage, citing Cervantes, St. Teresa of Ávila, Miguel de Unamuno and the School of Salamanca, especially the 16th-century Dominican friar Francisco de Vitoria.

From that tradition, he said, Spain helped shape "a legal and moral consciousness capable of remembering that authority always entails responsibility and that every human being must be recognized as a subject of rights and duties."

The pope said that legacy remains alive whenever lawmakers ask "how to ensure that what is possible is just, that what is legal is truly humane, and that the will of the majority safeguards those goods that belong to all and respects that which no majority can legitimately violate."

He also cited his recent encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas," published May 25, saying that in an age of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and rapid technological change, political discernment must focus on "the place of the human person in our decision making."

The pope devoted part of his address to migrants and refugees, a major theme of his trip to Spain, which will conclude with visits to Tenerife and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a key entry point to Europe for migrants.

"The situation of migrants and refugees calls for a response that focuses on people, addresses the root causes that force them to leave, and goes beyond the mere management of migration flows," he said.

He called for "safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration," while also promoting "the right to remain in one's own land," so that no one is forced to leave home because of war, insecurity, poverty or the effects of the climate crisis.

Pope Leo also warned that many migrants remain "prey to traffickers and smugglers who take advantage of their desperation," calling for stronger prevention, rescue and assistance efforts.

"No nation can face a challenge of this magnitude on its own," he said.

Turning to global conflict, Pope Leo said the world is undergoing "a profound spiritual and cultural crisis" marked by violence, polarization and mistrust.

"Every war constitutes, ultimately, a painful defeat of the capacity to negotiate and also of that common human consciousness that recognizes bonds of justice among nations," he said.

"Weapons may impose a temporary silence; but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace," the pope said, warning that "in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation."

The pope also warned against the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, saying new technologies in the military sphere require "rigorous ethical oversight, so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person."

Addressing Spain's polarized political climate, the pope urged lawmakers to resist contempt for political opponents.

"Political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one's adversary," he said. "In a mature society, even conflict can become a path to peace, when differences are softened by listening and directed toward recognizing the needs, aspirations and capabilities of all."

"Firmness does not require contempt; disagreement does not entail humiliation," he added.

Only two left-wing parties, Podemos and the BNG, which together account for six lawmakers out of more than 600 parliamentarians, chose not to attend the pope's address.

Pope Leo also made a strong appeal for religious freedom, calling freedom of thought, conscience and religion "a fundamental right that protects the most intimate sphere of the person."

"The freedom upon which the contemporary state is built, if it is authentic, recognizes the religious dimension of the human person, respects it and protects it legally," he said. Authentic freedom, the pope added, "ensures that faith is not a reason for which a person has to forfeit his or her contribution to society."

"Faith does not seek to impose itself through privileges or coercion; yet neither can it be silenced as if it were irrelevant to public life," he said.

The pope also defended the sacramental seal of confession, saying it "holds special importance for the Catholic Church" and forms part of the broader sphere of religious freedom.

"To protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures," Pope Leo said.

The remarks came shortly after French bishops criticized a June 1 proposal in France's National Assembly that they said could have endangered the seal of confession. The proposal was later withdrawn.

Near the end of his address, the pope invited Spanish lawmakers to "lift your gaze to the world around you," not to escape reality, but to remember that every public decision "affects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard."

"A law does not attain its true greatness merely by having been formally enacted," he said. "It attains it when, in addition to being valid in form, it can stand before the dignity of the person and pass that test without shame."

The pope concluded with a blessing for Spain, praying that the nation "never lose sight of its roots nor the courage to look to the future."

"May Spain continue to be a land of encounter, of culture, of solidarity and of hope," he said. "And may its public life always know how to unite the firmness of convictions with the nobility of dialogue and the greatness of service."

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

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One in 4 members of Ireland's Gen Z demographic are expected to be childless by age 45, according to a new report from Dublin's Iona Institute, which promotes marriage, freedom of conscience, and religion in society.

Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.

Drawing on cohort-level data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), as well as using demographic modeling, the institute's "Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland" report, released in May, charts a huge increase in the number of Irish women who are childless.

Among those born in the late 1950s, only 30.9% were childless by age 30, rising to 63.6% for those born in the early 1990s. This trend suggests 25% of women born in the late 1990s will be childless when they reach age 45.

Breda O'Brien of the Iona Institute told EWTN News that "a huge question is whether this will be by choice or circumstance."

"Much will be unplanned and forced by circumstance, such as the cost of living," she said. "It's worrying and we're sliding into it without too much discussion. Before the 1930s, we had similar rates of childlessness in Ireland, but that was because of extreme poverty, late marriage, and low marriage rates. We're supposed to be in an era where women have every possible choice."

She continued: "The choice to have children, which is fundamental, is being taken away from young women. It's being painted as a kind of freedom. I don't think young women themselves consider it to be a type of freedom, and I think a lot of them are worried about it."

According to Central Statistics Office data, the average man's age at marriage is now nearing 38 and the average woman's age is almost 36.

A 2022 Amarach Research poll for Iona showed that 85% of people want to have at least two children and only 2% expressed a wish for no children.

Births in Ireland have fallen by almost 18% in the last decade, according to Central Statistics Office.

With clear indications that the longer a person delays having children, the less likely he or she will have any, O'Brien said "it's part of the whole growth of individualism and this idea for kids, from the time they're tiny, [that] you get your education, you travel, you have your career in order, you have fun, you don't tie yourself down, and then sometimes in your 30s, you think about settling down. But a lot of women in their mid-30s realize that it is increasingly difficult to conceive."

She added: "The fertility industry is booming, which does show us that people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to have children, but the life script they've been presented with is actually working against their best interests. Nature has no knowledge of this life script that young people are being presented with."

"The longer you leave it, the more chances there are of miscarriage, of complications in labor, and of medical intervention during birth, if you get that far. So it's not consequence-free," she said.

O'Brien told EWTN News that there needs to be debate about why this is happening as a society. "It is a phenomenon we should discuss far more widely if our aim is to help people achieve their eventual life goals. I think among people of faith, they are still prioritizing children and family, and marriage. The Catholic Church needs to support those young families in every way possible."

She pointed out that having fewer children "has very significant social and economic consequences because of the effects of an aging population and growing loneliness."

The report highlights a series of demographic issues related to childlessness and to Ireland's already-aging population. Lower fertility rates, combined with rising childlessness, mean that the ratio of working-age adults to elderly dependents is set to worsen. Fewer births today mean fewer workers in 20 to 30 years.

O'Brien said: "In Ireland, there's still a degree of respect for older people, but one of the awful possible consequences is that younger people will start to resent older people."

The Iona report highlights the situation where a smaller working-age population will be asked to support a larger elderly population, putting pension sustainability, healthcare, and long-term care provision under growing financial pressure.

The institute's findings also highlight the effect on housing and household-formation patterns. A rise in the proportion of adults who never have children increases demand for smaller dwellings and single-person households.

Additionally, in recent decades, inward migration to Ireland has been an effective and economically rational response in periods of strong demand. However, it is not a response to childlessness.

O'Brien pointed to other countries and the demographic shifts they are facing with an increasing aging population.

"Other countries are further along the road than we are. South Korea, or even Japan, where they're repurposing childcare facilities for eldercare facilities, moving from baby formula to fortified drinks from the elderly, and from producing diapers for children, to producing incontinence products for the elderly — this is not a good road that we're on," she said.

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MADRID — This city's Movistar Arena became a kind of modern "Court of the Gentiles" on Sunday, where faith and contemporary art met to explore the mystery of the human person under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV.

The gathering brought together leading figures from Spanish culture with an international profile, including actor Antonio Banderas. Sports were represented by legendary badminton player Carolina Marín, a three-time world champion, while academia was represented by José María Coello de Portugal, vice rector for planning, coordination, and institutional relations at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Representatives of labor unions and employers' organizations also presented the pope with their concerns and challenges, with the aim of working together to build a society oriented toward the common good and capable of overcoming fragmentation and polarization.

Their presence was itself a sign that encounter remains possible even in a divided society.

The historic meeting reflected the theme of the first papal trip to Spain in 15 years — "Lift up your gaze" — and Pope Leo XIV's call to weave networks among different social actors, showing that beyond legitimate differences there is a firm desire to build strong, cross-sector alliances to face the challenges of the future.

One of the highlights of the event was Banderas' address, in which he recited a text on the bond between faith and culture.

"I confess that I am a victim of God's spell," the actor said, looking directly at the pope.

Banderas, who the previous day had directed the cast of the musical "Godspell" in a special performance during a prayer vigil with young people in Madrid's Plaza de Lima, also evoked the popular piety of his native Málaga and the Holy Week processions that marked his childhood.

In his remarks, Banderas stressed art's ability to raise deep questions.

"In a world that at times is overly simplified, art helps us recover the depth and the soul that is trying to be stolen by artificial intelligence," he said.

Earlier, Cardinal José Cobo, archbishop of Madrid, presented Pope Leo XIV as a reference point in the fight against extremism. Along those lines, the pope made clear that the Church has stood, from its earliest days, on the side of culture and art, fostering the encounter of different sensibilities in a shared search for transcendence.

The Church's "longing" to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world

"The Church, conscious both of her successes and her failures throughout history, longs to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world," Pope Leo said.

In his address, the pope invited the world today not to dismiss the Church's "centuries-old experience," which he said has always "proposed paths for a dignified life and the common good." In that context, he recalled St. Paul VI, who before the United Nations noted that, whatever one's opinion of the Roman Pontiff, his mission is well known.

Pope Leo also cited his encyclical "Magnifica humanitas," published May 25, 2025, to return to a central question: "What does it mean to be truly human?"

To that question, he offered a clear answer: "The Church shares with humility, but also with firmness, what she has discovered through the experience of faith: that Jesus Christ responds to the great questions about human life and its fullness, already in this world and unto its fulfillment in eternity."

To face these questions, the pope proposed a form of social dialogue that he compared to the art of weaving networks, based on "encounter, listening, dialogue, and respect." The approach is not new to his visit to Spain. It was already present in his episcopal coat of arms and has been confirmed since his election as Roman Pontiff — a word meaning "bridge builder" — as one who builds a bridge first with God and then with people, societies, and cultures.

In concrete terms, he explained that "weaving networks" means that "the university does not live with its back turned to the world of work or renounce the truth; that business activity does not see the employee as just another factor in the equation of its interests; that art does not have only the elites as its goal; that sport is not reduced to spectacle or turned into mere business; that technological progress takes into account the elderly, the poor, and those who have no voice."

In that context, the pope — a mathematician by training — recalled with admiration the great classics of Spanish literature, citing Lope de Vega, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and Calderón de la Barca. He also recalled the serenity of the prose of St. Thomas Aquinas, from whom the Church has inherited the beautiful hymns of Corpus Christi, the solemnity celebrated Sunday.

For the pope, weaving networks also means "serving in a disinterested way," as men and women moved by faith have done throughout the centuries by founding hospitals, schools, and charitable initiatives. He therefore invited participants to ask honestly whether Europe could have forged its identity "without the spiritual imprint that has marked its history."

"This is not a provocation, but an invitation to consider whether eternity, which broke into time and space through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, can once again be reconciled with everyday life," he said. "Is it really possible to believe that Europe — which we love so much — would be itself without the imprint of faith? Why fear that eternity might permeate daily life?"

Finally, the pope said Christ restores the common good to its central place as an arbiter that "calms the greed of some and nourishes the hope of others, while desiring to save them all."

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

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A new movie called "Sacred Heart: His Reign Has No End" will be hitting theaters across the United States this month after experiencing tremendous success in France and other countries.

Directed and produced by Steven and Sabrina Gunnell of KREA Film-Makers, "Sacred Heart" was released in Europe in October 2025 and became a box office success selling nearly 1 million tickets.

The docudrama retells Christ's apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — the 17th-century French nun who received the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Through testimonies, accounts of Eucharistic miracles, historical analysis, and reenactments, the film explores the moment when Christ revealed his heart to the world and its burning love for humanity.

The film will be in U.S. theaters June 9–11 and June 14.

The Gunnells spoke to EWTN News and shared that the inspiration for the film came from personal testimonies they heard from two Missionaries of the Sacred Heart while at Notre-Dame du Laus (Our Lady of Laus), a Marian sanctuary located in the Hautes-Alpes region of France. That same evening, the married couple, along with their extended families, discovered the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the first time and consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart.

The French filmmakers began to think about the possibility of making a documentary about the Sacred Heart. They began seeing the image of the Sacred Heart appear everywhere around them in their daily lives, which they took as a sign from God to make the film.

"In the moment where we said yes [to Jesus], in an instant, we had the story of the movie. We knew exactly what we would make for the movie," Steven said.

Steven, 51, had his own powerful conversion story — thanks in part to the Sacred Heart of Jesus — when he was in his 20s.

Born in Annecy in southern France, he was raised solely by his mother — his father was in a rock band that toured most of the year. Despite the fact that his mother had been baptized a Catholic, she fell away from the faith and became part of a demonic sect, which she was a part of for roughly 25 years. This caused Steven to have a strained relationship with his mom, and at the age of 21, he left his home and moved to Paris in hopes of becoming an actor.

When he arrived in Paris he started to audition for roles, and during one he was asked if he could sing. It was this audition that landed Steven in the popular French boy band Alliage for three years. He soon became wealthy and famous with many fans. But eventually a shift in musical trends left boy bands as an outdated fad and life as he knew it came to an end — no more concerts, no more albums, and he was out of a job.

Steven went to London to escape his problems but became depressed, began to drink excessively, and started thinking about suicide.

One day, after years of not speaking, he called his mother from a phone booth. He told her he was going to do something bad because he couldn't handle life anymore. Much to his surprise, his mother told him to go into a church and just take a moment before he did anything else. So he did. He went into the first church he saw, sat down, and ended up falling asleep. About four hours later, he woke up and was no longer suicidal.

Looking back on it now, he said he knows this was thanks to "resting in the Holy Spirit." He recalled waking up and feeling "light, restored, and peaceful."

Steven went back to this church every day for weeks. He ended up finding a job, and after about five months he called his mother again and asked her if could move back home.

"My mom said, 'Your bedroom is waiting for you,'" he shared.

Once he arrived home, his mom took him to a small chapel dedicated to St. Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes. He was shocked to see his mother join about 400 other people in praying a rosary held in the chapel. Steven began to walk around the chapel and came face to face with a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"I'm kneeling at this moment, and I begin to cry with all my soul, all my blood, all my everything," he said. "I met Jesus that day."

Moments later a priest walked up to him from behind, put his hand on his shoulder, and asked him if he was Steven Gunnell.

"I said, 'Yes. How do you know me, Father?'"

The priest responded: "Your mother has come here for one year now, every single day, because she has been praying for you … She prayed the rosary for you every day at 4 o'clock. And now you're here — first miracle. Second miracle, you are here in the Chapel of St. Rita, the saint of impossible causes — welcome to the club."

The priest went on to remind Steven of the sacraments he received as a child.

"'You may have forgotten everything, but you are Catholic and God didn't forget you,'" the priest told him.

At that moment, Steven made his confession with the priest and after the rosary ended, he attended the Mass. The reading for that day? The story of the prodigal son.

"This story happened 26 years ago now and it's changed my life," he said.

From there, Steven went on to meet his wife and together they began to create films "for the kingdom," he said.

Now, he said he hopes this movie on the Sacred Heart will inspire others to realize how short their lives are and the importance of returning to Christ.

"Today we are here; tomorrow we're gone. It's ridiculous when you think about it. You have no time to lose ... Go to church and just take a moment to give a few minutes in front of the tabernacle, the presence of the holy Eucharist, and take a few moments with him to say to him you love him and just hear in the silence, inside, the love he has for you."

Sabrina added that she hopes viewers will leave knowing "that the love of God is more powerful than every evil thing in the world."

"We have this heart, this God, who came as a human being and he has a heart of a human being and he can understand all our moods, all our difficulties, and we are so loved. You are so loved," she said. "Everyone is so loved by God and we just want the people who come out of the cinema to feel full of love, burn about this love, and go out into the world to spread that."

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