Nationalized by the communist government in 1961, the two buildings are in a state of serious deterioration and require immediate attention the government is unwilling or unable to provide.
The Piarist (also known as the Escolapios) Fathers in Cuba have demanded that the government return ownership of their cloister and school so they can rescue them from the ruin into which they have fallen due to state neglect.
In 1961, Fidel Castro's communist regime confiscated hundreds of schools and other assets from the Catholic Church, among them the cloister and school that the Piarist Fathers maintained in the Guanabacoa district of Havana.
However, the prolonged economic crisis and the negligence of the authorities have led to the gradual deterioration of both buildings.
Compounding this situation was the looting of the Piarists' church in October 2025, during which criminals stole "candelabras for the Blessed Sacrament, vestments, and fans, smashing display cases and windows."
"We filed a complaint, but only a few items could be recovered," they said.
Next came a fire in March of this year at the old cloister — "abandoned for over a year by the municipal department of education without maintenance or security" and a blaze on April 9 that damaged the church door after unknown individuals set fire to trash accumulated in the street.
Interior of the Piarist Fathers' cloister, owned by the Cuban government. | Credit: Piarists Cuba
In their post, the Piarist Fathers warned that what is being destroyed is the first Teachers College for Cuba and Latin America founded by the order in 1857 and declared a national monument in 1990. "Nationalized in 1961, state ownership brought only neglect and, now, destruction," they charged.
They said the parties responsible for the situation are the municipal department of education and the municipal government; for while the former "abandoned the building without protection," the latter "ignored repeated warnings from the cultural heritage authorities as well as our own."
Furthermore, they noted, "the [Communist] Party condones criminal inaction: Promises 'fade into bureaucratic silence' while the looting is carried out in plain sight."
The Piarist Fathers said they have spent "months working to reclaim these places to restore them and breathe new life into them in the service of Guanabacoa."
They are demanding of the authorities the "immediate return of the cloister and school to the Piarist order," an "end to empty promises," and that "public accountability for criminal negligence" be established.
"This is not a demand [in the name of the Catholic religion]; it is the very identity of all the people of Guanabacoa that is fading away. Enough with the complicity. There is still time," they urged.
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.
The bishop of Bayonne, Lescar, and Oloron, Marc Aillet, appealed to the faithful to pray and fast on May 13 for the defeat of the bill, which would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Earlier this year, on Feb. 25, the French National Assembly approved after a second reading a bill aimed at legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide in the country.
Called a "right to assistance in dying," the initiative seeks to legalize the administration of lethal medications to patients who wish to end their lives.
The proposed bill will be considered once again in the Senate on May 11–13, coinciding with the feast of Our Lady of Fátima on the 13th.
The bishop of Bayonne, Lescar, and Oloron, Marc Aillet, stated that "the stirring call to conversion and penance that the Virgin of Fátima issues to us, in response to the aberrations of the modern world, is more relevant than ever."
The bishop therefore invited the faithful to a day of fasting and prayer on May 13 so that the Lord may "enlighten the consciences of the senators and of elected officials."
Specifically, he warned of the "formidable moral and spiritual consequences" that would result from the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the country.
In a letter addressed to the faithful of the diocese, the prelate warns of the "extreme gravity" of the proposal, which, in his view, seeks to "abolish the prohibition against killing."
He emphasized that the majority of patients who consider requesting suicide or euthanasia abandon the idea as soon as they receive care in a palliative care unit, where they are supported and their suffering is alleviated.
However, he lamented the inadequacy and lack of support this service receives in France.
With a message of hope, the prelate noted that the number of legislators opposed to the proposed bill on "aid in dying" has risen from 199 on May 27, 2025, to 226 on Feb. 25. Consequently, he pointed out that "it is by no means too late to act and mobilize."
Aillet said he has personally written to parliamentarians to ask them to oppose the bill, which would constitute "a major anthropological rupture," and invited the faithful to do the same.
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.
The site, with information on pregnancy-related healthcare, does not reference in vitro fertilization while a proposed rule would expand IVF insurance coverage.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a website on May 10, Mother's Day, to promote life-affirming pregnancy resources to expectant parents, such as links to information about pregnancy resource centers (PRCs).
According to an HHS news release, the website is meant to help families manage pregnancies in a healthy way and explain resources available to expectant parents navigating unexpected or otherwise difficult pregnancies. It includes information on nutrition recommendations, healthcare options, and dangers about substance abuse.
The website is part of broader efforts from President Donald Trump's administration on fertility. The website does not reference in vitro fertilization (IVF), while the Labor Department proposed regulations May 10 to expand health insurance coverage options to IVF.
"This Mother's Day, the Trump administration is strengthening its commitment to America's families by equipping mothers and fathers with the resources and information they need to build healthy, prosperous lives," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news release.
"Moms.gov delivers critical tools and support to help parents foster healthy pregnancies, strengthen young families, and create brighter futures for their children," he said. "This is how you make America healthy again."
The website directs people to PRCs, which often offer pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, classes for childbirth, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and support for parenting and supplies for childcare. These organizations oppose abortion.
It also directs people to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which offer healthcare to low-income Americans. Most do not perform abortion, but many do provide contraceptives and are not ideologically opposed to abortion.
The website links to dietary guidelines for pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children. It offers information on breastfeeding and how health conditions could affect pregnancy along with resources on mental health. It provides information about federal savings accounts available for children and information on low prices for prescription drugs.
Additional information on the website provides resources to fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs), which are designed to help women recognize signs of health conditions that could be causing difficulties for getting pregnant.
Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told EWTN News the website "seems to be a creative use of government resources that strives to provide potentially useful information on a range of issues relevant to those who are pregnant or interesting in starting a family."
He said it "largely avoids direct promotion of abortion, contraception, and in vitro fertilization, though it does link to certain outside CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] website resources that promote condoms, spermicides, sterilization, and other forms of contraception."
"Still, it is refreshing to see a government-curated website mentioning fertility awareness-based methods as a way of promoting preconception health and assisting in situations of apparent infertility," Pacholczyk said.
Dr. Monique Yohanan, director of the Center of Better Health at Independent Women and a medical doctor, told EWTN News she thinks the website is about "supporting pregnancy, supporting women in a holistic way" and "about supporting parenthood, supporting life."
She noted that many of the resources refer people to information that is available elsewhere but that the website "does put it all together in a single place" and refers them to "practical help."
"This is about offering real choice for women," Yohanan said. "Real choice means real support."
IVF rule proposal
The Labor Department separately announced a proposed rule that would create a category of limited excepted benefits that covers fertility-related healthcare, including IVF.
The proposed rule — which is undergoing the mandatory 60-day comment period — does not impose any mandates but instead creates more options for employers to provide coverage for IVF and other fertility-related treatments.
Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill to require IVF coverage in insurance plans offered by employers, which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly spoke out against. Supporters of the bill claim that existing religious freedom exemptions would apply, but opponents warn that such exemptions are not expressly stated in the bill.
The Catholic Church opposes IVF because it separates fertilization from the marital act and results in the destruction of millions of human embryos that are never implanted.
The European Heritage Awards have spotlighted two contrasting models for saving sacred buildings, as Europe confronts a wider question over the future of its increasingly empty churches.
As Europe prepares to honor this year's European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards, widely regarded as the continent's highest heritage distinction, the winning projects raise a broader question: What should become of sacred buildings as church attendance declines and religious communities diminish?
The annual awards, co-funded by the European Union's Creative Europe program, recognize outstanding conservation projects, often bringing international visibility, tourism, and funding to heritage sites.
Among the 30 laureates selected from 18 countries this year, two projects have emerged as symbols of Europe's rich Christian heritage and the growing challenges surrounding its future: the restoration of the 18th-century dome of the Church of Escuelas Pías in Valencia, Spain, and the adaptive reuse of the Benedictine Monastery of San Benedetto Po in northern Italy.
A symbol restored
In Valencia, the dome's restoration sought to preserve the Church of Escuelas Pías as an active sacred space while introducing carefully managed cultural activities to support long-term sustainability.
The landmark structure, one of the largest masonry domes in Spain, underwent a meticulous restoration combining traditional craftsmanship with modern conservation techniques. Thousands of tiles were individually examined and replaced, while the dome itself was stabilized and renewed.
Professor Jacek Purchla, chair of the Europa Nostra Awards Jury, told EWTN News the project stood out for both technical quality and symbolic value. "The dome is a defining element of Valencia's skyline and belongs to the European tradition of monumental domed architecture that emerged in the Renaissance," he said. "It holds strong symbolic value for the city."
The restoration also emphasized community engagement. Seminars, guided visits, and exhibitions attracted more than 46,000 visitors while the church stayed open for worship.
The project's architect, Luis Cortés-Meseguer, told EWTN News that the aim was never to transform the church into a purely commercial or secular space.
"The challenge was to preserve its liturgical and symbolic identity while opening it to compatible cultural uses that could guarantee its long-term conservation," he said.
In a paper shared with EWTN News ahead of publication, Cortés-Meseguer describes the approach not simply as "reuse" but as the "re-employment" of sacred space, a model intended to revitalize historic churches while preserving their original identity.
From decline to renewal
In contrast, the Benedictine Monastery of San Benedetto Po in Italy illustrates how adaptive reuse, which gives historic buildings new civic, cultural, or commercial functions, can also play a central role in preserving religious heritage.
Founded in 1007 and once one of medieval Europe's most important monastic centers, the vast complex had fallen into serious decline by the early 2000s. Following a major earthquake in 2012, nearly 20,000 square meters (about 5 acres) became unusable.
After being listed among Europa Nostra's "7 Most Endangered" heritage sites in 2013, a long restoration effort gradually transformed the monastery into a vibrant civic and cultural center. Today, the complex houses a museum, library, music academy, and exhibition spaces.
"Our international jury selected the monastery as a clear example of adaptive reuse that respects historical integrity," Purchla said, describing it as a "transferable reference model for endangered heritage sites across Europe." The restoration, he added, demonstrates how "heritage conservation can coexist with new cultural and social uses."
More than architecture
Across Europe, declining church attendance, shrinking religious communities, and rising maintenance costs are leaving many religious buildings underused or at risk of abandonment.
Yet not all forms of reuse are equally welcomed. In the Belgian city of Ghent, the redevelopment of the 19th-century Sint-Anna church into a supermarket, restaurant, and wine bar has reignited debate over the transformation of sacred spaces. The Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize secured a 99-year lease and began renovation work in early 2025, with reopening planned for autumn 2027.
Supporters argue the project offers a viable future for a building that might otherwise face vacancy and deterioration. Critics question whether commercial uses risk eroding the cultural and spiritual significance of former places of worship.
At stake, heritage experts say, is more than architecture.
"Across Europe, churches and religious heritage sites are not only historical monuments or architectural structures, but places that carry a soul, a memory, and a vital social function for communities," said a spokesperson for the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE).
As debates over reuse intensify, organizations including Future for Religious Heritage and COMECE are increasingly working to develop shared approaches to how churches can be preserved, adapted, and sustained while respecting their historical and spiritual identity.
"There is no single approach to adapting or adding new uses to religious buildings," Jordi Mallarach, executive officer at Future for Religious Heritage, told EWTN News. Successful projects, he said, ultimately seek to preserve the "spirit of the place," maintaining the symbolism and historical identity of sacred spaces even as new uses are introduced.
Through initiatives including the New European Bauhaus Lab, COMECE says it is bringing together churches, heritage organizations, public authorities, and local communities to reflect on sustainable solutions for Europe's religious heritage.
Questions surrounding the future of Europe's sacred spaces are expected to feature prominently during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026, where this year's winners will be honored from May 26–30 in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar, described overlapping economic, social, and humanitarian crises facing his country at the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference plenary in Sydney.
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the archbishop of Yangon and Myanmar's first cardinal, told the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference on May 8 that his country is enduring a "polycrisis" five years after the military coup that toppled its civilian government.
Speaking on the opening day of the biannual plenary assembly in Sydney, Bo described overlapping economic, employment, social, health, and education crises gripping the southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma.
More than 3.5 million people have been displaced and basic healthcare and education systems have collapsed in much of the country, the cardinal said.
The figure has risen from the nearly 3 million Bo cited in a May 2024 interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, underscoring the worsening trajectory of the conflict.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar in March 2025, killing thousands, compounded the suffering. Bo at the time described "apocalyptic scenes."
"Among young people in particular," he told the bishops on May 8, "daily life is increasingly defined by insecurity, psychological strain, and a loss of trust in the future."
"We remain a people of hope," Bo added.
The cardinal thanked Australian Catholics for what he called the "unwavering solidarity" of Catholic Mission, the Australian arm of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which has long partnered with the Archdiocese of Yangon on education initiatives.
"Your solidarity is not an abstract idea … it is a light in the darkness," he said. "Your support … reminds our suffering people they are not forgotten by the universal Church."
Bo linked his appeal to the centenary of World Mission Sunday, established by Pope Pius XI in 1926 and to be observed worldwide on Oct. 18.
"Mission," he said, is "not the work of missionaries but the responsibility of the whole Church."
"Your partnership with us is not just charity," he added. "It is communion."
A voice for peace amid civil war
Bo then led a short ceremony to commission Peter Gates as the new national director of Catholic Mission Australia in the presence of Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, the conference president. Like Bo, Costelloe is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo (center) hands the commissioning document to Peter Gates (left), the new national director of Catholic Mission Australia, in the presence of Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB (right), president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, in Sydney on May 8, 2026. | Credit: Paul Osborne/ACBC
Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war since the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, deposing the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Bo has repeatedly called for nonviolence and dialogue, urging both the junta and pro-democracy forces to step back from further bloodshed. Pope Francis visited the country in 2017. In November 2025, Pope Leo XIV appealed to the international community not to forget the people of Myanmar.
Born in Monhla Village in 1948, Bo joined the Salesians of Don Bosco as a young man and was ordained a priest in 1976. He was appointed archbishop of Yangon by Pope John Paul II in 2003 and was created cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. He served as president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences from 2018 to 2022.
The Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference plenary continues in Sydney through May 13.
The May 8 gatherings, organized by lay groups around a reconciliation cross, mark a shift in how the Czech Republic, one of Europe's most secular countries, lives with a historic religious wound.
Czech and Slovak Christians gathered for ecumenical prayers on Friday at the site of the 1620 Battle of White Mountain and in some 10 cities across the Czech Republic, marking a historic Catholic-Protestant wound as an occasion for reconciliation.
The Habsburg victory at Bílá Hora — Czech for "White Mountain," on a hill outside Prague — ended a Bohemian Protestant revolt and led to the forcible re-Catholicization of the Czech lands. The event is sometimes referred to as the Czech "national trauma" and helped shape anti-Catholic sentiment that has marked Czech religious identity for centuries.
The May 8 events took place on the Bílá Hora hilltop, which is now part of Prague, and on city squares and in churches across the country. At the main gathering, the Slovak Christian band Timothy performed, joined by other musicians and pilgrims.
The lay group Smírení Bílá hora — Czech for "Reconciliation White Mountain" — has organized the annual events since 2020. On the 400th anniversary of the battle that November, Archbishop Jan Graubner of Prague and the head of the Czech Ecumenical Council of Churches, Daniel Ženatý, presided at an ecumenical prayer service on the hill. Chief Rabbi Karol Sidon represented the Jewish community, and the Czech Bishops' Conference co-organized the event.
A reconciliation cross was installed at the site as "a permanent reminder" and "a place for symbolic events," according to Father Stanislav Pribyl — then-general secretary of the Czech Bishops' Conference and now archbishop of Prague — speaking to the Czech weekly Katolický týdeník. He called the cross "part of the Czech spiritual tradition."
When commemorative gatherings resumed in May 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions eased, the then-apostolic nuncio to the Czech Republic, Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, sent a letter to the lay organizers conveying that Pope Francis appreciated their prayers, "particularly when they are linked to a genuine wish to reconcile" people and "to heal the past wounds, accompanied by concrete gestures of forgiveness and meeting."
Spreading reconciliation across the regions
Diocesan support has gradually widened.
The Archdiocese of Olomouc and the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava told EWTN News that while they do not organize anything specifically tied to Bílá Hora, they support all initiatives aimed at reconciliation. The Archdiocese of Prague is "supportive, including bishops, as well as the clergy and consecrated people, so not only laypersons," its press office told EWTN News. Former archbishops of Prague Cardinal Miloslav Vlk and Cardinal Dominik Duka met with Protestants at Bílá Hora in 2000 and 2010, respectively, the archdiocese recalled.
"We support our local service rather symbolically — through promotion," the press office of the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava said. In the city of Ostrava, the May 8 gathering is led by an ecumenical community on the conviction that "reconciliation begins in families and small communities and can gradually spread further through churches and into society."
The eastern Czech diocese held a separate Lenten reconciliation event in the Opava co-cathedral marking its 30th anniversary, asking forgiveness for the sins "which hurt brothers and sisters from other Christian churches," its press office said.
The Czech Bishops' Conference confirmed to EWTN News that it is no longer involved in organizing or coordinating the Bílá Hora events directly.
A wound rooted in the Thirty Years' War
The Battle of White Mountain took place on Nov. 8, 1620, near Prague during the early phase of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), a religious-political conflict that ravaged Europe.
The war was ended by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which reaffirmed and extended the principle of "cuius regio, eius religio" — "whose realm, his religion" — first established at the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, under which the ruler of a given territory determined the religion of its subjects.
The Catholic Church remains the largest religious community in the Czech Republic, but the country is one of the most secular in Europe. According to the 2021 census, about 22% of Czechs identified as religious, and Catholics made up roughly 9% of the population, down from nearly 40% in 1991. About 30% of respondents declined to answer the religion question.
The pontiff warned that constant exposure to images of suffering can "dull our hearts rather than stir them."
Pope Leo XIV called on Christians and Muslims to resist the growing danger of apathy in modern society, warning May 11 that the constant stream of images of human suffering can "dull our hearts rather than stir them" and urging believers to "transform indifference into solidarity."
The pope made the appeal during an audience with participants in the eighth colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, held under the theme "Human Compassion and Empathy in Modern Times."
In his address in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father said compassion and empathy are essential for "what it means to live a truly human life."
The pope noted that the Muslim tradition associates compassion with mercy, "as a gift bestowed by God in the hearts of believers," and that compassion "always has its origin in God himself."
Likewise, he said, the Christian tradition's sacred Scripture "reveals a God who does not remain indifferent to suffering."
"In Jesus Christ, this divine compassion becomes visible and tangible," he said. "God goes beyond seeing and hearing by taking on our human nature in order to become the living embodiment of compassion."
Following Jesus' example, Leo said, Christian compassion "becomes a sharing in or 'suffering with' others, particularly the most disadvantaged."
"For our traditions, human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives," the pope said.
Addressing Jordan's Prince Hasan bin Talal, who was present at the audience, the Holy Father expressed appreciation "for the generous efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in welcoming refugees and assisting those in need in difficult circumstances."
Leo lamented that "compassion and empathy are sadly in danger of disappearing today" in a society marked by technological advances that, in his view, "have made us more connected than ever before, but they can also lead to indifference."
"The constant flow of images and videos of the hardships of others can dull our hearts rather than stir them," he warned.
In the face of this reality, Leo said Christians and Muslims are called to a common mission: "to revive humanity where it has grown cold, to give voice to those who suffer and to transform indifference into solidarity."
"Compassion and empathy can be our instruments as they have the power to restore the dignity of the other," the pope added.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language sister service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
The day's events in Bogota will include the rosary, Mass, the consecration, Eucharistic adoration, and a procession, with the theme of praying for peace and reconciliation through conversion of heart.
On May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fátima, Colombia will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as part of the fourth national rosary for peace and reconciliation.
The theme for the rosary event, organized by various lay groups and supported by the Colombian bishops, is "Colombia's Peace and Reconciliation Are Built Upon the Conversion of Your Heart."
The country has been plagued by violent Marxist guerrilla groups and drug trafficking for decades.
The day's events will consist of two main parts. The first will take place at the Bogotá cathedral at 11 a.m. with the recitation of the rosary, the celebration of Mass, and the consecration of the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The rosary will be led by the cathedral's parish priest, Father Sergio Pulido Gutiérrez. The president of the bishops' conference, Archbishop Francisco Javier Múnera Correa, will celebrate the Mass and make the act of consecration.
The second part will begin at 5 p.m. in Bogotá's Plaza de Bolívar, where Eucharistic adoration, a candlelit procession, and the recitation of the rosary will take place. The organizers said that during this Marian prayer, Our Lady will be asked to intercede "for the conversion of Colombians, in order to achieve peace and reconciliation."
Múnera invited Colombians living both within and outside the country to "join in on May 13 for the great act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary."
"We will ask the mother of the Lord to rekindle hope within us, sustain unity, and intercede for the reconciliation and peace of all Colombians," the president of the bishops' conference stated.
More information can be found on the national rosary's YouTube and Instagram channels.
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.
After navigating loss and grief, Kelly Helsel is officially now a licensed counselor thanks to the guidance given to her by the Catholic Church and her desire to use her experience to help others.
After experiencing an unimaginable loss, Kelly Helsel felt called to begin a new chapter. Following 17 years as a stay-at-home mother, she returned to school to pursue her dream of becoming a counselor — hoping to offer others the same compassionate support and Catholic guidance that helped bring healing to her own life.
In 2023 Helsel's daughter, Mary Catherine, was stillborn. The experience and grief was ultimately "a huge catalyst to me going back to school," Helsel told EWTN News.
"I think death has an interesting way of snapping your priorities in line," she said. "And through the death of our daughter, I understood that tomorrow was not promised. And I had been holding this dream very closely for 17 years, just trusting," she said.
"Much of my healing process after the stillbirth of our daughter was helped along by solid Catholic counseling," she said. "So I just felt a whisper at first, and then I felt like, 'I can turn around and be this for someone else in need.' And so I did."
Path back to school
A native of Arizona, Helsel met her now-husband, Doug, in high school. She then attended Northern Arizona University to receive a bachelor's degree in psychology with the hopes of becoming a counselor, but motherhood ultimately became her first priority.
"My firstborn … was born during finals week of my bachelor's degree," Helsel said. "I actually had a positive pregnancy test the day before I was scheduled to take the GRE [Graduate Record Examination]."
"I just knew that motherhood was the priority and that God's timing would take care of things. So I stayed at home," she said.
Helsel decided to put her plans of working as a counselor on the side and focus on her growing family. She and her husband had seven children over the next 17 years, but after the loss of theirsixth child she felt called to switch her plans and return to school.
"We just started taking one step in front of the other," she said. Helsel started by applying to the University of Mary's master's program for counseling about six months after her daughter's passing but was thrown an unexpected "curveball" during the process.
"On the feast of the Annunciation, I got in. But then I also had a positive pregnancy test with my daughter, Isabel, on the very same day."
"I remember standing in the bathroom with my husband with my phone in one hand with an acceptance letter, and on the counter was a positive pregnancy test with our seventh baby."
Motherhood provided 'the skills to be a fantastic student'
Despite navigating grief, welcoming a new baby, and continuing to care for the rest of her family, Helsel not only decided to return to school but also opted for a five-semester accelerated program.
She graduated on April 25 with a 4.0 GPA and her whole family by her side. It was all possible not in spite of her 17 years as a stay-at-home mom but because of the experience.
Kelly Helsel, her husband Doug Helsel, and their children at her graduation a the University of Mary on April 25, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Kelly Helsel
"I actually think that motherhood, 17 years of motherhood, gave me the skills to be a fantastic student," she said. "I learned time management. I learned prioritization. I learned how to ask for help. I learned all kinds of things in the trenches of motherhood that gave me the opportunity to really thrive at UMary."
"I guess the loss of my daughter really showed me that like all things are 'figure-out-able,'" she said. "When you've gone through something like that, it makes you unafraid to do really big things."
"I knew that I could just cannonball into the deep end and we could do this. And my husband was an amazing support throughout the program. But, Isabel was the curveball of all curveballs," she said.
"She was born during Christmas break and I just jumped back in in January. I didn't take any time off," she said. "I would be in a rocking chair breastfeeding her, and my laptop is sitting next to me and I'm listening to a lecture."
"I became a pro at using the dictation tool on Microsoft Word" so "I could hold my baby and dictate a paper," she said. "It was just a really wild time. I learned to be extremely flexible and gentle with myself ... But I just knew God was like, 'go, go right now.'"
"It was super bumpy at some points," she said. "But I chose the University of Mary because I feel like [University of Mary president] Monsignor [James] Shea and the university really put their money where their mouth is in terms of supporting nontraditional students — especially mothers."
"All of my professors were extremely accommodating with extensions if I needed one. A few professors gave me early finals because Isabel was born right at the end of that first semester," she said. "So the University of Mary was really crucial to my success because everyone was behind me."
Helsel noted that her professors, especially counseling professor Olivia Wedel, and other facility members and students were champions in cheering her "all the way to the finish line."
Waddell "would always remind me that 'I'm surrounded by support,'" Helsel said. "When you're super tired and you're on your fourth Crock-Pot meal of the week and you don't have anymore bandwidth left, I just thought, 'I am surrounded by support.'"
"Jesus is real and his promises are too," Helsel said. "I just remember really having to trust the Lord in a new way and also having to be very open to my dream not looking exactly like I wanted."
"So yes, I went back to school and I got a master's degree, but it looked absolutely nothing like I thought it was going to, but it was also better, just like he had promised me."
"Your dreams matter to him," she said. "Trust him, and especially Our Lady, with your dreams. Because he wants both. He wants your motherhood and your dreams."
Catholic counseling offers 'the keys to real human flourishing'
Officially a licensed counselor, Helsel is ready to jump in headfirst to help others in need by utilizing the guidance offered by the Catholic Church.
"I believe very deeply that the Catholic Church has the keys to real human flourishing," she said. "So I knew I wanted to become a mental health professional with those guardrails in place, because I benefited so much from Catholic counseling."
"I want to turn back around and help the next woman or couple or … anyone in line that needs to hear the good news, coupled with solid mental health formation. Like St. Thomas Aquinas says, 'faith and reason.' We need both."
With her "perinatal mental health training," Helsel hopes to primarily work in the women's health category "to support other women, pregnant women, postpartum women," she said. "And obviously I have a love for people who may have lost a child in a particular way."
Helsel is interested in helping those discerning vocations, as her oldest son plans to apply to the priesthood. She is also hoping to support the vocation of marriage as it is "under a particular attack at this time."
To accomplish all of this, Helsel has already started her own private practice called Concordia Counseling.
"I chose Concordia because Mary Catherine had a congenital heart condition," she said. "Concordia means heart to heart or to bring two hearts into harmony. I wanted to honor my baby in heaven and Our Lord with my work. And so I started Concordia Counseling."
"I'm just getting it started. I have a caseload of about 10 clients, but I'm hoping to accept more," Helsel said. "I know that the work I want to do most of all involves not just mental health but the teachings of the Catholic Church."
"I just think the framework needs to be formed properly, and that is the Catholic understanding of the whole person. And from there we can jump off anywhere," she said.
The converts describe their journey to faith in Jesus Christ, their experience of receiving the sacraments at the Easter Vigil, and the importance of their catechists and Christian community.
For Jonás' family, who are Muslim, turning away from Islam constitutes a grave betrayal of their culture and roots. Despite this, following a long journey of searching and formation, the young man received the sacrament of baptism during the Easter Vigil at the cathedral in Getafe, the Spanish city where he has lived since he was barely a year old.
His decision came after a personal encounter with Christ, when he realized there was no turning back: He was firmly convinced that the Catholic faith was the true one.
The 25-year-old, who did not share his last name, first became interested in the Catholic faith during his school years, while studying authors such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo.
For over five years, until beginning his catechumenate in 2025, the young man reflected deeply upon and researched various religious traditions. In an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, Jonás recalled that it was during the process of researching Islam that "I ended up becoming a Christian."
Transformed lives
For Jonás, the person of Christ and the sacraments were what transformed his life. "If Christ doesn't enter into your heart, Christ who is God made man, who gave himself up for us on the cross, then ultimately you are not a Christian, but merely someone who knows a lot about Christianity," he said. In his case, what impacted him most were Christ's passion and self-sacrifice on the cross, as well as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
On the same day as Jonás, Lourdes Ángel also received the sacrament of baptism. Like Jonás, she grew up in a Muslim family. However, she explained to ACI Prensa that she always felt it was abundantly clear "that Christ was present in my life; even though no one had ever spoken to me about him, I already felt his presence very deeply."
"My mother always tried to instill the Muslim religion in me, but I always gravitated toward Christianity. It was as if my heart were already in another place, without having any formation" in the Catholic faith, the 21-year-old recalled.
She shared that God helped her escape a toxic relationship at the age of 19 and that it was then that she met her current boyfriend, who is involved with the Neocatechumenal Way. "I realized that God was calling me, and I wasn't going to close the door on him or turn my back on him," she recounted.
What struck her most about the Catholics she knew was seeing "that people were so happy. They follow God and are happy even when things go badly for them, even when they have problems from time to time. It's as if they see something good in suffering and know that Christ has a better plan for them. I wanted that; I wanted to understand how they could be so happy."
Breaking the parameters of their world
The journey both of them took to embrace the Catholic faith wasn't easy. "Leaving your initial faith," Jonás explained, "is quite difficult, because ultimately it structures your life and [converting] entails breaking with the established framework of your world."
What he found most difficult was conveying this decision to his family: "I don't think they will ever understand it ... they simply cannot wrap their heads around the idea that someone could change something like that. To them, it's like a kind of identity or culture more than a path that one must seek out and discover."
Even so, Jonás said that Jesus Christ is the one who helps him keep going, the one who comforts him and gives him the necessary strength to persevere. "Even Jesus himself warns us that the world will not particularly love us ... if they did it to him, they'll do it to us."
For Lourdes, the most difficult part was leaving behind her former way of life and attempting to "fit God in without changing anything about myself." She specifically recalled a lesson taught to her by her catechist: "You cannot bring God into your life without doing anything for him; you have to make room for him, and then you can worry about everything else."
The group of new catechumens during the Easter Vigil in Getafe, Spain. | Credit: Diocese of Getafe
A new rebirth
Jonás cherishes a fond memory of the Easter Vigil, when he received the sacraments of Christian initiation alongside 47 other adults. "It was a very happy experience. The next day, I felt completed," he recalled.
He said that, before receiving baptism, "I felt a rather large void in my life, one I tried to fill with various ideologies ... the truth is that I was living in a state of considerable internal disorder within my soul, within my spirit."
"After accepting Jesus into my heart," Jonás continued, "I believe I am a much more ordered person in the moral aspect. Now I view others not merely as instruments but truly as creations of God made in God's image and that makes me feel complete; it's been like being reborn."
He also shared that he tries to go to Mass every day. "For me, the Eucharist is like a spiritual treasure, what recharges me with spiritual strength. The body of Christ gives us grace and the capacity to view the world in a supernatural way, not merely through human eyes, but to also see it somewhat like Jesus would," he said.
Accompaniment and faith in community
On this journey of conversion, he said he is especially grateful for the guidance of his catechist as well as that of the parish priest and his fellow parishioners. He also highlighted the importance of living out one's faith with the support of others and within a community, for as he pointed out, "in isolation, people succumb; they grow weak."
Along these same lines, Lourdes emphasized that "forming yourself alone" is not the same as having the assistance of a catechist: "You are much more conscious of what you are receiving and of what you are going to do at Easter," she emphasized.
Lourdes also recalled her baptism "with great joy." Ultimately, she noted, "you receive Christ himself, something truly astonishing," just as the realization "that God loved me despite everything I had done. He was there waiting for me, and I am very happy to have received him."
Jonás encouraged those going through a similar situation not to give up, pointing out that the process of conversion "does not happen over a single weekend."
"Don't give up," he said. "Ultimately, as Jesus said, a Christian is not accepted in his own home, nor in his own family. I would tell them to persevere, to draw strength from the words of Jesus in the Gospel, to come to know him, to continue inquiring and discerning, and to seek out people who share their beliefs and can help them."
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.
