World

On Saturday 1 November 2025, the Solemnity of All Saints, Pope Leo XIV will declare Saint John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church and Co-Patron of Catholic Education, alongside Saint Thomas Aquinas. Newman is not the first Oratorian among the now 38 Doctors of the Church. Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), raised to this honour by Blessed Pius IX during Newman's lifetime in 1877, founded the Con... Read More

More than a dozen people, including teenagers, were fatally shot after their buses were stopped by terrorists in Burkina Faso. Sources close to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) highlighted a spate of attacks with fear now "strongly taking hold of the civilian population". The Diocese of Nouna, in the north-east of the country, suffered a deadly attack on 6th October 2025 when three... Read More

A former teacher spent 12 days living under canvas on a 112-mile solo pilgrimage to better understand the discomfort experienced by refugees in sub-Saharan Africa. Eileen Murray, who works for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), used her annual leave to walk part of the Via di Francesco - or Way of St Francis - from Assisi, in Umbria, to Rome. Her epic journey began on 13th October 2025, when she bou... Read More

Hurricane Melissa has destroyed entire towns in Jamaica. Emergency crews are still working to clear roads in the hardest hit areas. Fr Clifton Harris OP has managed to send a video report from Kingston, Jamaica, describing the efforts to organise emergency food aid to those affected by storm damage in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. The video can be viewed and donations can be made on the link belo... Read More

The island of Jamaica was hit this week by one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded, with sustained wind speeds of 185mph. This has left many people needing urgent assistance, and the Dominican friars there are involved in the relief efforts. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has already declared the nation a "disaster area", and the UK and other countries have promised aid. The morning ... Read More

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday evening, presided over 'Walking Together in Hope' a celebration of 60 years of Nostra aetate, the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Interreligious Dialogue. The event, held in the Paul VI Hall, was attended by representatives of world religions, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, and Vatican and Church officials committed to interreligious di... Read More

An archbishop in Syria who survived being kidnapped by jihadis has warned the "Church in Syria is dying" as the number of Christians in the country continues to drop. Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Al-Nabek, said the country's "disastrous political and economic situation" was causing waves of migrations at the launch of Aid to the Church in Need's Religious Freedom in ... Read More

Hurricane Melissa intensified to a Category 5 hurricane a few hours ago with sustained winds of 160 mph, and tracked slowly toward Jamaica's southern coast making landfall on Tuesday morning. Authorities in Jamaica have enacted emergency measures, including mandatory evacuations, the closure of schools, airports, and ports, and the opening of more than a thousand emergency shelters. Haiti, the Do... Read More

In the central courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, the Cortile San Damaso, the red carpets were laid out, with great precision. All was prepared for the arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla for their State Visit to the Holy See. The events of that day are well known: a private meeting with Pope Leo with an exchange of gifts, a ceremony of prayer in the magnificent Sistine Chapel, a time of fur... Read More

As an EU/UN delegation returns from war torn Sudan, a mother has recalled her own harrowing experiences in the country. In 2014 Mariam Ibrahim was sentenced to death in 2014 for alleged apostasy and to 100 lashes for alleged adultery, after refusing to renounce her Christian faith. She was arrested because Shari'a law mandated that she was a Muslim, like her father, even though she had been raised... Read More

Mass for the Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies took place in St Peter's Basilica today. During his reflection Pope Leo XIV invited all the participants to reflect on the "mystery of the Church." He reminded them that she is not simply a religious institution with hierarchies and structures. Rather, the Church is "the visible sign of the union between God and humanity", where Go... Read More

Two weeks after the long-awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, there is hope - although the situation remains very fragile. CAFOD was honoured to welcome partners from Caritas Jerusalem to London last week and reflected with them on the realities on the ground, the fears that remain, and what must change. Elizabeth Funnell, CAFOD's Middle East Country Representative said: "The ceas... Read More

One of the many poignant moments during His Majesty The King's State Visit to the Holy See was when he and Pope Leo exchanged orchids. Both are deeply committed to living sustainably on the earth and this exchange of gifts represented this shared commitment to the earth. This morning, in a moment of prayer and reflection Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, and Father Manuel Dorant... Read More

Brother Jack Curran, FSC, from Bethlehem University, writes: Today, October 25, the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady Queen of Palestine, a day of prayer for the protection of the Holy Land and for peace among all who call it home. Entrusted to the Church here nearly a century ago, this feast invites us to lift our minds and hearts to God through Mary's intercession. As Cardinal Pierbattista... Read More