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CAFOD Director Dr Christine Allen, who was fortunate to be in St Peter's Square on 8th May last year, standing near the steps of the Basilica when Pope Leo appeared on the balcony, reflects on Pope Leo's first year in office. She said: "Witnessing him emerge onto the balcony of St Peter's as the new Pope a year ago was a very moving experience. I remember the crowd's reaction, hearing him speak i... Read More

The Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, in the United States, has announced plans to build a shrine to Venerable Father Augustine Tolton, whose story of overcoming racial discrimination and divisions in his time continues to be a source of inspiration to promote peace and unity. Venerable Father Augustine Tolton - the first publicly recognized Black priest in the United States - was a much-loved pas... Read More

Today was Solidarity Day, and hundreds of people joined Rabbis for Human Rights and other activist groups to visit Palestinian communities across the West Bank living in the line-of-fire of settler terrorism. Early in the morning buses of activists left from different cities in Israel, as Palestinian communities prepared to host them on the ground. We quickly realized that the Army and Police had ... Read More

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Council for World Mission (CWM), through a joint communique, demanded fundamental reform of how extractive industries operate across Africa, following a five-day consultation in Gaborone, Botswana. Church leaders, theologians, Indigenous leaders, and community representatives gathered from 21-25 April for the Africa Consultation on Mining, Land, and Just... Read More

The theme was 'Light in the Darkness', when sixth formers from a Newcastle school headed to Ampleforth Abbey for a two-day retreat. The 20 students were the second group to visit the abbey from St Cuthbert's Catholic High School, which is a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, and were led by Head of Religious Education Stephanie Peacock, alongside monks Father Bede and Brother Ed... Read More

Gospel of 8 May 2026 John 15:12-17 At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, 'This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. 'No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you frien... Read More

In Taybeh, the West Bank's last entirely Palestinian Christian town, residents say Israeli settlers are tightening efforts to push them off their land in what locals describe as a broader campaign of intimidation and ethnic cleansing. Ihab Hassan reports on social media: "Today, Israeli settlers stormed the Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank again, establishing a new illegal outpost, har... Read More

Pope Leo XIV held an audience with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Apostolic Palace, on Thursday, after his meeting with the Polish Prime Minister. According to a Vatican press release, the "cordial talks" saw both states renew "the shared commitment to fostering sound bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America." Their encounter also included an exchange o... Read More

Pope Leo XIV received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, Donald Tusk, in the Vatican on Thursday morning. Mr Tusk subsequently met with the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, at the Secretariat of State. According to a statement released by the Holy See... Read More

Lenny Jilo is a nurse and lay missionary based in a remote mission in Turkana, northwest Kenya. In this video she describes her life and work there. I was 19 years old when I first met the Missionary Community of St Paul the Apostle. During a Eucharist celebration, that was when I began to understand God's immense love for us. I then realized that I didn't just know, but at the same time felt God'... Read More

A decade after being forced to flee Iraq during the brutal rise of Daish (ISIS), an archbishop is returning to become head of the country's Chaldean Church - bringing a message of firm belief tried by suffering. Speaking ahead of his installation in Baghdad on 29th May, Patriarch-Elect Amel Shamon Nona, who was Archbishop of Mosul until the mass displacement of Christians by Daesh in 2014, told Ca... Read More

Ahead of the first anniversary of Pope Leo XIV's election as the successor of St Peter and 267th Bishop of Rome, Archbishop Richard Moth reflects on the messages and themes of his pontificate so far. On this first anniversary of his election, I join in offering congratulations to Pope Leo XIV. Since his election, he has been a clear and consistent voice calling us to share the peace of Christ. He... Read More

Gospel of 7 May 2026 John 15:9-11 At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.' Reflection on this painting In these ... Read More

"The Church is the pilgrim people of God on earth who, drawing precisely on the final promise, reads and interprets the dynamics of history through the Gospel, denouncing evil in all its forms and proclaiming, in word and deed, the salvation that Christ wishes to bring about for all humanity and His Kingdom..." Pope Leo XIV stressed this at his weekly General Audience on Wednesday morning in the V... Read More