Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy, center, concelebrates the 73rd annual Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington Oct. 5, 2025. Also pictured are Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Va.; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States; Deacon Robert Vince who serves at the cathedral; Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services; and Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito. (OSV News/John Carroll Society/Christopher Newkumet)

Supreme Court justices do not attend annual Red Mass due to security concerns

News

At the Red Mass celebrated on the day before the Supreme Court's new term, Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy emphasized that "men and women of the law are architects of hope by reason of their vocation."

The Latest

Top Vatican official sees 'perverse spiral of hatred' in Israel-Gaza war

Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

Cardinal Pizzaballa welcomes ceasefire talks as first step, urges prayer, perseverance

Judith Sudilovsky, OSV News

Supreme Court to decide if Colorado's law banning conversion therapy violates free speech

Timothy R. Holbrook, The Conversation

Editors' Choice

The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Chiclayo is seen in a view of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2018, when the future Pope Leo XIV was serving as bishop of the diocese. (Dreamstime/Luis Antonio Rosendo)

In Focus

Exclusive: Pope Leo critic now says her lawyer might have had a secret agenda

A lawyer seemed to have a conflict of interest when he represented sisters who claimed the future pope covered up their abuse allegations against two priests. Now, one sister says her lawyer "didn't really want to help us."

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Vatican News

#1
One can't serve God and money, pope says on day he signs text on poverty

Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 4 signed his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te ("I Have Loved You"), which will be released Oct. 9.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service
The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Chiclayo is seen in a view of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2018, when the future Pope Leo XIV was serving as bishop of the diocese. (Dreamstime/Luis Antonio Rosendo)

#2
Exclusive: Pope Leo critic now says her lawyer might have had a secret agenda

A lawyer seemed to have a conflict of interest when he represented sisters who claimed the future pope covered up their abuse allegations against two priests. Now, one sister says her lawyer "didn't really want to help us."

ByJustin McLellan, Brian Fraga

#3
Spain's Tower of Jesus Christ will make Sagrada Familia world's tallest Catholic church

 Construction of the basilica began in 1882, and is considered a masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí, a Catholic whose cause for sainthood is underway. 

ByJunno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

#4
Catholic high school boys choir wows in 'America's Got Talent' season finale

#5
Pope will declare St. John Henry Newman doctor of the church Nov. 1

#6
Pope Leo's Francis-aligned take on Durbin controversy backfires on conservatives

Opinion

Have we learned the things that make for peace?

When Trump spoke to the generals, their silence spoke volumes

NCR Voices

Justice for Indigenous boarding school survivors isn't partisan. Congress must act.

Bipartisan legislation to create a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools warrants our support.

Pope Leo's Francis-aligned take on Durbin controversy backfires on conservatives

Interview reveals Pope Leo as a careful canon lawyer

A hunter's moon rises behind a statue of St. Francis of Assisi on the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wis., Oct 8, 2022 (OSV News/CNS/Sam Lucero)

El 'Cántico de las Criaturas' sigue hablándonos después de 800 años

Columnas

La Hna.Jane M. Bradish reflexiona sobre cómo el Cántico de las Criaturas de san Francisco de Asís —en su 800.º aniversario este 2025— sigue resonando en la actualidad, recordándonos la belleza y fragilidad de la creación. "El cántico de Francisco fue revolucionario al considerar a toda la creación como igual a la humanidad. Hoy en día se lee como un llamamiento a abrazar nuestro frágil universo, la Tierra y todos sus habitantes", escribe.  

Vatican

Parolin signs scroll.

Top Vatican official sees 'perverse spiral of hatred' in Israel-Gaza war

The recognition of Palestine in late September by France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia was a positive development, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said, "but we note with concern that Israeli declarations and decisions are moving in the opposite direction — that is, aiming to prevent the possible birth of a real Palestinian State once and for all."

Pope Leo XIV gives his blessing at the conclusion of Mass for the Jubilee of Migrants and the Jubilee of the Missions in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 5, 2025. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Migrants and advocates increasingly find champion in Pope Leo amid polarization

In audiences and off-the-cuff comments, Pope Leo has offered migrants and their advocates reason to rally around him as a defender of human dignity.

ByJustin McLellan
Vatican News

One can't serve God and money, pope says on day he signs text on poverty

Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 4 signed his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te ("I Have Loved You"), which will be released Oct. 9.

ByCarol Glatz, Catholic News Service
Capt. Lorenz Keusch poses for reporters during the presentation of the Swiss Guard Mezza-Gala uniform in the Swiss Guard Barracks at the Vatican, Oct. 2, 2025. (AP photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The Swiss Guards have a new uniform. Don't worry, the iconic one remains.

The pope's army on Oct. 2 unveiled an additional uniform for nonceremonial, formal occasions, such as a diplomatic reception or official dinner outside the Vatican walls.

ByNicole Winfield, The Associated Press

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

At Laudato Si' conference, Catholics stress hope, heart to animate church on climate

Pope Leo XIV prays for victims of deadly earthquake in central Philippines

Pope Leo calls rhetoric from Hegseth, Trump meeting with generals 'worrying'

EarthBeat

Pope Leo XIV blesses a chunk of ice from a glacier in Greenland during the opening session of an international conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," at the Mariapolis Center in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Oct. 1. The ice block was fished out of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord in Greenland after becoming detached from the ice sheet. (CNS/Vatican Media)

At Laudato Si' conference, Catholics stress hope, heart to animate church on climate

"In the face of this deepening crisis, how do we dare raise hope? Our answer is this: We do it together," said Yeb Sano, board director for the Laudato Si' Movement.

Bare hands planting sprouted plants in a raised garden bed full of soil.

Laudato Si' continues to inspire Bangladesh communities to protect the Earth

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is working actively in the environmental sector and spreading the message of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' to protect the environment — even among non-Catholics. 

ByStephan Uttom Rozario
When large populations of cellophane bees nest in Mariandale, New York, in the early spring, the Dominican Sisters of Hope cordon off restricted "pollinator nesting zones" to protect the bees and post signs to educate the public. Cellophane bees are prolific fruit tree pollinators. (Courtesy of Dominican Sisters of Hope)

NY grant helps Catholic sisters save the bees

Roughly half the state's pollinators are at risk of going extinct. Women religious in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island are securing safe spaces for them.

 

ByJulian Tiburcio
A bird perched on a bare branch in the woods (Unsplash/Soonam Wooeser)
Columns

'We have to do something!': Our faith calls us protect creation

The blessing of combining parishes is the wealth of experience that people share in new ways. At our combined parish, that has reenergized initiatives to restore our common home, Earth, and to act on climate change.

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Pope Leo calls for 'true ecological conversion' from words to action on environment

Photo essay: New York sisters set on pilgrimage to experience Hudson River as 'a living being'

Lessons from my beloved dog, Charlie, on the feast of St. Francis

Culture

In 'The Promised Land,' Moses’ desert trek is reimagined as a workplace comedy

Envisioned as a "mockumentary" series shot in the style of "The Office" and "Abbott Elementary," the show's pilot was released last year. Its first season debuted Oct. 1, tackling the often tragic narrative of Moses and the Israelites with a wink and a nod.

Drawing of "The Sermon on the Mount" (1635) by Jacques Callot (Artvee)

New book calls for a politics that mirrors Jesus' Beatitudes

In Why Christians Should Be Leftists, Phil Christman argues that Jesus' teachings "[lay] out an ethic that would make it next to impossible for any human being to successfully hang onto power forever."

ByKaya Oakes
Kendrick Lamar performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59

Kendrick Lamar and Thea Bowman: Mystics of resistance

Using the medium of rap and the medium of theology, respectively, Kendrick Lamar and Sr. Thea Bowman have each ushered something new into the world: a piece of God incarnated in their own unique way. 

ByMaxwell Kuzma

Nonreligious Americans might not be as spiritual as we thought

Our research shows that nonreligious Americans report being significantly less spiritual than people who identify with established traditions such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam.
 
ByRyan Burge, Tony Jones, Religion News Service

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Book Reviews

A graphic novel on hell tackles scrupulosity for Gen Z

Former Opus Dei numerary's memoir claims abuse, trafficking

Robert Redford's faith legacy in film

The Peace Monument, named Grief and History, is pictured at the U.S. Capitol in the hours before a partial government shutdown in Washington, Sept. 30. (OSV News/Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Monday Starter: Sisters, advocacy groups fear impact of US government shutdown

Plus, the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux begin US tour at a Detroit parish.

Sr. Ritamary Brown holds a clean birth kit at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. (Courtesy of Ritamary Brown)
Columns

The promise of life begins with clean birth kits

Where a baby happens to be born should not determine his or her access to safe, clean conditions to come into the world. Every birth, every baby, is a miracle from God, and we should treat it as such.

By
Mother Cabrini, wearing black, is featured in a recently unveiled mural featuring migrants at the entrance of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York Sept. 23. Mother Cabrini, who immigrated to the United States in 1889, is the patron saint of immigrants. (GSR photo/Rhina Guidos)

Reporter's Notebook: Recognizing sisters' historic work with migrants

Though bishops are applauded for their visible gestures for migrants, let's not forget the women religious who toil daily to serve migrants and refugees in the absence of mainstream headlines.

ByRhina Guidos
A group of nurses
Columns

How synodality strengthened my nursing ethics

I see every patient — with their illness and struggles to pay medical bills — as a fragment of the Divine. 

By

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

'We have to do something!': Our faith calls us protect creation

Sisters' initiatives held up as best practices for care of migrants in Asia

Photo essay: New York sisters set on pilgrimage to experience Hudson River as 'a living being'