Associated Press

Donated Marian icons line the walls inside the Ephesus House. At the center stands a statue of Mary modeled after the one in Turkey, alongside a relic said to be from her veil.

The artistic phenomenon of irony collapsing into sincerity is being interpreted by some as a way for younger generations to grapple with ritual, meaning and authenticity, even as participation in organized religion in the United States has dropped dramatically in recent decades.

For traditionalist Catholics who worship at churches affiliated with the breakaway Society of St. Pius X, Sunday Mass now comes with an extraordinary question.

Pope Leo XIV began a summer vacation on Sunday, capping a whirlwind finale to the first half of 2026 in which he emerged as a powerful global statesman on issues from artificial intelligence to war and flexed decisive papal muscle to govern internal church problems.

St. Agnes in St. Paul is not affiliated with SSPX, but parishioners said they were saddened by the schism and would continue to pray for a united church.

The ultraconservative Catholics insisted they were merely saving souls and were victims of an unjust sanction by the Holy See.

The ultratraditionalist Society of St. Pius X defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland. The move incurs an automatic excommunication for the bishops involved.

The San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials, plaintiffs' attorneys said Monday.

Bishop Robert Barron said in comments in the Oval Office that "no one on this commission wants an established religion, but we all want the free exercise of religion. We sense that being limited in different ways."

 A collection of early public writings by the future Pope Leo XIV will be published this fall for the first time in English.

The Society of St. Pius X, which celebrates the traditional Latin Mass and rejects the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, is planning a highly organized, four-day, livestreamed extravaganza for the consecrations at its Swiss seminary.

Addressing the governing body of the U.N. World Food Program in Rome, Leo pressed governments to cut red tape and tear down obstacles that prevent assistance from reaching those in need.

The Vatican has long opposed multinational mining corporations, especially in Latin America and in favor of the Indigenous peoples, whose lands and livelihoods are often ravaged by mining projects.

The pontiff's day trip marked the midway point of his summer 2026 grand tour of Italy. 

A new report found that about 185,000 children born to unmarried mothers were put up for adoption in England and Wales.

Pope Leo XIV locked eyes with the 7-year-old boy, holding both his hands as the two smiled at one another. Captured by Associated Press chief photographer Emilio Morenatti, the moment resonated first with onlookers and then with many others around the world.

Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism whose faith has been central to his adult life, writes about his religious journey in a new book that could ultimately serve as a sort of origin story for a future presidential campaign.

At the cathedral's birth in 1163, the entire square was packed with medieval houses, split by a single street. The archaeological team has reached their cellars — and therefore also the time in history they represent.

The pontiff "highlights a very underappreciated Augustinian value — especially in this noisy world — and that is to develop your interior life," said Fr. Rob Hagan, prior of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova.

The nation’s Catholic bishops gathered June 11 in Orlando for a liturgy consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, drawing on a centuries-old devotion to mark the country’s 250th anniversary.