OSV News

In a city transformed overnight into something resembling both a vast open air Marian shrine and an Argentine soccer stadium, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the final Mass of his visit to Argentina and called the country to "rise up and walk" along paths of reconciliation, communion and mission.

While a recent federal government housing statistics report found a 56% decline in homelessness among veterans — from 2009 through 2025 — local Catholic Charities around the country continue the fight to get them housed.

It's clear that when the pope arrives Nov. 13, it will be a welcome like no other, and that the memory of the American-born pontiff's eight-year tenure as bishop has created a profound sense of shared ownership.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark continues to recover from surgery he underwent Oct. 29 to remove a mass from his kidney and will not be making public appearances for some weeks, an Archdiocese of Newark spokesperson confirmed Nov. 9.

Support for the death penalty among U.S. adults has dropped below the majority level for the first time since 1971, a new Gallup poll found.

Pope Leo XIV traveled to Córdoba in central Argentina, where he recalled the example of Argentina's saints — who spread the Gospel and tirelessly served peoples in a rugged frontier — while emphasizing the enduring importance of missions.

Ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, a bipartisan group of more than 90 U.S. lawmakers urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to invite Pope Leo XIV to address Congress, saying the U.S.-born pope's "unique perspective" and "ties to our country" would be "a unifying force" for officials.

Pope Leo XIV met privately Nov. 9 with five people abused by clergy or Church institutions in Argentina, listening individually to their experiences during an encounter that lasted more than an hour, the Holy See Press Office said.

All kinds of businesses and organizations from coffee shops to dentist offices are using artificial intelligence to create promotional flyers. Increasingly, Catholic parishes are, too, making flyers that advertise parish festivals and other gatherings. 

Voters in four states considered ballot measures related to abortion policy Nov. 3, with only one state rejecting a measure to expand access to the procedure, and the others approving proposals to codify a right to an abortion or rejecting further limits.

At dawn on Oct. 29, people were already lining up outside the Catholic Cathedral of God the Merciful Father in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. By morning, about 2,000 had gathered for bread, among them children carrying empty bags, some without their parents.

As the nation heads to the ballot box at the midterm elections, Catholics are working to ensure peace at the polls.

Surrounded by the tombs and monuments of Rome's largest cemetery, Pope Leo XIV offered All Souls' Day Mass Nov. 2, saying prayer for the dead helps lead our loved ones toward full communion with the Lord.

Five Franciscan friars killed in present-day Georgia for defending Church teaching in 1597 were beatified Oct. 31 in a Mass where Church leaders considered their witness amid historical complexities and contemporary challenges.

In an Oct. 31 statement, the leadership of the Polish bishops' conference warned that the escalating dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal "is leading to a profound crisis of the state."

Elizabeth Greenop had been the subject of graphic sexual assault accusations posted to shareyourstory.notredame, an Instagram account not affiliated with the university. She is suing for defamation. 

Huerta died Oct. 28 at age 96, following a decades-long career of advocacy for farmworkers, migrants, the economically marginalized and women.

A Missouri woman diagnosed with lung cancer told OSV News that Pope Leo's diagnosis with the same disease has helped strengthen her own Catholic faith amid her illness. 

The first U.S.-born pope is very much looking forward to eventually visiting his native country even as he prepares to head to Latin America — his seventh papal trip abroad after his election a year and a half ago, the Vatican foreign minister said.

Undecided Catholic voters are a swing voting bloc, but reliably show up to the polls, a new report found. The report, conducted by Untold Research on behalf of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, found "Catholics are swing voters in the truest sense of the term."